The Kickstarter funding campaign is in full swing for Big Bad Con, the sweetest tabletop gaming convention on the West Coast. We quickly funded our basic goals on Day 1, and have been blowing past many stretch goals since. Several of these stretch goals allow us to bring great guests to the convention, to host games, speak on panels, etc. Today’s guest interview is with Jason Morningstar.
Could you introduce yourself? What would you like the Big Bad Con attendees to know about you?
I’m Jason Morningstar, and I’m a game designer who lives and works in Durham, North Carolina, USA. I make tabletop and live action roleplaying games through my company, Bully Pulpit Games, and I also consult on using games for teaching and learning. I would like the Big Bad Con attendees to know that I love meeting people and playing games, and that my surname is not a pseudonym or nom de plume.
What are you favourite kinds of games? Why?
I enjoy games that provoke empathy and present players with difficult, interesting choices.
What do you see as trends in the tabletop gaming community? Where do you see it going over the next few years? (You pick the scale and the definition of gaming community!)
“Confusing and alienating old white men” counts as a trend, right? That’s me when I look at what’s happening with Twitch and other weird, performative streaming.
Since you have been to Big Bad Con before, how would you describe it?
I recently wrote: “I love Big Bad Con. The staff always seem relaxed, which is a good sign that things are under control, well delegated, and thought about in advance. As an attendee and guest I always feel welcome and cared for, and this sense of well-being and calmness ripples out from the organizers to everyone at the event. I think this carefully engineered chill attitude draws really fun people like moths to a candle, because the level of play is very high and I always have great games and a really good time.”
How do you plan to occupy your time at Big Bad Con this year?
I love seeing my old west coast friends and making new ones, so that for sure. Stuffing envelopes for Sean Nittner. I will offer many games, so come play with me!
Any parting words for our readers?
If you ever happen to see an Neocapritermes taracua termite with little blue spots on its abdomen, you are looking at a suicide bomber – those spots are filled with copper-containing proteins that react with a secretion from the labial gland to form a mixture which is toxic to other termites (and themselves). If the colony is invaded this termite in on the clog-the-tunnels-with-our-own-corpses team.
The Reef 