{"id":1634,"date":"2019-11-07T17:31:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T22:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/?p=1634"},"modified":"2021-12-21T20:14:10","modified_gmt":"2021-12-22T01:14:10","slug":"five-or-so-questions-on-balikbayan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/2019\/11\/five-or-so-questions-on-balikbayan\/","title":{"rendered":"Five or So Questions on BALIKBAYAN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I have an interview today with Rae Nedjadi on BALIKBAYAN: Returning Home, which is currently available on itch.io! This game sounds so fascinating, and Rae talked about some really deep thoughts with me. Check them out below!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

—<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell me a little about BALIKBAYAN! What excites you about it?<\/strong>

BALIKBAYAN: Returning Home<\/strong> is a narrative tabletop role-playing game that gives everyone at the table equal creative opportunities! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically\nit’s a story about Elementals, beings of Supernatural Filipino Folklore come to\nlife. BALIKBAYAN takes place in the far future, in a Cyberpunk setting at the\nmercy of The Corp, that has enslaved the elementals through machinery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over\nthe generations these machines have infused with the magic, so BALIKBAYAN is\nalso about wielding machine-magic and using it to stay on the run, destroy the\nCorp, and rebirth Magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m\nexcited about so many things about BALIKBAYAN, but I’m most excited about\noffering a creative playground for everyone to enjoy. I’ve never understood\nthis boundary between science fiction and fantasy, technology and ritual,\nmachine and magic. I wanted to offer people to play with these ideas, while\nalso offering my own modern reimagining of Filipino folklore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m\nreally happy with the response, and how excited everyone is to enjoy Filipino\ngames made by Filipino designers! I’m honestly hoping this will encourage more\npeople to create their own games so we can have more creative voices in the\ncommunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another thing that excites me is the game system. BALIKBAYAN is a Belonging Outside Belonging game, which gives everyone more creative control. It’s different from your typical TTRPG experience, where only the Game Master controls most of the narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Many of my readers will be excited to hear about the Filipino roots of the game! What are some of the elements (themes, history, magic) of BALIKBAYAN that players will see that are very much Filipino?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strongest and most\napparent Filipino themes are present in the Playbooks themselves. Currently\nBALIKBAYAN has six playbooks: Tikbalang, Diwata, Saint, Aswang Santelmo, and\nthe Duwende. I wanted to unapologetically use the original names for these\nbeings of myth and legend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did this mainly because\nI come across a lot of Filipinos who are familiar with the folklore of other\ncountries (most people who play D&D here know about elves, gnomes, and all\nthat). But when I run a Filipino inspired game and lean into our roots, most of\nthe people I know, living here in this country, don’t know much about our own\nmyths. And often they use a western perspective when approaching these myths,\nwhich breaks my heart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will say though that I decided to personally interpretat the essence of\nthese myths and legends. There are some problematic aspects of our folklore\nthat reflects the centuries of colonization that still influences the\nPhilippines to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example I wanted to take the Tikbalang and break it away from just being\nan anthropomorphic horse. Horses aren’t even a natural local animal here, and\nto this day they’re associated with the elite and privileged. Instead I wanted\nto lean into our shamanic and animism roots. The Tikbalang in BALIKBAYAN can\nchange into any anthropomorphic animal form, and I wanted that fluidity to be\nan important aspect of the playbook. I also wanted to reflect how we often look\nto spiritual leaders in our community, and the Tikbalang is true to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think the SAINT is another important one. Religion is a big thing here in\nthe Philippines, for better and for worse. We have so many beautiful stories\nabout Saints and the mystical miracles they embodied to protect communities. I\nwanted to acknowledge that, but once again honor our pre-colonial roots and\nhave the SAINT be a playbook that interacts with Small Gods, in a Cyberpunk\nsetting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could just go on and on about each playbook!