Interview - Meghan Cross - TTRPG Game Designer - Siren's Song Games - Streamer

Today I talk with Siren's Song Games TTRPG Game Designer - Meghan Cross.

We discuss the TTRPG Creation process, One Particular Harbour, Podcasting, Streaming and much more.

You can find Meghan, Siren's Song Games and all of their associated content via the links below.

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/meghanlynnFTW
https://twitter.com/SirensSongGames
https://twitter.com/ChromatiChimera

Website:
https://meghanlynnftw.carrd.co/

Other:
https://meghanlynnftw.itch.io/
https://ko-fi.com/meghanlynnftw
https://throne.me/u/meghanlynnftw/wishlist
https://www.instagram.com/meghanlynnftw/

Please leave reviews on ITunes to help us to learn and grow as a Podcast

Yours Sincerely,

Adam 'Cosy' Powell

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CAST & CREW

Host: Adam Powell

Guest: Meghan Cross

Sound Design: Adam Powell

Edited by: Adam Powell

Music: Epidemic Sound

Cover Art: Tim Cunningham - www.Wix.com

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Website:
https://linktr.ee/snydersreturn
http://snydersreturn.squarespace.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIoZ8iiYCp919UHXUYGghbw
https://www.redbubble.com/shop/?query=Roscoe%27s%20Chimkin&ref=search_box

Buy us a TTRPG Source Book: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SnydersReturn

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Visit https://www.patreon.com/snyders_return?fan_landing=true

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Social Media:

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ReturnSnyder

Instagram -  Snyder's Return (@snyders_return)

Email - snydersreturn@gmail.com

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Transcript

Snyder’s Return: 0:26

Hello and welcome to Snyder’s return a tabletop roleplay podcast. My guest today gives us wings to new and exciting roleplay experiences, which means we don't have to birth in one particular TTRPG Harbour. We can set sail ignite our passion for play, follow any of the threads laid out whether we go through a Silent Garden taking almost home or taking the long way down in search of the Sentinel inside of us all. Here to guide us. Cool to us is for possums in a trench coat serenading us with the should I say her siren song. Welcome TTRPG creative game designer podcaster streamer and panellists Meghan Cross, Megan, welcome to the show.

Meghan Cross: 1:09

Thank you so much for having me. i What an introduction. Sounds so grand.

Snyder’s Return: 1:15

You want so grand this is just your work reworded into a was poetic style, I guess. Before we touch on a lot of the things I mentioned there in the introduction, pagan, how did you yourself get into tabletop role playing games, please?

Meghan Cross: 1:30

Oh, so like, a great great many people in the TTRPG sphere, my initial exposure to tabletop role playing games was through critical role. And that kind of that was actually you know, it was before that it was through, still through Geek and Sundry. When will we ended their ashes of all kinda actual play show as like a, like a side project of tabletop. kind of introduced me to TT RPGs like I was an avid board gamer and loved board games. But then seeing that show, and then Laura Bailey was on that show, which then led me to Critical Role right when critical role was becoming a thing. Um, that immediately ran to my spouse and told him that I needed to play d&d now. And luckily, for me, he had a co worker who was in a campaign and they welcomed us in and I've been playing TT RPGs ever since. So yeah, like, six, six years or so. Now, I've been playing TT RPGs. I've been writing and designing TT RPGs for about three years. Streaming them for about four years. So it's been a big, probably the biggest part of my life for the past five or six years has been TT RPGs in pretty much every form. Oh, wow. Well,

Snyder’s Return: 3:11

we Winton's tabletop is responsible for a few of the board games in my house. But that's not the point right now. It was a great show, anyway. Yeah. Before we sort of take too much of a divergent will sort of how did going from the introduction to d&d through Wil Wheaton, kind of in critical role and and the campaign you played? Where did that turn into content creation? And then I'll ask in a bit, when did that turn into podcasting and streaming?

Meghan Cross: 3:43

I, I've friends, who I've been friends with for that long since then finding them through that fandom. And being a part of these pockets of community within that fan base that I met people who are just enormous ly talented artists and game designers and writers. And I started watching as what seemed like, all of my close friends started writing games. And I was like, I, I can't do that. I can't do that, like, super happy for all my friends wish I could do that. But it's I can't. And then suddenly, it was like, unless, unless I could do that. And I wrote my first game, and it was kind of like an avalanche. after that. I wrote my first game session zero. And it did and continues to gain more traction than I ever thought it would. In that encouragement, kind of kept me going forward. Because I wrote one of my goal. If I wrote one game, I could probably write two. And then I wrote a second one. I'm like, well, I could probably write three and it just kind of evolved from there. But it's really through, like the friends and fellow, like creators that I met in in the TTRPG space that kind of made me think of myself in a different way. Or instead of just like, Oh, I'm just a person who likes to play games. Yeah. And that kind of led me into being like, no, like, there's there's a space for me like as a creator, as well, in addition to just somebody who really likes to play games.

