MFA Graduate Research Project | Landin Brown, Gutted
Landin Brown is an Assistant Professor of Design at Taylor University by day and a freelance designer by night with an emphasis on helping companies bring their vision to life through playful brand identity and packaging design. When he’s not helping raise his two beautiful daughters, Addelyn and Everleigh, with his wife Megan, Landin loves to explore new worlds and fictional characters through games, books, shows, and movies. At Kutztown, Landin was able to expand upon his love for board games by developing multiple concept games that he hopes to one day launch under his own indie publisher brand. The freedom to explore concepts that interested him in courses that gave inspiration and general structure helped him to use his Christian worldview to bring his love of horror, folklore, and legends to life while exploring deeper themes of human existence in a lighthearted, gamified way.
Gutted is the culmination of research exploring the evolving role of the graphic designer within the tabletop gaming sphere. Modern tabletop games are one of a few areas that can capture a perfect cross-section of intentional design due to their physical presence, world-building opportunities, the UX/UI of their cards, and semiotics of their icons, and Gutted aims to showcase this.
The game itself explores the recently touristified harbor town of Gazer’s Gulch, opened up after being shrouded for nearly a century in murky mystery. You, and a number of your most fierce competitors in the seafood industry, are now being invited on behalf of a mysterious Benefactor to set up shop and take advantage of the throngs of tourists flocking to the shores. You haven’t been given much, but your starting space, staff, and access to local supplies should be enough to get your feet wet!
There’s only one catch: only the restaurant that gets the most people hooked will be kept around after Opening Week. All others must shutter their doors and hit the road. Will you have what it takes to float to the top, or will your dreams (and sanity) be gutted with the fish and thrown out with the tide?
Gutted was showcased during a one-night exclusive game night with world-building decorations, informational posters that built out the world, characters, and process, and themed food that invited visitors into next-level immersion of the game’s themes. There was also an opportunity to playtest an initial prototype of the game.
Gutted is an age-appropriate game that has humor interspersed with the uncanny. Even though Gutted and other Ghastly Cactus games are based on weird tales and cosmic horror, I want the intensity and themes to feel friendly and inviting. I hope to attract folks who enjoy games with a sense of strategy and progression, while enjoying unique themes. My games are meant to feel accessible and entertaining instead of overly strategic and intimidating.
More Work by Landin
Ghastly Cactus:
Ghastly Cactus is the name of the independent publishing that Gutted and other games below will be published under. The company’s name is inspired by Landin’s personal life experiences and by the uncanny nature of many of the games being developed. Colors and typography are inspired by classic horror movie combinations and shape language to lean into a slightly campy, vintage feel.
Unsettled West:
Unsettled West is an eldritch engine builder about running a cow ranch while managing your sanity and reputation in a creepy, Western setting. Purchase cows to live on your ranch while hiring ranch hands and building up the town to stave off groups of cow cultists and Mad Cows!
Roadside Relics:
Roadside Relics is a tableau builder and one-way road game about opening a church on the flashy Route 777, a mix of neon lights and stained-glass windows. Attract parishioners through unique relics, clergy, and sacraments. Build up your flock and get your devotees out to convert!
