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 direction? When you’re running the campaign, how do you play the roles of marketer, designer, publi...
Jun 17, 2016•49 min•Ep. 163
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 running the campaign, how do you play the roles of marketer, designer, publisher, business pers...
Jun 08, 2016•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 164
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 here! RSS Feed iTunes Episode 81: Cinematic Plays Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (336)...
May 28, 2016•49 min•Ep. 165
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 discover, order, stock, and merchandise, as they try to put them in customers’ hands. Viable alternatives...
May 14, 2016•59 min•Ep. 166
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 Agile from Rob over on his site, at this blog post! Yes You Kan(ban) You can subscribe to us here! RSS F...
Apr 30, 2016•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 167
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, who have mastered the art of ushering in and protecting the new, releasing their employees from common l...
Apr 16, 2016•54 min•Ep. 168
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 projects by estimating their profitability (or lack thereof). You can subscribe to us here! RSS Fee...
Mar 31, 2016•56 min•Ep. 169
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)...
Mar 16, 2016•48 min•Ep. 170
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 wildly depending on their goals and how much risk they’re willing to take. You can subscribe to us here...
Mar 05, 2016•56 min•Ep. 171
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 portrayed through your design to dramatize the themes and issues at the heart of your game. In this ...
Feb 06, 2016•56 min•Ep. 172
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 opacity in strategy board games. We will discuss what makes a game mechanism transparent or opaque,...
Jan 18, 2016•52 min•Ep. 173
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. Can a Lovecraft-inspired game make his work more accessible? It’s okay to like problematic thin...
Dec 05, 2015•59 min•Ep. 174
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 subscribe to us here! RSS Feed iTunes Episode 71: Explicit vs Role-Based Knowledge Play Now | Play in...
Nov 28, 2015•59 min•Ep. 175
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 of the presentation is available at http://joshuayearsley.com/case/ten-things-you-can-do-to-make-you...
Nov 22, 2015•50 min•Ep. 176
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, and how to grow an audience organically. You can subscribe to us here! RSS Feed iTunes Episode 69: S...
Nov 14, 2015•53 min•Ep. 177
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 Core, Designers & Dragons, and more), and Hannah Shaffer (Questlandia) share their experienc...
Oct 13, 2015•1 hr•Ep. 178
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 theories of information organization, best practices for making the important information in your ga...
Sep 12, 2015•58 min•Ep. 179
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: Inspectres, Headspace, Dog Eat Dog, Paranoia, Fiasco and Apocalypse World. There is a reference to ca...
Aug 29, 2015•53 min•Ep. 180
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 sometimes hostile industry. You can subscribe to us here! RSS Feed iTunes Episode 65: Women in Game De...
Aug 15, 2015•56 min•Ep. 181
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 play? Dramatic editing at the table allows for players to propose and explore actions without them nec...
Aug 08, 2015•48 min•Ep. 182
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 E...
Aug 01, 2015•54 min•Ep. 183
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 witho...
Jul 25, 2015•58 min•Ep. 184
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 Episode 61: Growing Up In The Indies Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (177)...
Jul 11, 2015•55 min•Ep. 185
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 iTu...
Jul 04, 2015•57 min•Ep. 186
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: Style Guides are your Friend Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (204) You can subscribe to us here! RS...
Jun 27, 2015•38 min•Ep. 187
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 ...
Jun 20, 2015•56 min•Ep. 188
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! RSS Feed iTunes...
Jun 12, 2015•57 min•Ep. 189
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)...
May 30, 2015•55 min•Ep. 190
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) You can subscribe to us here! RSS Feed iTunes...
May 22, 2015•53 min•Ep. 191
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...
May 12, 2015•55 min•Ep. 192
