RPG Design PanelCast

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 making and running games that work for young players. You can subscribe to us here!  RSS Feed iTunes

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 postmodern “slipstream” depend on subverting or deranging expectations, but how can you get good play without something to play off of? Do Koestler’s “bisociation” or Lovecraft’s “truly weird” help us out or derail us? Designer Kenneth Hite (NIGHT’S BLACK AGENTS, DAY AFTER RAGNAROK) isn’t sure yet, which is why he asks you to join him and think out loud on these topics. You can subscribe to us here!  RSS Feed iTunes

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!  RSS Feed iTunes

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 associated with designing games that are not accessible. You can subscribe to us here!  RSS Feed iTunes  

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”. You can subscribe to us here!  RSS Feed iTunes  

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 effectively bring greater diversity to their ranks, mentor emerging voices, and share leadership roles. You can subscribe to us here!  RSS Feed iTunes

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. You can subscribe to us here!  RSS Feed iTunes  

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  

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. You can subscribe to us here!  RSS Feed iTunes

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.   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. You can subscribe to us here!  RSS Feed iTunes

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 are some important strategies to keep your collaboration healthy and productive. What happens when one person is doing the majority of the work? Do you need a contract when working with your friends? Who owns the intellectual property that you produce? What happens if you become an overnight success? We’ll share strategies, horror stories, and success stories about creative collaboration.

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.  

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?