RPG Design Panelcast

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 without shortchanging one or the other.

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 on an alien world, a decade after a galactic war.  Enjoy our discussion of this exciting area of design where we discuss what communities and settlements bring to games, the stories they let us tell, and the mechanics which represent them. 

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 spectrum. Apologies for sound quality issues. 

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 are creating?

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.  

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Jason Pitre, Matthias Bonnici and Will Hindmarch. Producing a book involves communication and negotiation between the layout professional, writers, editors, and art-directors. In this panel, we will talk about how to establish structures that work for everyone, and point out some ways to keep your layout gal happy.  The presentation used for this panel is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GE7skzfOoRBUIDmw5hRZMvIApl6CguCO/view?usp=sharing  

Special Episode Presented by Jason Pitre, Anna Meade, Sarah 'Doombringer' Richardson, and Eloy Lasanta.    In this special episode, most the panelists from the previous gencon panel get together to answer questions posed by attendees.  The questions on offer are...  Q1: I've got a game, it's playtested: how do I get to market? Q2: Outside of the mechanical or thematic design of the game, which part of development and release is the most challenging for you, and in what way? Q3: What is the best value services to ensure a successful kickstarter? Q4: How should one go about acquiring a publisher for their design? Q5: How do you balance an RPG across as many levels as possible when the system is rather complex? Is it just a long slog or is there a faster method than what I currently use? Q6: How to turn a story/setting concept into a workable game system? Q7: I'd love any advice specifically on making Powered by the Apocalypse games. Q8: What is the single most important element of an RPG system that can determine its success or failure? Q9: How technology is changing the Design and Publishing process?   Enjoy this special episode!