RPG Design Panelcast

Recorded at Metatopia 2020 Online Presented by Avraham Yosef Baez, Bronwyn Sperling, Emily Care Boss Role-playing games that integrate tactile components and mechanics allow our other senses to engage in play. Although COVID put a pause on many games that offer tactile experiences, join our conversation about what we are excited to have in the future. This panel will discuss how these little touches (see what we did there?) help enhance the game experience, how could they hurt it, and what considerations should be thought of when designing a game with tactile components. Whether it is sewing, stacking, smelling, or sounds, come join us and sigh about what we long to get back to.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Rach Shelkey, Jacqueline Bryk, Sidney Icarus, Jen Dixon. Has the current global health crisis inspired a new game idea? Considering writing a game about healthcare workers? Join our panelists as they discuss what role playing games can learn from the field of medicine and how to thoughtfully address the medical profession in your designs. Questions encouraged!

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Richard Ruane, Brian Yaksha, Zedeck Siew, Amanda Franck, Pamela Punzalan. Microsettings (settings that focus closely on a specific area, region, or location) can be a powerful touchstone for game design. By focusing their attention and concerns on a small region, city, or even places as focused as a bar, a school, or a shopping center, microsettings give the smaller, more particular stories a space to happen. In the panel, we'd like to discuss how designing and detailing of focused microsettings can evoke a location's multiplicity and diversity, make the world of the game more accessible and real, challenge characters to form relationships within the setting, and invoke curiosity about mundane aspects of setting life. A thread of additional questions and answers have been prepared by Brian Yaksha, one of the panelists. https://twitter.com/goatmansgoblet/status/1324917649143435265

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Ash Kreider, Jason Morningstar, Mike Czaplinski, Jeeyon Shim. A panel about the limitations of imagination when it comes to how we see violence in tabletop games. With the entire range of human experience to draw from, why is designing games without violence still seen as having a "niche" audience? In this panel, we will discuss what it means to explore designing games that don't feature interpersonal violence as a resolution mechanic.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by J Li, Jessica Hammer Consulting 101: Selling Game Design As a Service for $5K - $250K: . Want to sell game design as a service to large institutions? This panel will walk you through the practical details of the consulting pitch and sales process. Topics include how to get started, finding clients, crafting proposals, asking for money, sales strategy, execution deliverables, and long-term business development.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Kalum, Pamela Punzalan, Diogo Nogueira, Allan Cudicio. "RPGs and English as Our Vehicular Language: Beyond the American Culture Online: The internet enables Tabletop RPG fans to come together globally. However, it is difficult for non-American communities to have their voices heard. This due to the use of English as our shared vehicular language combined with the disproportionate American demographics online. In this panel, we'll explore the experience of non-native English-speaking RPG luminaries within this reality. We'll talk through the lens of RPG about local identities and cross-border engagement.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Nicole Cutler, Avonelle Wing. It seems a little unpopular to tell new designers "don't kickstart your game"; Kickstarter is an invaluable tool. There are so many encouraging blogs and podcasts that talk optimistically about how accessible it is to crowdfund your own game. but there's not a lot that talk in depth about the logistics, liabilities and potential pitfalls. Before making the decision to launch a campaign, we want to give potential new creators a realistic look behind the curtain to see what they're diving into.

Recorded at Metatopia 2020 Online Presented by Scott Morris, Mike Paschal. Are you a designer and want to know how your game gets distributed? Are you self publishing and want to know more about Distribution? Are you crazy enough to actually ask a Distributor anything? Join us as Scott Morris from GTS and Mike Paschal from PHD discuss the U.S.'s 3-Tier system and answer questions.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Jason Pitre, Sen-Foong Lim, Nicole Winchester, Christoph Sapinsky. For Canadian game designers and pros, it's pretty common to get lumped in with U.S. designers. After all, it's all North America, right? The cultural differences between the two countries often gets lost, especially when discussing the elements that inform game design and aesthetics. Our panelists will talk about the specific parts of their Canadian experience that affect their game development work.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Vee Hendro, Hayley Gordon. All RPGs engage our emotions, and some are made with feels first in mind. We discuss the ethics and how-to of emotional storytelling and RPG design. From buy-in to agency and safety, how can we make anguish and yearning an enjoyable experience? Brought to you by Storybrewers, Australia.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by A.C., Jay Dragon, and Viditya Voleti. Being a GM is hard; like, really hard. Having nobody willing to fill that role has been the downfall of many a game group. But there is an alternative! GM-less roleplaying games are getting more and more popular, and this panel is here to discuss why.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Maria Mison, Casey Johnson, Jay Dragon. What are Lyric Games exactly? And why are they deemed an important body of work, both in a personal and game scene level? What makes a game 'Lyric'? Additionally, our panelists share tips on how to go about the process of creating and sharing such games - fever dreams, love letters, rituals and treatise calling to be born. The panel will also have a segment for questions.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Daryl Andrews, Jessie Edwards, Omari Akil, Bruce Harlick. 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 Online 2020 Presented by Alex Cutler, Matt Forbeck, Kenneth Hite. You made a game! Congratulations! Now explain your incredible game in one sentence. That isn’t as easy as it sounds. You want people to buy into your game as players, as investors, or as retailers. You will only have one chance to make that first impression. It needs to have impact. If you want to see your game successful on a crowdfunding site, or sold by your local game store, then you need to know what kind of pitch types and styles to maximize both what you say and target the right audience.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Gerrit Reininghaus, Tara Clapper, Acata Felton, and Kate Hill. Live Action Online Games (LAOG)s, also known as online LARPs, have reached unthinkable dimensions of attention due to the pandemic. This is a design framework with a completely new set of possibilities and requirements. We are not only talking about technology as a design surface but also questions around accessibility, safety and environmental awareness. Where do LAOGs come from? What were the driving forces? What has happened in 2020? How to become a LAOG designer? Where to find all the games and the community?

