RPG Design Panelcast

Recorded at Metatopia 2023 Presented by Jay Dragon and Amanda Valentine Every game has a voice, from the biggest trad book to an indie zine, and this narrative voice helps a game teach itself and stand on its own. In this round table held by award-winning game designer Jay Dragon we'll talk through a number of examples of games that utilize narrative voice to articulate their game-worlds, and rewr...

Recorded at Metatopia 2023 Presented by Tristan Zimmerman , Meghan Jaffe,  Sean Jaffe The Indie Game Developer Network (IGDN) is an all-volunteer trade association for tabletop publishers, designers, and freelancers. We offer booth space at conventions, share knowledge, and work to improve the industry. Come ask questions and learn whether the IGDN might be right for you!

Recorded at Metatopia 2023 Presented by Jack Parra , Lissane Lake , Nicole Amato Getting high-quality art is key to making a product look professional. Our panel makes with the tips and tricks to controlling costs and Funding the Project.

Recorded at Metatopia 2023 Presented by Jack Parra and Lissane Lake The panelists will touch on the process of how to find and approach artists, negotiate the contract, and then successfully work together. It's important that publishers get an artist's-eye-view of things so they can better understand what we do, the process, and the time involved and plan projects accordingly.

Recorded at Metatopia 2023 Presented by Nicole Amato Join Kickstarter's Games Outreach Lead, Nicole Amato, as they discuss best practices for running a crowdfunding campaign. There will also be plenty of time for a Q&A for any questions you might have.

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.

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.

Presented by Jason Pitre , Ash Kreider, Vivian Young , Eric Whalen , Tristan Zimmerman AI is a hot topic. Authors are suing over their content being used to "train" AI without their consent. Platforms and publishers are taking hard anti-AI positions. Or coming out publicly to declare that they are using AI and nobody can stop them. People who want to use AI for idea generation or to simplify and a...

Recorded at Metatopia 2023 Presented by Jason Pitre , Jenn Adcock , Brennan Taylor , Olivia Montoya Larpwrights and tabletop game designers have long relied on the power of complex relationship webs to drive dramatic play. Crafting effective characters and their interconnections allows for a living, breathing, and often conflicted world. The panel speakers will share best practices and techniques...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Jon Cole , Oscar Biffi , Katherine Shane , Misha B , Olivia Montoya , Chiara Locatelli . Some small game projects are created by an auteur, who controls every aspect of production. These panelists rejected that approach to create projects working with a team on behalf of their community. How did they balance the community's needs with their ambition?...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Jason Pitre , BJ Recio , Mags Maenad . Math is often a barrier for analog game designers of all disciplines. This panel is meant to help lower that barrier by teaching you some basic, versatile tools you can use to solve most problems. How do you figure out probabilities of success when rolling dice or drawing cards? What is a bell curve, a mean and a...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Menachem Cohen , Ryan Cagle . Because of the fictional distance between player and character, TTRPGs, even D&D, can be designed and used to facilitate spiritual growth, exploration, and healing. Mechanics, role play, and setting/story also factor into this and GMed, GMful/less, and solo games work in this context. Panelists will discuss how they have...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Jason Morningstar , Tim Hutchings , Jeeyon Shim . Join us for a rollicking discussion of our worst habits and how being lazy, careless and hard-headed is often the best possible approach to game design. Do you design in layout? Is your playtest process a little shambolic? Do you cut corners and assume the math will all work out? If not, come and be ou...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Anne Ratchat , Jason Morningstar , and regrets from James Mendez Hodes.  When writing games, a lot of topics are taboo simply because as a community, we are worried how people might take the intentionality of the design to the worst possible places. The issue created by not writing these games, we erase the experience of so many creatives and players...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Olivia Montoya , Acata Felton . In some circles, Secrets and Powers LARPs are dismissed as outdated or "too obscure." Our panelists flatly reject this mindset, and invite you to join them for a discussion about what Secrets and Powers games have to offer. Come learn more about this specific type of LARP, which has a focus on pre-written characters, hi...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Mel D'Amato Anyone who makes or sells consumer goods has been watching the news about shipping and logistics in horror. The cost of freight is up. There are no shipping containers to put goods into. Products are sitting on docks in Asia. Full ships can't get to port to unload on this side of the ocean. Our expert, Mel D'Amato from ShipBob, talks to us...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Jon Lemich , Chance Feldstein , Alex White . There are many diceless RPGs, but their mechanics and design objectives vary more than most designers realize. What do you need to consider when designing a diceless RPG? Do you simply want to replace dice with cards or hidden information wagers, or do you want it to be randomizerless, gameless, or pure col...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Joan Moriarity , Darren Watts , Beth Rimmels . Which is better, a game that concludes when somebody wins, or a game that concludes when the story is deemed to be complete? It's a trick question, obviously; both styles have their benefits and drawbacks, but what are those exactly? Why do certain kinds of players tend to gravitate toward one or the othe...

Recorded at Metatopia 2021 Presented by Eric Whalen. Lawyers secretly know that you do not read the big chunks of standardized text in your contract that have nothing to do with your obligations and how much you are getting paid / paying (called "boilerplate" text). Worse - many lawyers forget to read the boilerplate in their own contracts! Whether you love or hate these reader-unfriendly text wal...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Moe Poplar , Michael Low , J Gurantz . Now kids, stop fighting! RPGs are intensely emotionally engaging, deeply moving experiences - and they're fun! Much attention has been paid, recently, to their application in therapy, helping people navigate complex emotional change. This creates a question - how does the violence often built into the system - an...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by presented by Jack Rosetree , Olivia Montoya , Taylor LaBresh . Perfection is a toxic concept. The pressure to make our games elegant, innovative, replayable, marketable, pitchable, attractive, and trendy can be exhausting. Don't be afraid to make ugly, unmarketable, uncomfortable, or downright bad games. Making trash is liberating, exhilarating, and c...

Recorded at Metatopia 2021 Presented by Jason Pitre , Rae Nedjadi and Sean Nittner with regrets from Jay Dragon.   Countless brilliant analog game designers are creating innovative games around the world. Unfortunately, creatives from many countries face harsh barriers in terms of crowdfunding access, banking regulations, shipping challenges, or other factors. That is why international co-publishi...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Jonathan Lavallee , Alastor Guzman , Moe Poplar . Do You Want to Build a Snowman? Printing and Publishing Where You Are.  In this panel we'll be looking at the current state of printing and publishing RPGs from Canada, the US, Europe, and Mexico. Where are there new opportunities for small publishers to produce physical books without breaking the bank...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Richard Ruane , Pam Punzalan , Brian Yaksha , Zedeck Siew .   In METATOPIA 2020's "Devil in the Details" panel, we explored microsettings; settings that focus closely on a specific area, region, or location. This year, we'll discuss how microsettings challenge traditional assumptions about game mechanics, focusing on character creation, magic, technol...

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Thomas Manuel , Logan Timmins , Rae Nedjadi , Aaron Lim , momatoes . Asking and answering questions seems really simple but at the same time, it's a powerful tool in the game design process. Watch a group of storygame designers talk about the role of questions in their games and how they can help you get the best out of play at the table.