Interview: Filip Miłuński and Piotr Słaby on Mare Balticum

(Editor's note: Witold Janik is a spokesperson of sorts for Gry Leonardo, the publisher of the 2011 release Mare Balticum, so he had good access to designer Filip Miłuński and artist Piotr Słaby to get background on the game and its unique look. The interviews were conducted in June 2011. —WEM)

Witold Janik: It's well known that most of the titles by Friedemann Friese start with the letter "F". Your next production, which will soon be published by Leonardo Games, is called Mare Balticum. This is the third of your five games which starts with the letter "M"! Coincidence?

Filip Miłuński: Coincidence. However, like Friedemann, I also have a designer's quirk – all of my games need to have player pieces in purple because I play purple.

WJ: Did you study Latin? You know why I ask: Mare Balticum is also your second title after Magnum Sal (created with Marcin Krupiński) in that language. What is the reaction among players to this kind of "language gimmick"? Have you heard any opinions from outside Poland?

FM: I did study Latin, but I don't remember too much. The reason you use Latin for a game title is simple, and it has been used by many publishers for a long time. A Latin title is international. When you publish a language-independent game with instructions in several languages, then a title in Polish or even English is pointless. In such a situation, you choose an abstract title which sounds good in every language because it has no meaning (Dobble, Qwirkle), or geographical names which sound the same in almost every language (Puerto Rico, Salamanca), or Latin (Carolus Magnus, Mare Nostrum, Alea Iacta Est). There are many such board games. As for player reactions, I've not heard any negative opinions; at the same time, no one is especially enchanted by it. I think that the title is really a low priority for the player.

WJ: Okay, let's get to the game itself. Where did you get the idea for a game of fishing in the Baltic Sea? Do you fish? Do you spend your vacations sailing? Are you an amber collector?

FM: I fish, but more and more rarely recently as board games, badminton and bicycling have pushed fishing to the back burner. I also used to sail. The idea came from amber. I wanted to make a game about this Baltic treasure. The first concept was a more complex economic game about the whole amber trade route. However, it evolved into a family game about fishing.

Everything in the box - and the box, too!

WJ: How was it working with the game's illustrator, Piotr Słaby? Who thought up the idea of modeling clay?

FM: I have to say in all honesty that working with Piotr is a true pleasure. He's a very creative illustrator, and at the same time he's very communicative and listens to the feedback of the game designer and the publisher. Modeling clay was his own idea, and he actually had to convince us at first, which is hard to believe now, seeing those great final graphics! He did a fantastic job. This is truly something new in the boardgame world. I believe that Piotr has started a whole trend of modeling clay like when Michael Menzel started the trend of pastel art with lots of details on the Pillars of the Earth board.

WJ: What was your reaction? Were you afraid of this "revolutionary" - as some have called it - proposal? Did you have some other vision of your own, or as a game designer do you feel that's not your area of expertise?

FM: At first I thought, "Wow, that's really weird." But I then came to the conclusion that this could be a great selling point to distinguish this game from a sea of other titles. Some people will love it, some will hate it, but no one will be indifferent to this art style. When I saw the first trial graphics, I was quite confident that people would like it. It's obviously not my area of expertise, but I always try to have some influence on the game's appearance and I collaborate on it with the publisher and illustrator.

WJ: Aside from the amazing graphics and light theme, what else do you think will attract potential gamers to Mare Balticum?

FM: The idea of Mare Balticum was to be a very simple family game, which would be fun even for six-year-olds, so from the very beginning, I tried to avoid unnecessary rules complications. The rules are very simple and can be explained in five minutes, and a whole game takes only a half hour, even with five players.

At the same time, my own gamer spirit and the valuable testers of the "Monsoon Group" inevitably made Mare Balticum work well not only as a family game, but also as a filler for experienced players. In the game we have two simple optional rules that enrich the game with more interaction and more diverse strategies. In fact, any group that knows even a few modern games should start playing immediately with the optional rules. The basic version is definitely meant to be played with kids.

Ultimately the players themselves will decide what the strengths of the game are. The testers and I value the smooth and intuitive game play which is congruent with the theme. We have fleets of boats with a certain cargo capacity, several types of fish, and various ports with varying demands for fish. The player has many choices, but they are rather straightforward, so the game does not have downtime.

The game board and the clay model pictured on that board

WJ: Your board games seem to be gaining more and more fans, both in Poland and abroad. What are your future plans? Are there still many prototypes waiting for publication?

FM: I always try to keep developing new titles. Right now, two of my games are already at the initial stage of preparation for publication. Both should be released in the first half of 2012. I'm also working on some other new projects, but at this point I can't say anything concrete about them. I'll just say that I was thinking about players who mainly play two-player games, and also that I am trying my hand at new types of games: an abstract strategy game, and a design with a more American than European approach.

WJ: Are you going to Spiel 2011 to promote your latest game?

FM: I plan to. You will find me at booth 4-120 with Mare Balticum and Magnum Sal.

WJ: A final question: Can you assure our readers that no fish were harmed during the testing of this game?

FM: We consumed a sea of coffee and other drinks during testing, but no fish were harmed at all. Designer's word of honor!

WJ: Thank you very much for the interview. I wish you more successful projects!

FM: Thank you!

•••

Witold Janik: How would you finish the sentence: "Every day Piotr Słaby..."

Piotr Słaby: Thinks up new ideas to keep out of debt. Meanwhile, he tries hard to work doing what he likes and not what he must.