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Tara Clapper, Olivia Montoya, Joie Martin. Running a digital LARP (or LAOG - live action online game) can be a simple impromptu effort or a multi-session experience requiring significant organization. Let's talk about how to run a digital live action experience while keeping in mind safety and participants' needs.

Presented at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Tam Myaing, David Gordon, Chris Backe, Kevin Dunkelberger. When the COVID lockdowns began, the NYC Playtest Group was one of the first to move to online playtesting. Since then we have run over 50 sessions since mid April, and have also helped other gaming conventions with running games virtually. In this panel we will discuss with moderators from other groups around the world, on the the lessons we've learned in the trenches in running a successful virtual playtest group.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Chris O'Neill, Stephanie Bryant, Warren Morrison, Walt Ciechanowski. Roll20 provides players and GMs with a popular virtual tabletop for games. How can you best take advantage of it as a player, a designer or a publisher? Our experts and power-users will bring you up to speed on the service.

Recorded at Metatopia 2020 Online Presented by Dan DiLorenzo, Frank DiLorenzo, Kira Peavley, Curt Covert, Shari Spiro, Ben Harkins. You have a great board/card game and you're ready to start shopping for a Publisher. What are they looking for these days? Our panelists will explain what excites them, and talk about how they look for key elements that they can extend into sellable games.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2021 Presented by Bryan Dalrymple, Patrick Day. Any board or card game being published in 2021 needs to take into account the likelihood that in-person demos and shopping will be limited. Our panelists will talk about what the design implications of this are, and how you can adjust to make your board or card game more viable as a physical commercial product.

Recorded at Metatopia 2020 Presented by Jonathan Ritter-Roderick, Anya Combs. Join representatives of Kickstarter for a discussion of the state of crowdfunding projects going into 2021. Topics will include what's different, what hasn't changed at all and how to prepare for success if you're taking a campaign live.

Recorded at Metatopia 2020 Presented by Rach Shelkey and Jaqueline Bryk. It's time once again to talk about happy, uplifting games! How do you make space for pastoral gaming while the world is going through a global health crisis? How does one find joy when the long term outlook changes by the minute? Our panelists will share their thoughts and personal experiences on exploring the heartwarming through the plague.

Recorded at Metatopia 2020 Presented by Vivian Abraham and Jason Cox. Some games are easy to play online, and some have robust platforms to support them. But what if your game involves group singing? Or social mingling? Or some other mechanic that is harder to do online? Let's share some ideas for converting these trickier games to be enjoyable virtually!

Recorded at Metatopia 2020 Presented by Brian Dalrymple, Jessie Edwards, Hal Mangold. Our panelists will walk you through the basics of turning your game design hobby into a business. We'll talk about the most cost-efficient ways to register an LLC, open a business bank account, file a trademark and keep track of your expenses for tax season.

