Recorded at BreakoutCon 2019 Presented by Shel Khan & Emily Griggs , with moderation by Jonathan Lavallee A breakdown of how the art you include in your RPG book contributes to your RPG as a marketing technique, as education and information for your GM, and as permission and inspiration for players.
Recorded at BreakoutCon 2019 Presented by Allysha Tulk , Nikki Valens , Shannon McDowell and moderated by Daryl Andrews Common practices and workflow when designing games, including the basic expectations, and the basic assumptions of design work. Notes, playtesting, knowing your audience and art will all be discussed as we walk through what it is like to build a Boardgame....
Recorded at BreakoutCon 2019 Presented by Todd Crapper , Tim Rodriguez , Cheyenne Grimes with moderation by Bronwyn Friesen Not everyone has access to thousands of dollars or the benefit of a successful Kickstarter under their belt. Many indie publishers start off with financial difficulties, including poverty, but are driven to create new and exciting games. This panel looks to provide some "tips and tricks" for creating games on a tight budget or with no funds at all....
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Anne Ratchat, Kenneth Hite , Elsa Henry , Julia Ellingboe , Jabari Weathers . Horror Mechanics (For More Than Just Horror)"In the genre of horror, game designers and writers have developed an arsenal of tools specifically to disempower the characters in their worlds. These mechanics are assumed one-trick ponies but can also serve as useful mechanics for empowering play as well when understood. The goal of this panel is to break down why specific horror mec...
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Anne Ratchat, Rob Donoghue In each game, players make choices starting character design/assignment. How does a designer balance creating meaningful decisions while balancing choice paralysis? How does the feel of the game change by increasing and decreasing choices available?
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Nicole Perry, Peter Hayward. When turning your board game idea into a board game company, the first step is sorting out the logistics. Unless you have a burning desire to deal with accountants, spreadsheets, corporate structures, and The Joy of Taxes, you need a business partner. Nicole Perry and Peter Hayward are business partners; listen to them discuss how they split tasks, make sure that everything is covered, and the unexpected benefits of working clo...
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Philip Vecchione , Senda Linaugh , Monica Speca . Podcasting is the new blogging. Fame, fortune, influence. Or...software glitches, audience-building, busy cohosts. Let's talk about the complications and joys of being a podcaster in a roundtable format.
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by: Beth Rimmels, Mike Roberts & Mandy Perry . Learn the answers to your specific marketing & promotion questions from the experts. Beth Rimmels & Mike Roberts work for a digital marketing agency and are experts in social media marketing and SEO (how people find you on Google). Mandy Perry is an expert in tumblr marketing who just wrapped their first highly successful Kickstarter. This interactive workshop will also include live analysis of web si...
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Kate Beaman-Martinez and Jonaya Kemper "Love Like A Bomb". We're going to examine some evolving wisdom about balanced, healthy intimate relationships and apply it to group dynamics. In this case, we're going to talk about how the concept of "love bombing" applies to gaming communities.
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Julia Ellingboe , Moyra Turkington , Jonaya Kemper , and Misha Bushyager . "Intersectional Feminism: Game Design That Tackles Topics that Matter". Designing historical games is complicated, especially when we're telling the stories of people who are often forgotten. How do we handle those stories without accidentally perpetuating or compounding existing damage?...
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Jason Pitre , Mark Diaz Truman , Kate Bullock Games are art, and can explore challenging subject material. It can often be useful to use fictional metaphors to recontextualize these difficult topics and make them easier to to examine with a layer of emotional distance. On this panel, the speakers will explore how and when to use metaphors in your game design, and the pitfalls to avoid....
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Nicole Perry, Peter Hayward , & Curt Covert. Every publisher is looking for the next big hit. Every time they sit down with you, they want your game to be that hit. Here are some simple tips to making games that publishers are excited to sign.
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Jay Treat , Mark Richardson . How much do you change your game between tests? Which way do you change it? How do you evaluate playtester feedback and suggestions against your design goals? When do you stop tweaking or abandon a path? Iteration is the key to success not just in a single project but in your design career. Let's talk about how, how to do that better, and what not to do....
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by DC Participate in a discussion about expanding the narrative fantasies applied to tabletop RPGs. The standard "set" of explored backgrounds and settings are not only old, but also fundamentally structured around a singular perspective. Inspecting the foundation of our fiction allows us to better understand the values or pitfalls of those choices, and how they may affect who decides to, or not to, join us at our table...
