RPG Design Panelcast

Recorded at Metatopia 2019

Presented by Meguey Baker & Jason Pitre.

Publishing your game doesn't need to be daunting. There's work involved, but with a diverse tool box and a clear understanding of your publishing goals, publishing might be more attainable than you imagine.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019

Presented by Emily Escovar, Chris O'Neill.

Our panelists will walk you through the basics of turning your game design hobby into a business. We'll talk about the most cost-efficient ways to register an LLC, open a business bank account, file a trademark and keep track of your expenses for tax season.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019

Presented by Heather O'Neill, Tim Rodriguez, Jennifer Graham-Macht.

You are an individual using your hard earned money to invest in your game project. Do you self-publish, Kickstart or attend that convention? You are an indie tabletop company, so you have some budget to work with. What's your next project? Which big conventions do you attend? We will address costs specific to the tabletop gaming industry (self-publishing, Kickstarter, conventions, marketing, etc.) and ways to make decisions on what will benefit you or your company.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019

Presented by Brian Turtle, Peter Hayward, Avonelle Wing.

I fell into games almost by accident back in 1994 when some friends and I created a game called "The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon". We started Endless Games shortly thereafter and the game found a home in the mass market before we knew it. In the 20+ years since, we've been navigating the toy industry and gaming landscape in both mass and specialty. That said, the hobby side of the industry is still somewhat uncharted territory for us. Join us for a discussion of the differences between mass market and hobby sales and what works where.

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Juliet Meyer, Raymond Bruels, Chandler Copenhaver.

Kickstarter can be amazing for creators, but there's a lot of other things around them that will help you find success. Learn how to market and plan for a Kickstarter, and what five things you should have in place long before the launch.

 

 

 

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Steve Segedy, Christopher Badell, Mark Richardson, and Cat Tobin.

Once you've created a game, what are your options for getting it out into the world? Come ask questions and find out about printing, distribution, and fulfillment options for independent designers and small publishers. We could also include discussion of Kickstarter, BackerKit, contracts, licensing, etc.

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Brian Neff, Darren Watts, Cat Tobin. 

There are a lot of people who will say that full-time jobs don't exist in the Gaming Industry. That is wrong. There are tons of ways to make a career out of making games. It involves working long hours and probably being underpaid, but they exist. Here's how to look for them, and how to prepare for them.

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Christopher Tang

"Getting Started With DriveThruRPG". Let's talk about how to interact with DriveThruRPG, some of the nitty gritty process but also the general principles to bear in mind and some of the things many people do not know like the details of the OGL, basic copyright law, the availability of Community Content programs, etc. Also taking audience questions liberally since I expect there will be those. We will also cover some of the ways the site has changed in the last year (mostly GDPR changes).

Recorded at BreakoutCon 2019

Presented by Todd Crapper, Tim Rodriguez, Cheyenne Grimes with moderation by Bronwyn Friesen

Not everyone has access to thousands of dollars or the benefit of a successful Kickstarter under their belt. Many indie publishers start off with financial difficulties, including poverty, but are driven to create new and exciting games. This panel looks to provide some "tips and tricks" for creating games on a tight budget or with no funds at all.

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Nicole Perry, Peter Hayward.

When turning your board game idea into a board game company, the first step is sorting out the logistics. Unless you have a burning desire to deal with accountants, spreadsheets, corporate structures, and The Joy of Taxes, you need a business partner. Nicole Perry and Peter Hayward are business partners; listen to them discuss how they split tasks, make sure that everything is covered, and the unexpected benefits of working closely with a partner. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Nicole Perry, Peter Hayward, & Curt Covert.

Every publisher is looking for the next big hit. Every time they sit down with you, they want your game to be that hit. Here are some simple tips to making games that publishers are excited to sign.

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Bradley Hausman.

A brief overview of SEC and some state regulations regarding crowdfunding, and other forms of raising capital, and registering your campaign. In this roundtable, feel free to discuss your experiences and how others can learn from them

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Michelle Lyons, Danielle Lauzon, Pete Petrusha, Maury Brown, Cam Banks.

It's relatively easy to make a game in this day and age. Making a business is harder. How much effort do you want to put into bringing a game to market/getting some revenue for your work? What are your options? How will you know what you want until you do it? Come join us for a panel discussing the whys and wherefores of game publication and where people choose to land on that spectrum.

Apologies for sound quality issues. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Jason Walters, Brennan Taylor, James Dagg.

We'll talk about how to accept that your game will never be perfect and how to know when it's ready to publish anyway.

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Jason Pitre, Jim Crocker, Jason Walters.

Congratulations on producing your game! Now, you have to decide how you want to sell it. This panel will talk about all of the different ways you can sell games and the costs associated with each of them. We will help you pick which options are best for you, based on your product and priorities.