So now I am working with graphic design, even though my university diploma says I am an architect. A large part of my work is making graphics for board games, but perhaps mostly I design logos, posters, leaflets, websites, etc. Because I've always loved to invent and design, I not only illustrate but also try to create games. Besides that I have many other activities, from stupid stuff like playing on the computer to doing quite creative things - but I will not elaborate on that.

An close-up look of the detail on the game board

WJ: Now you've had the opportunity to create a three-dimensional model of the Baltic Sea region. Was this your first work using this technique? Do you have a favorite creative technique, or are you still exploring?

PS: For the purposes of a board game, it was the first time. Earlier I made two posters for which I created three-dimensional paper models: The first was for the Festival of Board Games in Brzeg and the second was for another big board game event; unfortunately it has not been published yet. I think it was very well done, so eventually I should show it somewhere myself.

Of course like all of us, I played with modeling clay in the first years of primary school. Then, if I needed to model something in high school or college, I used clay. I also had a period of gluing together models, painting miniatures, and making landscapes for battle games. That gave me a bit of experience, which was useful while doing the graphics for Mare Balticum. Besides that, thanks to my high school I have professional jeweler training; for five years, I got used to dealing with small delicate objects and learned how to form them, although I must say that modeling clay is a nicer material.

I don't have a favorite technique. I have some tried and true motifs, which I use in various projects, but I'm not attached to them. Sometimes I prefer to do something new. My tastes and ideas change too quickly to lock myself into one style.

Another perspective of the game board model

WJ: Where did this idea come from? Are you a fan of "Wallace and Gromit" or "Neighbors" (a Czech television show)?

PS: No, I'm not especially into stop-motion animated films, although I've always enjoyed them. I really respect the work of animators because if my work with a single static model took so long, I can only imagine what they go through to make thousands of frames.

For a long time I've wanted to create graphics by hand – and at first I wasn't thinking specifically of board games – using what was at hand instead of limiting myself to Photoshop. Computer graphics are overused lately. Because of the simplicity of the software and the wide availability of the Internet, a lot of people are using computer graphics. Even employment agencies offer computer graphics courses for the unemployed.

It is difficult to stand out in such a flood of works – which are sometimes better, sometimes worse, but typically derivative – and to create something different from the rest. So in a bit of contrariness, I decided to play with cutting, pasting and gluing, techniques that seemed to die out with the spread of computers. Fortunately, there is a retro trend lately. Handicrafts are being revived in a surprising way, so some of us feel like spending a few weeks kneading and modeling clay.

WJ: You are self-critical and very demanding of yourself. Using a computer greatly simplifies the process of illustration as you can make any number of changes. How was it in the case of this technique?

PS: Ninety percent of the work was creating the models for the board, player mats, cards and box cover; the rest was computer work. I hardly made any changes to the clay models themselves, except for changes in post production, so to speak.

In Mare Balticum some necessary elements were not done by hand. I was also lucky because I got clients who trusted me and did not request a lot of changes; they didn't change my concept and were open to suggestions. Based on a quick test model, which was not even that great, they decided to do Mare Balticum in clay, which was very encouraging for me. The graphics that have been presented so far were well received on BoardGameGeek and elsewhere, so the gamble paid off, and I hope it will help sales. And help me get my next contract.

I would like to do more game projects in the future with clay or other handcraft techniques. The potential is great, especially with games for kids, but not only for those. A well-done eye-catching board and box cover is a big part of success, especially when the competition is huge. I am sure that Mare Balticum will not disappear in Essen among thousands of other titles.

WJ: This is not the first game you've illustrated. You're working with Phalanx Games Poland, for example, developing prototypes of Teutons and Carolus. Does your familiarity with different games help you in
your work?

PS: Yes, my first professional game art contract was with Los Diablos Polacos, and after that came another one. Perhaps soon wargamers will enjoy their wargames with my art - I have my fingers crossed!

Of course it helps to know games. Thanks to that I have some idea of what a functional game is, although the game designers usually already have an idea of the board layout. I can give clients concrete examples of solutions by naming specific games, or advise against something that didn't work in other games. I will probably face a true challenge when I get a job to do graphics for someone who has no clue about board games.

Knowledge of games is also useful when creating the rulebook, where I happen to catch errors in the text.

WJ: What is your favorite genre or title...?

PS: I like wargames; my favorites are Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage and Combat Commander. When it comes to Euros, I mainly like negotiation, cooperative and deduction games, where half the game play is not on the board but in talking among the players, e.g., Mall of Horror. I also like brainburners like Steam and Age of Steam, which I think are the best of this type. I like Dixit, which works well for small parties. I like interaction. I don't like when someone cheats or stops in the middle of the game when he knows he has no chance.

WJ: We had the "Polish Film School" and the "Polish School of Posters" which were famous all over the world. Observing how Polish illustrators are breaking into "the West" with more and more success each year, do you think it will soon be possible to talk about the "Polish School of Game Illustrators"?

PS: In contrast to the jaded west, Poles are hardworking, ambitious, and still cheap to hire, but the same is true for people living in developing countries, so I do not think that Poles are exceptional in this way. There are more and more talented graphic designers and illustrators from Brazil, Russia and other countries. Poles are only one group among many. I also suppose talking about a "national school" is a little outdated in an era when you can create a project for someone in Singapore who doesn't really care whether you are from Poland, Austria or Australia.

WJ: Thanks a lot for your time!

PS: Thank you, too.

Toot! Toot!