RPG Design Panelcast

Episode 360: How to Run a Great Playtest

Recorded at Metatopia 2023

Presented by Melissa Lewis-Gentry and Curt Covert.

Receiving feedback is hard. Running a successful playtest is even more complicated. Our experts will share their tools for getting the most out of a playtesting table.

Episode 359: How to be a Great Playtester

Recorded at Metatopia 2023

Presented by Kat Millar and Curt Covert

Giving good feedback is a skill. Come learn more about how to provide feedback to game designers in useful, productive ways.

Episode 325: Let Kids Break Your Game

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Kathleen Mercury and Julie Ahern.

Any adult who's worked closely with kids as a teacher, caretaker, or mentor has a cache of stories about times they learned true humility at the hands of a child. This late night panel presents the argument that the youngest generation is our greatest asset. Join panelists as they break down (through real life, hilariously humiliating examples) how every aspect of games, from design to execution, is bettered for the presence and involvement of kids, and what we can do to make our spaces more welcoming to young people. 

Episode 278: How to Playtest Your Game

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Daryl Andrews, Jessie Edwards, Omari Akil, Bruce Harlick. 

Join us for a roundtable conversation about how to get the best data from your time at the playtesting table. We'll discuss our experiences running playtests, and talk about common mistakes and how to avoid them

Episode 228 - Tabletop Analytics and Feedback

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Brian Neff, Kiva Fecteau

Crunching the Cardboard - Tabletop Analytics and Feedback". Playtesting and gathering feedback is the first step. The next step is to figure out what to do with the data you've collected and apply it to your design process productively. We will talk about how to discern which data should change your path and how.

Episode 227 - How to be a Playtester

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Kate Bullock, Kelvin Ortega, Jennifer Graham-Macht.

Our panelists talk about how to be good playtesters. Learn how to hear the questions being asked and answer with useful feedback. We all want to give helpful criticism; learn more about how to do that.

Episode 188 - Productive Playtesting

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Isaac Shalev, Gil Hova, Jennifer Graham-Macht.

Join us for a roundtable conversation about how to get the best data from your time at the playtesting table. We'll discuss our experiences running playtests, and talk about common mistakes and how to avoid them

Episode 156 - Running Successful Playtests

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Ann Stolinsky, Darren Watts, Tim Rodriguez, Justin Rogers.

Running a successful playtest when it's your creation on the table is hard work. It goes beyond putting your game on the table and hoping for the best. Join our panelists for tips and tricks on how to get benefit from every session, including those that don't go according to script. 

Episode 137 - Don't Shred your Game

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Dev Purkayastha.

A workshop for designers who have playtested their game - here or elsewhere - and have gotten challenging feedback. It's easy to feel discouraged, but it's important to take the next step. The goal of this workshop is to provide encouragement towards the ongoing process, rather than workshopping specific feedback.

Note: This is a workshop rather than a panel, but there is some good advice and discussion worth your time.

Episode 127 - Giving and Receiving Feedback

Recorded at Metatopia 2016

Presented by Darren Watts, Jeff Tidball, John Adamus.

Our panelists talk about how to be good testers. Learn how to hear the questions being asked and answer with useful feedback. We all want to give helpful criticism; learn more about how to do that.

Episode 124 - The CMU Playtesting Study

Recorded at Metatopia 2016.

Presented by Judeth Oden Choi, Jessica Hammer.

Presentation of our findings from a two-year long study of playtesting practices and education. As we build and refine our games, sometimes it's hard to hold onto those brilliant ideas and goals that first inspired us. Playtesting with a purpose is about articulating design and experience goals for your game and using playtests to help refine those goals and express them more fully in game play. We will invite participants to try out some of our methods and open up for discussion of playtesting practices.

Episode 96 – GenCon Playtesting Panel

GenCon Playtesting Panel

Recorded at Gencon 2016

Presented by Jason Pitre, Emily Care  Boss,  and Mark Richardson

Playtesting RPGs is a difficult process. In this panel, sponsored by the Indie Game Developer Network, we will teach you how to effectively test games as a designer and as a player.  Learn about types of playtests, the best kind of playtesters, and how to offer constructive feedback.

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Episode 83 – Give and Receive Critique

How to Give and Receive Critique

Recorded at Metatopia 2015

Presented by  Joshua A.C. Newman, Hannah Shaffer & Rachel E.S. Walton.

Planning and running a Kickstarter campaign for your game can be like designing and playing another game. Will you hack an existing formula or take a risk on an unusual approach? Will it include lots of fiddly mechanics and rewards or will you take a more artistic direction? When you’re running the campaign, how do you play the roles of marketer, designer, publisher, business person, and artist? Join panelists as they talk about the design and management of Kickstarter campaigns themselves. In what ways have they evolved into established systems (stretch goals, etc.) and how are some creators breaking those conventions?

 

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Episode 79 – Agile Design and Publishing

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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Episode 54 – Playtest Feedback

Playtest Feedback

Recorded at Metatopia 2014

Presented by Cam Banks, Tim Rodriguez & Jay Treat

We all know playtesting is vital, but how do you take the results of playtests and apply them to your game? Three industry veterans explain what works for them.

 

 

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Episode 47 – Playtesting Brutally

Playtesting Brutally

Recorded at Metatopia 2013

Presented by John Stavropoulos and Dave Chalker.

Your best friend, your spouse, and your grandma all say they like your game, so it must be ready to be published, right? WRONG. The most refined games come from an extended playtesting process, where your decisions are challenged and every mechanic is put through the burning forge of brutal playtesting. Learn how to examine games of your own design and others for ways to streamline, balance, and otherwise turn into a better game by “killing your darlings” and learning what red flags to watch out for in the playtesting process that could sink you after publication.

 

 

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Episode 32 – How to be a Good Playtester for Others

How to be a Good Playtester for Others

This seminar was originally presented at Metatopia 2013 in Morristown NJ. This panel was led by
Will Hindmarch, Tim Rodriguez and John Adamus.

Everyone agrees playtesting is crucial. But what kind of feedback is best for publishers? This panel looks at the necessary skills and mindset for being a good playtester from *this* side of the table.

 

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Episode 12 – Playtesting RPG’s

What kinds of playtests are there?

How can you run them or play in them effectively?

Learn how iterative testing improves a game

1. Discuss the purpose of playtesting.
2. The three styles of playtesting?
3. Playtesting your own game.
4. Runing someone else’s game.
5. Observing a playtest.
6. Playing in a playtest with panache.
7. Questions and answers

Presented by Jason Pitre and Adam Koebel

 

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