The Game Master, also known as the Dungeon Master, is arguably the heart of any Dungeons and Dragons or other tabletop game. From Brennan Lee Mulligan to Matthew Mercer and more, a good DM can make or break a campaign. Therefore, it's no surprise that Sunderfolk, which draws heavy inspiration from tabletop gaming, would include a Game Master as part of its world. Sunderfolk's team are thrilled to have partnered with veteran actress Anjali Bhimani to tell a hilarious and heartwarming story in an adorable world of anthropomorphic animals.
At a recent event, The Best War Games both previewed Sunderfolk and spoke with several members of its development team. The team enthused about working with Bhimani, who both narrates events occurring in the world and voices every single NPC. The Secret Door team hope that, between Anjali Bhimani's work in Sunderfolk and other recent GM-type roles, such as Amelia Tyler's Narrator in Baldur's Gate 3, the idea of having a Game Master or Dungeon Master in games will become a new trend.
Anjali Bhimani Plays Many Roles In Sunderfolk
Anjali Bhimani may be best known as Symmetra from Overwatch, but she is no stranger to the world of tabletop gaming. An avid DND fan, Bhimani has guest starred in Exandria Unlimited, appeared on Dimension 20, and participated in one-shots at conventions, playing alongside the likes of Samantha Beart and Neil Newbon.
Bhimani was introduced to the Sunderfolk team by several Critical Role writers they worked with on the project, and they immediately fell in love with her performance as the GM. They described her as passionate and hardworking, always willing to spend extra time in the studio to get the perfect voice for each character. The production team specifically noted her enthusiasm for portraying many different NPC roles, saying:
"She is in the tabletop community very deeply, and she loves the space, and she loves to widen experiences for people, so it really resonated with her...She got to play for the first time and [said]....I want to make that character's voice this way, now that I see it in context of the game."
Including A Game Master Was Important To The Team
From the beginning, the Sunderfolk development team wanted the game to reflect their real-life experiences playing board games and tabletop games such as Dungeons and Dragons. Along with the "tactile" card-based system and the focus on collaborative social elements, they felt that the inclusion of a GM was one of the key elements that would make Sunderfolk feel familiar to tabletop and board game enthusiasts.
Many members of the team were particularly passionate about this, having been Dungeon Masters themselves and wanting to recreate that experience. Game Director Erin Marek talked about how a GM is someone who is always "pulling different voices out of a hat" to make characters "feel different and enjoyable," something Anjali Bhimani replicates in Sunderfolk. Players who have ever been a Dungeon Master in their own Dungeons and Dragons or other tabletop games will be able to relate to Bhimani's role, and her near-endless roster of voices will bring both humor and pathos to every gameplay session.
Other team members described a GM as a "bridge" who connects players to the world of the game by describing it and introducing the NPCs who they will interact with. They stated that, while narrators have appeared in games before, they felt Sunderfolk's Game Master stood apart from the rest because she also voices every NPC who appears in the game. They hope to see more GMs and DMs appearing in video games in the future, and that Sunderfolk will be a trailblazer in the genre.