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Episodes
The best panels and seminars about analog game design & publishing.
Episodes
Oct 13, 2015
Oct 13, 2015
1hr 6 sec
Executing a Smart Crowdfunding Campaign
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Fred Hicks, Joshua A. C. Newman & Hannah Shaffer
How do you plan your crowdfunding campaign? How done do you need to be before you open? How do you engage your community? How do you plan for all possible outcomes? Joshua A.C. Newman (Mobile Frame Zero: Rapid Attack and Shock: Social Science Fiction), Fred Hicks (Fate Core, Designers & Dragons, and more), and Hannah Shaffer (Questlandia) share their experiences and then ditch out on their planned talk to address your questions once they realize they can’t afford shipping.
Special Kickstarter Mentions
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Sep 12, 2015
Sep 12, 2015
57 min
The Best Practices for Information Organization in Tabletop RPGs
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Brennan Taylor, Matt Wilson, Meredith Reitman, Krista White & John Stavropolous
Tabletop RPGs serve as both a “let’s play!” and a reference document. RPGs designers and writers often attend to one of these goals at the expense of the other. Come to this panel to learn about professional theories of information organization, best practices for making the important information in your games findable and learn lessons from experienced game designers who have made information organization innovations and mistakes in their own games.
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Aug 29, 2015
Aug 29, 2015
53 min
Learn RPG Design Redux
Recorded at Gencon 2015
Presented by Jason Pitre, Caleb Stokes and Andreas Walters
This panel, sponsored by the Indie Game Developer Network is a fresh new exploration of how to start roleplaying game design by focussing on mission statements, the important questions of game design, and other gems. Also an absurd number of references to games including, but not limited to: Inspectres, Headspace, Dog Eat Dog, Paranoia, Fiasco and Apocalypse World.
There is a reference to cards with links to a ton of resources? All of that treasure-trove is available over here.
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Aug 15, 2015
Aug 15, 2015
55 min
Women in Game Design: Building Networks and Forming Mentorships
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Emily Care-Boss, Julia Ellingboe, Shoshana Kessock, Amanda Valentine & Avonelle Wing.
The “gaming industry” has been a brutal place to be a woman this year. Join our esteemed panelists for a conversation about the need for strong support networks and finding mentors in a turbulent and sometimes hostile industry.
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Aug 8, 2015
Aug 8, 2015
48 min
Dramatic Editing : Creating the Editing Bay
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Will Hindmarch
How does your design facilitate dramatic editing at the game table? Do you have strict mechanisms that put editing into the hands of the players or their characters through overt metaphors or in-setting magic? Or do you provide procedures and guidelines for collaborating and revising action during play? Dramatic editing at the table allows for players to propose and explore actions without them necessarily making it “on stage” or committing it to “film” and that can be a messy freedom or a beautiful drudge. Let’s look at ways to facilitate what you want to happen at the table.
Note that the sound quality is lousy in the first minute of audio, but it gets much better after that point.
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Aug 1, 2015
Aug 1, 2015
53 min
Gaming With, and Designing For, Young Players
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Cam Banks, Lisa Bowman-Steenson, Clark Valentine, Amanda Valentine & Brennan Taylor.
Young players can present unique challenges to game designers and adults at the table. Attention spans, play styles, system mastery, and age appropriate subject matter can vary a great deal. Be part of a discussion about making and running games that work for young players.
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Jul 25, 2015
Jul 25, 2015
58 min
Bisociation, Mashups, the Uncanny, and the Weird
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Kenneth Hite.
“Bisociation, Mashups, the Uncanny, and the Weird: Toward an Aesthetic of Setting Bricolage” presented by Kenneth Hite. A dictionary may have been involved.
In an age where “everything is mashup”, what makes a game setting more than the sum of its parts? Both the modern “uncanny” and the postmodern “slipstream” depend on subverting or deranging expectations, but how can you get good play without something to play off of? Do Koestler’s “bisociation” or Lovecraft’s “truly weird” help us out or derail us? Designer Kenneth Hite (NIGHT’S BLACK AGENTS, DAY AFTER RAGNAROK) isn’t sure yet, which is why he asks you to join him and think out loud on these topics.
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Jul 11, 2015
Jul 11, 2015
55 min
Coming Up in the Indies: From Newcomer to Company Owner
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Fred Hicks, Shoshana Kessock and Tim Rodriguez.
This panel will be a discussion between newer and more established company owners with success stories in the indie RPG world. They are ready to share their insight and tips about becoming part of the publishing world.
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Jul 4, 2015
Jul 4, 2015
57 min
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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Jun 27, 2015
Jun 27, 2015
37 min
Style Guides are your Friend
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Amanda Valentine and John Adamus
Style guides are one of the indispensable tools an editor uses to help make your project the best it can be. Learn more about them and the other must-have tools an editor uses, and find out why following the style guide can mean the difference between making “a thing” and “a game”.
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Jun 20, 2015
Jun 20, 2015
55 min
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.
