Interview with Daniel Kast

Computerized gaming rules all! Or does it? Certainly, in the modern era, few pastimes can be considered as ubiquitous as gaming on a PC or console. Be it in America, Taiwan, Germany, or Brazil, people have been putting away their game boards and picking up their joysticks. And who could blame them? Few experiences can be as engrossing as playing a modern, glitzy computer game. No rules to read, to dice to throw---just action-packed, visually-stunning goodness.

However, a closer look reveals that silicon domination is not as complete as it may first appear. Despite claims to the contrary, the rumors of the death of non-computerized gaming have been greatly exaggerated. For, similarly across the globe, old-fashioned forms of gaming have not just survived, one could argue that they are actually thriving. It would seem that there are more than a few latter-day gaming Luddites out there; individuals who crave those elements that are noticeably missing from the realm of computer gaming. Be it the simple pleasure of gaming with physical pieces, or the unique camaraderie that can only result when friends sit hunched over a shared game board, the realm of microprocessor-free gaming has an allure that is in demand and will not be fading anytime soon.

One individual who is a testament to this mindset is Daniel Kast of Majestic Twelve Games. Over the years, Mr. Kast has spent a great deal of effort proving that miniatures still have a lot of entertainment value to offer the world. Offering a unique line of rulebooks, covering fantasy, sci-fi, and sci-fi/historical hybrid gaming universes, Mr. Kast is the embodiment of the power of the creative spark at work.

Gamesquad had the pleasure to ask this rising star of the gaming world a few questions about himself, his line of games, and the direction the hobby is taking.

GS: Can you tell us a little about yourself and MJ12 Games?

Daniel: Sure! I was born at an early age, in the great city of Chicago, Illinois. Once getting over the realization that I would never be an All-Star relief pitcher, I decided it might be a good idea to earn a degree of some sort. So I got two: a BA in English (‘94) and an MS in Library and Information Science (‘96), both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Along the way, I discovered the joys of wargaming via FASA’s Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator, which I was going to use in a role-playing campaign we had started. Although it was a hoot to play, and the basis of many a night’s entertainment, there were always things I wanted to change about it; so, I started looking into other starship combat games, but none were exactly what I wanted. So I wrote my own.

Starmada was the first “product” of what would become Majestic Twelve Games, although it was not originally released as such—it was just a set of rules I put out on Usenet’s rec.games.design for some feedback, which was mostly positive. Things grew from there, until MJ12 became the juggernaut it is today.

Also, I can sing all six verses of “Rule, Britannia”.

GS: Many of your games have some sort of basis in science fiction. Why is that?

Daniel: Well, it’s sort of the default for MJ12, since Starmada was our first product, but I’ve discovered other reasons to focus on science fiction.

Unless you want to create strictly historical games (which I have found to be exceedingly painful) there are only two options available for a setting: fantasy and science fiction. While I worship Tolkien as much as the next guy, his influence hovers over the genre of fantasy and severely limits what you can do—e.g., you pretty much have to have elves and dwarves and orcs, and they all generally have to look and act the way that elves and dwarves and orcs are “supposed” to. Breaking out of that mold takes a lot more effort and creativity (and patience) than I have…

On the other hand, while science fiction has its own elephants in the room (Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5, etc.), there’s not the same expectation of conformity—you can do whatever the heck you want.

Iron Stars is an interesting mix of H. G. Wells’ science fiction and actual history. How did this unique idea for Iron Stars come about?

Iron Stars grew out of an early idea for our dreadnought-era naval game, Grand Fleets. Although the game mechanics eventually gave way to something more realistic, I still felt like they were worth pursuing—and I needed a setting in which to use them. I’ve been a fan of Wells for a long time, and while there have been numerous retellings of The War of the Worlds (some better than others), there have been precious few attempts to expand upon the “universe” of WotW (I know of only two, actually). Since I wanted to maintain the dreadnought-type “feel” of the game, it seemed to make perfect sense to tie the Edwardian Space Race to Wells’ Martian Invasion.

GS: Iron Stars features some very elegant rules. Do you find that there is a necessary tension between ease of play and realism when creating a rules set?

Daniel: Absolutely! That is the primary design decision that must be made in any board- or wargame. While many players have a distinct preference for playability over realism, or vice versa, I’ve found that as long as the designer finds the appropriate spot on that continuum and stays there, you can win over most of them.

For example, Starmada is clearly light on realism and heavy on playability—and we’ve done everything we can to ensure that it stays that way, despite the temptation to add more complexity to the game. Because of this, players know what they are getting into, and even fans of Star Fleet Battles (way on the other side of the continuum) still enjoy Starmada.

I myself am firmly on the playability side, but I have designed games that focus more on realism—such as Grand Fleets, which is much less abstract than many of our other games. Actually, that’s probably a better way to view the tension; abstraction vs. detail, rather than playability vs. realism, especially since I find “realism” to be an interesting concept when applied to games of fantasy and science fiction…

GS: Southern Front is the latest addition to the Iron Stars line. What does it bring to the Iron Stars universe?

Daniel: Southern Front brings our timeline forward to the brink of what promises to be the defining moment in the Iron Stars history, just as it was in reality—the Great War. Although humanity was clearly humbled by the Invasion, it’s been over a decade since the Martians were “defeated”, and Earth-side rivalries are flaring up all over the globe; the existence of ether-navies only adds to the tension, as no one wants to give up control of space. The expansion adds several new factions to the game, among them the Soviets, Spanish, the ABC Powers, and the Italians.

At the same time, there is still much apprehension about what Mars has next on its agenda—and what powers like the Soviets and British are doing with captured technology. While I don’t want to give anything away, those who want to know why the Martians have been silent won’t have to wait very long for an answer…

GS: What does the future hold for Iron Stars?

Daniel: I kind of hinted at some of this above, but our intent is to continue the timeline at least through the 1930s—and since it’s taken two supplements to get through the first ten years of the century, that means a lot more work is left to be done! Also, I’ve been hankering to do a “far future” version of the game; whether that means accelerating the existing Iron Stars timeline a few hundred years or developing a completely different setting—well, I haven’t decided yet.

Finally, with the Great War looming on the horizon, there may be a need to handle combat on the surface—which means variants for wet-navy battles and perhaps even land warfare.

GS: Despite PCs, game consoles, even cell phone gaming, miniatures and board games continue to thrive. Why is that?

Daniel: Although technology has its advantages, and on many levels helps connect people like never before, it still doesn’t satisfy the need for face-to-face contact, not to mention the tactile pleasures of picking up a heavy miniature or rolling a handful of dice. Although most will likely continue to be focused on computer/console gaming, there will always be a sizeable minority who prefer board- and tabletop gaming.

GS: As a follow-up question, what type of future do you see for miniatures and board games?

Daniel: If the last twenty years are any indication, I think we will continue to see more refinement—the popularity of “German”-type games indicates that people appreciate elegant rules and aesthetic presentation; something the industry will have to continue to embrace, if only to keep the attention spans of players used to flashy console games. In addition, there will have to be continued movement towards attracting younger players—which the collectible market has been doing with great success. The challenge will be to transition players to more traditional board- and wargames as they outgrow things like Heroclix and Yu-Gi-Oh.

GS: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.