Snyder’s Return: 5:30

And so, as you say, you create one game than another, your we will do links there for this a little time. Before we go into where we can find them. What is their? Where can we find you and everything you're associated with, please?

Meghan Cross: 5:46

Yeah, so you can find me most places you can find a person on the internet at Meghan Lynn FTW. I am most active on Twitter. If you like shit posts and tweets about Red Bull and possums, you follow me there. If you want to hear about exclusively my game stuff, you can find me at siren song games. And then you can find my games at my SEO page, Megaman ftw.h.io, which is where all of my all of my games live.

Snyder’s Return: 6:21

Alright, well, I did notice that we could also support you on kofi as well.

Meghan Cross: 6:26

Yes, you can also support me on kofi which is Megan Lin ftw.co/v. The the easiest way to find my all of my links, I do have a my website, my card page megalin ftw.ca or rd.co. You can find links to pretty much everything different ways to support me different places to find me, if you want to play a game with me or have me on a show or anything like that you can you can reach out to me there. That's where you can find my contact info and all the various places you can find my face on the internet.

Snyder’s Return: 7:06

All right, well, I will put all those links down the description below this podcast. So please scroll down. Follow Megan Simon's on games, and support Megan, through the various ways also on Instagram, that wasn't mentioned, there's a link on that as well. So that will all be down in the description below. So now we know where we can find you. Your H O page has a wealth of different TTRPG is available for us to play. Why is it been like sort of moving through the process? Because each of your games is slightly different to the last one you've sort of used different systems and and approaches? What has that process been like?

Meghan Cross: 7:49

It I wish that I could say that there was any kind of real rhyme or reason to, to what I do. Generally, my game design process is I think about something I like or I see something that I like and I my brain will go is there a game here? And I know almost immediately whether or not there is a game here if there's not I send just really weird out of context questions to one of my really good friends in will be like, is this a game and he's like, short? If he doesn't immediately say no, then it's a yes, and I keep going. But really, the thread that runs through all of my games, even though they are different is I write games. To tell a story, I write games, to explore characters and explore the dynamics and relationships between characters while you're collaboratively telling a story. So even though they use a lot of different mechanical aspects or have a lot of like, different themes. The main connecting thing through all of them is these are games that are focused on characters that are made to explore the different relationships that characters can have. So that that's really at the heart of everything that I write is I want to tell a good story I want to I want to tell a good story with my friends I want to create characters and just explore who they are and how they interact with each other and the world.

Snyder’s Return: 9:31

A few your games explore the self I guess being solo sort of journaling games and things like that is is your approach to creating them different because they are very much more a personal experience to the player, the player I

Meghan Cross: 9:46

guess they are it's solo games was something that I came across very unexpectedly as a designer, it was never something like I'm gonna I'm gonna write solo games. But as soon as I wrote one, I couldn't stop writing them. Because, like, it's funny, like from a design standpoint, they are both easier and harder all at once to design. Because you really do have to put, there's, there's less room, like there's not a GM, that's like interpreting what you're doing and then making the game their own, like, you're really putting it out there for the player being like, this is what you do. And this is what you and you can interpret this as you wish, but you do have to put more out there for the player to work with. And I, I like, the introspection that you can get from playing TTRPG is like I love being able to play a game. And you know, it's a game and you're enjoying it and you're playing a character, but then also, like, coming away from that, like, having maybe learned a little bit about yourself in the process. And, and that's something that I wanted to capture in my games, because I'm a very, I'm a very emotional person. I get very emotionally invested into the games that I play. And I, for some reason, like continually doing that to myself. And I know that there are other people that like that as well. So I think with with my solo games, especially they, they tend to be stuff that's a little more introspective and a little more like really examining who the player is as a person or who the character the player is embodying. Yeah.

Snyder’s Return: 11:35

And, and sort of stepping between the first part of this question and the second one sort of bridging that gap, you were able to play your own game Sentinel on the fantastic party, one podcast with Jeff Stormer. So what was it like sort of transiting from creator to player and then sort of being involved in that process? Or that scenario?

