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Let's review the design of Pacts & Blades! (Thread)
Written & designed by Lucas Rolim with layout and design by (the incredible) Guilherme Gontijo.
Pacts & Blades is a Moorcockian fantasy RPG with 2 available formats, A5 and US Letter.
Let's look at the visuals...
Written & designed by Lucas Rolim with layout and design by (the incredible) Guilherme Gontijo.
Pacts & Blades is a Moorcockian fantasy RPG with 2 available formats, A5 and US Letter.
Let's look at the visuals...
Exhibit A: Visuals
Gorgeous. The color is rich and heavily saturated. You can practically smell the oil paint wafting off the pdf. This is a great deployment of public domain art.
Deliberate cropping is partly why coupled with high-definition scans.
Gorgeous. The color is rich and heavily saturated. You can practically smell the oil paint wafting off the pdf. This is a great deployment of public domain art.
Deliberate cropping is partly why coupled with high-definition scans.
How to use public art #1: be a vulture.
Pick it to pieces, tear out the parts you like, lop off the other half. You don't have to preserve the original artwork.
Pacts and Blades is nothing but close-ups and Gontijo running a razor down the canvas.
Pick it to pieces, tear out the parts you like, lop off the other half. You don't have to preserve the original artwork.
Pacts and Blades is nothing but close-ups and Gontijo running a razor down the canvas.
How to use public art #2: focus on tone.
P&B has infernal pacts and combat like a wounds trade. The renaissance art with its skulls, velvet-clad fighters, and Catholic imagery hangs together really well as one world, even when the images aren't literal translations of the text.
P&B has infernal pacts and combat like a wounds trade. The renaissance art with its skulls, velvet-clad fighters, and Catholic imagery hangs together really well as one world, even when the images aren't literal translations of the text.
Exhibit B: Typography
Pacts & Blades uses two typeface families. FreightText Pro for the body and Rodchenko for the headers and titles.
What a cool pairing. A little unexpected, actually. I'll explain why in the next tweet. Here are some pictures of the typefaces:
Pacts & Blades uses two typeface families. FreightText Pro for the body and Rodchenko for the headers and titles.
What a cool pairing. A little unexpected, actually. I'll explain why in the next tweet. Here are some pictures of the typefaces:
FreightText is an immensely flexible type family. The serifs, tall x-height, and humanist lines make it very legible and easy to pair with other typefaces.
What's unexpected is Rodchenko. It's based on the constructivism work of Russian artist, Rodchenko, from the 20s and 30s.
What's unexpected is Rodchenko. It's based on the constructivism work of Russian artist, Rodchenko, from the 20s and 30s.
Here's why it's a little unexpected.
Rodchenko is a geometric (re nonhumanist) typeface with straight lines. It's based on 1930s soviet designer, Rodchenko's work. The counter-culture artist to the painterly school that came before him.
Why does it work in Pacts & Blades?
Rodchenko is a geometric (re nonhumanist) typeface with straight lines. It's based on 1930s soviet designer, Rodchenko's work. The counter-culture artist to the painterly school that came before him.
Why does it work in Pacts & Blades?
How to pair fonts:
Aim for harmony or aim for contrast. If you contrast, contrast a lot but keep it in theme with the game.
Rodchenko is rigid. It is authoritarian. It is rules incarnate. And yet it's Avant-Garde. It's the opposition to the flowery decadence of its time.
Aim for harmony or aim for contrast. If you contrast, contrast a lot but keep it in theme with the game.
Rodchenko is rigid. It is authoritarian. It is rules incarnate. And yet it's Avant-Garde. It's the opposition to the flowery decadence of its time.
Rodchenko pops from the rich texture of the art. Design-wise, it's as contrast-y as they come. And yet its rigid forms are harmonious with what players *do* in the game.
Forge pacts with devils. Trade wounds with blades. Look at charts. Slide difficulty scales like a merchant.
Forge pacts with devils. Trade wounds with blades. Look at charts. Slide difficulty scales like a merchant.
Rodchenko shouldn't pair well with Freightsans (geometric and humanist typefaces rarely mix), but Rodchenko is acting as an extension of the art. It rarely stands alone.
Instead, it creates the silhouette of the art by being the dividing line between matter and substance.
Instead, it creates the silhouette of the art by being the dividing line between matter and substance.
Exhibit C: Layout
Pact & Blades is all about white space and full-bleed imagery. This is great work by Gontijo. Fastly among the best in the business (hire them). But there's a secret to great layout: great copywriting.
Lucas Rolim gives us a tight game design with brief copy.
Pact & Blades is all about white space and full-bleed imagery. This is great work by Gontijo. Fastly among the best in the business (hire them). But there's a secret to great layout: great copywriting.
Lucas Rolim gives us a tight game design with brief copy.
When I review layout, the writing decides what the measuring stick will be.
Because the writing is so short and utilitarian, I expect a lot of style and experimentation from the visual designer. What Rolim brings in function and brevity, Gontijo uses to bring style and depth.
Because the writing is so short and utilitarian, I expect a lot of style and experimentation from the visual designer. What Rolim brings in function and brevity, Gontijo uses to bring style and depth.
Also, side-detail: there's a breaking of the grid here where the game's (potentially) most important chart exists above the mast. Maybe it was necessary or a matter of tastes, but I like that it breaks from the pattern.
It makes this singular table feel especially singular.
It makes this singular table feel especially singular.
In conclusion, if you're looking for OSR-style play with tables and high-stakes play, Pacts & Blades will be among the most gorgeous games you can pick up.
Thank god, because I think I accidentally bought it 5 times on itch due to a wi-fi/PayPal error. https://lucasrolim.itch.io/pactsandblades
Thank god, because I think I accidentally bought it 5 times on itch due to a wi-fi/PayPal error. https://lucasrolim.itch.io/pactsandblades
