If you are anything like me, you have played a lot of tabletop RPGs in your lifetime. Over the years, you’ve collected miniatures, battle maps, and all sorts of other tools to improve your gaming experience. The one thing I’ve never been able to get right is audio accompaniment to add to the game. I’ve tried adding movie soundtracks or fantasy music to create a mood, but there have always been issues where the wrong song comes on at the wrong time and suddenly the love theme starts playing during your villain’s big speech, causing the players to break character in fits of laughter.

Well, Gamemaster and professional Wes Otis may have finally solved the problem. He has started creating ten-minute-long looping MP3s of themed background sounds for RPGs. Each track is specifically designed to evoke a certain locale and, instead of being a music track, is full of tons of different noises that would be heard in that particular place. There is something for every type of gamer here from creepy, haunted mansions to WWII battlefields to alien spaceships. Now, he just needs your help to get his company, Plate Mail Games, up and running. For this, he has turned to Kickstarter with a project where you can order a set of these MP3s and help him fund his business.

The Kickstarter campaign currently offers 31 of these mp3s for $30, meaning that backers can get each of these awesome MP3s for under a dollar, and with his planned stretch goals, that deal will only get better the more people pledge. Also, at the $50 level, backers now get a free bonus add-on with 10 new mp3s.  Awesome!  I sat down with the man who hopes to revolutionize tabletop gaming to talk a little about his project.

Jason Enright, Fanboy Comics Senior Contributor: What inspired you to create this Kickstarter project?

Wes Otis: I wanted to add something cool to my game, and I have had the idea of background loops in my head for a long time. I started listening to what other people had done. Most of it was music, and bad music at that. I decided I could do better, and I made my first MP3 which was Thunderstorm at Horror House. After that, I started to get tons of ideas. After years of running games, I know what is needed in a background and being able to combine that with my knowledge of sound is the best thing in the world.

JE: What is your background with gaming and with sound design?

WO: I have been working in post-production for 14 years now. I have done a little of everything: Foley recording, dialogue editing, but 10 years ago I started to do sound design and it became my favorite thing. I’ve had the good fortune to work with many great people on many great projects. I have done sound for Warner Bros. and Disney animated shows. Some of the shows have been Batman: The Brave and The Bold, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!, and Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated.

JE: What are some of your project’s stretch goals going to be?

WO: There is a potential for 30 stretch goals. If you pledge $20 or more, each time the Kickstarter reaches a new stretch goal, you get two more MP3s added to your reward. Some of the stretch goals are Underwater World, Alien World 1, and Superhero Command Center.

JE: Do you think Kickstarter is a big game changer in allowing smaller projects to find funding?

WO: Definitely. I think games and Kickstarter fit really well together. There are a lot of talented game designers out there who will never get funding the old fashioned way. Now, they can get the capital for production, and fans get to help bring projects they really want to life.

JE: All right; it’s time for the final pitch. Why should we all log on and back your project?

WO: Because having professional audio backgrounds adds so much to your game. Think of it this way, it’s like you’ve watched movies with only dialogue, and someone comes along and gives you professionally sound designed backgrounds. It adds so much depth. Audio brings the locations to life and makes you feel like you’re in the story. Why wouldn’t you want that to be a part of your game?

To learn more about the Kickstarter campaign and to make your pledge, click here. To learn more about Wes Otis and Plate Mail Games, check out their Facebook page.