Join Chris and Sarah of Aethermon Studios as they share their inspiring journey through the world of game development. From the challenges of starting a business to the excitement of conventions, discover how their unique blend of world-building and mechanical design has shaped their games and experiences over the past years!
Q: Please give the readers a short introduction about yourself and Aethermon Studios. What is your “origin” story?
Hi, we are Chris and Sarah from Aethermon Studios.
We’ve always shared a passion for creation. The heroic stories of JRPGs hold a special place in our hearts, but we also love de-digitizing our social time, so tabletop was the perfect medium to express that.
Sarah is a world builder; Chris lives and breathes mechanics, and so we naturally balanced theme versus mechanics by having someone advocating for both throughout development.
Starting is like walking into a dark room—you don’t know what you’re going to run into, and you'll just have to trust that you’ll figure it out as you go. Everything from manufacturing, talent management, tax, logistics, marketing, and graphic design can seem overwhelming, but once you put yourself out there, you start finding resources and help from people who have walked this path before. It’s amazing how much you learn out of necessity.
When it comes to our JRPG roots, Pokémon is our most obvious touchstone. Digging deeper, the reason we love these games is that they take players and put them in heroic stories—for this, we keep coming back to two games as references: Kingdom Hearts and Lufia II.
Kingdom Hearts explores characters losing or testing their innocence, centered on well-meaning heroes. Lufia introduced Sarah to epic storytelling in games, balancing humor and seriousness while addressing the pain in grand narratives.
What I love most about Aethermon are the characters. The art is beautiful, and Sarah has written such rich lore for each one (available on every card in Aethermon: Collect). I’m most proud of how we’ve given every character its own mechanical identity. We’ve scoured the world of gaming to integrate as many mechanical archetypes as possible, so whichever character you play will feel unique. Some archetypes are familiar, like healers and speed-based characters, but we also drew inspiration from modern gaming. For instance, one character channels fighting game ultimate attacks, charging up a powerful move over time. Another character emphasizes co-op mechanics, allowing two players to control the same character, which is ideal for introducing new or younger players.
Q: What was it like starting up in the midst of the pandemic? What were the strategies taken to reach an audience digitally?
During the pandemic, we focused almost entirely on game development. Playtesting was a challenge, but we also saw it as an opportunity. Like everyone else, we suddenly had all this extra time, which allowed us to be far more experimental with mechanics (and throw out a lot of them). We dove deeper into integrating lore into gameplay, knowing that we had time before launch to refine everything.
Coming out of the pandemic, conventions became our primary way of expanding our audience. After two years of purely internal development, seeing people finally play our game was amazing. At PAX Aus, we had people booking playtests days in advance—it was incredible.
One thing we love doing is sending review copies to smaller content creators. Content creators are such an important part of the ecosystem, and being able to give back to them is something we look forward to.
We’ve been really lucky that several retailers and distributors have reached out to us, usually after seeing us at a convention or through reviews online (thanks, content creators!).
Q: Singapore audiences are curious about the state of the tabletop culture in Australia. Any trends or unique characteristics you have observed over the years?
The Australian tabletop scene is very diverse. I’m not sure if that’s a cultural trait or a result of our geography. I’ve heard that Western Australia (far from the more densely populated East Coast) has a huge war gaming scene. Even within cities, you’ll find different interests—party games are incredibly popular right now, but there’s no shortage of players who love a 12-hour Twilight Imperium session.
The industry here still feels young. You can see the growth in the number of board game cafés and smaller conventions popping up. There’s a lot of interest, but it hasn’t quite exploded yet. I’m excited to see how it evolves.
Q: Your first convention experience dates back to 2022 at PAX Aus in Melbourne. What were the key learning points that helped to change your approach to future conventions?
We were incredibly lucky to be winners of the Aus Indie Showcase at PAX Aus 2022. This award came with a free table to showcase our game at Australia’s largest convention.
It would not be an understatement to say we wouldn’t be where we are today without this award.
Every creator, no matter what they’re making, loves what they create. But only by exposing it to the world do you discover if there is an audience that desires your creation.
PAX Aus is where we found that audience. The support from the PAX Aus community gave us the courage to take Aethermon around the world, including ABGF Singapore 2024!
Q: You were at the Asian Board Games Festival (ABGF) held in Singapore in 2024, where you showcased Aethermon: Collect. Please share your experience during the event. How was the reception of Singapore crowds to the game?
The Singapore audience was amazing!
In many ways, ABGF is much smaller than the other conventions we attended in 2024 (PAX Aus, UKGE), but the community around the event was so much more intimate and welcoming.
We got to meet so many creators from across Asia, and we’re honored to be part of the ABGF alumni.
One of the cool things about Aethermon: Collect is that it can be played both competitively and cooperatively. The first thing I ask any group before they start playing is, "Do you want to play competitively or cooperatively?" What was particularly interesting about the Singaporean crowd is, oh my god, they are competitive.
In Australia, we see about a 50:50 split between competitive and cooperative players. In Singapore, it was 90:10 in favor of competitive play. I loved it!
We asked players about this trend, and many simply said, "Singaporeans are natural gamers."
Q: For the upcoming games, Aethermon: Adventure and Aethermon: Ascent, how has the development of your games evolved and how have you used both games to connect the Aethermon universe?
Aethermon: Collect, which was showcased at ABGF, was born from a really interesting design challenge—we wanted to create a game that could double as a lore book for our characters in our larger games (Adventure and Ascent). This led to a pared-back game that still offers a complete experience in about 10 minutes.
Aethermon: Adventure and Ascent, on the other hand, go in the opposite direction. In these games, we condense a full JRPG campaign into a single tabletop session. Players will bond with and battle the creatures introduced in Aethermon: Collect, each of which has a unique mechanical identity.
As for how the universe comes together:
Adventure is the story people probably expect from Aethermon. Players start in a small town, dueling in dojos to become the Aether League Jr. Champion—but things go off the rails at the climax. Ascent is a different kind of experience, incorporating roguelike elements. It serves as a prequel, explaining the origins of the events that occur at the climax of Adventure.
You’ll have to wait and see how it all comes together!
Q: Any advice you may have for new and upcoming board game designers who want to break out into the board game industry?
The independent tabletop industry is one of the most supportive communities I’ve ever been a part of. We’ve traveled around the world showcasing our game, and everywhere we’ve gone, we’ve met amazing people willing to share their knowledge.
Go to events like ABGF, talk to designers, join local tabletop design groups online, and follow Singapore Boardgame Design. Ask questions and share your ideas—there are people out there who were once where you are now and are eager to help.
Q: Looking back, what is the greatest accomplishment from the past 5 years of starting Aethermon Studios? And what is something that audiences can eagerly expect from Aethermon Studios in 2025?
Professionally, our greatest achievement is probably winning the Best Tabletop Game award at SXSW Sydney 2023.
But on a personal level, the most rewarding experience is when people come back to us at conventions and say that we were the highlight of their weekend. People only have so much time to spend with their loved ones, and they chose our game to be part of that time—it’s truly humbling.
Going forward in 2025, we hope to finally crowdfund Aethermon: Adventure. It’s been a five-year journey to get here, so we’re incredibly excited.
Q: Where can we find your games?
You can find out more about our games at Aethermon.com. We also have some copies of Asthermon Collect for sale at the SBD webshop.
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