August 11, 2018
Recorded at Metatopia 2017
Presented by Tim Hutchings and Evan Torner.
Criticism and Feedback: How to Talk about that Game You Just Played. How do we talk about games in a productive, useful way? The panel will discuss methods and tools for giving useful, critical feedback for the game play experience. We will introduce critical methods from the creative arts and inclusivity-promoting discussion tools pioneered by Games to Gather in Portland, Oregon.
July 7, 2018
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
June 23, 2018
Recorded at Metatopia 2017
Presented by Michael Malecki, Elsa Henry, Shervyn von Hoerl, Monica Speca.
Join us for a workshop to create a combat system that could possibly allow for the fluid and chaotic nature of combat but not be overwhelmingly disruptive to play style. The first half of the panel will cover offensive and defensive theories. We will go over the positives and negatives of things such as Narrative play, Slow-Fu, and Physical Combat. After a brief Q&A, those who building a system are welcome to stay and workshop with experts.
May 12, 2018
Recorded at Metatopia 2017
Presented by John Adamus, Bryan Shipp, Laura Simpson, Tim Rodriguez
Games are a hydra on a roller coaster on fire. There's so much to do, so much to avoid doing, so much to plan for, and so much to hope works out. We'd like to talk about the process.
April 21, 2018
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!
April 14, 2018
Recorded at BreakoutCon 2018
Presented by: Robin Laws, Daniel Kwan, Emily Care Boss, and Michelle Lyons-McFarland
Moderator: Corey Reid
Learn how the best GMs run the best games. No matter what system or play style you love, this panel will have tips and tricks to help you level up your game.
April 7, 2018
Recorded at BreakoutCon 2018
Presented by: Mark Richardson, Anna Kreider, Emily Griggs, Misha Bushyagar
Moderator: Jonathan Lavallee
The wondrous journey from beginning to end of working on your first game. It's a highlight reel of the big process parts and what to keep track of to make your first game as successful as possible.
March 10, 2018
Recorded at Metatopia 2017
Presented by Gil Hova, Jonathan Gilmour.
From Jones Theory to "this game fired that game", hierarchical thinking - comparing one thing to another in a way that ranks one as better than the other - is very popular in the gaming world. How useful is it? Are there situations where it hurts us? We will talk about the pros and cons of hierarchical thinking, and dive into why it's so appealing to us game fans.
March 3, 2018
Recorded at Metatopia 2017
Presented by Bill White, Brennan Taylor, Lisa Padol, Evan Torner, and more.
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Forge (But Were Afraid To Ask). The Forge (www.indie-rpgs.com) was an online discussion site for indie TRPG design, publication, and play that was active from 2001 to 2012. Across tens of thousands of discussion threads, Forge participants hashed out new ways of understanding the dynamics of tabletop RPG play, and developed a new conceptual language for talking about game design, as part of a larger project of promulgating the "indie RPG" message that anyone can design and publish the game they want. This larger mission largely accomplished by 2010, according to its founders, the Forge closed its forums in 2012. But the ideas it offered still have value, and so five years after the closing of the Forge we look back and assess its insights, its accomplishments, and its imbroglios. Presented by Bill White, game designer and game studies scholar currently working on a book about the Forge, along with several regular posters from that era
February 17, 2018
Recorded at Metatopia 2017
Presented by Darren Watts, Christopher O'Neill, Roberta Taylor.
You've got a board game, card game, RPG or LARP in your head, but something's stopping you from settling down and doing the work to get it done and out there in the world. What is it? Let's get into your head and smack down the voices telling you it can't be done.
