RPG Design Panelcast

Episode 311: New Editions

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Russell Collins, Brennan Taylor, Meguey Baker, Greg Stolze.

Was your game imperfect when it was released? Has it changed over time? Have you? We'll explore why (and how) you can update your game for the 2nd, or 3rd, or 4th, edition

Episode 310: Asymmetric Roleplaying Game Design

Recorded at Metatopia 2020

Presented by Jason Pitre, Spencer Campbell, Sasha Moros, Ben Robbins, Caroline Hobbs.

Role playing games have a long history of asymmetrical rules, beginning with the establishment of the Dungeon Master in the very beginning and continuing to games such as Kingdom. Role playing games have explored countless different ways of allocating authority, and modern asymmetrical boardgames (Root, Vast, etc) have showed some new approaches worth considering. In this panel, we will dig into potential ways to approach asymmetrical design.

Episode 309: Getting your First RPG Published

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Jason Walters, Moe Poplar, Darren Watts, April Walsh, Jonathan Lavallee.

Publishing your first RPG can be difficult, how do you know when enough play testing is enough? What feedback should you listen to? How do you get your game ready for print? All these questions, and more, will be answered in this comprehensive advice panel. 

Episode 308: Games Are Art

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Curt Covert, Julie Ahern.

Games Are Art: Designing Through An Artist's Lens. When you think of art, you think of music, theater, painting, sculpting, writing, film. And at the heart of each is an artist, who uses their talents, creativity, skill and intelligence to craft something that never existed before, with the intent of sharing a vision, a feeling, a message, a sense of discovery or connection. The games we create are no less an art form, and we designers no less than artists. What we craft brings people together for a shared experience and has the ability to do more than challenge us mentally, pass the time or entertain, but to connect emotionally with people. Let us view game design through an artistic lens, to look past the mathematical underpinnings, and dive into what makes games a uniquely human endeavor.

Episode 307: Contract Literacy 101

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Eric Whalen, Rob Hebert, Steven Long, Debbie Moynihan.

"Contract Literacy 101: Whereas & Therefore & Beyond" The majority of game designers will need to sign at least one contract prior to completing their game. This panel will improve your literacy and familiarity with the structure of contracts, as well as explain some of the standard contract terms you ought to be prepared to encounter. The information should be relevant to designers, artists, and publishers alike.

Episode 306: Art Direction Case Study

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Jason Morningstar, Jabari Weathers, Brennen Reece. 

Art Direction: From Designer to Director to Artist. A game designer, an art director, and an artist who recently worked on a project together will talk about the project (Bully Pulpit Games' "Dead House") from each of their perspectives - how they collaborated and communicated and perceived both the brief and the final output. 

Episode 305 : Lowering the Barrier to Entry to Trad RPGs

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Will Sobel, Beth Rimmels.

For better or worse, traditional RPGs have a reputation for crunch and complication that can be scary for new players. How can designers and publishers make their games less imposing both in substance and appearance? 

Episode 304 - Pitch Perfect

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Curt Covert, Melissa Lewis-Gentry, Jason Walters, Isaac Vega.

How do you present a game to playtesters without biasing them, but getting what you want from the test? How do you present that same game to a publisher differently? How do you present the game to fans at a show to get them excited enough to buy it? Some things will be identical, others will be custom-tailored to the audience and what they care about (or what you want from it). And there are multiple versions of each.

Episode 303: New Tools for Old Hands

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Olivia Montoya, Donna Prior, Avonelle Wing.

 

Discord. Itch. Twitch. If you blinked and suddenly your peers sound like they’re talking about new horsemen of a very minor apocalypse, we’re here to help you catch up. There are a plethora of new(ash) platforms available to empower your gaming experiences. Avie’s here as our token dinosaur, while Donna and Olivia bring the knowledge

Episode 302: Shores Not Quite Undiscovered

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Pamela Punzalan, Vince Smith, and Alastor Guzman.

 

Much of the dialogue relevant to the tabletop gaming industry and the communities that form around it is centered around the United States of America. Many know that creators from all around the world exist, but few understand just how different their contexts can be from the status quo. This panel seeks to bring multiple voices from beyond America together in order to discuss these differences, and provide some nuanced insight on how the America-centered industry informs their own contexts and communities.

Episode 301: Games, Gamefeel and Umami

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by James Wallis, Cat Tobin, Kieron Gillen, Jacob Jaskov.

We all know how certain games feel in play and how they make us feel, but as designers and critics we don't have a set of words to describe it. Do we need an experiential vocabulary of play, and what would one look like?

Episode 300: Crafting Game Mechanics to Support Player Agency

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Jacob Segal, Justin Ford, Ian Hart.

Systems like Forged in the Dark are designed with mechanics that deliberately support player agency. When paired with external safety tools, these agency-focused mechanics are intended to foster safer play culture and richer experiences. Our panelists will discuss what we mean by "player agency" and what these mechanics look like and how they work.

Episode 299: NPCs as a Design Elements

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Jason Pitre, Zedeck Siew, Sinta Posadas.

Non-player characters are vital to tabletop and live action roleplaying games. They provide companionship, contrast, resources, information, and dramatic conflict with the players. They are the avatars of the setting, and the best tools that a GM has at their disposal. In this panel, we discuss how games can be designed using NPCs as a key mechanism of play. 

Episode 298: Becoming Better Than Well Intentioned

Recorded at Metatopia 2020 Online

Presented by Kitty Stryker, Spider Perry, Avonelle Wing.

