RPG Design Panelcast

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:...

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 somet...

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 p...

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 makin...

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 postmod...

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. You can subscribe to us here!  RS...

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...

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”.   Episode 59:...

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 e...

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.   Episode 57: So You're Making Your First Game Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (308) You can subscribe to us here!...

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 You can subscribe to us here!  RSS Feed iTunes   Episode 56: What Editors Do Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (168)  

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.   Episode 55: How to Succeed at Conventions Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (165)...

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.     Episode 54: Playtest Feedback Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (176) You can subscribe to us here!  RSS Feed iTunes

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.   Episode 53: Cartography of Fictional Worlds Play Now | Play in Popup | Downloa...

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 ar...

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....

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.   Episode 50: Computer Hacking in Games [ 56:31 ] Play Now |...

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?   Episode 49: GMless...

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...

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 playtesti...

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...

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...

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...

Book Design 101 – First Principles Recorded at Metatopia 2013 Presented by  Fred Hicks and Hal Mangold The panelists look at the book as an object of design. Whether it’s conveying rules or setting, the look and feel of the book itself is crucial to the experience of play. Our experts will draw on their own experiences to explain why books look the way they do.   Episode 43: Book Design 101 - Firs...

Adventure Design as Technology Recorded at Metatopia 2014 Presented by Cam Banks & Rob Donoghue . We started with a map and a key. There have been structural improvements since then: boxed text, wandering monsters, plot point adventures, hard and soft points, personality-driven dungeons, mad libs plots and many more. This process has not been rigors, so the spread of these ideas has been haphazard...