World Interview: Introducing Brandon Perdue’s Swarmworld Arcturus

It was important to me from the start of the project that there be other creators bringing unique perspectives and worlds to Precipice. My own setting of Arbelos is, in some ways, the “safest” of the five initial settings - a grim and gritty war story in a milieu inspired by the mecha series I love. But contrast is vital to art, especially works that care about juxtaposition of themes and ideas. I knew that it was crucial I find people who had different tastes, different experiences, and different ideas to explore. Today, I have the privilege of introducing one of those people: Brandon Perdue!

Brandon was the second person I reached out to about designing a world for Precipice. And unlike the first person, Brandon is someone I didn’t know well before the project, and that has meant I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know him as both a collaborator and as a person.

Max Brooke: Despite the fact that we overlapped at FFG for a number of years, I don’t think we had more than a handful of conversations. I do remember discussing the Real Grade Sinanju you had on your desk.

How did you get into giant robots?

Brandon Perdue: Technically, probably G1 Transformers. I was a little young to be conscious for the height of the toyline’s heyday, but I inherited a box of toys and a generous number of VHS recordings of episodes from my uncle, and I think you could say it was my first fandom. Why would anyone want to watch cartoons about people when they could watch cartoons about robots that turn into cars?

Some years later I got into mecha more properly through MechWarrior 3 and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing when it first ran on Toonami in the US. I don’t remember which of those I encountered first; they were around the same time, and both led me to explore a lot more mecha games and anime.

MB: I had an extremely similar path into mecha, actually, though Beast Wars was my first Transformers fandom! I was more of a dinosaur kid than a truck kid.

When we set out on this journey, you pitched a couple of possible worlds we could build out. What made Swarmworld Arcturus stand out for you as the solid favorite?

BP: I knew I didn’t want to do a straightforward war story — strange impulse for a tabletop minis game, I know. Swarmworld added hooks to have mystery and exploration be a big part of this corner of the Precipice multiverse, and allowed the mechafauna to be characters themselves.

MB: Obviously Swarmworld Arcturus draws from a number of mecha works, but I also really appreciate that you’ve pulled in a lot of wide-ranging influences. What are some of the works or ideas you wanted to be in conversation with as you created this world? 

BP: Though I didn’t set out to do this in the first place, I’ve ended up pulling from and referring to Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama quite a lot, to the point that I eventually just have a character point out this fact. Anything that concerns human explorers discovering and trying to understand something made by a culture they know little or nothing about is relevant here for sure. Another touch point for that, for me, is the flawed but underrated LucasArts adventure game The Dig.

How we relate to non-human life, and what happens when we struggle to find a way to relate at all, is another big theme. There’s definitely touches of Heinlein’s Starship Troopers (more the film than the book) and Haldeman’s The Forever War, Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series (especially the latter half), and Asimov’s Robot novels.

Also Panzer Dragoon.

And, let’s face it, some Transformers.

MB: One conversation we’ve had a number of times is around game fiction and its particular considerations. You’ve written a lot more game fiction than I have - what are some things you think about as you approach game fiction versus, say, novel writing?

BP: I’m sure this is partially a matter of philosophy, but I approach fiction for games as a way to unveil a game’s world and show potential players not just the game-y stuff that can happen — like giant robots fighting — but what the fantasy of existing in this world is. As a player, I come to most games with at least a little roleplay mentality: who am I in this game? What is the gameplay telling me about the life my avatar leads? What fantasy a game is offering me is one of the biggest things that draws me to try a game in the first place, especially for hobby games like this one. That’s why we meet characters who are faun handlers for different purposes in fairly short order; if you’re going to bond with one of these things, why? To what end? What motivation are you bringing to the game table?

I also think it is important to present crises and mysteries to make the world interesting and engaging to explore while not having anyone step in to be the protagonist that saves the day and solves them. That’s not to say there can’t be resolutions and revelations, but I think there needs to be space for game events to feel significant to the players involved in them, even if it’s just at their own kitchen table.

MB: On the topic of secrets of your world, one of my favorite things in your stories (which we’ll be seeing soon) is the way you wrote the fauns themselves. How did you get into the mind of an alien animal robot?

BP: I am disillusioned enough with humanity sometimes that I can see the appeal of being an alien or an animal or a robot, or all three. So I just get into that headspace. (Mostly, but not entirely, joking.)

I have written a lot of alien, animal, and/or robot characters over the years and so it feels fairly natural to me now. Like with any character, it’s key to figure out what they want and how they solve problems, and with giant alien animal robots, sometimes the answers to these questions can be things that would be nonsensical for a human character.

MB: We’ve seen a number of Javier Holguin’s awesome designs for the mechafauna, and we’ll be discussing those more soon. But, just so we have a cool piece to preview here, which of his designs is your favorite?

BP: It is difficult to choose a single one, but probably Zilant! Zil was always conceived as the one I’d go for myself, and Javier nailed that design.

MB: We’ll be releasing the first of the Swarmworld Arcturus next week. What aspect of  your stories are you most excited for people to read? Any specific characters, setting lore, etc?

BP: The fauns. I’ve had fun fitting them into the world, finding their quirks, and dropping hints about others that are out there. I definitely want them to feel like they’re an element of the setting that players can latch on to, and since they are each unique, there’s potentially any faun someone might want out there.

MB: While you’re here, are there any other projects you’d like to plug?

BP: When I’m not writing about giant alien animal robots I’m mostly designing and developing adventures and other content for Son of Oak’s Legend in the Mist, a rustic fantasy RPG, which is definitely some sharp genre whiplash from doing Swarmworld, but I kind of like it that way. And if you play the Arkham Horror RPG, check out Terra Antarctica, which I had a hand in, too.

Thanks for taking the time to chat! Starting next week, we’ll begin posting Brandon’s stories from Swarmworld Arcturus!