{"id":2125,"date":"2020-11-05T15:10:26","date_gmt":"2020-11-05T20:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/?p=2125"},"modified":"2021-11-16T00:38:31","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T05:38:31","slug":"into-the-mother-lands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/2020\/11\/into-the-mother-lands\/","title":{"rendered":"Into the Mother Lands with Tanya DePass and more!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hi all! Today I have an interview with the creators of Into the Mother Lands<\/a>, a new project being performed on and sponsored by Twitch<\/a> and released on YouTube<\/a>, developed using the Cortex Prime RPG system. You can keep up to date on the project through their Twitter<\/a> or Discord<\/a>, and until then, check out the responses from Tanya DePass (T.D.), B. Dave Walters (B.D.W.), and Gabe Hicks (G.H.) below!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catch Into the Mother Lands, a Cortex Prime RPG actual play using a new sci-fi IP created by Tanya DePass, leading a team of veteran Black & POC creatives as they build the world and its stories together at <\/em>twitch.tv\/cypheroftyr<\/strong><\/a>, Sundays at 4pm Pacific\/6pm Central\/7pm Eastern\/5pm Mountain time.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

—<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Tanya DePass, Creative Director for
Into the Mother Lands.<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What an amazing team, and with Tanya at the lead! For our readers who may be new to your work, could each of you introduce yourselves and talk about your experience and specialties that you’re bringing to the Into the Motherlands RPG?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

B.D.W.:<\/strong> I say words about things! I have been playing games for about 30 years now. I\u2019m the writer and co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons: A Darkened Wish and DM for the streaming series of the same name. I also have written for Werewolf the Apocalypse 5th Edition and some other unannounced World of Darkness projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have also consulted on increasing diversity and inclusion in a number of well-known gaming properties.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

T.D.:<\/strong> I\u2019ve been a diversity & inclusion consultant in RPG\u2019s for the last few years, have writing credits with Green Ronin, Paizo, Monte Cook Games, WotC and have been playing RPG\u2019s since I could hold a D6. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

G.H.: <\/strong>Hi, my name is Gabe Hicks! I’m a voice actor, streamer, and designer who works in digital and tabletop. I have written for MOBAs, worked with Paizo, Zweihander, a plethora of other companies and systems and narrative work and taking those experiences and working with different worlds is part of how my design and narrative process have helped me in building this world for Into the Motherlands RPG. It’s learning a little bit from each piece that I’ve done and considering how it all blends in the world together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
B. Dave Walters, Lead Developer for
Into the Mother Lands.<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There is hype for Into the Motherlands already, but what are you most excited to explore? How does your use of streaming and your varied backgrounds impact your presentation of these exciting elements?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

B.D.W.: <\/strong>I am most interested in being able to explore a sci-fi setting that\u2019s not ultimately a bland retelling of the Westward Expansion!  We have the privilege of painting an entirely new portrait of a civilization completely free from colonialism, and that has been an incredibly satisfying mental exercise. I can\u2019t wait for you to see it! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

TD: <\/strong>I\u2019m excited to tell a story without colonization and slavery as part and parcel of the world\u2019s lore and history. To see where our folks wind up and how their choices become a canon part of our world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

G.H.: <\/strong>I’m really excited to give a core premise for worlds and then see how people build onto them or build their own. There’s a lot here that we have to build up and create more and more, and it’s an opportunity not often given to really have a whole fresh start especially when it comes to world’s imagined specifically by people of color. With the different skill set and experiences of the team as a whole when it comes together it’s beautiful. We’re able to figure out and design a game that plays well in a show format but doesn’t have to be a show to be fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sounds great! So tell me about Into the Motherlands. What is different about it from other sci-fi settings? How are you demonstrating the unique elements?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TD: <\/strong>It\u2019s different in that we\u2019re not going for super grim dark, it\u2019s populated by a variety of cultures and does its best to invert a lot of tropes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

G.H.: <\/strong>We built this system with such a heavy emphasis on storytelling in a sci-fi setting. <\/strong>So many people try to make games that are combat in space without as much emphasis I\u2019d like in story, world building, and creating entirely just new ideas rather than playing off tropes. Not to mention, when we do see these things there is almost never African inspiration tied into them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Gabe Hicks, Development on Into the
Motherlands.<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is it like debuting a game on Twitch? Are there unique challenges or benefits that come from this platform as your showcase?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TD: <\/strong>It\u2019s hard because we discovered people will backseat literally anything, including a brand new system and even the production of the show. Benefits are that people can see it done real-time, but also you get to see the weird commentary and other things people are throwing around. For me, it\u2019s hard because all these theories are so incredibly wrong, but you can\u2019t stop playing to address it in chat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

