RPG Design Panelcast

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Jack Parra, Melissa Gay. This panel for art beginners discusses technique, both in a general sense and specifically for the kinds of products you're likely to encounter in the game biz.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Grant Howitt, Matt Jones, Alexi Sargeant, Jeeyon Shim, Jason Tocci. Writing long games is hard, but so is writing short games. What advantages do one-page games afford us? What can't they do? What can they do better than longer games? We're going to find out.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Eric Whalen. This panel is a brief discussion of the basics of copyright law (and some other aspects of intellectual property law) as they pertain to writers and game designers. Members of the panel include game designers, publishers, writers, and former attorneys who have dealt with these issues themselves

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Cat Tobin, Will Sobel, JR Blackwell, Christopher McGlothlin, Maz Hamilton. You're an RPG designer now! That's great, but now how do you get your awesome game in front of players who will appreciate it? How do you position yourself for future projects? Basically, how do you get your name on a game to mean something? Our panelists grapple with this sticky problem!

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Emily Escovar, Anne Ratchat. You've got a great game and you're looking to sell it, or maybe you're looking to get a position working for somebody else making games. How do you present yourself and your game in their best lights? Pitching's a necessary skill regardless of your role in the industry. Learn how to do it here!

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Kathleen Mercury and Julie Ahern. Any adult who's worked closely with kids as a teacher, caretaker, or mentor has a cache of stories about times they learned true humility at the hands of a child. This late night panel presents the argument that the youngest generation is our greatest asset. Join panelists as they break down (through real life, hilariously humiliating examples) how every aspect of games, from design to execution, is bettered for the presence and involvement of kids, and what we can do to make our spaces more welcoming to young people. 

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Cat Tobin, Becky Annison, Sharang Biswas. How to Design !More! !Drama! into your RPG! Some of the most satisfying role playing experiences come from the dramatic outcomes of emotional connections between player characters. We look at ways for tabletop and LARP writers to design for deeper character relationships and dynamics, to provide a structure for GMs to bring more of the good kind of drama to their RPGs

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Kyle Ott & Riley Parks. This panel will focus on tips targeted to those who are beginning their design careers. The presentation will include advice on how to approach a publisher and conduct publisher research. Our panelists will give new designers advice on how to get unstuck and resources to help them with their first designs.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Whitney Delaglio, Camdon Wright, Avraham Yosef Baez. People are told to tell their own stories when making games, but biracial folk are often forced into an unreasonable process of justifying their marginalization regardless of their life experiences. We'll also talk about the racist foundation of not allowing designers to speak about living in, growing up around, and often excluded from more than one community. Also about how our backgrounds influence the games and artwork we design.

Recorded at Metatopia Online 2020 Presented by Roberta Taylor, Paul Saxberg, Kimberley Lam, Shoshana Kessock. How do you keep a creative spark alive when everything is coming to pieces around you? This panel will discuss some practical ways to nurture your creative self when you feel like you can't possibly make anything.