The Point of Story Games

It’s a heavy day here in the CPG office, so I wanted to drop the “conspiracy theorist” character and talk about our tabletop passion. Jake and I are not on Kickstarter to make a lot of money. We make games to give us more ways to engage with our friends (both present and future) and enjoy their company. There are a lot of emotions out there in the world right now; we want to reinforce the beliefs we value as game makers and explore the positive qualities of story games. Intrinsic to this are convictions about equality and acceptance.

Story games are vehicles to cooperatively tell a story with other people. That means listening to them. That means witnessing them channel their emotions, their experiences, their lives, into a character. People get to explore a world and interact with each other through a special lens. They can challenge themselves with difficult topics and feel the safety net provided by the game’s abstraction. They can act in ways normal society either doesn’t let them or doesn’t prefer them to. They can be bold, aggressive, caring, sensitive, sad, angry, or powerful in a game when the real world pressures them against such behaviors. The story liberates people from expectations and lets them have fun with each other.

In designing and playing these games, we found some amazing story gaming communities. There is an overwhelming positivity in these groups. Everyone is happy to be playing, hosting, and hanging out with each other. They also accept everyone for who they are. Race, sexual orientation, gender identity, income level, experience, nothing like that matters. What matters is an individual’s willingness to listen and cooperate: to not just work together, but to actually acknowledge and enjoy each other’s thoughts.

CPG is founded based on the love of happiness and community. Everyone in this industry that’s worth a damn is. We make games to create experiences. We want you to have meaningful conversations with friends; to learn about each other while laughing over a wacky scene and crazy characters; to explore emotions, feelings, and problems together from a place of acceptance. We want everyone to sit down at a table and be happy. That requires tolerance, understanding, and love for a diverse range of people. Play a game, tell a story, and listen to each other. You’ll find plenty to love in your fellow humans.

-- Alex Jerabek, CPG Creative Directo