RPG Design Panelcast

Introduction to RPG Design Recorded at Gencon 2016 Presented by Jason Pitre, Dustin Depenning , Emily Care Boss , Shoshanna Kessock You can design games, and we want to help. This panel, sponsored by the Indie Game Developer Network, is here to get you started by sharing resources and best practices.  Want to find out the basic of game design? We are here to help show you the way. Before you go, w...

Fictional Cartography Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by Mark Richardson & Kenneth Hite Presented by Mark Richardson & Kenneth Hite. A discussion of map making for use in games. From tools to methodology and creative process. Learn what goes in to bringing life to the maps at the center of our gaming tables! You can subscribe to us here!  RSS Feed iTunes   Episode 90: Fictional Cartography Pl...

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 stimulatin...

Gaming the Future: Putting the Science Fiction in SF RPGs Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by Joshua A.C. Newman , Dev Purkayastha, Laura Simpson & Rachel Walton . Science Fiction, as a genre, has always been about social change and the pressures that change exerts on those caught in that change. That vertiginous change in perspective is designed to give us insight into the human condition as...

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 li...

GMing Outside Your Comfort Zone Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by  Cheyenne Wall-Grimes ,  Sarah Richardson  and Elsa S. Henry We all have games that we love to play and GM, but what happens when you break out of your normal type of game and venture into unknown territory? How do you deal with a new group of players who are into something very different than what you normally run? Whether it...

Recycle! Using Material From Other Games Ethically and Effectively Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by Justin Jacobson , Cam Banks , Jeff Tidball & Andre La Roche. At one time or another, every designer gains inspiration from existing works. Whether it’s snagging a single mechanic or repurposing an entire game with one crucial tweak. What are some tricks for finding that inspiration and using...

Patterns and Shapes in Larp Design Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by   J Li and Jason Morningstar From spatial layout to information management, this workshop lays out some of the architectural and psychological principles behind LARP design as craft. What’s the difference between a three person conversation and a four person conversation? What does time pressure do to plot? How do you chang...

How to Give and Receive Critique Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by   Joshua A.C. Newman ,  Hannah Shaffer & Rachel E.S. Walton . Planning and running a Kickstarter campaign for your game can be like designing and playing another game. Will you hack an existing formula or take a risk on an unusual approach? Will it include lots of fiddly mechanics and rewards or will you take a more artistic...

Kickstarter 101 (2015) Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by JR Honeycutt , Joshua A.C. Newman & Chris O’Neill Planning and running a Kickstarter campaign for your game can be like designing and playing another game. Will you hack an existing formula or take a risk on an unusual approach? Will it include lots of fiddly mechanics and rewards or will you take a more artistic direction? When you’re...

Cinematic Plays Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by  Will Hindmarch What are cinematic game mechanics? What makes a game cinematic and what do we call it when a game is not cinematic? In this presentation, writer/designer Will Hindmarch examines the languages of film and what we can borrow from cinema when we make our games, our adventures, and our plays at the table. You can subscribe to us h...

Game Distribution Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by Brian Dalrymple  and Darren Watts An overview of the 3-tier system (Publisher to Distributor to Retailer), following the course of a game after production (solicitation to wholesalers, trade shows and open houses, discount structures, buying patterns and reorder cycles, the preorder system, flooring, and more…), and covering how stores disc...

Agile Design and Publishing Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by  Rob Donoghue and  Emily Dresner Join our panelists for a discussion of how nerdy business concepts such as Agile software development to can be applied to your gaming experience. Key concepts of agile software design include rapid and flexible response to change – let’s talk about how to apply them to running games. More about Ag...

Creativity In Business: Pixar’s Success and Lessons For Tabletop Publishing Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by  Jeff Tidball ,  Cam Banks Managing a company of creative people can be challenging. New ideas are always being introduced into structured spaces that resist change and fear innovation and imagination. Tabletop game publishers and managers can learn from the success of Pixar, Inc, wh...

Project Budgeting For Tabletop Games Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by  Jeff Tidball , Cat Tobin & Justin Jacobson The process of producing a board game, card game, or role playing game is lousy, with opportunities for financial disaster. Learn what financial factors you should take into account when planning a game production, and walk through a spreadsheet that’ll help you plan your own pr...

Formalizing Your Game Business Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by Fred Hicks , Steve Segedy , Darren Watts and Brennan Taylor Is your company ready to take the next step? We’ll discuss how to turn a tiny game company into a slightly-larger game company. You can subscribe to us here!  RSS Feed iTunes   Episode 76: Formalizing Your Game Business Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (217)

Matters Of Scale: Running A Small Gaming Business Recorded at Metatopia 2015 Presented by Fred Hicks , Rob Donoghue and Steve Segedy Game publishing is a very different beast depending on how new you are to the industry and how much reach you and your game might have. Small press and independent creators will find that which printers, distributors and fulfillment channels they might use varies wil...

Genius Loci: Your Setting is the Character Recorded at Metatopia 2014 Presented by  Will Hindmarch Places, rather than protagonists, are often what RPG campaigns have in common because the characters are bespoke but the setting is shared. How does your game’s space inform its setting – and vice versa? How does setting pose and reflect theme? Settings can be characters in their own right, tuned and...

Opacity, Transparency, and Player Incentives in Your Strategy Board Game Recorded at Metatopia 2014 Presented by Gil Hova Do people understand what’s going on in your game? Not just the rules, but can they tell who’s winning? If they should watch out for a dangerous player? If they know exactly how their move will impact their next few turns? Join designer Gil Hova as he discusses transparency and...

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....

Explicit vs Role-Based Knowledge Recorded at Metatopia 2014 Presented by Clark Valentine, Shane Harsch  and  Evan Torner . This seminar poses the question of whether it is possible to support a detailed, knowledge-rich environment for an RPG without creating a situation where the character that should know how to do something actually does not. Where is the balance between detail and role? You can...

Editing Rulebooks Recorded at Metatopia 2014 Presented by Joshua Yearsley . Your rulebook is the heart of your game, so why not give it the love it deserves? In this seminar, you’ll learn ten best practices for improving the structure, style, and clarity of your rulebook. Got any burning questions about rules craft? Get answers from a professional rulebook editor. Additional references and a copy...

Social Media Action Steps Recorded at Metatopia 2014 Presented by Beth Rimmels. Social media is a crucial marketing step, especially for new and small businesses. Even better, it can cost you little to nothing, but can be confusing or overwhelming. This panel will explain what’s essential, where to start (and on which social media channel), free and low-cost tools that will make your life easier,...

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...

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 theo...