Meghan Cross: 11:57

I guess, it's, it's very strange. As, as a creator, I am still to this day, like, not uncomfortable isn't the correct word. But it's very strange to be like, playing something that I have created like then something that exists in this world because I have brought it into this world. And it's the same with playing any of my games, or even when people tell me that they've played my games, I'm just like, you've what? Because I'm part of me feels like sometimes I'm just throwing these out there. And I'm like, I really hope people find it. And then people actually do and it's a wild experience. But Jeff Stormer is absolutely incredible. He's an incredible storyteller, and getting to play this game in particular with him. I knew, like 100% that this was the game that I wanted to play with him. And Sentinel works so well as a solo game, but it also works as a collaborative game. You're just sharing the weight and getting to play a game like that. With someone like Jeff who just has the most beautiful brain and comes up with some of the coolest stuff. Every game that I've gotten to play with him has been an absolute joy. So getting the the discomfort or, for lack of a better term of like me playing my own game completely dissolved, when we are playing together because it's just able to kind of get lost in that moment. And in that story that we're telling together and I it's easily one of my favourite experiences playing a game because it's just it was so great to share that story with him. Yeah.

Snyder’s Return: 13:44

So this sort of cycles back round to where we we sort of forked earlier. Where did your involvement as a consumer should we say of TT RPG is d&d Critical Role in another shows turned into you becoming a podcast, you becoming a streamer and a role player in that sense for for others to enjoy us as a character.

Meghan Cross: 14:07

It was, I wouldn't say entirely accidental, but mildly act like I didn't. I never saw myself. Like I never saw I'd be like, I'm gonna be a streamer. Or I'm like, it's it's i. What it really came down to is somebody the the first show I was on, I was approached by the head of a Twitch channel and was like, Hey, I'm casting for this d&d, like this d&d stream. And I really think that you'd be a good fit for like, do you want to come in and like talk to the DM and all that stuff? And in my answer was immediately Yes, because I always want to play more games. When somebody asked me if I want to play a game, the answer is always yes. And streaming was something like obviously, I knew that people were streaming TV RPGs but it was still kind of in its newer stages, because this was four, four years ago or so. And I was like, yeah, absolutely. And, like, a couple days later, like had a call with the DM and the cast that had already been cast in, we just clicked right away. And it was kind of the rest was history from there, because after I kind of got the taste for it, I just wanted more, I wanted to do more streams, I think a lot of it comes from, I was a theatre kid in high school in college, and just like that, it really scratches the performance itch of like, playing with the people that I've streamed with are very like RP focused players. And it really scratches that performance itch to get to really dive into the ARP and dive into those characters and tell those stories together. And after that first stream, I kind of was just going around screaming at people to please let me play in their games. So I got fortunate in that people listened. And we're like, okay, please stop yelling, come play games with us. Which has allowed me to play some wonderful games and meet some awesome people and get to share a table with some really cool people. So it's been, it's been great. I haven't streamed in longer than I'd like. The last couple of years as is for everybody has been a little hard creatively. So took a little time off from being in front of a camera all the time because at one point I was doing like two or three a week. But now I'm feeling very energised and wanting to get back out there and share more games and stories with people.

Snyder’s Return: 16:55

And you share the stage we say with Web DM plays, Web DM being one of the great YouTube channels and and the actual police stuff is always fantastic. You have your part part of are you still tending to part of chromatic Chimaera in a sense, or,

Meghan Cross: 17:16

in a sense, we are kind of we are kind of on a hiatus, but I know that chromatic Amira is wonderful. And it's pretty much a door's always open kind of thing. Because the group that I streamed with no initiative, we are also kind of on a hiatus. But they remain like some of my they remain my favourite people to play games with. So I know that we are in the process of making plans to do some more stuff. In chromatic America has been our home since we first started streaming together as a group. And in credit Chimaera makes some wonderful shows, it's run by wonderful people. So it's, it's definitely a place that feels very, like home to us. And as somebody who's internet never had the bandwidth to run their own streams, it was nice to have a channel that was so welcoming. And basically, it's like, if you want to stream on our channel, you can stream on our channel. So that was really nice to have a place to go to do what we wanted to do.

Snyder’s Return: 18:22

And, boy, you've not streamed as a player as such, you have been involved with streams for your own production game relatively recently. For one particular harbour, would you mind telling us a little bit about the game and then your involvement with the streams as well?

