This is a post about the creation and purpose of Fabric Gaming. I have fully accepted, at this point, that I am indeed a creative, though I may have not always admitted it. Years ago (around 2015) out of boredom, like all good things spring, my friends and I decided to attempt our hand at very casual, mostly written or imagined role playing gaming. Our ideas quickly developed in complexity and rules beyond a manageable scope before waning somewhat. We would work on it occasionally, but eventually it became just me pursuing some blurry vision of what I imagined the game could become. I wanted it to be the most enjoyable game that could be made, the one that everyone would want to play. At some point it dawned on me, however, that if I were ever somehow successful in this endeavor, I wouldn’t really own it. You see, my friends and I had put the setting in an already-existing, beloved, and heavily-regulated sci-fi universe. I was pouring time and energy into something that, at best, would do well for someone else or, at worst, get eaten up, changed, or shut down by those that owned the IP. This realization required me to either just give up, or shift gears and start creating my own universe—which I have begun. This has proven a much bigger task than simply creating content in an existing setting. However, this has also proven to be an extremely enjoyable creative outlet that has consumed much of my free time for the past few years. Much of the universe has now been set and the core story is mostly finished. This has given me the freedom to create much more than I ever predicted I would. Anything I do on a purely creative level now has a setting.

The title Fabric Gaming was carefully selected. FABRIC itself will be a feature in most of the games made and is a core part of the lore of the universe. The line “cut from the same cloth” as well as the many examples in which the word “fabric” is used to describe things other than simply cloth–fabric of time/existence/society/etc.–showcase how universal this phrase can be. Fabric is what we are made of, who we are, where we come from, what we can do, and what the world is made of. The logo of Fabric Gaming has a roll of fabric unfurling into DNA to sum up this sentiment. The other side to this coin is how much of myself I pour into the things I do. The tagline of Fabric Gaming is “Games Made of Us.” The universe that I have created is what I believe, it’s the things I like, and it’s meant to emulate the truth that I am pursuing in my own life.

The photo for this post is actually very meaningful and serves as a perfect example of what Fabric Gaming is. My mom is an artist, I grew up with her art everywhere, I love her style and could recognize it anywhere. She wanted to draw some sketches of the Fabric Gaming logo and I was more than pleased to let her. What she presented me with was 100% her style, but in what she said was an early draft. In our conversations I quickly learned that our creative process is actually quite similar. While I have never considered myself an artist, I do a lot with others’ art in my own work. She is from a pencil and light table generation, while I am from a keyboard generation. I combined two pieces of her art to put a semi-finished touch to what she had so far. We sat down together as I showed her my process, and we arrived at the image above. I am beyond grateful for her talent and look forward to more fun projects like this one in the future. Half of what I am made of comes directly from my mother–my “fabric” is the same as much of hers. The rainbow watercolor is from another picture she had previously drawn and is featured on her website. Everything in her world is in shades of rainbow, because “Every color is great, so why choose just one?” Her clothes, decorations, and artwork are all rainbow. The rainbow is the sign of a promise to not destroy. It is an amazing phenomenon that proudly displays itself in the heavens. The rainbow is all-encompassing, and that is my vision for Fabric Gaming. Plus, no artwork of my mother’s would be complete without it.

This last section is dedicated to my recently released card game called Kings. My family has always played card games. Even my first date with my wife involved card games with my family. I have always loved creating games. Putting all that together, it makes sense that a card game would be my first product. Looking at many other original universes for inspiration, I found that most felt empty without some unique game. Star Wars has Pazaak and Sabacc, Star Trek has Fizzbin, Battlestar Galactica has Triad, Fallout has Caravan, and even Game of Thrones has a game called Cyvasse. Some of these seem like great games, some are comical, and some are hard to believe they would ever realistically catch on. We all have playing cards. No matter what card game is your favorite, it is probably played using the familiar 52-card deck. I wanted to create a card game that could stand the test of time like our 52-card deck has (500+ years). The aspects that make a card game, or a deck of cards, stand the test of time include whether it is adaptable, portable, easy to set up, has elements of both luck and skill, and an aspect of mystery. Kings has all these attributes while also having an entirely unique feel. An original deck, suits, and card-hierarchy along with unique and flexible gameplay options create a perfect combination of traits that make this game a believable staple in a fictional universe–as well as a fun game to play in ours! Kings is available now! Learn more here.