Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Eric Simon , Shoshana Kessock. History is more diverse than we think. Whether you're developing settings that are close to real history or highly speculative alt-history, there's always room to expand representation by highlighting real people and experiences. Let's research together in this interactive workshop!
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Steve Segedy , Christopher Badell , Mark Richardson , and Cat Tobin. Once you've created a game, what are your options for getting it out into the world? Come ask questions and find out about printing, distribution, and fulfillment options for independent designers and small publishers. We could also include discussion of Kickstarter, BackerKit, contracts, licensing, etc....
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Jim McClure. This panel will cover the art behind using game mechanics to influence player behavior. The panelist will dissect mechanics from published games and discuss how these mechanics influence play, and what lessons designers can learn from them.
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Jacqueline Bryk , Kate Bullock , Hamish Cameron "Beyond Bright Lights: Doing Cyberpunk Differently". Much of cyberpunk focuses on the heroic outcast: the usually white male hacker or delivery person or shadowrunner bent on twisting the system for himself. Most of these stories take place in massive, crowded cities -- so why is it so rare to see any other narrative? Let's talk about how to expand our view of cyberpunk!...
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Brian Neff , Kiva Fecteau Crunching the Cardboard - Tabletop Analytics and Feedback". Playtesting and gathering feedback is the first step. The next step is to figure out what to do with the data you've collected and apply it to your design process productively. We will talk about how to discern which data should change your path and how.
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Kate Bullock , Kelvin Ortega , Jennifer Graham-Macht . Our panelists talk about how to be good playtesters. Learn how to hear the questions being asked and answer with useful feedback. We all want to give helpful criticism; learn more about how to do that.
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Brandon Leon-Gambetta , Miguel Angel Espinoza , Mark Diaz Truman , Alejandro Guzman Vendrell , Jennifer Gutterman . Join us for a celebration of Latinidad and an opportunity to come together as a Latinx community. This panel of Latinx game designers come together to discuss what it is like to write, play in, and run games while Latinx....
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Sam Saltiel , Elsa Henry , Avonelle Wing , Eli Eaton. Queer Erasure: Queerness is not a monolith. Queer game design is not immune to erasure, and by examining the state of currently available and celebrated games (and games) that address queerness, we can explore ways to expand our narratives to include the entire glorious rainbow....
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Brian Neff , Darren Watts , Cat Tobin . There are a lot of people who will say that full-time jobs don't exist in the Gaming Industry. That is wrong. There are tons of ways to make a career out of making games. It involves working long hours and probably being underpaid, but they exist. Here's how to look for them, and how to prepare for them....
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Jack Parra , Lissanne Lake , Scott Bowmanchester How To Work With Artists: This panel will touch on the process of how to find and approach artists, negotiate the contract, and then successfully work together. It's important that publishers get an artist's-eye-view of things so they can better understand what we do, the process, and the time involved and plan projects accordingly....
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Melissa Lewis-Gentry , Beth Rimmels , Christopher Tang . Marketing Is More Than Social Media. While social media is an important tool for marketers to use, many companies confuse it for the whole breadth of a marketing. Hear expert marketing professionals talk about what marketing departments should be doing for game publishing companies....
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by presented by Rach Shelkey , Jacqueline Bryk. Honobono games. Heartwarming games. Pastoral games. Roleplaying games that focus on finding excitement in mundane situations and reinforcing positive emotion spaces go by several different labels. How do you design for uplifting gameplay? What impact do these games have on players? Our panelists will explore RPGs and mechanics that help players explore those warm fuzzy feelings....
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Randy Lubin. A Stage Gate Approach to Game Development: A stage gate approach involves developing multiple ideas in parallel, starting with one sentence pitches. Each round of the design process advances to a higher fidelity pitch, rule set, or playtest and each round you cull a subset of the potential games. It's a highly effective method for generating a breadth of ideas, overcoming design anxiety, and developing with confidence...
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Christopher Tang "Getting Started With DriveThruRPG". Let's talk about how to interact with DriveThruRPG, some of the nitty gritty process but also the general principles to bear in mind and some of the things many people do not know like the details of the OGL, basic copyright law, the availability of Community Content programs, etc. Also taking audience questions liberally since I expect there will be those. We will also cover some of the ways the site h...
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Juliet Meyer , Raymond Bruels Marketing 201: Creating Content around Your Brand/Product. You've got a brand/product and you've got all the social media channels and a website. Great. Now what? Learn how to create consistent content for your brand/product that will resonate with your audience. This class covers Twitch streaming, social post scheduling/generation, as well as some ideas for rich media creation, and how to go about creating content for your br...
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Juliet Meyer , Raymond Bruels Marketing 101: Creating a Basic Marketing Plan. This is a basic course in marketing your brand and/or your product and helping you know the difference between the two in terms of tone and voice. Which social media platform is best for you? How should you measure success? Do I need a website/Facebook/Instagram/Telegram Channel/Sub-Reddit and what are those things? What are the different ways to market? What is my target demogra...
