On:
In: Podcast Episode
With: 14 Comments

tabletoptales-logo-mediumNews: A new companion website for our Patreon, RPPR After Hours, is now live. Find all the podcasts and other content without digging through the Patreon archives. Speaking of the Patreon, we have a new milestone: a new weekly podcast featuring campaign actual play. If we get to $1800 a month, RPPR Tabletop Tales will become a weekly free podcast for everyone!

Synopsis: Caleb, Dan, and I discuss scenario design as we workshop a scenario idea I developed after running a few different games for both the RPPR group and the Patreon. We focus on player engagement – the idea that the players have as much agency as possible in the game. We want to avoid ‘cut scenes’ and railroading, among other problems. Plus, there are shout outs and anecdotes.

Shout Outs

  • Delta Green: Need to Know – a free quick start PDF rulebook.
  • Layers of Fear: An architecturally-themed horror video game. Beautiful and scary.
  • Lisa: An indie video game RPG inspired by Earthbound.
  • Populuxe: A history of the unique 1950s style we associate with the Fallout video game series.
  • Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits: A sci-fi novel from the writer of John Dies at the End.
  • Knee Deep: an adventure game about a murder mystery in Florida. Looks quite cool!
  • Gurgamoth: A couch co-op game about various deities trying to kill each other.

Song: Imperial Thought by aliceffekt

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:39:23 — 57.0MB)

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On:
In: Podcast Episode
With: 14 Comments

fallout4-legosNews: Please get your Red Markets playtest reports in by December 20. Thanks for supporting the game!

Synopsis: The new Fallout game has a settlement leadership feature that allows the player to design and run small communities. It’s impressive but tabletop RPGs can capture more complexity and sophisticated narratives than any video game. Games about community leadership should be different than the standard murderhobo dungeon crawl/investigation campaign model. Tom, Aaron, Caleb, and I discuss how they should be different and what players and GMs can do to make them more interesting. Tom also has a letter, plus shout outs and anecdotes!

Shout Outs and Reviews:

Music: Various tracks from SOUND_TRACK ~ [MP3?]?.?torrent  by R23X

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:27:39 — 60.4MB)

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On:
In: Game Designer Workshop
With: 14 Comments

red-markets-posterEven though Fallout 4 is out, Caleb is still hard at work on Red Markets. Playtest feedback is trickling in, so the next step is deciding how to change the game based on this feedback. Some changes will be easier than others, but not every bit of feedback will be used to make these changes. After all, not all feedback is equal. Giving and receiving feedback is a crucial skill for a game designer, yet it is often an undeveloped skill. Fred Hicks about his experiences at Metatopia about feedback skills and is mentioned during out discussion.

Even after receiving valuable feedback, changing the game will not be easy. Caleb discusses some of the changes he is considering and I provide some analysis of Red Markets in its current state.

Music: Footbeats by Admiral of the Red.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:16:07 — 52.4MB)

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