Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Tam Myaing , Heather Wilson . Games by their nature are learning tools. When we play games, we are, at a minimum, learning the mechanics and the boundaries of the game space. Can we use this 'learning mechanic' to design better games, and better players? The panel will explore the mechanics of learning in games and their potential to reach beyond the game space....
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Darren Watts , Christopher O'Neill, Roberta Taylor . You've got a board game, card game, RPG or LARP in your head, but something's stopping you from settling down and doing the work to get it done and out there in the world. What is it? Let's get into your head and smack down the voices telling you it can't be done....
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Kate Bullock , Michelle Lyons , Kathryn Miller , Anna Kreider. As much as we'd like to banish "Women in Gaming" panels to the depths of our historic archives, there is still value in addressing the fact that being there are challenges for women at the gaming table that different than those faced by our male counterparts. This panel will talk about the ways women have always contributed to gaming, and how to handle some of the more nuanced situations that s...
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Eric Simon , Darren Watts , Shoshana Kessock , and Elsa Henry . From the implicit imperialism of steampunk to the complicated controversy of HBO's Confederate, it seems like alternate history is often fraught with problems. We provide you with techniques and ideas for writing, designing, and playing with historical and alternate historical themes in ways that are positive, inclusive, respectful, and productive. The slideshow presentation used at the panel ...
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Michelle Lyons-McFarla nd, Jason Pitre . Professionalization has been defined as "transformation into a profession of the highest integrity and competence." Integrity and competence are laudable goals for the profession as a whole, but how do we get there? What practices should we pursue? How do we differentiate between industry/business/community relationships, and are we willing to do so? This roundtable will try to hit on some best practices and identif...
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Dev Purkayastha . A workshop for designers who have playtested their game - here or elsewhere - and have gotten challenging feedback. It's easy to feel discouraged, but it's important to take the next step. The goal of this workshop is to provide encouragement towards the ongoing process, rather than workshopping specific feedback. Note: This is a workshop rather than a panel, but there is some good advice and discussion worth your time....
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Melissa Lewis-Gentry , Brian Dalrymple . So you're planning crowdfunding for your game, and have heard that Retail is important. Maybe you did a retail tier in a previous Kickstarter and had no one buy it, or maybe you lost money by creating that tier. Regardless, the industry is changing faster than we can keep up. Learn from Retailers on what they want and what they won't back for 2018 Kickstarters & IndieGoGos. Learn from Expert Campaigners on the p...
Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Joshua Yearsley , John Adamus , Dr. Jessica Hammer . Writing and editing rulebooks is still a black art, not an empirical science. In this panel, Dr. Jessica Hammer and professional editors John Adamus and Joshua Yearsley hash out the state of the rulebook. What works? What doesn't? Why do so many professionals (including us!) disagree about how to write good rulebooks? Why are so many rulebooks still bad, and what can we do about it? We won't have all the...
Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Jason Pitre, Jeff Tidball , Stephen Tasker , Darren Watts . As a game master, you use NPCs to describe the setting, and to interact with the PCs. As a designer, you help shape the kinds of NPCs that fill those roles. This panel is all about different ways that designers can establish NPCs and relationships in their designs. Who do the PC's love, hate, defend, or overthrow? Apologies for the poor sound quality....
Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Fred Hicks and Chris Hanrahan. Innovation and new ideas are fantastic in game design, but designers have borrowed, stolen, and adapted other people's ideas for as long as we've been making games. Let's talk about whose works have influenced us, how we can best credit and pay homage to that work, and what we might not understand about ourselves as designers based on the works we ourselves have created. Note: This is a short episode with mediocre sound quali...
Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Kenneth Hite , Bill White . The principles of worldbuilding for games are not the principles of worldbuilding for novels (depth of field) and certainly not the principles of worldbuilding for physics (plate tectonics). What are they? How can you apply them to a pre-existing world, real or fictional?
Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Emily Dresner, Fred Hicks, Rob Donoghue. You're a successful indie publisher! You did a great job wearing all the hats - game designer, writer, editor, artist, and graphic designer. Now, you want to create something bigger and more grand! You discover that, without years of time, you cannot carry out your vision yourself. You need other people... and that leads to new headaches. We'll talk about tools, techniques, schedules, planning, effective communicati...
Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Kenneth Hite , Jason Pitre, Marissa Kelly , Fred Hicks . When designing a game, the temptation is to use another tested rules set: Fate, PbtA, HERO, BRP, OSR, or what have you. When shouldn't you do that? What demands special treatment, and when should you make it yourself?
Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Christopher Badell , Zev Shlasinger . Once you've designed the game, it's time to produce it. Our panelists have dozens of finished products between them and offer their expertise to make your process smoother.
Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Matt Fantastic . How many cards are on a typical printing sheet? Can half an inch really save you that much money? Is it possible to license a mold? These sorts of questions shouldn't be the first thing you think about when making your next amazing game, but they can play a huge part in how realistic it is to actually get into print. Join Matt Fantastic as he talks through a bunch of common mistakes, easy fixes, and ways to look at your design/project that...
Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Darren Watts , Jeff Tidball , John Adamus . Our panelists talk about how to be good testers. 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 2016 Presented by Jason Morningstar , Jay Sylvano , Benjamin Morrow . Games can obviously be political and create empathy, but can they be journalism? Can they create change, spur activism, prompt meaningful dialog? What does it take to make a game with a contemporary theme or focused on an important issue - and what can go wrong?...
Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Kenneth Hite. In this year's iteration of "Ken Rambles About Stuff", Ken argues for the 'Iceberg Method' of game research. He is also likely to touch on how (and how much) to do research for setting design purposes, and may even divagate into the how and why of researching other game mechanics.
Recorded at Metatopia 2016. Presented by Judeth Oden Choi, Jessica Hammer. Presentation of our findings from a two-year long study of playtesting practices and education. As we build and refine our games, sometimes it's hard to hold onto those brilliant ideas and goals that first inspired us. Playtesting with a purpose is about articulating design and experience goals for your game and using playtests to help refine those goals and express them more fully in game play. We will invite participant...
Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Melissa Lewis-Gentry , Cat Tobin , Matt Fantastic , Zev Shlasinger. Have you ever played (or made!) a fantastic game, and then wonder why no one has it? Ever wonder why no one other than the Kickstarter backers bought a certain game? Ever make a game, then try to go through distribution and realize you'll lose money selling that way? Not all games are designed for retail sale! This panel will discuss the design choices that see success in a retail setting,...
Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Christopher Badell , Jason Walters , Marie Poole . Planning and running a Kickstarter campaign 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 person, and artist? Join panelists as they t...
Historical Larp Design Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Moyra Turkington , Kimberley Lam , Shoshana Kessock , Elsa Henry , Rachel E.S. Walton , and moderated by Alex Roberts This panel is all about re-evaluating the real diversity in historical settings, the difficulties of researching for historical non-western, non-white events and eras, especially those that feature women. It serves to discuss both larp design, and tabletop design, and is well worth a listen. You can subscribe to us he...
Game Master Mechanics Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Vincent Baker and and Jason Pitre. Role playing games have a long history of providing detailed rules on how players may act in the fiction. Very few games provide explicit direction and purposefully designed tools to constrain GMs. Let’s talk about the various approaches, from Fronts, to Countdown Clocks, Doom Pools, and more. Where can GM mechanics change design? You can subscribe to us here! RSS Feed iTunes Episode 120: GM Mechanic...
Powered by the Apocalypse: Using Apocalypse World to Outline and Draft Your Own RPG Special episode, recorded online. Presented by Meguey Baker , Vincent Baker , and Jason Pitre. Apocalypse World offers a powerful, flexible framework you can use to outline, draft, and potentially finish your own role playing games. Dozens of creators, both experienced designers and first-timers, have used it with great success, and you can too. It’s not a game system, it’s an easy approach to game system design,...
Breaking into Board Games Recorded at Breakout Con 2017 Presented by Pam Walls, Tim Brown , Eric Lang , Sen-Foong Lim , and moderated by Daryl Andrews . Want to design a board game? Have no idea how to get into the industry? Join our wonderful set of panelists to talk about how to enter the board game design world, do some playtesting, and get your game published. You can subscribe to us here! RSS Feed iTunes Episode 118: Breaking into Board Games Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (716) Episod...
What’s Up in Tabletop Games? Recorded at Breakout Con 2017 Presented by Michelle Lyons-McFarland , Jonathan Gilmour , Robin D. Laws , Eric Lang , and moderator Jonathan Lavallee . Bombard our panelists with questions about tabletop gaming and the many directions it’s headed in. You can subscribe to us here! RSS Feed iTunes Episode 117: What's up in Tabletop Gaming Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (856)...
Creating Horror in Games Recorded at Breakout Con 2017 Presented by Michelle Lyons-McFarland , Jonathan Gilmour , and moderator Jacqueline Bryk, Like ghosties, ghoulies, long-legged beasties, and things that go bump in the night? Join us for a panel on how to incorporate gothic horror tropes into your project or campaign! You can subscribe to us here! RSS Feed iTunes Episode 116: Creating Horror in Games Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (754)...
Sex in Games Recorded at Breakout Con 2017 Presented by Moyra Turkington , Jacqueline Bryk , Alex Roberts , and moderator Emily Griggs . From the Ramayana to Romeo and Juliet, love and passion are at the heart of some of the most timeless stories ever told. So, how do we explore these themes in roleplaying games? How do we as players and GMs help each other have fun and stay safe? What systems bring sex and romance to the forefront? What’s that thing larpers are doing with their hands? Your pane...
GM Troubleshooting Recorded at Breakout Con 2017 Presented by Robin Laws , Matt McFarland , Anna Kreider and moderator Fraser Ronald . Solve your toughest GMing problems with the aid of our masterful panelists. Discussing the challenges of the game master’s life. You can subscribe to us here! RSS Feed iTunes Episode 114: GM Troubleshooting Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (844)...
Art in Games Recorded at Breakout Con 2017 Presented by Rachel Kahn , Anna Kreider , Emily Griggs , and moderator Cory Reid Demystifying the process of how art gets created for games — how to get commissions, how the process works, and what art can do for a game besides look great! The art that surrounds a game greatly influences how the game gets played, and inspires the players at the table. Join Anna Kreider, Rachel Kahn and Emily Griggs as they discuss the role of art in gaming. You can subs...