Meghan Cross: 18:41

Yeah, so one particular harbour is I don't have favourite children. I love all of my kids who play but one particular harbour is is a very special, very special child. It is a hack of mobile frame zero firebrands by the absolutely incredible Vincent Magee Baker, who I look up to and admire so so much. And I thank them every day that they allowed me to hack their game in make one particular Harbour. So it is a game about an isolated collection of islands and the three factions that are bickering over them. So it is about merfolk sailors and pirates, and each of their attempts to claim the island for their own faction and all of the fighting and potentially flirting. If you play the game with me, there will always be flirting them trying to figure out what the fate of these islands are going to be in. It's made up of 14 mini games that you basically take turns, choosing your games and choosing who you're playing with and you act them out out in short scenes that you kind of weave together into one overarching story.

Snyder’s Return: 20:07

So with the way that sort of put together you said it was a hack of mobile frame zero firebrand, what was it about that system that that you felt was right for, for one particular Harbour?

Meghan Cross: 20:20

I, I really love the the mini games aspect of it, because it allows you to do so much without feeling the pressure to kind of make one like, one big overarching system or game or setting or anything like that. Like it allows you to really get down into the nitty gritty of like, what do you want this game to do? What do you want the players to be able to do? How do you want them to do it? And I am all about games that get out of their own way and just let the players kind of run wild in in firebrands. And by association, one particular harbour really does that is it sets you up. And they say alright, this is this is what we're doing. This is the setup, this is everything. And then you just go and you'd go until you're done. And then you go on to the next game once everybody's decided you're done. And I and I really, in that's what I love about GM lists games is that it just the game is there as a framework to help you tell your story. And then it gets out of the way and lets you lets you do it. And that's that's what's really attracted to me about firebrands. And basically any hacker firebrands is gold to me, I adore this system.

Snyder’s Return: 21:38

This seems to be a growing and positive trend. Because I can't think of any reason why be a negative with moves to sort of shameless or shared DMing games, shall we say? What is it about Bo style of games that you enjoy more than say a traditional air quotes traditional sort of TTRPG

Meghan Cross: 22:03

I think the biggest thing that draws me to GM less games, is the fact that it's truly collaborative. And that's not to say that if you're playing like a traditional GM game, it's not a collaborative story, because it is a collaborative story, because the GM is just as much of a player as the players are. But there's something about telling the story together and having it happen all at once. And all of you are discovering it and telling it together. And it doesn't put the weight solely on one player. And I think that's something that's so beautiful about them. Because who hasn't been like, Oh, I really want to play d&d, or I really want to play masks or blades in the dark, but nobody wants to GM with a gate with a GM list game, it doesn't matter. You can just pick up the game and go and and that's what initially drew me to it. And I've been the kind of person that's because I've always been very nervous about jamming and like stepping into that role and feeling like I'm never quite ready enough to do it in but facilitating gymnasts TTRPG is feels so natural to me in a way that Jiaming I have gotten a lot more comfortable in the past couple of years in the gym spot. But something about gymnasts games just feels so comfortable. Because like even if I'm facilitating it up, I'm leading everyone through it. We're still all doing it together. Yeah.

Snyder’s Return: 23:34

So if someone is more used to running a traditional TTRPG maybe they have gym, maybe they haven't and they're looking to run one particular harbour or any what FEIS, would you give for facilitating using the correct phrase that you use the advice would you give for facilitating a GMs game? Since you you know, you have this experience and and obvious joy for the for this style of

Meghan Cross: 24:02

play? Yeah, I, my my biggest advice is just just jump in. Everybody is in it together, you are all starting from the same spot. I mean, if you're facilitating you've probably read the game, or at least skimmed it and known what to do like enough that you can lead people through it. But you're all figuring it out together. It's something I will always say to just just jump in and do it. And even if you're like, Oh, well, maybe I don't fully understand all the rules, or I don't understand how this works. neither does anybody else. As long as you're focused on having a good time and playing the game together. That's what matters. And maybe you facilitate it once and you realise after the fact that you did it completely wrong. Well, you'll learn for next time, but as long as you had fun in the process, it doesn't really matter.

Snyder’s Return: 24:57

I suppose that's true. Have a bit of a parallel to ensuring everybody has fun is is the way to safeguard and ensure everybody's having fun. So what calibration or safety tools do you use yourself? Or do you recommend for people running gymnasts games or traditional dtrpg