G.H.: <\/strong>I honestly think I\u2019m spoiled now with development. We get a chance to see LIVE what people are interested in, what people want to see more of, what people want to know more about and it honestly makes my job so much more interesting. It\u2019s an opportunity to literally focus on the things people want and then create extra on top. This isn\u2019t a circumstance where we have to wait and see what gets people interested during development. It\u2019s such a fortunate thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where did the inspiration for Into the Motherlands or your work on it come from? How have you workshopped ideas when you’re working to avoid colonialism? Does that come naturally to your team?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TD: <\/strong>We just talked, and decided there would be no colonialism, slavery etc. It\u2019s not that hard and we didn\u2019t need to workshop it. With an all Black & POC writing team, we just opted out off that, simply because Sci fi and fantasy don\u2019t need those to tell a compelling story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

G.H.:<\/strong> It does come pretty naturally. It\u2019s a team effort and that\u2019s so clear when we sit down and work. Like Tanya said it was just a straight up choice, none of it. I\u2019ve literally been reading into the different biomes and environments in Africa, the way flora and fauna interact, and how much variety there is in life. It\u2019s been a never ending supply of inspiration and stuff to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

What’s it like working on an inclusive and diverse team that’s got such varied perspectives? Does it feel more freeing to work in this way, and does it help on this specific project to be such a diverse team?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TD: <\/strong>Absolutely it\u2019s more freeing. However, we assembled this talented team of Black & POC creatives not just to be \u2018diverse\u2019 but because everyone is super talented and capable. While it\u2019s being pointed out that we\u2019re an all Black & POC team, by us because for me (and maybe others) it\u2019s the first time we\u2019ve had that option. But it\u2019s not the only thing about our group, game and show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

G.H.: <\/strong>It’s freeing. Someone always has a new perspective or an insight. IT’s not just one point of view but it’s like knowing we all have some different experiences in some of our similar views. I feel a bit like I have less to prove of myself, a bit like I can already say “These people get it.”. On this project especially, having a diverse team is huge part of why this game works as well as it does. It’s a testament to diversity being such a boon in creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you so much to all three of those able to respond for this interview! I hope you all enjoyed this interview, and that you’ll check out Into the Mother Lands on Twitch <\/a>each Sunday!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catch Into the Mother Lands, a Cortex Prime RPG actual play using a new sci-fi IP created by Tanya DePass, leading a team of veteran Black & POC creatives as they build the world and its stories together at <\/strong>twitch.tv\/cypheroftyr<\/strong><\/a>, Sundays at 4pm Pacific\/6pm Central\/7pm Eastern\/5pm Mountain time.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi all! Today I have an interview with the creators of Into the Mother Lands, a new project being performed on and sponsored by Twitch and released on YouTube, developed using the Cortex Prime RPG system. You can keep up to date on the project through their Twitter or Discord, and until then, check out … Continue reading “Into the Mother Lands with Tanya DePass and more!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":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}},"categories":[390,374],"tags":[126,30,221,16,10,4,17,25,48,67,8,15,12,216,217,33,26,41,23,18,84,56],"class_list":["post-2125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive","category-interview","tag-actual-play","tag-diversity","tag-feature","tag-feminism","tag-game-design","tag-games","tag-gaming","tag-interviews","tag-live-action-roleplaying-games","tag-players","tag-roleplaying-games","tag-rpg","tag-rpgs","tag-sci-fi","tag-scifi","tag-social-justice","tag-story-games","tag-storytelling","tag-tabletop-games","tag-tabletop-rpgs","tag-video","tag-worldbuilding"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/motherlandsHeaderTwitter.png?fit=1024%2C341&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paHOcG-yh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":382,"url":"https:\/\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/2014\/07\/hangout-with-brie-and-pulse-creators\/","url_meta":{"origin":2125,"position":0},"title":"Hangout with Brie and PULSE Creators","author":"Beau J\u00e1gr Sheldon","date":"July 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Archive"","block_context":{"text":"Archive","link":"https:\/\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":80,"url":"https:\/\/briebeau.com\/thoughty\/2018\/06\/five-or-so-questions-on-champions-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":2125,"position":1},"title":"Five or So Questions on Champions Now","author":"Beau J\u00e1gr Sheldon","date":"June 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi all!I did an interview with Ron Edwards on his Kickstarter project, Champions Now! 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