Shadow / Giant - Five Minutes, Not 5e Transcript

The cover of Shadow / Giant by Luka Brave (Psychhound Games)

Transcript

DANIEL COPPER: Welcome to the inaugural entry of Five Minutes, Not 5e! My name is Daniel [Copper], otherwise known as The Copper Compendium, and I’ll be your host! Here, I chat with the designers of lesser-known tabletop role-playing games about games they created, drilling down into the core of what makes their game tick. I’m joined today by Luka, otherwise known as Psychhound Games. Would you like to introduce yourself, and the game we’ll be chatting about today?

LUKA BRAVE: Howdy, I'm Luka Brave, a.k.a. Psychhound, I'm a TTRPG [Tabletop Role-Playing Game] designer and academic who likes to explore the effect that tabletop role-play can have on our mental health and wellbeing. I'm here today to talk about Shadow / Giant, which is a game centred on the lone wolf and cub trope. One player is a gruff, jaded adult who supposedly has given up on the world and the other player is a traumatised child with some sort of superhuman power. Together they have to find somewhere safe to live in a world that's out to get them.

DANIEL: Without further ado, let’s jump into the questions! What genre is the game, and what are some relevant cultural touchstones?

LUKA: So the game is actually somewhat genre-agnostic, meaning you can choose the exact genre you want to plug it into but there's always some sort of fantastical element to it. In the game it gives you examples of potential stories in the dystopian, sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal genres, so there's definitely flexibility, and the game draws inspiration from different genres as well. Some big touchstones for me were The Last of Us and The Walking Dead games, the movie Logan, and the Bioshock series, but if you check out the "badass and child duo" TV Tropes page, there's so many examples in this niche: Berserk, True Grit, The Mandalorian, the Hound and Arya in Game of Thrones – there's a lot out there, and of course the manga Lone Wolf and Cub from the 70s was the originator of the trope.

DANIEL: How many players is it for, and how long does it last?

LUKA: So the game takes exactly two people and neither of them are in charge of running the game – they both have their character and they pass who narrates scenes back and forth, meaning who controls the setup, the environment, and any other characters you may run into. You can think of a session like a movie, if you're doing one session only, or like an episode of a TV show, if you're going for multiple sessions. They typically last one to three hours but it's really just what the players agree on; each session should explore and wrap up one little segment of the story.

DANIEL: What do you need to play, and how quickly can you learn?

LUKA: Five six-sided dice – four for the Giant and one for the Shadow – so if you've got any board games lying around the house, you're probably good to go. As far as learning, you can read the whole game in under 20 minutes and the core rules for each character fit on one page, so it's pretty easy to just pick up and play.

DANIEL: What might a typical session involve?

LUKA: Some of that depends on what genre you decide to set your story in and how old your characters are but all the gameplay comes in a cycle of the Giant sets the scene first, both characters react to that setup, if the outcome of something is unsure, make rolls, and then the scene might go smoothly, or your roll might introduce complications, setbacks or dangers. You pass who narrates scenes back and forth until that bit of the story feels wrapped up or otherwise you feel you’re at a good cliffhanger for next time. But you can definitely expect a mix of slice-of-life domestic stuff versus weird dangerous magic powers, coming-of-age versus grappling with the past, quiet emotional bonding versus high-stakes imminent danger. Ultimately, though, the two players set the tone and what they want to see or avoid in the game.

DANIEL: How have you made it accessible to beginners, and people with specific needs?

LUKA: So, accessibility is a really big topic for me, both as a disabled person myself and as a former social worker for fellow disabled people, so in addition to the version with the cool layout, there are three files on my itch [itch.io] page that are just text: one is in black and white, one with a dark background, and one that’s in a font designed to be dyslexia-friendly, with extra-large, coloured text and bolded and coloured keywords. I’m also gunna be including an audiobook version soon, for folks who find it easier to listen through the rules rather than read it. And for beginners, most of the book is exploration of genre, set up, and ideas for characters, while the actual rules fit on about three pages, so it’s very easy to pick up and try without a lot of hassle.

DANIEL: Thanks so much, Luka, for chatting with me about Shadow / Giant. I hope this interview helped those of you listening get to grips with the game’s themings and play, and I look forward to hearing from those of you who check the game out. Where can people find you and your games, Luka?

LUKA: You can find me as “Psychhound” on itch.io, Tumblr and Bluesky, as well as on psychhound.com.

DANIEL: You can find those links, as well as links to the transcript of this entry and links to the game, in the video description [below, here]. If you want to find games with similar themes or gameplay to this one, there’ll also be links to relevant playlists.

And that rounds out this entry of Five Minutes, Not 5e! If you want to hear me chat further with Luka about Shadow / Giant, check out the Beyond Five Minutes episode, where we’ll delve into inspirations for the game, the design process, and his favourite dynamics. Until then, thanks for listening. Until next time!

[End of transcript.]

Links

The Game and its Designer

Get the game: https://psychhound.itch.io/shadow-giant

Find Luka on itch.io: https://psychhound.itch.io/

Check out Luka's website: https://psychhound.com/

Find Luka on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/psychhound.bsky.social

Find Luka on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/psychhound

Relevant (YouTube) Links

Shadow / Giant - Beyond Five Minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXZgYALUwXY

Shadow / Giant - Beyond Five Minutes Transcript: https://thecoppercompendium.co.uk/shadow-giant-beyond-five-minutes-transcript

Found-family: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsLJ-CI8A8CD1Q86CcJBeKBtF4-Yn9ttR

Without A Guiding Player: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsLJ-CI8A8CAd6O-NXiFRkooGlQ-cMieR

Two-Player: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsLJ-CI8A8CDkUvqiDsyIzLA8n2KbBXg4