RPG Design Panelcast

Episode 216 - Appoaching Allyship from an Intersectional Perspective

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Julia Ellingboe and Brand Robins.

Approaching Allyship from a Genuinely Intersectional Perspective. There's no formal roadmap to being a "good" ally. It's easy to scratch the surface and stop moving, because you've challenged your own paradigm. That's not enough. Let's brainstorm tools and tactics for guiding allies towards functional engagement.

Episode 215 - Truth, Survival, and Empowerment in Darker Narratives

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Mabel Harper, Avonelle Wing, Misha Bushyager, and Eli Eaton.

A discussion about why some people, specifically members of minority groups, might feel drawn to darker games and survival narratives, and how fiction of this nature both describes reality and can also provide answers, empowerment, and revolutionary verve in a world that is hostile to racial, sexual, ethnic, and gender minorities

Episode 212 - How to be an Ally

Recorded at BreakoutCon 2019

Presented by Anne Ratchat, Misha Bushyager, James Mendez Hodes, Eli Eaton & Jonaya Kemper with moderation by Jason Pitre

Knowing how to support people is always difficult. When considering different backgrounds and identities, good intentions can backfire. This panel will introduce what to consider when being an ally and some ways to assist in a productive manner.

EDITOR's NOTE: The audio recorder stopped recording 2/3rds of the way into this panel, but the content here is still quite valuable. Enjoy!

Episode 211 - Diversity at the Table

Recorded at Breakout 2019

Presented by Daniel Kwan, Agatha Cheng, Amar, Kienna S. and James Mendez Hodes with moderation by Daniel Kwan.

How do we make our games and tables more inclusive? How do we make our stories more interesting and diverse? Join the Asians Represent! podcast crew as they discuss and answer these questions.

Episode 210 - What's Off Limits for Games?

Recorded at Breakout 2019

Presented by Nicole Winchester, Mo Turkington, Misha Bushyager, Sharang Biswas & Jonaya Kemper with moderation by Jason Pitre

Different individuals, communities, countries, and cultures have different ideas about what LARPs and roleplaying games should and should not address, and as gaming communities interact on and offline these ideas often come into conflict. What is acceptable in a game, and who gets to make that decision? How do we have productive and compassionate conversations about these issues? Are there things that games are not equipped to address, or are we limiting games by limiting their subjects?

Episode 203 - Designing Asian Themes in Board and Roleplaying Games

Recorded at BreakoutCon 2019

Presented by James Mendez Hodes, Sharang Biswas, Agatha Cheng. Moderated by Daniel Kwan  Regrets from Banana Chan 

Are you interested in how Asian cultures can inspire games and game design? Are you curious about Asian portrayal in games? Join us for a panel discussion about these topics as experienced Asian TTRPG, LARP, and board game designers discuss cultural and historical themes. We will talk through examples that we’ve seen, the differences between Asian American and overseas Asian perspectives, and the impact of thoughtful representation and why it matters.

Episode 199 - Horror Mechanics

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Anne Ratchat, Kenneth Hite, Elsa Henry, Julia Ellingboe, Jabari Weathers. 

Horror Mechanics (For More Than Just Horror)"In the genre of horror, game designers and writers have developed an arsenal of tools specifically to disempower the characters in their worlds. These mechanics are assumed one-trick ponies but can also serve as useful mechanics for empowering play as well when understood. The goal of this panel is to break down why specific horror mechanics work and how to use them effectively, regardless of genre.

Episode 194 - Love like a Bomb

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Kate Beaman-Martinez and Jonaya Kemper

"Love Like A Bomb". We're going to examine some evolving wisdom about balanced, healthy intimate relationships and apply it to group dynamics. In this case, we're going to talk about how the concept of "love bombing" applies to gaming communities.

Episode 193 - Intersectional Feminism

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Julia Ellingboe, Moyra Turkington, Jonaya Kemper, and Misha Bushyager.

"Intersectional Feminism: Game Design That Tackles Topics that Matter". Designing historical games is complicated, especially when we're telling the stories of people who are often forgotten. How do we handle those stories without accidentally perpetuating or compounding existing damage?

Episode 192 - Metaphorical Games

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Jason Pitre, Mark Diaz Truman, Kate Bullock

Games are art, and can explore challenging subject material. It can often be useful to use fictional metaphors to recontextualize these difficult topics and make them easier to to examine with a layer of emotional distance. On this panel, the speakers will explore how and when to use metaphors in your game design, and the pitfalls to avoid.

Episode 189 - Expanding Fantasy

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by DC

Participate in a discussion about expanding the narrative fantasies applied to tabletop RPGs. The standard "set" of explored backgrounds and settings are not only old, but also fundamentally structured around a singular perspective. Inspecting the foundation of our fiction allows us to better understand the values or pitfalls of those choices, and how they may affect who decides to, or not to, join us at our table

Episode 185 - Navigating Consent in Gaming

Recorded at Metatopia 2018

Presented by Sam Saltiel, Brand Robins, Camdon Wright, Eli Eaton

Good consent practice requires that consent is enthusiastic and informed. Let's talk about how to encourage a higher level of consent. We will discuss tools you can add at the table, but then we'll explore ways to integrate consent into the foundations of your design.

Episode 169 - Positive Aesthetic Sexytimes

Recorded at Metaopia 2017

Presented by Whitney Delaglio, Brand Robins

Sexy Times in-game can be serious business, but it doesn't have to be! Join us for a discussion about using artwork and tone to encourage fun and playful exploration of intimacy in games.

This episode coincides with the release of the kickstarter for Prism! Check it out here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2026929256/prism-1

 

 

Episode 157 - Writing Religions Respectfully

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Julia Ellingboe, Jess Banks and Laiel.

