RPG Design Panelcast

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 will save a bunch of money when it comes time to actually make it.

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 participants to try out some of our methods and open up for discussion of playtesting practices.

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, and if retail is right for your game. Topics discuss will be graphic design choices and packaging, pricing and 3 tiered distribution, Organized Play and Demoing, and using retail sales as marketing.

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 talk about the design and management of Kickstarter campaigns themselves. In what ways have they evolved into established systems (stretch goals, etc.) and how are some creators breaking those conventions?

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 here!  RSS Feed iTunes   Episode 121: Historical Larp Mechanics Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (602)