Jun 12, 2015
Jun 12, 2015
56 min
So You’re Making Your First Game
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by John Adamus and Mark Richardson.
Learn from a pair of first time game makers and industry professionals the perils, frustrations and strategies it takes to put together your first game from start to finish.
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May 30, 2015
May 30, 2015
55 min
What Editors Do
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by John Adamus, Jeremy Morgan & Amanda Valentine.
Cleaning up your tortured syntax and fixing your punctuation is only the beginning. A good editor can help you improve the presentation of your game on many levels
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May 22, 2015
May 22, 2015
53 min
How to Succeed at Conventions
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Join veteran conventioneer, Avonelle Wing, for a conversation on attending trade shows and conventions as an industry professional. Talk about identifying and setting goals, representing yourself and your brand and otherwise setting yourself up for success.
May 12, 2015
May 12, 2015
54 min
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.
May 4, 2015
May 4, 2015
49 min
Cartography of Fictional Worlds
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Kenneth Hite, Hal Mangold & Mark Richardson
Learn from a panel of veteran cartographers and game designers the techniques they use to make maps of fictional worlds.
A map from Mark Richardson about renaissance superheroes from The Enlightened Man.
Apr 15, 2015
Apr 15, 2015
58 min
Work Together AND Keep Your Friends: Healthy Publishing Collaboration
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Joshua A. C. Newman, Epidiah Ravachol & Hannah Shaffer.
Collaborating on a creative project is great! You get double the creativity, double the productivity, and the benefit of mutual support. Nothing could go wrong, right? Whether you’re collaborating with friends or strangers, there are some important strategies to keep your collaboration healthy and productive. What happens when one person is doing the majority of the work? Do you need a contract when working with your friends? Who owns the intellectual property that you produce? What happens if you become an overnight success? We’ll share strategies, horror stories, and success stories about creative collaboration.
Mar 30, 2015
Mar 30, 2015
58 min
Episode 51 – RPG Podcasting and Design
This special episode is a crossover with The Jankcast and the Tabletop Superhighway podcasts. In this episode, I am speaking with Todd (Jankcast), Alex (Tabletop Superhighway) and Larry (Tabletop Superhighway) about how RPG Podcasting interacts with design, and what we see from our particular vantage points.
Welcome to the RPG Design Jankcast Superhighway.
Mar 21, 2015
Mar 21, 2015
56 min
Computer Hacking in Games
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Shane Harsch, Clark Valentine & Tim Rodriguez
Our panel discusses the actual process/stages of intrusion (what we call the “Kill Chain”) and then facilitates a discussion about the challenges of turning that real-world process into an actionable and fun gaming experience.
Mar 7, 2015
Mar 7, 2015
47 min
Gmless RPGs and Other Variations
Recorded at Metatopia 2013
Presented by John Stavropoulos and Brennan Taylor
Role playing games have game masters, right? Well, not necessarily – plenty of interesting games have chosen not to assign that role, or share it between some or all of the players at the table. What goes into the decision whether to have one, many or no game masters?
Feb 28, 2015
Feb 28, 2015
1hr 26 min
The Writer’s Workshop
Recorded at Metatopia 2013
Presented by John Adamus.
Here’s a chance for authors and creators to get answers to their writing questions as they work on developing their first, or tenth project. Questions often include issues of layout, editing costs, the best way to write to the reader, and the best way to take an idea from the abstract idea phase to the down-on-paper phase
Feb 14, 2015
Feb 14, 2015
53 min
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.
Feb 7, 2015
Feb 7, 2015
55 min
Least System Necessary
Recorded at Metatopia 2014
Presented by Cam Banks, Rob Donoghue, Clark Valentine & Stephen Hood.
How much system does your game *need*? We’ll be examining very minimal systems like Risus, CORE, Amber DRPG and so on as a starting point for design, always coming back to the question of whether you are adding things to your system because it need it, or because you’re “Supposed To”.
Minimal Game system references to:
Jan 31, 2015
Jan 31, 2015
49 min
Icons and Anchors
Recorded at Metatopia 2013
Presented by Rob Donoghue & Jason Pitre.
Icons and anchors are fascinating pieces of RPG design technology, establishing people and organizations within settings that are strongly tied to player characters and to each other. Let’s talk about how these can be effectively used in your own game designs.
References include:
1) My own summary of the mechanic: Examining Icons in Design
2) Rob’s ample blog discussion: [1][2][3] [4] [5] [6].
3) Chris Chin’s discussion of Keys, in the other excellent article.
4) And the economic devastation of the Identify skill over at Project Multiplexer
Jan 24, 2015
Jan 24, 2015
51 min
Succeeding at Conventions and Trade Show
Recorded at Metatopia 2013
Presented by Avonelle Wing
Conventions are overwhelming, and setting yourself up for success involves many components: Branding yourself for visibility, interacting appropriately with the convention, maximizing the impact of your contact with your public, and other ideas. Double Exposure Senior Vice President, Avonelle Wing, will share her experiences, both as a convention organizer and as an attendee representing her own brands.