Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Racon Gunner. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Racon , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is PsychScape, a tabletop role-playing game that blends my passion for storytelling, history, and art. What makes it truly special is the deeper purpose behind the game: to inspire young men by reconnecting them with the great figures who shaped Western Civilization. These aren’t just historical names—they’re examples of courage, leadership, and innovation, and through PsychScape, I wanted players to feel immersed in their legacies and understand how these men helped build the world we live in today.
Creating PsychScape has been a labor of love, drawing on everything from my background in filmmaking to my experience as a game master. The game’s visual style, crafted through a unique blend of traditional art techniques and AI-generated imagery, brings historical moments to life in a way that feels both painterly and dynamic. The adventures players embark on aren’t just about entertainment—they are designed to reflect real historical events and dilemmas, pushing players to engage with the challenges and values of the past.
Ultimately, PsychScape is about more than just gaming—it’s my attempt to give young men a sense of belonging in the broader story of Western Civilization. Through the game, I hope to show that the values and achievements of the past are not only worth learning about but can serve as a guide for shaping their own future. This project feels like the most beautiful thing I’ve ever created because it combines history, storytelling, and art with a mission that goes beyond the table.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’ve always lived at the intersection of creativity and technology. As a filmmaker, game designer, and author, my journey started with a passion for storytelling, which led me to work in various facets of the entertainment industry. Over the years, I’ve directed films like Ahockalypse and Into the Void, worked on visual effects for major studios like Universal and Netflix, and won an Emmy for my contributions to Amazon’s Danger & Eggs. But my true evolution came when I began experimenting with AI, using it to elevate my creative process and develop projects like PsychScape.
Man of Ages, my creative brand, serves as a hub for my work as a professional game master, filmmaker, and AI art director. The products and services I provide are wide-ranging—from tabletop role-playing games like PsychScape that immerse players in historical and speculative worlds, to consulting on creative direction for large-scale events and media projects. What sets me apart is my integration of AI into traditional creative disciplines. I use AI tools to push the boundaries of visual storytelling and narrative development, creating work that feels both timeless and innovative. Clients and followers can expect projects that blend deep storytelling with cutting-edge technology.
I’m most proud of how I’ve been able to use AI not as a crutch but as a collaborator to enhance my art. Whether it’s building immersive worlds in PsychScape or helping clients refine their creative visions, my goal is to craft stories and experiences that resonate deeply. I want potential clients and fans to know that Man of Ages is about more than just games or films—it’s about creating narratives that challenge the imagination and invite people to explore complex, meaningful stories.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
One of the most defining moments of resilience in my journey happened during the development of PsychScape. It wasn’t just about the challenges of designing a tabletop RPG—it was about pushing through moments where the vision felt bigger than the resources or the tools available. When I first started integrating AI into my creative process, the technology wasn’t as refined as it is now. The tools often fell short of my expectations, especially when I wanted to create specific, detailed historical settings or dynamic character interactions in my comics and visual elements for the game.
At one point, I was generating thousands of images through AI, only to scrap the majority because they didn’t capture the painterly, organic feel I wanted for PsychScape. It felt like an endless cycle of trial and error, and there were moments I considered dialing back the ambition just to make the project easier. But I kept pushing forward, driven by the belief that I could marry traditional artistic techniques with AI in a way that had never been done before. I leaned heavily on my training in pen and ink, watercolor, and sequential art, revisiting foundational techniques I had learned from my mentors to help bridge the gap between the raw output of AI and the final artistic vision.
Eventually, after countless iterations and late nights, the pieces started to come together. PsychScape evolved into something truly unique—blending historical authenticity with imaginative flair, all while maintaining that painterly, handcrafted quality I had envisioned from the start. That period of struggle taught me that resilience isn’t just about pushing through when things are hard—it’s about maintaining your creative vision, even when the tools or circumstances don’t immediately align.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
One of the biggest pivots in my career happened when I decided to step away from filmmaking and focus on writing. After years of working in the film industry—directing projects like Ahockalypse and producing visual effects for major studios—I found myself creatively exhausted. I had always loved storytelling, but the demands of filmmaking began to take their toll. I needed a change, and that’s when I shifted my focus back to writing. It wasn’t an easy decision because filmmaking had been such a huge part of my identity, but I knew I had to recalibrate to find my creative energy again.
As I dove deeper into writing, I rediscovered my love for tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), something I had been passionate about since my early years. Writing brought me back to that world in a way I hadn’t expected, reminding me of the power of collaborative storytelling and the depth that TTRPGs offer. That shift led to the creation of PsychScape, which allowed me to merge my love for history, storytelling, and visual art into a project that felt deeply personal. I realized that even though I had stepped away from film, I was still directing stories—just in a different format.
This pivot was not just about changing mediums; it was about returning to the core of why I love to create in the first place. Writing reconnected me with my roots in storytelling, and that ultimately led me to build Man of Ages and develop PsychScape, which has become the most meaningful project of my career. In the end, the pivot was less about abandoning one art form for another and more about evolving as a storyteller, finding new ways to express the same creative drive that had fueled me all along.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://man-of-ages.com/
- Instagram: man_of_ages_
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayne-h-johnson-jr-38216a218/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@racongunner2960
Image Credits
Racon Gunner