Meghan Cross: 25:20

I, I don't sit down at a table as a player or as a GM without having a lines and mills document established. Every table I play at uses them every table, I run uses them, it's it's live, everyone has access to it at all times. I'm constantly checking it, just to see if there's any, anything that's been added or removed, which is just a baseline way to make sure that everybody is comfortable and safe and having fun. In Play. Generally, we use Excel to know which or I feel are the most common safety tools check in tools. During play itself. We will also utilise I'm trying to think of what the technical term scripts change are seen chain, I think it's scripts change where you can kind of like, just, if there's something that has happened that you do not like you just stop the action right there, reverse it and redo it right on the spot what happened the first time never happened. And then you move forward with something that is that everyone likes that everyone is comfortable with. And in the other than your, like, safety tools are wonderful. And every table needs them just to make sure that everybody is is safe and comfortable. And also just communication, just communicating constantly. No matter what role you are at the table. If you're a GM, if you're a player, just checking in with one another, being able to communicate and say, Hey, didn't really like that, or hey, actually, like, it may have looked like I was really upset, but I loved it like we can keep going I'm totally fine. Like just keeping that open level of communication and the safety tools just further add to that to just enhance everybody's experience. Because that's that's what's most important is like this is a game. It's supposed to be something that's fun. And we want to make sure that everyone feels welcome and safe and comfortable during games.

Snyder’s Return: 27:31

Yeah. And I realised that part of that is woven into the the game itself, be it through guides, or through certain mechanics or things like that. So when you have gone through the game creation process for your releases, what have you, what have you learned through your process that's helped you refine your own creations. Oh, yeah, creation process and just use the word process a lot there. But I know I'm trying to get to

Meghan Cross: 28:01

really the biggest thing for me as I just move forward as a designer and I, I change a little bit each time I write something, and I never approach a game as the same person I was booked for I wrote it. But really, the biggest thing for me is writing I, I usually say that I'm a very selfish game designer, because I write games that I want to play, I write games for myself, if if this game has a target audience of one I am that one person that I am writing this game for, it just so happens that if other people like it, then it's just even more exciting for me. But I, I want to write games that invoke a lot of emotion. And when you're writing games that are meant to evoke a lot of emotion, it's important that you're letting people know what they're getting in for. And I for that reason, like I try when I'm writing the introduction to my games, especially I'll, if it's a game, like the long way down, that deals very intensely with loss and death and feelings of hopelessness and despair. Making sure that you're saying upfront, hey, this is what this game is about. This is what you're getting into. If you need to stop at any time to take a break, please stop and safeguard yourself and your mental state, because that's the most important thing in the world. And just trying to put those mornings into games is something that that I've done more and more as I evolved as a designer and also as the space has evolved, and there's so many wonderful safety tools that exist out there. I highly recommend everybody check out the Safety Toolkit that was compiled by Kenneth Shaw and Lauren Lauren, who are two absolutely wonderful folks. In It's really knowing what you want a game to do as a designer, and then knowing what you need to tell your players before they start playing, I think is something that I've really picked up on is the first question I asked myself when I start to write a game is what do I want this game to do? Like? How do I want people to feel when they're doing it, and if how I want them to feel is something that could be a more intense emotion, then you need to let people know like, if I'm writing a game that be like, I want to make you cry when you play this, I'm going to tell you up front, I wrote this game to make you cry. Please enjoy it. Take care of yourself.

Snyder’s Return: 30:43

A thread a theme that's not across all of your games, but a number of your games have a mythological bent to them a Silent Garden is the producer, Sentinel has sort of a two more sacred place that you guard and of course, the long way down, based on on the tale of of myth. Are you heavily inspired by that sort

Meghan Cross: 31:10

of a am i i am the Greek mythology kid that never grew out of being a Greek mythology kid. I am a huge lover of mythology and folklore, and folk tales. And that is something that I constantly bring to my games. All of my games exist because of something that I love in thought is this a game is generally how everything has worked in something that I'm very passionate about. And something that I love very much is, is mythology and folklore. So a lot of my games are inspired by that, and especially taking stories of tragedy, like the story of Medusa and the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. In giving them just injecting a little bit of hope, into stories that are classically, tragedies, is something that I really wanted to do and and I think each of those games does that in its own way that it takes the story that like everybody knows, Medusa. Everybody knows, most everybody knows the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. And being able to approach it from a different angle. Just like if things had gone just like a little bit differently, what could it have been. And that's something that I'm, I, I always say I like sad games, I like getting sad when I play TTRPG. But you can't have a sad game that is completely devoid of hope. There needs to be a little there needs to be the light at the end of the tunnel, there needs to be that little thing that keeps you going forward. And I think that's something that I try to bring to my games that have that heavier steel, is it's not it seems hopeless, but it's not. There's always something there.

