Today, we talk to Cam Banks, a designer and editor from Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd, and one of the creators of the Supernatural Role Playing Game:

IFP: How did Margaret Weis get started?

CB: Margaret started out as a book editor for TSR, Inc., the company that published Dungeons and Dragons back in the 70s and 80s. They hadn’t been known for publishing fiction, but when Tracy Hickman and a number of other game designers and artists started working on the Dragonlance project, TSR decided to release a novel tie-in to the game books. Margaret and Tracy weren’t the first choices for the book, but the writer they hired just didn’t work out. By that time, Margaret and Tracy knew the characters and the world so well that they decided to write the novel themselves. And that’s where Margaret’s career as a writer really took off.

IFP: How did you become involved with the company?

CB: Wizards of the Coast, the current publisher of D&D, had licensed the Dragonlance game books to Margaret’s company rather than publish them in-house. This gave many fans, such as myself, the opportunity to contribute to these books, initially as volunteers but later as paid freelancers. I’ve been a Dragonlance fan since it first hit the shelves in 1984, so I’m glad my enthusiasm wasn’t greater than my ability to actually write and design games! I’m also really lucky to be married to somebody who’d rather see her husband do something he likes than spend forever in retail or middle-management.

IFP: What role do you play in the company?

CB: I’m a contract employee, assigned to lead our various RPG lines in production from start to finish. As managing editor, I work with freelancers and our amazing graphic designer, Digger Hayes, to get each book outlined, written, and completed to Margaret’s high standards and those of the licensing company. As time goes on, I’ve had more responsibility for various areas and, while it’s sometimes hard work, it’s a great deal of fun, too.

IFP: How did Margaret Weis Productions come to create an RPG game for the show Supernatural?

CB: We had a lot of success with our Serenity RPG, and so of course we were keen to explore opportunities to bring our own fresh ideas and experience in RPG design to new licenses. After releasing tie-in product for the Sci-Fi channel’s Battlestar Galactica and indie cult hit Demon Hunters, we succeeded in signing a deal with the Powers That Be at The CW Network for Supernatural. So far, it’s been a great fit for us and a really fun license to work on.

IFP: On top of the regular Supernatural RPG game, you’ve also created a free “quickstart” package set in the SPNverse for those new to RPGs. Why did you decide to do this?

CB: Everybody likes something they can try out first to see if they like it, and quickstart products have become a popular way to let folks do that in the hobby games market. We did things like this before, but this time we really wanted to provide fans of Supernatural with a complete package: rules, characters, and an adventure ready to go. The Hunt Begins lets you play Sam, Dean, or a couple of new characters, without investing anything more than time and maybe some printer paper. We’ve had great feedback on it!

IFP: The Supernatural RPG game includes a forward by one of the show’s writers, Sera Gamble. How involved were the showrunners in the making of the game?

CB: As busy as she was, it was wonderful of Sera to make time to write our introduction! Everything we do at MWP goes by the license holders for approval before it goes to press. We’re fortunate with Supernatural that the creative team has such a strong vision of what the show is supposed to look and feel like, and that carries over into tie-in products like ours.

IFP: How and why did you create the Cortex System?

CB: Serenity RPG author Jamie Chambers really wanted to write a game that fit the style of play he was most comfortable with. Borrowing from older games, especially the original Sovereign Stone RPG by Lester Smith, Serenity’s Cortex System is dramatic, colourful, and easy to learn. Since Serenity, the game has undergone several revisions, and the version we use in Supernatural is specifically tuned to handle the show’s human levels of ability while still allowing for some really scary ghosts, demons, and monsters. Our fans over at http://cortexsystemrpg.org are crazy for Cortex and use it for all sorts of homebrew games.

IFP: What is the development process like for an RPG game?

CB: RPG game development’s not an exact science, and every RPG company has its own process and quirks. For us, we start with a vision for the game that reflects the kind of play experience we think is expected. From there, we go to an outline, sketching out the parts of the book that need to be included, and assign those sections to writers, designers, and artists. As the book comes together, content is edited, playtested, revised, thrown out, put back in, and eventually sent off to graphic designers for layout. Even after the book settles into its final form, it needs to be run by proofreaders and licensing approval. Then it goes to press.

IFP: So what would I have to know if I’m interested in being an RPG writer or designer?