Our panelists will talk about about incorporating actual real life systems of faith into settings, themes, and conflicts, rather than to making up a religion for a game. Let's talk about about writing about faith, particularly when it's different from our own. 

Episode 147 - Blood on the Table: Horror in RPGs

Recorded at BreakoutCon 2018

Presented by Sarah Richardson, Michelle Lyons-McFarland, Jaym Gates

Moderator: Brand Robbins

Jaym Gates (BLUE ROSE 2nd Ed., TIANXIA: Blood, Silk, and Jade,), Michelle Lyons-McFarland (Chill, A Tragedy in Five Acts), and Sarah Richardson (Bluebeard’s Bride, Velvet Glove) as they discuss how diverse viewpoints bring new life to tired horror tropes. Topics may include feminine horror, setting the right tone, disrupting player assumptions, plus tips and tricks for running horror in trad, OSR, and story games. Make sure to bring questions of your own!

Episode 146 - My Games are Unapologetically Political

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Shoshana Kessock, Neall Price, Susanne Vejdemo, Joshua A. C. Newman.

Art is and has always been political, and game design is no different. In this panel, we'll talk about developing games with political agendas not only wholly in mind, but front and center. We'll tackle discussions about the hard topics that come up in political games, whether or not you design for unity or for controversy, how to use game design to create the political message of your games, and how to design games with political messages in the current charged political world.

Episode 142 - Games, Learning, and Social Change

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Tam Myaing, Heather Wilson.

Games by their nature are learning tools. When we play games, we are, at a minimum, learning the mechanics and the boundaries of the game space. Can we use this 'learning mechanic' to design better games, and better players? The panel will explore the mechanics of learning in games and their potential to reach beyond the game space. 

Episode 140 - We Have Always GMd

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Kate Bullock, Michelle Lyons, Kathryn Miller, Anna Kreider.

As much as we'd like to banish "Women in Gaming" panels to the depths of our historic archives, there is still value in addressing the fact that being there are challenges for women at the gaming table that different than those faced by our male counterparts. This panel will talk about the ways women have always contributed to gaming, and how to handle some of the more nuanced situations that still come up.

Episode 139 - Writing Inclusive Alternate Histories

Recorded at Metatopia 2017

Presented by Eric Simon, Darren Watts, Shoshana Kessock, and Elsa Henry.

From the implicit imperialism of steampunk to the complicated controversy of HBO's Confederate, it seems like alternate history is often fraught with problems. We provide you with techniques and ideas for writing, designing, and playing with historical and alternate historical themes in ways that are positive, inclusive, respectful, and productive. 

The slideshow presentation used at the panel is available at https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Uyj3bTumXtXSSz6s7JV_kAc2mwnfSs1abUoeYfjWFfQ/edit?usp=sharing

 

Episode 126 - Ground Truth

Recorded at Metatopia 2016

Presented by Jason Morningstar, Jay Sylvano, Benjamin Morrow.

Games can obviously be political and create empathy, but can they be journalism? Can they create change, spur activism, prompt meaningful dialog? What does it take to make a game with a contemporary theme or focused on an important issue - and what can go wrong?

Episode 121 – Historical Larp Design

Historical Larp Design

Recorded at Metatopia 2016

 

Presented by Moyra Turkington, Kimberley Lam, Shoshana Kessock, Elsa Henry, Rachel E.S. Walton, and moderated by Alex Roberts

This panel is all about re-evaluating the real diversity in historical settings, the difficulties of researching for historical non-western, non-white events and eras, especially those that feature women. It serves to discuss both larp design, and tabletop design, and is well worth a listen.

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Episode 115 – Sex in Games

Sex in Games

Recorded at Breakout Con 2017

Presented by Moyra Turkington, Jacqueline Bryk, Alex Roberts, and moderator Emily Griggs.

From the Ramayana to Romeo and Juliet, love and passion are at the heart of some of the most timeless stories ever told. So, how do we explore these themes in roleplaying games? How do we as players and GMs help each other have fun and stay safe? What systems bring sex and romance to the forefront? What’s that thing larpers are doing with their hands? Your panelists will answer all these questions, and many more.

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Epsiode 109 – Designing Intersectionally

Playing and Designing at the Intersections: Creating Good Allyship

Recorded at Metatopia 2015

Presented by Kat Jones, Krista White, Elsa S. Henry & K.N. Granger.

This roundtable will focus on how to design and run games from an intersectional feminist standpoint. We will discuss different ways a game can be intersectional including: mechanics, characters, artwork, and more. Drawing on concrete examples from panelists about their own design process, as well as games that have influenced them, we will offer suggestions for designing intersectional games. We will also give some examples of how to make pre-existing games and systems more intersectional. Topics included in the discussion will be: how to fail forward, how to be a good ally, and how to respectfully write about marginalized groups when coming from a position of privilege

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Episode 105 – Cultural Mechanics

Cultural Mechanics

Recorded at Metatopia 2015

Presented by Jason Pitre, Julia Ellingboe, and Mark Diaz Truman.

Games are part of our cultures, and the rules we create reflect our own backgrounds. In this roundtable, we explore how mechanics can reflect and/or interrogate culture. How can mechanics explore other people’s experiences? What assumptions do we bring to the game-design table?

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Episode 94 – Different Voices: Diverse RPGs

Different Voices: Diverse RPGs

Recorded at Gencon 2016

Presented by Jason Pitre, and Shoshanna Kessock

Roleplaying games offer a fantastic window into the lives of others, and let us see the world through different eyes. This panel, sponsored by the Indie Game Developer Network, will discuss some of these games that bring diverse voices and creators to the forefront.

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