We will talk about practical actions you can take to be better prepared the next time you have the chance to speak up. It might be addressing a micro-aggression at the game table or shutting down a bully who wants to make somebody feel small in an online setting, for example. These aren't easy things and the skills don't always come naturally. Our panelists will talk about practicing phrases and learning to overcome the social conditioning that perpetuates "isms

Episode 297: Accessible Core Mechanics and Horror

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Anne Ratchat, Spider Perry, Misha Bushyager, Mids Meinberg, Pamela Punzalan.

For all the merits of the genre, it is not an exaggerated statement to say that horror is the least accessible genres in analog gaming. Between mechanics that require physical ability, the habitual use of monsters whose descriptions sound uncomfortably close to home, and the widespread misunderstanding of how mental health and mental illnesses work, a large swath of players are alienated before the game even begins. In this panel, we will use the recurrent inaccessible themes in horror to explore how one can build a more accessible game from the core mechanics out. 

Episode 296: RPGs for Therapy

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Heather O'Neill, Timothy Grant, Brian Quinones, Jack Berkenstock.

This panel of game designers and therapists will discuss their journey to design RPGs for use in therapy as well as the overall benefit of using roleplaying games as a therapeutic tool. What games have they used in the past? What worked, what didn't? How did they modify games for therapy sessions? 

Episode 295: Integrating the Natural World

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Jeeyon Shim, Meguey Baker, Jason Morningstar.

 

Understanding the natural world as an active participant in games and design shifts our engagement with environmental justice and enriches every aspect of our work. Join this panel of game designers with backgrounds as adventure guides, outdoor educators, and naturalists as they discuss the various ways integrating the natural world positively impacts their design and community work in games. Attendees will learn tools to understand the more-than-human community around them in ways they can weave into their own participation in games, whether as players, designers, or organizers.

Episode 294: Applying Education Theory in Games

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Gabriel de los Angeles, Sen-Foong Lim, Brian Quinones.

Using concepts from education theory is a natural and obvious way to improve game design practices. Our panelists will talk about how to apply an understanding of how people learn and engage in play to your design process to create more immersive, satisfying designs.

Episode 293: Publishing in Asia

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Jason Morningstar, Sungil Kim, Taka'aki Ayukata, Steve Segedy.

Asian game markets are booming! Come meet two publishers who are actively licensing and translating English-language properties for their own countries and beyond. Join us for an informal conversation with and between publishers from Japan and Korea. 

Episode 292: Fulfillment to Latin America

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Alastor Guzman, Sergio Ake.

 

"How To Include Latin America In Your Kickstarter Fulfillment"  Latin American gamers are often excluded in Kickstarts due to.  high shipping prices, tax and unfamiliarity with the market. In this panel, we'll talk about how to include them in your fulfillment estimates and make it worthwhile for all involved.

Episode 291: Play With Your Food

Recorded at Metatopia 2020 Online

Presented by Anne Ratchat, Sharang Biswas, Bronwyn Sperling, Kristen Roberts.

 

Food is fundamental to survival and yet serves as so much more, building communities and relationships, serving as an artistic expression, connecting us to ideals and memories. We will explore our diverse relationship with food, cooking, and eating and, in turn, show how such simple acts can be very powerful mechanics in games, most notably LARP.

Episode 290: Tactile Games

Recorded at Metatopia 2020 Online

Presented by Avraham Yosef Baez, Bronwyn Sperling, Emily Care Boss

 

Role-playing games that integrate tactile components and mechanics allow our other senses to engage in play. Although COVID put a pause on many games that offer tactile experiences, join our conversation about what we are excited to have in the future. This panel will discuss how these little touches (see what we did there?) help enhance the game experience, how could they hurt it, and what considerations should be thought of when designing a game with tactile components. Whether it is sewing, stacking, smelling, or sounds, come join us and sigh about what we long to get back to. 

Episode 289: The Intersection of Roleplaying and Medicine

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

Presented by Rach Shelkey, Jacqueline Bryk, Sidney Icarus, Jen Dixon.

Has the current global health crisis inspired a new game idea? Considering writing a game about healthcare workers? Join our panelists as they discuss what role playing games can learn from the field of medicine and how to thoughtfully address the medical profession in your designs. Questions encouraged!

Episode 288: Designing Microsettings

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

 Presented by Richard Ruane, Brian Yaksha, Zedeck Siew, Amanda Franck, Pamela Punzalan.

 

Microsettings (settings that focus closely on a specific area, region, or location) can be a powerful touchstone for game design. By focusing their attention and concerns on a small region, city, or even places as focused as a bar, a school, or a shopping center, microsettings give the smaller, more particular stories a space to happen. In the panel, we'd like to discuss how designing and detailing of focused microsettings can evoke a location's multiplicity and diversity, make the world of the game more accessible and real, challenge characters to form relationships within the setting, and invoke curiosity about mundane aspects of setting life.

 

A thread of additional questions and answers have been prepared by Brian Yaksha, one of the panelists.

https://twitter.com/goatmansgoblet/status/1324917649143435265

 

 

 

Episode 287: Designing RPGs That Don't Centre on Violence

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020

 

Presented by Ash Kreider, Jason Morningstar, Mike Czaplinski, Jeeyon Shim.

 

A panel about the limitations of imagination when it comes to how we see violence in tabletop games. With the entire range of human experience to draw from, why is designing games without violence still seen as having a "niche" audience? In this panel, we will discuss what it means to explore designing games that don't feature interpersonal violence as a resolution mechanic.