about

Irreverant rebels caught in the jaws of a neverending war.

When my writing partner and I set out on this project, the goal was to construct a way for people to play Beam Saber as a street gang. Typically this RPG is designed to put the player in the body of a soldier strapped into a government-owned war machine. We sought to bring a different perspective, focusing on the people outside the official structures that are waging the war, yet trapped in it still. As part of that it was my job to lead the visual design, giving us a gritty but irreverant aesthetic that combined the feel of scrappy street crew from our favorite video games with a wartorn cyberpunk future.

playbooks
Seeking out an engaging and nostalgic style that evoked the feeling of street art in gritty city, I found myself coming back again and again to the grainy photobashed style of late 90's video game magazine ads. The final result for the key art is a combination of open source photos, 3d models, and my own painting.

Arbiter

Insightful, Fastidious, Calculating
  • predict everything
  • beat them to the punch
  • see through them
EXPAND

Graviton

Fearless, Ethereal, Untethered
  • ride the edge
  • define reality
  • anchor yourself
EXPAND

Praetor

Vengeful, Righteous, Legion
  • turn the tables
  • protect the streets
  • pet your robot dog
EXPAND

Rider

Flexible, Faithful, Fast
  • meet the people
  • save the day
  • move on
EXPAND

Scrapmaster

Crafty, Unbreakable, Artist
  • break it!
  • fix it!
  • invent new ways to do both
EXPAND

Arbiter

Insightful, Fastidious, Calculating
  • predict everything
  • beat them to the punch
  • see through them
EXPAND

Graviton

Fearless, Ethereal, Untethered
  • ride the edge
  • define reality
  • anchor yourself
EXPAND

Praetor

Vengeful, Righteous, Legion
  • turn the tables
  • protect the streets
  • pet your robot dog
EXPAND

Rider

Flexible, Faithful, Fast
  • meet the people
  • save the day
  • move on
EXPAND

Scrapmaster

Crafty, Unbreakable, Artist
  • break it!
  • fix it!
  • invent new ways to do both
EXPAND
layout

Everything begins with inspiration.

Scans courtesy of Retromags.com

I started the quest by collecting references from the best gaming magazines the 90's had to offer. Shortly after it was off to the races with laying out the supplement's pages.

Mockup Cover Interior Mockup
A nice grungy halftone gradient.
style guide
R: 218 G:54 B:141
H:328 S:75 L:85
#da368d
R: 58 G:25 B:45
H:324 S:57 L:23
#3a192d
R: 218 G:54 B:141
H:328 S:75 L:85
#da368d
R: 58 G:25 B:45
H:324 S:57 L:23
#3a192d
Chakra Petch
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