Snyder’s Return: 33:11

And with there being something there is a something coming up, maybe are you working on anything that has that sort of mythological influence in at the moment,

Meghan Cross: 33:19

I think I am currently working on a game about constellations. Because I another thread in my games is I love space. I love writing games about space can't get enough space. I am working on I have so many a friend of mine and I are working on a game that right now is just called mythology game because we don't have a name for it. That is a little bigger of a project that we've been working on for God the better part of I think, almost two years now, which is a more fully actualized system. Basically about creating your own heroes of myth and playing out their stories, which I'm very excited about. Yeah. In and then I'm working on companion game to Sentinel as well that's kind of like a prequel to Sentinel. That's probably my biggest project right now. That's where I am funnelling the majority of my creative energy is going into writing this game. And it is it is slower going than I want it to be. Because creative energy is in a shorter supply than usual lately but it's it's coming along and I'm very excited. I'm very excited about that. And that's another game that is skewing very sad, but there is hope at the end of it and cuz I can't help myself. That's, that's what I, I love to. That's what I love to write.

Snyder’s Return: 35:07

Now, that's fair enough, I definitely sort of will be keeping an eye out for those as they come up in the future. And if we are in the future, when you're listening to this, go ahead and follow those links down below and see if it's there and see if you can take it in enjoy this emotional experience, I think that's fair to call it. Megan provides for us to have the safety of our own table. So with these projects ongoing with sort of the coming back into sort of actual plays and streamings, and panels, you've been you do panels as well. Were available and appropriate. What's it like being a panellist, we'll spin this back, we'll spin this around on to you. You've gone from behind the GM screen, or a GM schemas facilitator, you've been a player once you want to be a panellist. Now stepping apart from the community in that sense,

Meghan Cross: 36:03

there is literally nothing that makes imposter syndrome more intense than speaking on a panel. I, I've had the opportunity I've only spoken on two, I would love to talk on more if people dare give me the opportunity to do so. But really, what I want to do in with, especially with the panels that I've already been on, in anything in the futures, I owe so much of what I do now to people in this space that took the time to educate and uplift and support me and what I was doing, especially when I was first starting out, and I had literally no idea what I was doing. And just kind of plugging along, going, Hey, I made this thing if anybody wants, if anybody wants it, in their creators in this space that makes such incredible things. And they make these incredible things. And then they take the time to then see up and coming creators and people who are trying to get into this and figure out if it's for them, and that they take the time to talk about their game design process, talk about their influences in where they get their inspiration from in, offer help with, with anything, there are folks out there that are offering help, like planning Kickstarters, or helping with distribution or printing or even just like, Hey, you want to write your first game, this is what I do when I'm writing a game. And that's what I want to be able to do to for people who are or where I was, when I first started like to be somebody that is able to be like, hey, there is no universal experience in being a TTRPG creator. There there is nobody has done it. No two people have done it the same way. But if I'm able to use my experiences, and in what I have found to help other people succeed, I want to do that every time. Because when there's there's so much room for everybody in this space there. It is such an incredibly wide form of media, like there is infinite possibilities in the TTRPG space. And I want everybody who wants a place in it to have a place in it. And if I can be a part of helping that, then then I'm happy.

Snyder’s Return: 38:40

Yeah, let's just say everyone should be able to at least have a seat at the table. Absolutely. So what have you learned about your own processes? Are you a sticky notes everywhere kind of person, your mood boards, your sort of computer files and PDFs and things? How do you process it? Because you mentioned you think of an idea. Is it a game? It is now? Yes. What's the process there?

Meghan Cross: 39:08

I am a self proclaimed disaster of a human being especially when it when it comes to my creative process. At one point in time, I did have a Google Doc that is just a list of game ideas. Generally speaking, I am a stalwart pen and paper person. The only time my games get typed is when I am typing them to lay them out. To publish them I write absolutely everything down in my notebooks. I've got a very beat up game design notebook that I just filled after two years I have started the new one that is already a complete mess. And I I write notes on post it notes and scraps of paper and then I stuffed it all inside my notebook. And it is Jenna Really speaking, it works for me. And then every so often I see a note that I left for myself. And I'm like, what does this even mean? And then like three weeks later, I'll be like, so that's be like, Oh, that's what that meant. But yeah, I am a very, I don't want to say scattered, because I do know where everything goes. I just am, I guess the best way to describe it, I'm very much a stream of consciousness type. Creator is as soon as that idea pops into my head, I need to get it out in that exact moment. By any means necessary? I will I need to, I need to get the ideas out, or they will be gone forever.