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sheets<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In general I wanted to\nhonor our folklore, but I wanted to respectfully bring it into the present and\nreflect our modern values, nuances, and struggles. Because I’m bi-racial,\nqueer, and non-binary, I think that shows in the design. I put so much of\nmyself, and my complex love for my country, into this game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BALIKBAYAN also speaks to\nleaving behind our masters and becoming our own masters. I wanted this to reflect\nin the premise and creative setting, but also in the mechanics and narrative\nprompts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becoming our own masters is something I want to happen for Filipinos in\ngeneral. We were colonized for centuries, and the scars still show. As a\nsociety, we haven’t done the collective and deeply emotional work to decolonize\nour perspectives, approaches, and values. In a way we are still bowing down to\nMasters that have long left us to rot, and it shows in our governance and\nsocial value systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have faith that we can do the work. Many artists, teachers, and leaders\nare already helping their communities to do so. BALIKBAYAN is my own personal\nattempt to help along and honor that decolonization process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BALIKBAYAN seems like a big step away from what we\u2019ve seen from cyberpunk. How have you altered the standard cyberpunk setting to really make it yours and to do something different?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s funny, I really get\nthis a lot! But to be perfectly honest, BALIKBAYAN simply embodies how I’ve\nalways seen and engaged with Cyberpunk. For one thing, I’ve always gravitated\nmore to portrayal of Cyberpunk themes in anime, especially from the 80s and\n90s. I’ve always appreciated that lens more, and it really speaks to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did want to make magic a big part of the game. This is again deeply\npersonal. I believe magic and technology aren’t at odds with each other, and\nmagic shouldn’t be regulated to fantasies chained to the past either. I was\ninitially inspired by games like Shadowrun, but I didn’t like how the lore and\nsystem created this great divide between magic and technology. So in BALIKBAYAN\nI wanted to make that barrier non-existent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think the main issue with Cyberpunk as a genre is that we often see the\naesthetic markers and surface indicators of the genre, but we ignore the important\nwork that POC and queer creators have done in the space. They’ve given me the\npermission to define Cyberpunk on my own terms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in turn, I want to do the same for the people who will play BALIKBAYAN.\nThe game asks you to bring about the rebirth of magic and to create a\nRevolution, but what that will actually entail is up to the players and is out\nof my hands. I believe Cyberpunk, and the Revolution it inspires, is a deeply\npersonal experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because I don’t think the world will change from one Revolution. I believe it will change, and has changed, from the series of ongoing neverending Revolutions that we bring to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There is a lot of discussion about\ndecolonizing games and how many major games are from a colonized perspective,\nso I really appreciate you talking about that! Does any of this translate to\nthe actual mechanics you use in the game? What are the mechanics like?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I definitely feel that the\ndecolonization process can be incredibly personal. For me it was in realizing\nthat the games I used to love to run and play, namely Dungeons & Dragons\nand games like it, focused on violence, possession, taking things through\nstrength, with a focus on exploring the “alien” and\n“exotic” and marveling at how “weird” it all was. This was\nreflected in the mechanics of the game too, I feel. As a Filipino, knowing that\nmy own country was treated this way by its colonizers, it left a really bad\ntaste in my mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In BALIKBAYAN, the Belonging\nOutside of Belonging system favors narrative play that is entirely in the hands\nof the players. I also added a few mechanics that center on the decolonization\nprocess. First, each playbook asks the players to choose and build on a\n“human form” and a “true form”. Because the Elementals are\non the run, this is basically what forms are “acceptable” versus what\nthey truly look like. I wanted to leave it up to the players and each story\nwhat this means, how do they navigate this? Next the playbooks ask you to\nchoose “What you hope for”. While the players are tasked to bring\nabout the Rebirth of Magic (more on that in a bit), I also wanted to give the\nplayers a personal goal to help drive the story. In a way this reflects how I\nfeel about the decolonization process: each path is unique, deeply personal.