Authored By Rachel Stewart

Alter Egos is a column that highlights talented geeks in the Chattanooga area, tracing the origins of their favorite pop culture obsessions to their present-day hobbies. Cartoons were the first point of reference for Zach Dugger’s love for drawing and reading comics — two hobbies that would meld into his current love of designing board games. “Growing up, I was particularly invested in cartoons. I absorbed as many as I could,” Dugger explained. “I attribute my ability to draw in the present to my constant practice drawing the cartoons I enjoyed as a kid. ‘Dragon Ball Z’ was a particular focus for me.” The 26-year-old 3D laser scanning technician and drone operator was also drawn to complex games, such as the "Dark Souls" series, an action role-playing video game. Laying the Framework Dugger’s love of comics and character-heavy games lead to the development of his first board game and Kickstarter project “Sun Rush.” “Years ago, I wanted to get into the comics industry and I started crafting a story with a huge universe of characters. Within that story, characters passed the time by playing a sort of board game,” he explained. “Eventually, I realized that I cared more about the plot-irrelevant board game than I did about the story, so my focus shifted to the (much more reasonable) task of fleshing out the game.” The game puts two to four players in the captain’s chair, where their goal is to race toward a new solar system without getting pulled into a wormhole. Each space captain flies a ship equipped with bombs that can be used against other players or other obstacles in their way. Whichever captain makes it to the new solar system first wins. Dugger was involved in every part of the development of the game, save for the game’s cover art by Joshua Surrett and the beta testing, which helped him refine the rules of the game. “Ever since the beginning, the main concept of piloting a captainship while controlling an armada of drones existed,” he said. “But the specific mechanics of using all of a player's available options were constantly changing until I nailed down what I felt was the optimal version of the rules.” Crowdfunding a Concept Like many other artists and creators who want to share their vision, he chose Kickstarter as a way to make his ideas tangible for gamers as well as gaming companies. “I realized that I needed to crowdfund my game when I figured out the cost of producing copies of it,” he says. “My goal was to get as many copies of the game into the hands of publishers as possible, so I was able to use the excess funding from the campaign to accomplish that goal.” Just like developing the game itself, running the Kickstarter was its own learning process — and presented its own challenges. In this case, it was meeting the funding goal — or else the project would not move forward to fruition. “The experience as a developer was awesome, but I think that may have been due to the overwhelming support of my friends and family who helped me meet funding,” Dugger said. "Running a proper campaign can take a lot of time and energy and in the event that I run another one for a future project, I'll know what to look out for to make it even more successful.” Since releasing the game, Dugger has been focused on promoting “Sun Rush” at local conventions like Con Nooga and networking with other game designers, who he wishes had more of a presence in the scenic city. “The response has been amazing! I'm currently getting the game to publishers and attending any conventions that I can to get it in the hands of more gamers,” he said. “The experience has also helped me to get my new game, ‘Prayers and Pitchforks’ out into the world with less stress!” Looking back at his accomplishments, he sees now as the perfect time to be a geek — and to create in that realm. “With affordable technology, more people can realize their potential to add to the collective Geekdom than ever before,” he said. Rachel Stewart grew up in the '80s on a healthy diet of pop culture. In 2005, she discovered "Doctor Who" and never looked back. Since then, she co-founded the Tennessee Who Authority — a "Doctor Who" fan group — and has served as a panelist at fan conventions across the Southeast, including Chattacon, Con Nooga, Wholanta, Hurricane Who, and ConGT. She also reviewed "Doctor Who" novels and Big Finish audios at “The Oncoming Storm” podcast. Want to be featured? Email Rachel at rachelcathleenstewart@gmail.com.  