Recorded at GenCon 2020 Online Hosted by Jason Walters and featuring Brian Dalrymple, Jennifer Ward, and Cat Tobin. This panel was hosted by Indie Press Revolution as part of GenCon 2020's online panel selection on behalf of the panelists. Brian Dalrymple- https://www.facebook.com/AdventureGam... Jennifer Ward- https://www.facebook.com/crazysquirre... https://twitter.com/csgamestore Cat Tobin- https://twitter.com/CatTHM

Recorded at GenCon Online 2020 Presented by Jason Walters, Pamela Punzalan, Wilson Zorn, and Maurice Poplar. Indie Press Revolution hosted this excellent discussion on the ideas and games at the forefront of modern RPG Design in the year 2020, during this special panel at GenCon Online. Pamela Punzalan - https://thedovetailor.itch.io/ https://twitter.com/TheDovetailor Wilson Zorn - https://twitter.com/zornwil Maurice Poplar - https://twitter.com/MauricePoplar

Recorded at GenCon Online 2020 Presented by AC, Kira Magrann, Wilson Zorn, Jay Dragon, and Lucian Khan. Streamed live for Gen Con Online 2020. You can find games from all these creators on IPR's website, linked below! https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/... Find Kira Magrann at - https://twitter.com/Kiranansi https://kiramagrann.itch.io/ Find Wilson Zorn at - https://twitter.com/zornwil Find Jay Dragon at - https://twitter.com/jdragsky https://jdragsky.itch.io/ Find Lucian Kahn at - https://twitter.com/oh_theogony https://necromancy.itch.io/

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Jennifer Gutterman, Shawn Roske, Tim Blank. Are you an educator wanting to gamify your classroom? Are you building a traditional education game? Do you want your game to be fun but also teach the players about something? This is where we can discuss ideas, workflows, deployments and examples of games in education, gamification in the classroom or building games that teach.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Tim Rodriguez & Beth Rimmels. Card games are a classic design model that have already expressed innumerable possibilities. We'll talk about classic styles of decks, iterations on classic games, alternate formats, the mathematics of card games, and why we all love them. We'll also consider and critique ideas and concepts and talk about why or why not to choose this design format.

Recorded at Metatopia 2020 Presented by Dexter Duckworth, Elsa Sjunneson. The Distant Future, the Year 2000: Updating Cyberpunk for the 21st Century. The hard-hitting themes of social inequality and corporate exploitation found in cyberpunk are as relevant now as they were in the 80's, but not everything in the genre has stood the test of time. This panel will dive into how both the technologies and sensibilities found in cyberpunk can be updated in order to design games that are timely and inclusive.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Jason Pitre, Cat Tobin, Amanda Valentine, Lauren McMannon, Camdon Wright. Everyone should have a chance to create and publish games. Unfortunately, there are many structural barriers keeping unrepresented voices from coming to the table. In this roundtable discussion, our panelists discuss ways that established publishers can support new voices through information, promotion, funding, and education.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Peter Hayward, Gil Hova More Than Just Victory Points: Alternative Approaches to Win Conditions. "Most victory points" is the default victory condition for most board games, and why shouldn't they be? They solve most problems you encounter while designing - balance, investment, rewarding people for doing what you want them to be. Well, unfortunately, most everyone has worked out the same thing, and now the market is flooded with Victory Point win conditions. Want to make your game stand out? Try something else.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Jason Walters, Jeff Stormer, Christopher Badell. Your game's ready for Kickstarter! So how much will you be asking for? What's the absolute minimum you need to get your game made? What is the floor number for success? How will you handle unexpected levels of success? Let's get practical about your numbers.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Kenneth Hite A METATOPIA tradition - Kenneth Hite rambling about game design. In this case the notion of scope: How big should your setting be? How can you design a setting to contain multiple core game activities, and should you? As always, Ken has notions and questions, and hopes you have more of both as we explore Bigness (and un-Bigness) in games.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Geoffrey Engelstein "Turn, Turn, Turn" presented by Geoffrey Engelstein. The 'turn' is a fundamental concept for games of all types, and there are a wide variety of approaches the designer can take to structure them. The structure chosen has a major impact on the play experience, and should be carefully considered. This talk is a deep dive into turn options both common and rare, and discusses what each brings to the table.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Meguey Baker & Jason Pitre. Publishing your game doesn't need to be daunting. There's work involved, but with a diverse tool box and a clear understanding of your publishing goals, publishing might be more attainable than you imagine.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Mary Georgescu, Sharang Biswas, Brianna Shuttleworth. Can we get nitty gritty with players and talk about science? Can we as designers build science into our games in fun ways that do not lend themselves to sci- fiction but a truer representation and reflection of our current or past understandings of the way our universe, our earth works? We will be talking about how we designed Starry Messenger, The Moon Stares at Us in Shame, and Magischola with science in mind and their usage and representations of science.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Meguey Baker, Caleb Stokes, Clark Valentine, Edward LaValley. Teenagers bring innovation, creativity and hard questions to the game table. Our panelists will talk about how to hold space for everything that makes gaming with them magical.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Christopher O'Neill, Adriel Wilson, Cat Tobin, Misha Bushyager. Role playing as a HOBBY continues to evolve and mature. Has role-playing now gotten big enough to be considered a MEDIUM? Join us for a lively and passionate discussion on the concept that role-playing has become more than just games, but a medium - a channel for communication, information, and entertainment. In this panel, we will look at whether role-playing is a medium, and if so, what that means for our hobby. The panelists all represent different aspects of designing and publishing role playing games and bring diverse and interesting points of view around the topic.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Kenneth Hite, Betsy Rosenblatt, Darren Watts. Mysteries are among the hardest genres to run successfully in tabletop games. How can designers structure stories to meaningfully involve players, guide them to clues and help them put them together to solve a crime without spoonfeeding them? How can GMs control pacing to duplicate the feel of classic whodunits?