\nPeople can talk about what their decolonization process is like, but they\ncannot dictate to others what it SHOULD be like. Each of us interacts with\ndifferent intersections of class, race, background, and so on. What the\ndecolonization process is like in America is VERY different from what it is\nlike in the Philippines, and so on. The individual hope reflects that, but it\nalso asks each player to balance or find common ground with that hope and the\nrebirth of magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brings us to another mechanic\nI added. Originally I just liked the idea of having a sort of countdown\nmechanic, to give the players some structure or urgency to the story being\ntold. There are two clocks running. The first clock is you start ON THE RUN,\nbut can eventually end up CAPTURED by the Corp again. The second clock has you\nstart at FADING, your magic is weak and dwindling compared to your ancestors,\nbut you want to reach REBORN, with the magic being your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my mind, decolonization is not\nabout returning to what was before our colonizers came. That is in the past,\nand much of our history has been rewritten by those more powerful than us. When\nI think about what we’ve lost, what we could have been, it frustrates me. When\nI think of the privilege I enjoy because of my circumstances that are favored\nby a colonial mentality, I feel guilty and ill at ease. For example, I speak\nEnglish well and that opened a lot of doors for me, when it shouldn’t have. I\nstrongly feel that the way forward is in acknowledging the past, while building\nour own sense of worth and grace outside of our colonial mentality. In the\nPhilippines we need to acknowledge that much of our systems and infrastructure\nare badly compromised by these centuries of colonization. We need to rebuild,\nto be reborn, to reclaim our own magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sheets<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m nonbinary too, so I\u2019m always\nfascinated to see how other nonbinary designers make games. How do you feel\nthat your queerness, your nonbinary identity, being bi-racial, and these other\npersonal aspects of yourself have impacted the design and presentation of\nBALIKBAYAN and the cyberpunk world within it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be honest, I used to really struggle with the idea of queer design, and what that looks like. I have to truly give credit to the community of indie designers who looked at my work and reflected on it, helping me see the queerness and nonbinary nature of my design. In BALIKBAYAN my nonbinary asserts itself by allowing the players to choose how active or passive they wish the story to flow. There are tools available, but I provide many examples that show how each game can be unique and flow completely differently. As a nonbinary, I believe in nuance and push away from the black and white. There are some cool mechanics tied to that (for example, even if you bring about the Rebirth of Magic, you have to answer the question “Which one of us runs away, and helps rebuild the Corp?”). Though I also have to say that also reflects my colonial pain, many of us resort to acting like our colonial masters in the way of rebirth and revolution (those dang intersections, right?). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But yes as a nonbinary designer, I come from a place of nuance and push that towards the forefront. I think that also gave me the sheer confidence to tackle the Cyberpunk genre. I grew up loving it, and like so many people like me (queer, POC, etc) I also felt disappointed by how so much of its core themes of revolution and self-acceptance were rewritten and downplayed. But I refuse to back down, and I’ll continue designing in these spaces and do my work to reclaim it along with other diverse artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

—<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you so much to Rae for the interview! I hope you all enjoyed it and that you’ll check out BALIKBAYAN: Returning Home on itch.io today<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have an interview today with Rae Nedjadi on BALIKBAYAN: Returning Home, which is currently available on itch.io! This game sounds so fascinating, and Rae talked about some really deep thoughts with me. Check them out below! — Tell me a little about BALIKBAYAN! What excites you about it? BALIKBAYAN: Returning Home is a narrative … Continue reading “Five or So Questions on BALIKBAYAN”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[390],"tags":[20,10,4,17,21,25,73,8,15,12,26,23,18,56],"class_list":["post-1634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive","tag-five-or-so","tag-game-design","tag-games","tag-gaming","tag-gender","tag-interviews","tag-politics","tag-roleplaying-games","tag-rpg","tag-rpgs","tag-story-games","tag-tabletop-games","tag-tabletop-rpgs","tag-worldbuilding"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cover-COLOR-balikbayan.jpg?fit=1067%2C1600&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paHOcG-qm","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":133,"url":"https:\/\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/2017\/11\/boy-band-the-game\/","url_meta":{"origin":1634,"position":0},"title":"Boy Band: The Game","author":"Beau J\u00e1gr Sheldon","date":"November 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi All! 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