Episodes
Saturday Jul 30, 2016
Episode 89 – Game Mechanics as Social Engineering
Saturday Jul 30, 2016
Saturday Jul 30, 2016
Game Mechanics as Social Engineering & Social Engineering as Game Design
Recorded at Metatopia 2015
Presented by Jason Morningstar & John Stavropoulos.
Can a game’s mechanics influence player behavior? Evidence – from XP-grubbing to sophisticated and subtle systems for using player agency to adjust real-world habits – suggests it can. Join Jason Morningstar and John Stavropoulos for a stimulating and perhaps surprising discussion on this topic. Bring your own examples to share!
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Sunday Jul 17, 2016
Episode 87: Sanity Points
Sunday Jul 17, 2016
Sunday Jul 17, 2016
Sanity Points
Recorded at Metatopia 2015
Presented by Elsa S. Henry, Will Hindmarch, Kelly Osborne & Craig Page.
The worst thing that can happen to you in a horror game is either that you die, or that you lose your mind. In games that focus on a world “gone mad”, how do we support real people living with mental illness through our game development? This panel will focus on revisiting systems like sanity points, and discuss how to address breaks with reality and surviving the very worst that horror has to throw at the world without treating mental illness as a comedic happenstance, or as something to be dismissed.
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Saturday Dec 05, 2015
Episode 72 – Lovecraft WTF
Saturday Dec 05, 2015
Saturday Dec 05, 2015
Lovecraft WTF
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Julia Ellingboe, Kenneth Hite, Darren Watts & Bill White.
H. P. Lovecraft is one of the grandfathers of weird fiction and horror. His racist and anti-Semitic beliefs are no secret. They are the foundation of his fictional worlds. They are interwoven throughout his work and for many readers, impossible to separate from the genius of his writing. Can a Lovecraft-inspired game make his work more accessible? It’s okay to like problematic things. This panel will be neither an attack nor a defense of Lovecraft’s work. In a broad sense, it will be a conversation about how designers might interpret or use source material with themes or images that are problematic.
Apologies for sound quality issues.
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Saturday Jul 04, 2015
Episode 60 – Accessibility and Disability
Saturday Jul 04, 2015
Saturday Jul 04, 2015
Accessibility and Disability
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Russell Collins, Elsa Henry, and Shoshana Kessock.
The final frontier of game design seems to be accommodating for those who are differently-abled. Designers of games who have a background with being differently-abled will discuss how to design to be more inclusive in this manner. We’ll discuss the foibles, pitfalls and issues associated with designing games that are not accessible.
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Saturday Jun 20, 2015
Episode 58 – Moving Beyond Tokenism
Saturday Jun 20, 2015
Saturday Jun 20, 2015
Gaming As Other: Moving Beyond Tokenism
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Misha Bushyager, Julia Ellingboe, Ajit George & Mark Diaz Truman
John Stavropolous moderates as our panelists continue the discussion about the challenges faced by ethnic minorities and people of color within the hobby. In this panel, they will tackle how gaming companies, designers, conventions and communities can effectively bring greater diversity to their ranks, mentor emerging voices, and share leadership roles.
Saturday Nov 29, 2014
Episode 38 – Accessibility Issues for Game Designers
Saturday Nov 29, 2014
Saturday Nov 29, 2014
D036 – Accessibility Issues For Game Designers
Presented by Russell Collins & Jason Pitre. Games are about imagination and creativity so the print medium shouldn’t be a barrier to entry. Understanding the needs of persons with learning differences and the options that designers have will keep you from excluding people who are eager to enjoy our hobby. This seminar will focus on blindness, low vision, and dyslexia and strategies to present your game content for those with print disabilities in digital and audio media.
Sunday Aug 10, 2014
Episode 34 – Gaming as the Other: Race in Our Industry
Sunday Aug 10, 2014
Sunday Aug 10, 2014
“Gaming As The Other: Race in Our Industry”
Presented by John Stavropoulos, Terry Romero, Ajit George & Mark Diaz Truman.
As many “geek” activities have expanded over the last ten years, role-playing has often struggled to include the voices of racial and ethnic minorities. Join Ajit George, Mark Diaz Truman, and Terry Romero to discuss what challenges the industry faces including “Others”, why increased diversity is valuable and important to the future of gaming, and what path both designers and players can take toward building a more robust, inclusive community.
Saturday Dec 01, 2012
Episode 6: Addressing Controversial Topics
Saturday Dec 01, 2012
Saturday Dec 01, 2012
“Addressing Controversial Topics” presented by John Stavropolous, Bill White & Brennan Taylor. Join our panelists for a discussion on handling delicate and/or controversial topics in your game design. Subjects include political correctness, sexual and romantic interactions and religion.