Stop, Hack, and Roll Podcast

In this episode Brandon and James dive into The Wielder playbook that James has been working on. They work out some of the mechanics for the feature and talk a lot about how to turn research and theme into actual playbook. Find us both on twitter as @stophackandroll Find all our episodes and links to some of the games we’ve been working on at Email us at James or Brandon @ Stophackandroll.com Plea...

In this episode Brandon and James talk about using mechanics ripped from other games to track campaign plot threads. Notes Buy your copy of the Pasión de las Pasiones ashcan here . Games mentions in this episode: Hydrohackers Urban Shadows Blades in the Dark Masks: A New Generation Find us both on twitter as @stophackandroll Find all our episodes and links to some of the games we’ve been working o...

In this episode Brandon and James talk about the games you submitted to the New Year, New Game, Game Jam. They are all fantastic. We want to play all of them. Resources New Year, New Game, Game Jam Games Find us both on twitter as @stophackandroll Find all our episodes and links to some of the games we’ve been working on at Email us at James or Brandon @ Stophackandroll.com Please Rate and review...

In this episode Brandon and James get down and dirty with the greasy mechanics of game design. Neither of them is afraid to pull on some coveralls, pop the hood of a game truck, and work on the engine. This metaphor has really gone about as far as we can take it. This one’s good and runs a little long. Enjoy. Notes This is the last episode for the year. There will be no episode on the 26th. Stop H...

In this episode Brandon and James talk how to run a playtest and how to turn playtest notes into productive game design using AGILE/scrum as a design methodology. Notes You can buy the ashcan of Pasión de las Pasiones either... In print on the Magpie Games website or as a pdf on DriveThru RPG . For more Agile and game production check out Episode 79 of The RPG Design Panelcast Find us both on twit...

In this episode Brandon and James decompress after a busy adventure to New Jersey for Metatopia. They talk about how their playtests went, the cool games they played and the rad people they met. They were excited and talked fast. They hope you don’t listen to the podcast at 3x speed. Find us both on twitter as @stophackandroll Find all our episodes and links to some of the games we’ve been working...

In this episode Brandon and James touch base with the games they are working on and where the network is. They’re prepping for their annual trip to Metatopia! Both are bringing games to playtest and James is in a panel. Notes are going to be short this week because everything is hectic. Notes Learn more about Metatopia here . Find us both on twitter as @stophackandroll Find all our episodes and li...

In this episode James asks Brandon some hard questions about where to start when writing a playbook for a Powered by the Apocalypse game, like Masks: A New Generation. Notes If you’re coming to Metatopia let us know! James will be playing his ice hauler romance game and hosting a panel about Actual Play podcasts. Brandon will be there doing more playtesting and selling the ashcan of his game! Find...

In this episode Brandon and James lay all their football cards on the court. James lays out his ideas for a fantasy story game in the style of The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen that uses an actual fantasy football league as a mechanic. Games mentions in this episode: The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen Find us both on twitter as @stophackandroll Find all our episodes an...

In this episode Brandon and James are joined by Elsbeth to sit down and play the Signal Light hack of Microscope that James wrote. In this episode they use Signal Light to create Protean City, home to the heroes of our new podcast Protean City Comics. Notes Protean City Comics is a weekly Mask: A New Generation AP podcast. Subscribe on iTunes or Google Play. Resources Here is a link to the Revised...

Episode 34 - Signal Lights In this episode Brandon and James talk an odd kind of hack designed to bridge the gap between two games. Specifically they chat about James’s game Signal Light, a hack of Microscope designed to build a setting for Masks: A New Generation. Notes The next episode will be a break from our standard episodes. We are launching a new podcast and our actual play of the Signal Li...

In this episode Brandon and James ramble about play by post games, but eventually get on point talking about nation states, kingly moves, and other faction tier movings and shakings. We talk about different tools and hacks you could use to either play a realistic world history, or have one ready for a game you’re playing. Things get weird. Stay til the end. Notes Both Brandon and James are having...