 

Recorded at GenCon 2018

Presented by Jason Pitre, Anna Meade, Jerry Grayson, Eloy Lasanta, and Sarah "Doombringer" Richardson. 

This panel serves as a welcome introduction to the twin fields of roleplaying game design, and publishing. It features a long discussion on how and why we design games, how games have to be about something, and how we can practically turn our ideas into products. This was a two hour panel full of brilliant insights from the panel speakers and has some fun banter to boot. 

Note that the audience submitted a number of questions in advance of the panel, which we will be responding to in next week's episode!

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Kiva Fecteau, Beth Rimmels, Doug Levandowski, James Dagg, Nicole Perry.

From Imposter Syndrome to Arrogance - Knowing When To Step Back.  How do you measure your success in a field where most people don't have salaries or corporate titles to compare, "bad" games can be hugely popular, and the timeline of creative spark to marketable product can often be years? In other words, when are you an "Industry Pro?" No matter how much they've done, some people continue to feel that they haven't yet hit the mark. Yet others who are completely new to the industry may feel that they have all the answers. Both attitudes can hold back your ability to flourish in the gaming industry

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Jennifer Gutterman, Joshua Yearsley, Melissa Lewis-Gentry, Zev Shlasinger.

You made a game! Congratulations! Now explain your incredible game in one sentence. That isn't as easy as it sounds. You want people to buy into your game as players, as investors, or as retailers. You will only have one chance to make that first impression. It needs to have impact. If you want to see your game successful on a crowdfunding site, or sold by your local game store, then you need to know what kind of pitch types and styles to maximize both what you say and target the right audience. This panel will cover it all, from the one sentence pitch through pitches for retailers, and the many options in between.

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Brian Dalrymple, Jason Walters, Melissa Lewis-Gentry.

Getting your game(s) into stores usually means dealing with distributors. How do you get their attention? What do they expect from you? If you're planning on going direct to retailers, what's the best way to do that? If you're planning on operating outside of traditional distribution, are you leaving money on the table? This is panel gives an overview of the 3-tier distribution system, including its strengths, weaknesses, and alternatives.

 

Recorded at BreakoutCon 2018

Presented by: Sen-Foong Lim, Rob Daviau, Allysha Tulk, Nicole Hoye
Moderator: Daryl Andrews

Have you ever wanted to be a boardgame designer? Join our wonderful panel of guests to discuss what it takes to get started down this path!

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Michelle Lyons-McFarland, Jason Pitre.

Professionalization has been defined as "transformation into a profession of the highest integrity and competence." Integrity and competence are laudable goals for the profession as a whole, but how do we get there? What practices should we pursue? How do we differentiate between industry/business/community relationships, and are we willing to do so? This roundtable will try to hit on some best practices and identify the obstacles that stand in our way. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2016

Presented by Fred Hicks and Chris Hanrahan.

Innovation and new ideas are fantastic in game design, but designers have borrowed, stolen, and adapted other people's ideas for as long as we've been making games. Let's talk about whose works have influenced us, how we can best credit and pay homage to that work, and what we might not understand about ourselves as designers based on the works we ourselves have created.

Note: This is a short episode with mediocre sound quality. The content is good though!

Recorded at Metatopia 2016

Presented by Emily Dresner, Fred Hicks, Rob Donoghue.

You're a successful indie publisher! You did a great job wearing all the hats - game designer, writer, editor, artist, and graphic designer. Now, you want to create something bigger and more grand! You discover that, without years of time, you cannot carry out your vision yourself. You need other people... and that leads to new headaches. We'll talk about tools, techniques, schedules, planning, effective communication, using freelancers, and even a little Agile on how to turn yourself from a one man band into product making machine.

Agile Design and Publishing

Recorded at Metatopia 2015

Presented by Rob Donoghue and Emily Dresner

Join our panelists for a discussion of how nerdy business concepts such as Agile software development to can be applied to your gaming experience. Key concepts of agile software design include rapid and flexible response to change – let’s talk about how to apply them to running games.

More about Agile from Rob over on his site, at this blog post!

Yes You Kan(ban)

 

 

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Creativity In Business: Pixar’s Success and Lessons For Tabletop Publishing

Recorded at Metatopia 2015

Presented by Jeff Tidball, Cam Banks

Managing a company of creative people can be challenging. New ideas are always being introduced into structured spaces that resist change and fear innovation and imagination. Tabletop game publishers and managers can learn from the success of Pixar, Inc, who have mastered the art of ushering in and protecting the new, releasing their employees from common limits on creativity, and not being afraid to try things in often radically different ways to create bigger and better projects

As a fine example of creativity in business, the kickstarter for Unknown Armies 3rd Edition is currently up. Dig into the occult weirdness from Atlas Games!

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