The Tabletop Superhighway

Jesse and Larry get together to talk about scheduling and considerations in design.

We discuss how we create and use language in our hobby.  We also talk about how that helps us, and in what ways it can be limiting.

Jesse and Larry talk about how the superhero genre can wear different masks, and how it can be used.

We are joined by Hayley and Vee from Storybrewers to chat about the differences with collaborative storytelling and more traditional types of storytelling.   Hayley and Vee publish under Storybrewers, which can be found here: http://storybrewersroleplaying.com/ Or on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/storybrewers/ They are currently Kickstarting Alas for the Awful Sea: Myth, Mystery & Crime in 1800s UK. Hayley's Twitter Vee's Twitter   As mentioned, Larry's G+ post about Night Witches: https://plus.google.com/u/0/100147296818432808203/posts/1vT7TwwoY9L

This week Hannah and Larry chat about the use of fiction in game books, and when it's done right, when it's done wrong, and how some people will always hate it no matter how it's used.

Jason and I chat about my experience with running Sig.  We discuss the changes he's working on, and allow the conversation to move to encompass introductory content for RPGs in books.   The Kickstarter for Sig: The Manual of the Primes is on now. You can find more of Jason's work at Genesis of Legend Publishing.

We use an example tarot reading to dissect how we can learn how we can use old rituals in our RPGs. Deck used is by Levi Kornelsen, and Larry is fully aware he messed up a few things in the reading.

It's just Hannah and Larry this week discussing how games handle the sharing of authority in games, the benefits of doing so, and the potential pitfalls.

Jesse and Larry talk about how games can try to set expectations that help communicate the experience that a game provides to prospective players.   Also, Epimas is on!

We chat this time about breaking out from your comfort zones, and from the archetypes that players often find themselves gravitating to.

Jesse and Larry discuss what happened with the Satanic Panic back in the 80's, and what effects we think it had on RPGs, people, and the church itself.   If you'd like to know more, we recommend the Stuff You Should Know podcast on the subject.

We are joined again by Ben Dutter, talking about his new game Perseverant, and about making the transformation from designing to publishing games.   Links: Peseverant on KickstarterForge of Valor Beta Ben Dutter on DriveThruRPG

We are joined this week by Avonelle Wing to talk about planning and organizing conventions.  Avonelle is a part of Double Exposure as well as their Envoy Program. Links: Avonelle's Twitter Double Exposure Double Exposure on Twitter Double Exposure on Facebook

In this episode we go over some of the things done in Kickstarters that can earn the ire of the community.

This week, we discuss some of the design elements that can be troublesome, and likely to cause issues when included.  Rather than saying some things are always poor design choices, we consider this a discussion of elements that are often difficult or flawed when seen.

We discuss the kids of conversations that happen at the table between characters, and try to find a way to quantify them for design. Larry has set up a document here that can be referenced, and hopefully built upon: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XivFMS-8tOyAkpBlv37erM3GXytAiNc8t03r1le5IxQ/edit?usp=sharing

This episode we talk about how games can be designed to help the GM or facilitator enter in with greater confidence.

No topic.  This is our 50th, and we just talk about whatever we feel like.   Jesse is too nice.  And Hannah schools Larry on how not to present ideas.

It's time to breakdown what we believe goes into successful worldbuilding mechanics.

We are joined by Dustin DePenning to talk about his experiences and thoughts related to the mass market gaming industry and the hobby games we're more familiar with.  We talk about both board games and RPGs, and how those industries are changing and growing. We reference Dustin's essay on the topic, which can be found here: http://www.igdnonline.com/member-spotlight-dustin-depenning-on-market-differences-hobby-and-mass-market-games/ Dustin is currently working on Synthicide which is in beta 2.0, and can be found on drivethrurpg: http://drivethrurpg.com/product/181816/Synthicide-Beta-20 Or you can learn about it, or contact Dustin via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/synthiciderpg