Snyder’s Return: 40:42

Yeah, so with this collection of notes, and the games, you're putting out the games, you're promoting the sort of

Meghan Cross: 40:51

the other sort of

Snyder’s Return: 40:54

real world stuff doesn't sound fair. But I think you know what, I mean, sort of outside the TTA, TTRPG, creative bubble, do you get much much time for sort of downtime and personal sort of space, as it were?

Meghan Cross: 41:06

Yes, and no, it is, it is harder. Sometimes I always complain that my quote unquote, real world, aka my desk job takes up so much energy that I would much rather spend writing games. But I am I am fortunate that I am married to a wonderful human being who is so intensely supportive of me and my games, that he is not upset when I come home from work after working for nine hours and go in close myself in my office and just write it, which is which is very fortunate. When I first started, I felt so guilty that I like because I I work 50 hours a week, and then I come home and I just want to write games, or on the weekends I want to write games, or I do streams or on stream games, and some weeks it feels like there isn't enough time to exist in between doing everything that I do. But having a very supportive partner helps and fight finding the time to I, I only write when I want to, I guess is the best way to put it is I don't, I don't there are times where I need to sit down and make myself write and once I get into it, I am enjoying it and having fun but if I sit down at my desk and say now I want to write and nothing comes up, I just stand up and walk away and I be like I will come back to it I don't want it to be something that feels like work because it's something that I love so much. When in when I'm writing a game it doesn't feel like work when I am marketing and self promoting and doing all that stuff that feels like work I'm like I just want to write games. But once you write games you want people to see them so so it's it's helpful to have the support of like my friends and my family to take the time to spend time doing that because it is something I love. Usually as long as my door is open my dogs don't mind too much they'll just snooze next to me while I write but it's some some days and weeks it's much harder than others to to find your your personal life amongst the game life because I feel like I have like my quote unquote professional like my day job life and then I have my TTRPG life and then I have money, everything else. But it's it's a it's a balancing act. Sometimes it's harder than others. But generally speaking, I feel I feel like I've got it figured out for at this exact moment in time. I feel like I have it figured out. I don't know how I'll be in a couple months

Snyder’s Return: 44:02

we'll say put in here and now it's all

Meghan Cross: 44:06

right, exactly in this exact moment in time. Things feel okay.

Snyder’s Return: 44:10

Nice. Brilliant loads. It's so important. So you mentioned the sort of plain non stream games are there games out there obviously you want to play your own because you write them for for you and for everybody else but if you're not so playtesting with your own games, other games out there that you want to try or haven't tried yet and you'd like to maybe try one of those at some

Meghan Cross: 44:31

point. Oh there are so many. Let me just turn to look at my shelf next to me. I might my first level always be playing TT RPGs that's what got me into the space to begin with. The biggest one right now that I am just chomping at the bit to play and need to convince somebody to run it for me is orbital blues. By Sol Sol His home cools. Jelly so much at publishing. Um, it is a game about it's it's a game inspired by space Westerns like Firefly and Cowboy Bebop and Guardians of the Galaxy, which is a genre that I so intensely love I love the space Western I love the juxtaposition of, of the old west but with the future is I love being in space. And ever since that game came out, I have been absolutely feral to play it and I haven't gotten to yet. So that's like number one for games that I have not played yet that I'm dying to play. And then in the state on the other hand, there are also games that I play all the time that I am always still dying to play. My favourite game is masks. I run a masks campaign. I'm in a masks campaign. I am always looking to put I'm in a masks podcast, like I just cannot get enough protein cities 30 in city Yes. So yep, I'm on protein city and that I have two home games, one that I'm in and one that I run all playing masks and I would still drop everything to play masks at any point in time.

Snyder’s Return: 46:14

Which which playbook is your preference then?

Meghan Cross: 46:17

Oh, my there, Matt. It's funny because masks a game. There aren't many TTR views out there where I can confidently say I would enjoy playing every playbook but masks is one of them. But my my favourite is the Saigon because it's the most dramatic one and that's what my first masks PC is. She did change playbooks to the Janice in the past like couple months of play, which is my other favourite one. I am when I'm playing games, I am all about bonds between characters creating bonds between characters creating, establishing relationships between PCs and NPCs. So I'm drawn to the playbooks in masks that kind of come they come with baggage. Whether it's like oh, with the science like oh, well, here's my supervillain parent. Or you're like the protege and you're like, well, here's my mentor and the legacy like here are the members of my legacy. So like I gravitate towards those playbooks that come with come with the built in aspect of it. Which is why when I did play d&d Warlock was always my go to because you're like, Oh, I'm a warlock and this is my patron. Like, I like the I like the playbooks that start off with those bonds already in place because I love to explore that as a player so I will forever be if you give me a playbook that comes with baggage in the shape of another existing sentient being i that is where I'm going to go literally every time I'm playing in an urban shadows game right now and I'm playing an Oracle because that also came with baggage i i also I guess just like to make more work for my GM