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Isaac Shalev , Gil Hova , Jennifer Graham-Macht . Join us for a roundtable conversation about how to get the best data from your time at the playtesting table. We'll discuss our experiences running playtests, and talk about common mistakes and how to avoid them
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Kiva Fecteau, David Beever , Jim Dagg , Kate Beaman-Martinez, Beth Rimmels . Congratulations. You screwed up the courage and got yourself to METATOPIA! Prepare to panic... or not. Talk with fellow participants in small groups to identify your fears and where they come from. You'll probably discover a lot of commonalities. Our workshop leaders have begun to overcome their own fears, and have seen success at METATOPIA. They'll share tips and techniques to he...
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Bradley Hausman. A brief overview of SEC and some state regulations regarding crowdfunding, and other forms of raising capital, and registering your campaign. In this roundtable, feel free to discuss your experiences and how others can learn from them
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by Sam Saltiel, Brand Robins , Camdon Wright , Eli Eaton Good consent practice requires that consent is enthusiastic and informed. Let's talk about how to encourage a higher level of consent. We will discuss tools you can add at the table, but then we'll explore ways to integrate consent into the foundations of your design.
Recorded at Metatopia 2018 Presented by James D'Amato and Senda Linaugh . Being a guest on podcasts is a fantastic way to promote your game and build your brand. Our moderators will talk about how this might work and things you should know in advance to be a good guest. This will be run as a roundtable discussion.
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Joshua Yearsley, Hannah Shaffer and Mark Richardson . Being competent at something just means you've already made all the mistakes, so come learn from ours! We'll discuss some of our own juiciest mistakes and setbacks from our years of games work - maybe even some from projects we've worked on together? - and explore how we used those experiences to grow, improve our craft, and do better the next time....
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Brendan Conway and Kevin Kulp . When you're designing a game, you often start by picking a kind of genre, or even a particular work, that you'd love to experience as an RPG. But many of the strongest games out there take it beyond just replicating a particular story; they say something new or different. How do you do that, and why should you spend the time to make sure you do?...
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Peter Hayward . Every game has a shape. Beginning, middle, end, turn structure, round structure, end-game condition, victory condition. Learn about common shapes, the direction that games are evolving, and how to make sure that YOUR game has an appealing and suitable shape for the modern board gamer.
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Curt Covert . There are may approaches to game design. Come learn about one specific style focused on stirring the emotions during play as the core design thrust. How does this design style contrast to other approaches? What is its benefit? How can you apply these principles to your own designs? Curt Covert of Smirk & Dagger / Smirk & Laughter discusses.
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Elsa Henry and Lauren Roy . Fiction writing and game writing are definitely two separate skillsets, but they are complimentary. This panel will feature people who do both, discussing how to develop these skillsets to further both parts of your career, with extra attention to the ways they diverge and how to know which skills to use. Where do these skillsets not overlap, how do they fight against one another? What are the best ways to develop both skills wi...
Special Episode Presented by Jason Pitre and Phil Vecchione, In this special episode, Jason and Phil talk about communities and settlements in games. Each of us bring our respective projects to the table to discuss and explore the potential mechanics which model/support these elements of play. Phil presents Hydro Hacker Operatives , his game about heroes who steal water for their communities in a cyberpunk dystopia. Jason presents After the War , a game about building and protecting settlements ...
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by James D'Amato , Jim McClure , Laura Simpson . It is tempting to pour money into marketing a crowdfunding project. We'll discuss strategies you can use that take your project further without breaking your marketing budget.
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Michelle Lyons , Danielle Lauzon , Pete Petrusha , Maury Brown , Cam Banks . It's relatively easy to make a game in this day and age. Making a business is harder. How much effort do you want to put into bringing a game to market/getting some revenue for your work? What are your options? How will you know what you want until you do it? Come join us for a panel discussing the whys and wherefores of game publication and where people choose to land on that spe...
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Jason Walters , Brennan Taylor , James Dagg . We'll talk about how to accept that your game will never be perfect and how to know when it's ready to publish anyway.
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Phil Vecchione , Will Hindmarch , Beth Rimmels . Designing the "For GMs" Section of your RPG" . GMing sections of RPGs are often a collection of rules, advice, etc, but they are not always effective. In addition, there is a host of great, generic GMing advice in both blog and podcast form, that no longer needs to be included in an RPG. What can we, as game designers, do when we design the GMing section of a game to better empower GMs to run the games we ar...
Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Jason Pitre , Jim Crocker , Jason Walters . Congratulations on producing your game! Now, you have to decide how you want to sell it. This panel will talk about all of the different ways you can sell games and the costs associated with each of them. We will help you pick which options are best for you, based on your product and priorities....
