Andrew Navaro: Games for Hope
An interview with the founder of Earthborne Games
I had the privilege of speaking recently with Andrew Navaro, founder and creative director at Earthborne Games. Andrew is in his 20th year in tabletop gaming and has earned a lot of respect in the industry. I recently wrote an article about his studio’s first game, Earthborne Rangers, which he describes as a “cooperative adventure card game for 1-4 players set in the wilderness of the far future”1.
I’m sharing this interview via video to see how the medium works in Substack. Let me know what you think about how well the format works. For the record, I was terrified the entire time that Zoom was about to cut us off (it was a last-minute pivot from Google Meet), so if I look bored or distracted, that’s just my time-management face. Also, that’s Andrew’s real-life background in the video, which it’s hard not to envy on a Portland January day.
Sustainable Manufacturing for Games
In which we discuss background noise, Andrew’s vision of minimizing harm to the environment and making it a priority in decision-making, finding a great partner in Ludo Fact, and the impact of the Earthborne model on Stonemaier Games and others.
Images of the Future in Earthborne Rangers
In which I ask an overly long and expository question, and then we discuss the philosophical differences between cyberpunk and ponchopunk, the benefits of a far future setting for letting audiences fill in the intermediate steps, spiritual awakening as a key to building a better future2, letting messages emerge vs preaching in games, and shade for Daybreak3.
Setting, Mechanics, and Goals
In which we discuss how the creative choices in Earthborne Rangers drives the meaning players find in it, in the value of removing some natural or conventional options (being a jerk, combat/killing as the main way of resolving issues), environmental interaction and de-centering players, and creating worlds that people enjoy spending time in.
Hope for Humanity
In which we discuss the cultural current of pessimism/doomerism, hope for the future as a corrective, human pride, and the gratification of knowing that what you create may transform someone’s life.
Thanks again to Andrew for agreeing to the interview and for the great conversation. If you enjoyed this interview and like tabletop games but you’ve made it this far without picking up a copy of Earthborne Rangers, I’d encourage you to check out either their US distributor Covenant Games or their upcoming crowdfunding effort for the next batch of content.
This has a better ring to it than my pitch - “hiking simulator”.
Andrew’s comments here are pretty similar to the views of Richard Slaughter, which I’ve discussed in the past in my examination of the Australian futures community.
That’s a sunlight pun, but to be clear, I’d love to interview you too, Matt Leacock.