Meet Larry Grayson | Game Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Larry Grayson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Larry, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I suppose that after 10 years in corporate America, I got tired of punching a clock and working for other people. Gray Orc Games is the 6th business I’ve started. This time, I wanted to tackle something for the fun of it rather than for the financial gain. I’ve been a “game player” for as long as I can remember and wanted to try my hand at game development.
I started X-Tile Games with my game development partner, Mic Mell about 15 years ago. We were sitting around his swimming pool playing a game and he said, “Hey, we can design something more fun than this!” I said, “OK, but it needs to be crazy.” He replied, “No, it needs to be INSANE!” So we came up with Urban Insanity. It was 10 years in development and now has 10 expansions. It’s become an icon at DragonCon every year and people show up just to play the game.
After designing a couple of card games on my own under Gray Orc Games (Judafuda and Quest for the Crest), I decided to try my hand a developing a game with miniatures. I love the “Wild West” genre and there didn’t seem to be many western games available, so I started working on A Town Called Despair, a 3D western street fighting game, complete with a western town and four outlaw gangs and a Zombies expansion. Everyone who plays it loves it, so I have three more expansions in various stages of development.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Although I got into the game design business quite by accident, I have been designing card games, bard games and miniature games for about 20 years now.

I guess what sets me apart is that I design my games with the following in mind:

1. The game needs to be fun for anyone who plays the game, regardless of whether or not they are an experienced or novice game player.

2. The rules need t0 be comprehensive, easy to understand, and easy to find things in.

3. The game must have a high degree of replay-ability. In other words, it should be just as much fun playing it the 100th time as it was the first time.

Some of the lessons I’ve learned:

1. Art and flashy stuff sells games, but the design is what keeps people playing it.

2. I’m never going to get rich designing and publishing games, so I better have fun doing it.

3. If you’re going to have expansion sets, the components should be able to fit into the base game box.

4. Support your local game stores. Kickstarter on other crowd funding sites are great, but make sure you don’t flood the market before the game stores get a chance to sell the game.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Probably one or two of the following in Atlanta, Georgia:

1. Go see a Braves game.
2. Visit the Georgia Aquarium.
3. Provino’s, Longhorns, and Buffaloes.
4. Grill some steaks in the back yard and mix up the margaritas.
5. Rent a pontoon boat for the day on Lake Lanier.
6. Play some board games or card games in the evening.
7. Couple of rounds of golf.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My wife and soulmate, Joyce, who never complains about the long hours I spend developing games, going to game stores, and attending conventions, even though she is not a game player herself.

My son, Paul Grayson, who has been my favorite game partner and always comes up with great ideas around any game I’m developing.

My partner, Mic Mell, who was crazy enough to jump in with me to launch our first game.

My first business partner and mentor, John Hamon, who taught me that anything can be achieved with dedication and hard work.

Website: https://www.grayorc.games

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089307152712