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Julia Ellingboe and Brand Robins . Approaching Allyship from a Genuinely Intersectional Perspective. There's no formal roadmap to being a "good" ally. It's easy to scratch the surface and stop moving, because you've challenged your own paradigm. That's not enough. Let's brainstorm tools and tactics for guiding allies towards functional engagement....
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Mabel Harper , Avonelle Wing , Misha Bushyager , and Eli Eaton. A discussion about why some people, specifically members of minority groups, might feel drawn to darker games and survival narratives, and how fiction of this nature both describes reality and can also provide answers, empowerment, and revolutionary verve in a world that is hostile to racial, sexual, ethnic, and gender minorities...
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Chandler Copenhaver , Steve Segedy and Christopher Batarlis . Kickstarter today is a different animal than it was a year or five years ago. Let's talk about the things you need to know if you're launching a campaign next year.
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Kristen Roberts and Jennifer Gutterman Eat, Drink & Be Merry: Developing Cultural Touchstones for Immersive World Building". Building dynamic worlds for your game is not just about swords, guns and magic. Much of what gives our world it's depth and richness is rooted in environment and evolving cultural traditions. Using examples like native cuisines, holidays, and slang terminology, this workshop will focus on how to develop setting-specific cultural ...
Recorded at BreakoutCon 2019 Presented by Anne Ratchat, Misha Bushyager , James Mendez Hodes , Eli Eaton & Jonaya Kemper with moderation by Jason Pitre Knowing how to support people is always difficult. When considering different backgrounds and identities, good intentions can backfire. This panel will introduce what to consider when being an ally and some ways to assist in a productive manner. EDITOR's NOTE: The audio recorder stopped recording 2/3rds of the way into this panel, but the con...
Recorded at Breakout 2019 Presented by Daniel Kwan, Agatha Cheng , Amar, Kienna S. and James Mendez Hodes with moderation by Daniel Kwan. How do we make our games and tables more inclusive? How do we make our stories more interesting and diverse? Join the Asians Represent! podcast crew as they discuss and answer these questions.
Recorded at Breakout 2019 Presented by Nicole Winchester , Mo Turkington , Misha Bushyager , Sharang Biswas & Jonaya Kemper with moderation by Jason Pitre Different individuals, communities, countries, and cultures have different ideas about what LARPs and roleplaying games should and should not address, and as gaming communities interact on and offline these ideas often come into conflict. What is acceptable in a game, and who gets to make that decision? How do we have productive and compas...
Recorded at BreakoutCon 2019 Presented by Tracy Gibbons , James D'Amato , Bianca Zelda , Daniel Kwan with moderation by Victoria Rogers You don't need to prep for hours to run a fun game that everyone will enjoy. GMing doesn't have to be a daunting experience. This panel will talk about ways to let go of the reins and give everyone at the table a chance to collaborate and create the story together....
Recorded at BreakoutCon 2019 Presented by Chris Spivey, Robin Laws, James Mendez Hodes, with moderation by Corey Reid Bring your thorniest GMing problems to our doughty panel, in a Q & A event focused on practical solutions to dilemmas both classic and new
Recorded at BreakoutCon 2019 Presented by Stephanie Bryant , Harlan Guthrie , Jo Fallak with moderation by Jennifer Adcock An overview and discussion of virtual tabletops for playing tabletop games online, remotely as well as with an at-table device. Features to expect, different playstyles, etc....
Recorded at Breakout 2019 Presented by Camdon Wright , Angela Murray and Chris Spivey , with moderation by Senda Linaugh Let’s face it, some games are just better for cons than others! This panel of experts will discuss what makes a game a good pick for a con. What kind of mechanics work best? What kind of stories? How do you stay on time? How do you invest your players quickly in your game? All this and your questions!...
Recorded at BreakoutCon 2019 Presented by Anne Ratchet Nicole Winchester , Moyra Turkington and Jonaya Kemper Have you always wanted to play LARPs at Breakout or out in the ‘real world’? Or are you wary of LARP and want your questions answered about this embodied form of play? Come on by to learn more about the different kinds of LARP, how to decide if a LARP is for you, how to tell if a LARP is safer space and more! We’ll also discuss our experiences with LARP as creators and players, offer exa...
Recorded at BreakoutCon 2019 Presented by Emily Griggs , Camdon Wright , Sharang Biswas , & Cat Ramen Most great stories start with great characters, and the stories told around a game table are no exception. A discussion about creating player characters that will engage everyone in the table, and help tell amazing stories that everyone will enjoy. Panelists: Emily Griggs, Camdon Wright, Sharang Biswas, Cat Ramen Moderator: Emily Griggs...
Recorded at BreakoutCon 2019 Presented by James Mendez Hodes , Sharang Biswas , Agatha Cheng. Moderated by Daniel Kwan Regrets from Banana Chan Are you interested in how Asian cultures can inspire games and game design? Are you curious about Asian portrayal in games? Join us for a panel discussion about these topics as experienced Asian TTRPG, LARP, and board game designers discuss cultural and historical themes. We will talk through examples that we’ve seen, the differences between Asian Americ...