In this episode Brandon and James reveal today’s special ingredient. It’s Special Ingredients! They chat about the Game Chef 2017 game jam and the games they did or did not submit to it. Starting with Game Chef and move on to talking about what a Stop, Hack, and Roll game jam would look like. Find us both on twitter as @stophackandroll Find all our episodes and links to some of the games we’ve bee...

In this episode Brandon and James talk about the game Microscope by Ben Robbins and a few different hacks of the game they’ve considered writing. We low-key hype a new show we’re really seriously working on and make a lot of bad Inception jokes. Notes This episode got a little weird. I’m sorry. It was a long week. Resources <img src= " https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/show/82177/Untitled.png "...

In this episode Brandon and James talk about the action order economy and how games handle the very practical issue of dealing with sequence that events happen. They touch on structures for making sure every player gets the spotlight, but also making sure it makes sense for the character mechanically. Finally they ask the big questions like “can I just take this initiative system and put it in ano...

In this episode Brandon and James talk about the Fiasco, the game they agreed to prep for, as well as Reflections, the game James read by accident. Then in a twist ending, James plans for a topic without telling Brandon anything. This is a good one. Games mentions in this episode: Reflections Fiasco Tweet at us @StopHackandRoll or use #SHRpod For more information about the podcast or either of the...

In this episode Brandon and James chat about incentive structures in games. James proposes a taxonomy for mechanical incentives and Brandon, a trained behaviorist, pokes a lot of holes in that theory. They come around to a solid conclusion. Notes Here is the original Incentives Reddit thread James was reading. Between when we recorded and when these notes were written Reddit user FreeXenon write a...

In this episode Brandon and James follow up the previous episode by talking about James’s new mission: create a tv show creation game - tentatively called “CW The Show The Game”. They walk through the work James did in the last two weeks and develop the game even further. Notes We can announce now that Brandon is going to be working with Magpie Games to produce an ashcan copy of his game: Pasión d...

In this episode Brandon and James talk about if we really need to have random number generators as a resolution mechanic. Could you replace dice with a live studio audience? James accidentally stumbles backwards into a table larp with an audience ratings mechanic. Games mentions in this episode: Apocalypse World Dread Numenera Tweet at us @StopHackandRoll or use #SHRpod For more information about...

In this episode Brandon and James talk about how modules and other self contained game content can still be useful in the narrative game scene. They talk about updating your old D&D modules and to play in Dungeon World. In the later half of the show they make a game module for Masks to help you play a Very Special episode. Notes The module we make is designed to emulate a Very Special episode...

In this episode Brandon and James talk about reading new and old games in a way that helps to unmask design choices. James has been reading Cypher and taking notes on how he reads games for the first time knowing that he’ll want to come back and hack the system. Brandon has been contemplating what mechanics he could borrow for his game. Notes We mention our friend Troy and Darcy. Check out their f...

In this episode Brandon and James dig into an old world building conversation they had while trying to extract a moral from it. Reskinning is hacking and thoughtful reskinning can help lead to cool plot hooks, character drama, and maybe even mechanics. Notes Single Biome Planet Trope Resources Original conversation document Tweet at us @StopHackandRoll or use #SHRpod For more information about the...

In this episode Brandon and James are joined by John Adamus of game editing, panel-talking, Noir World-creating fame. We’ve been meaning to come back around to talk about how to hack genre into a game system and the release of the Noir World Kickstarter seems as good a time as any. John walks us through his process and oh yeah this episode is almost 2 hours long. Notes Follow John Adamus on Twitte...

In this episode Brandon and James take their foot off the breaks and shift into overdrive. Starting only with what they had worked out in episode 18 for their racing game they work through the framework for a game that might just might be able to play Speed Racer AND The Fast and the Furious. Buckle up and hold on tight. Games mentions in this episode: Headspace Masks: A New Generation Misspent Yo...

In this episode Brandon and James make a lot of corny flashback jokes. They also talk about adding flashbacks, montages, and time leaps into your games. These common cinematic elements are often overlooked in tabletop games so Brandon and James explore how you could use them, either as a pure narrative device or as a game mechanic. Games mentions in this episode: Apocalypse World Blades in the Dar...