My name is Will Hindmarch. I’m a freelance writer and designer (graphic, narrative) of stories, worlds, and games. I write fiction, poetry, and calligraphy. I practice portrait drawing and cartography when I can. Want to help?

I learned a lot as a staff developer at White Wolf Game Studio, helped design the online story game called Storium, and taught world-building in places like the Shared Worlds camp, the Bodecker Foundation, and the design festival called Metatopia. I co-run Level Eater Adventures, producing actual-play events to support various non-profit operations in the world.

Nathan Paoletta and I created the complete Design Games podcast, which is still out there in the world. Together with Jeff Tidball, I co-founded the publishing outfit at Gameplaywright, producers of Hamlet’s Hit Points by Robin D. Laws. (I co-wrote the award-winning tabletop RPG campaign, Eternal Lies, with Jeff, too.)

Along the way, I’ve done design for the Worldbuilders charity organization and Wil Wheaton. As a writer I’ve worked on projects like Lord of the Rings Online and served clients like Fantasy Flight Games and Wizards of the Coast. I helped create the Fiasco playset for that Tabletop episode.

As a freelancer, a lot of the work I want to explore and create isn’t a good fit for my clients—or is something I want to retain ownership of—so this Patreon makes it possible for me to produce essays, articles, maps, and other creations that appeal to readers, game players, and aficionados like us. Honestly, this Patreon campaign also makes it possible for me to support other Patreon campaigns that I otherwise couldn’t afford.

Your support helps me buy time to write articles covering a variety of topics, from game design and game play, to media analysis and storytelling technique. I publish some content as letters directly to my patrons. More formal works go up online at Magic Circles.

Some of my more popular articles include:

• “Adapting Video Games for Tabletop Play” explores techniques for video-game-style play in tabletop roleplaying games
• “What THE MUMMY (1999) Shows Us RPG Players About Tone” considers how antics can get edited into real stakes
• “A Gunslinger Versus the Evil Wizard” looks at Han Solo’s confrontation with Darth Vader at Cloud City
• “Cinematic Plays: Moving Imagery” examines how cinema can influence tabletop gameplay—in depth
• “Konamic Poetry” adapts the famous Konami Code into a poetic meter. Seriously.

Note: In 2021, this campaign is changing shape a bit to include more world-building in support of gameplay and readers. Magic Circles essays continue, but bolstered by regular content describing imaginary places and fictional people, suitable for home play.

Thanks for making time for me and my work. I appreciate it.

Onward.