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Passing - L'interview

Matt

• 2 min read

Back in March 2022, Loki and I had the fantastic opportunity to interview game designer Sarah 'Sam' Saltiel for the JDOM (Les Jeudis d'Outre-Manche). During this one hour interview, we discussed the creative process behind 'Passing' (Magpie Games) and how the game explores the singular and profound themes of identity and belonging trough the lens of Science-Fiction an Tabletop Roleplaying Game.

Note: The opening is in French, but the conversation was conducted in English (staring 01:10)

Passing (Ashcan Edition)

In 'Passing' you are playing a shapeshifting alien in the suburbs of 1950’s America.

The year is 1956. A decade ago, Earth received its first confirmation of extraterrestrial life when the spaceship Ocean-Seeker crashed to the ground. Since then, two more ships came from the planet Sun-Lost, trying to rescue those who were stranded. You were on one of those ships. All rescue missions have failed.

Welcome to Walnut Hills, a quiet suburb near DC where you and the other members of your alien Cell live in human form, trying to avoid suspicion. You look like an upstanding member of the community: you go to work, you chat with your neighbors, maybe go to the Sunday potluck and talk about the government’s new alien eradication policies (wouldn’t want those scary aliens taking over our planet, who knows what they’ll do?). But when no one’s looking, you’re sneaking through the alien testing facility to release your captured family, or maybe you’re trying to infiltrate the Alien Eradication Unit in what the humans would call “covert ops”. Every day the world becomes more dangerous. How far are you willing to go to stay alive?

Passing is a PbtA tabletop role-playing game where you play shapeshifting aliens in the suburbs of 1950’s America.

'Passing' Actual Plays by JDOM (French)

This playlist features all the episodes of 'Passing' produced by JDOM (Loki performing one of his finest works as a GM). The APs were streamed live on Twitch between October 2021 and February 2022 - see more on the Youtube channel of the JDOM.

Credits: Passing - L'interview © 2022 Les Jeudis d'Outre-Manche - all rights reserved. Passing (Ashcan) ©2019 Sarah “Sam” Saltiel / Magpie Games - all rights reserved.