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Ryan O'Grady, Kenneth Hite, Brennan Taylor. There's something satisfying about taking ownership of a piece of the world as a player and watching it flourish (or not). There have been various approaches to this over the years (Ars Magica, MIcroscope, The Quiet Year, even D&D!) Let's discuss what player involvement of world building really means and different approaches for incorporating it into traditional RPGs.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Stras Acimovic, John LeBoeuf-Little. Blades in the Dark has led to a new generation of game designs such as Scum and Villainy, Band of Blades, and Mutants in the Night. In this panel, we dig into the toolset and what sets it apart from similar design traditions. What are the core principles behind designing games Forged in the Dark? Where can we grow and diverge from the core?

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Darren Watts, Stephen Dewey, Paul Stefko. There are many different mechanics for tracking time and progress in games, and our panel speakers will explore all of them in depth. From countdown clocks and stress tracks, to flickering candles and Jenga towers, there's a lot to explore in this family of mechanics.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Emily Escovar, Chris O'Neill. Our panelists will walk you through the basics of turning your game design hobby into a business. We'll talk about the most cost-efficient ways to register an LLC, open a business bank account, file a trademark and keep track of your expenses for tax season.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Heather O'Neill, Tim Rodriguez, Jennifer Graham-Macht. You are an individual using your hard earned money to invest in your game project. Do you self-publish, Kickstart or attend that convention? You are an indie tabletop company, so you have some budget to work with. What's your next project? Which big conventions do you attend? We will address costs specific to the tabletop gaming industry (self-publishing, Kickstarter, conventions, marketing, etc.) and ways to make decisions on what will benefit you or your company.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Brian Turtle, Peter Hayward, Avonelle Wing. I fell into games almost by accident back in 1994 when some friends and I created a game called "The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon". We started Endless Games shortly thereafter and the game found a home in the mass market before we knew it. In the 20+ years since, we've been navigating the toy industry and gaming landscape in both mass and specialty. That said, the hobby side of the industry is still somewhat uncharted territory for us. Join us for a discussion of the differences between mass market and hobby sales and what works where.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Kate Bullock, Camdon Wright, Bronwyn Sperling. Want to learn how to create safety tools that fit your game and are baked into the mechanics instead of just adding pre-established tools on top? This panel dives into the creative and mechanical process of understanding safety and support and integrating it into your ttrpg designs.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Jason Pitre, Misha Bushyager, James Mendez Hodes. Some of the best games deal with heavy topics and challenging subject matter. Creators who look to design or publish games addressing sensitive subject matter need to do due diligence to reduce the chance their work could do harm. In this panel, we will discuss how creators can ethically do the legwork and research to tackle issues of race, sexuality, identity, and trauma.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Jason Morningstar, Jacqueline Bryk and Alastor Guzman. Failure is baked into any creative discipline, but we rarely discuss it. In this panel we'll discuss our most noteworthy failures and the role failure plays in our process. The goal is to normalize failure and to learn from the occasionally dramatic mistakes of others. It may be funny, it may be sad, but it will definitely be interesting.

Recorded at Metatopia 2019 Presented by Shoshanna Kessock, Brian Neff, Doug Levandowski, and Sean Jaffe. Echoes of the late 20th century are all around us in 2019, especially in pop culture and media. Stranger Things, IT, and Bandersnatch have tapped into a rich vein of nostalgia that has entranced audience and permeated our time. Gaming, especially tabletop gaming, has been depicted as a vital part of 80s culture. In return, game creators are tapping into both the renewed interest in the hobby, and the evocation of nostalgia for this time period. In this panel we'll be exploring this recursive relationship with creators from Kids on Bikes and Rememorex. We’ll talk role playing and nostalgia, how to evoke an authentic sense of a time period, and what has drawn us as creators back to the past.