CB: Like anything, I believe you should write (and design) the games you like. For me, finding a fan community that supported and encouraged this kind of thing was essential. Many people start out as unpaid volunteers, or running demos at conventions. Others just publish fan material on their websites or blogs, and get the attention of publishers that way. It really does make a difference if you run or play in games, too – folks can tell an “armchair game designer” from those who regularly play. But always, always be polite, professional, and welcome feedback.

IFP: How would I pitch an original RPG to the company?

CB: Many companies plan their schedules a year or more in advance, and know what their market is and what it wants to see. Few are going to accept an original RPG without knowing more about you and what you’ve done before, and even then it’s going to have to be their sort of game. These days, some of the most successful new RPGs have been self-published games where the creator retains the rights and control over his or her book. Sometimes, these small press games earn such acclaim in the RPG community that bigger publishers strike a deal to bring the game to a larger audience.

IFP: What is the most important detail when designing an RPG?

CB: The most important detail is understanding who you’re writing the game for and what you want the experience of play to be like. This informs everything else. It’s not enough these days just to take an existing set of rules and attach it to a specific world or genre. We’ve learned over the years that gamers know what they want when they see it, so we’re encouraged by our previous efforts to tweak our rules as much as possible to hit that target.

IFP: What other kinds of products do you put out besides RPGs? Why?

CB: In the past, we’ve published board games, card games, and even novels. We’ve decided to focus on RPGs for the time being, but we’re always thinking of other cool things to bring to the hobby!

IFP: What is your most popular title?

CB: The Serenity RPG is probably our most popular line of books so far. The recent Big Damn Heroes Handbook is a runaway success, for instance, and the corebook is in its 6th printing. We’re confident that Supernatural’s also going to be a long-term winner for us, too, because it’s just such a strong premise.

IFP: Do you have any new products/expansions coming up in the future?

CB: We have three new Supernatural books in the pipeline. The next to press is Supernatural Adventures, an anthology of five standalone scenarios by some really talented folks. We’re shooting to get that sent to press this month and in stores by the end of the year. That will be followed by the Guide to the Hunted, which covers every monster, demon, angel, and ghost that’s appeared on the show, as well as some fan-favorite villains, new rules on curses and magic and, of course, the tools you’ll need to make your own supernatural threats. Finally, Spring of 2010 sees the release of the Supernatural Road Atlas, which covers creepy and weird locations all across the USA, both real and imagined, and gives any Supernatural fan a resource for where to stage their next hunting trip.

IFP: If you could be a Lovecraft/Mythos monster (or character), which one would you be? Why?

CB: I’ve been a fan of the King of Shreds and Tatters himself, Hastur, for years. But then I think he’s almost the “hip” Mythos entity these days. Outside of him, I have a soft spot for the goopy monsters like Nyogtha and the Spawn of Tsathoggua. If it can squeeze through a crack in a tomb somewhere, I’m all for it.

IFP: Do you have a favourite Lovecraft/Mythos story? If so, which one is it?

CB: “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” was one of the earliest Lovecraft novellas I recall reading. It was one of the stories in The Dunwich Horror and Others, which I read when I was a moody teenager in New Zealand. I love all of the stories in that collection, but I’m forever stuck connecting them to the greatest hits collection of The Police that I played while reading it.

IFP: Please tell us about your other upcoming projects.

CB: There are a couple of new projects I’m really excited about that I can’t actually tell you anything about yet! It’s one of the downsides to playing in the licensing sandbox. They, and the upcoming Supernatural projects, are keep me pretty busy!

IFP: What is your dream project?

CB: I’ve been really fortunate in that I already got to work on my dream project when I joined the design team for Dragonlance a few years ago. Of course, realizing one dream just means you get to think of others, so I’m still looking forward to the day that I can write for comic books, or design a superhero RPG, or hang out with Neil Gaiman. I’m fairly down to earth, though, and I’ve learned to be excited and motivated by whatever I’m working on at the moment.

Bio: Born in the mythical antipodean utopia of New Zealand, regarded by filmmakers as the only place on Earth capable of filling in for Middle Earth, Narnia, and Ancient Greece, Cam Banks was lured away by the siren call of a life with meaning and purpose. He now lives a quiet, pastoral existence in southeastern Wisconsin. When not acting as RPG developer for Margaret Weis Productions, Cam reads and writes fantasy fiction, watches movies and television with his beautiful wife, plays video games with his oldest son, and allows his youngest son to chip away at his sanity.

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