Snyder’s Return: 48:02

well as a full time GM but as a GM I like it when players use that kind of character because it gives you story gives you threads it gives you ammunition might not be the right word, but there is always something there to use with the player for the cage

Meghan Cross: 48:21

definitely call it ammunition

Snyder’s Return: 48:25

exploitation at times, maybe Yeah,

Meghan Cross: 48:27

yeah, maybe. But that's where the, that's where the fun stuff is, if it's as long as it is consensual. Yes, that's I joke with all of my gems that I gift them a beautiful set of knives before each game that we played together. And like here, any of the ways that you can hurt me and my character during this game, and I give you full carte blanche to do this knowing that this is something that I am consenting to doing. And I'm giving you this backstory or I'm giving you these NPCs that might hurt me but that's where the good drama is.

Snyder’s Return: 49:00

Cut to my character deep but emotionally or physically

Meghan Cross: 49:04

Yes, because that's where the good stuff is and then we will get better because there's always hope

Snyder’s Return: 49:10

amazing so we'll pack all this hope into some bags we'll put these bags on a ship and we'll sell the ship into one particular harbour Yeah, I was gonna be able to do that and and ask for the penultimate question. I guess. We've discussed a lot your fantastic games your introduction and evolution through content creation and actual please. Is there anything we haven't discussed as yet that you want to bring up just here at the towards the end of the interview?

Meghan Cross: 49:43

Oh my goodness. I think we've covered so much I think. Yeah, really, the biggest, the biggest thing I can say and I'm glad that we've touched on it so much is just leaning if you want to do first of all if you want to do it anything in the TTRPG space, be it streaming or podcasting, or just getting into games and playing off stream, just just do it. Like just just do it. There are so many people out there, we're going to be willing to help and support and answer questions, and I am one of them. And there's so many, there's so much out there that never, never ever feel like, this is a space that's not for you. Because there is such a wealth of incredible content and incredible content creators. That if you bounce off one game, there is something out there for you, I promise you, you are going to find what you want is if you want a space here, there's a space here. Sometimes you might need to look a little harder. But I can guarantee you that there is there is something here for you. 100%.

Snyder’s Return: 51:01

Yeah, totally. And from a podcast point of view. If someone like myself doesn't know the answer, we know someone else who is supportive and can provide guidance or direct support depending on what's required. So now thank you so much. Would you like to remind everybody where they can find you on social media and all the rest of that stuff? Please?

Meghan Cross: 51:25

Yeah, absolutely. Like we said, I am Megan, you can find me most places on the internet at Meghan Lynn FTW you can find the bulk of my stuff on Twitter, or on my card site Megan Lynn ftw.ca rd.co You can find my games on Meghan Lynn ftw.h.io You can also find physical copies of my game one particular harbour if you're up for some pirate and mermaid and Sailor shenanigans on indie press revolution. And yeah, I'm hoping to get some stuff in the pipeline soon. So if you follow me on Twitter, I almost never shut up there. And if I have something fun and exciting coming up, I almost certainly be shouting about it. So you can follow me there if if that sounds like something that you might like, yes, or even if it doesn't follow me anyway.

Snyder’s Return: 52:22

Please scroll down for the links they will be in the scription down below this podcast. Megan it has been an absolute pleasure I'd love to get you back on when the C prequel to send it always release maybe in the future or when mythology game as yet untitled but sounds fantastic. Is is sort of codified and comes to comes to fruition. Or maybe just a one shot depending on systems and schedules and things.

Meghan Cross: 52:49

Yeah, absolutely. Anytime I would love that, or maybe even some GM lists. Some GM lists game fun.

Snyder’s Return: 52:59

That sounds good. But it has been such a pleasure to get to meet you get to know you and learn a little bit about your games and your your creative processes. So thank you so much for joining me.

Meghan Cross: 53:09

Yes, thank you so much for having me. This has been an absolute blast.

Snyder’s Return: 53:13

Thank you so much, Megan. Thank you for listening. If you'd like to learn more about the show, then go to www dot Snyder’s return.squarespace.com. Alternatively, you can find us over on Twitter. At return Schneider, you have a link tree link in the description of this episode. And if you want to support us, come and join us over on Patreon and we also have a Discord server. Please leave us a review because we'd love to learn how to improve the channel and provide better content out for for those who are listening until we until we speak again. Thank you