game design – Page 3 – Role Playing Public Radio

Skills in RPGs – Episode 174

On: February 18, 2020

News: We are working on a new podcast called Night Clerk Radio, where we review vaporwave, dark ambient, and other haunted genres of music. Our website is live with a trailer. We plan to launch soon!

Synopsis: Skills in RPGs are an important element but many games don’t get them right. Many games have too many skills while others have no skills at all. Caleb and I talk about good and bad skill systems in RPGs and how it has changed over the years. Caleb also brings up real life skills, like rhetoric, versus their in-game equivalents.

Shout Outs

Red Thread: A book about mazes and labyrinths. Excellent if meandering.
The Testaments: A sequel to the Handmaid’s Tale
Pagan Autogeny: An indie video game about exploring a dead MMO.
Oblivion Song: A comic about rescuing people from alien hellscapes
Japanese Video Game Obscurities: A book about weird video games
How To: The XKCD creator explains how to do various tasks
Medical Police: A sequel series to Children’s Hospital. Very funny!

Song: Harps and Dreams by Indreba

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:17 — 60.9MB)

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RPPR Episode 165: The Importance of Gear in RPGs

On: March 18, 2019

In: Podcast Episode

With: 10 Comments

Many RPG campaigns inevitably have at least one session that’s more about shopping for new items and gear. Some players love it and others hate it. How important are items and associated game mechanics for them? Caleb, Jay B, and I discuss the differing philosophies of items in various RPGs, from Phoenix Command’s detailed rules to Fiasco’s non-existent rules for items. We also discuss an upcoming gear book for Red Markets, plus shout outs and anecdotes.

News: Party Fowl is out! If you haven’t already got a copy of the best duck-themed social gathering board game of 2019, then get yours today! Also, I am going to Australia next month, but RPPR will still be going strong. I will be posting about my trip on Twitter and Instagram.

Shout Outs

Kingdom: A show about a zombie outbreak in medieval Korea.
The Order: A show about secret society of mages fight werewolves on a college campus.
The Umbrella Academy: A show based on the comic. Wes Anderson meets the X-Men.
Devotion: A great horror video game about a family in Taiwan in the 80s.
The BSA Red Markets campaign: Playtesting mass combat rules for Red Markets.
Call to Adventure: a new board game by Brotherwise Games. Review forthcoming!
Velvet Buzzsaw and Blurred Lines: A movie and a documentary about the art world.

Music: Automated Refrains by Dan Terminus

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:22:30 — 56.9MB)

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Designing Tabletop Games Through Failure Panel at PAX South 2019

On: January 22, 2019

In: Panel discussion

With: 0 Comments

Many of us have at least a few failed game designs sitting around somewhere. Instead of lamenting those failures, we talk about how to leverage them to improve your skills and inspiration. Whether you’ve already got a game published or are just now thinking about entering the fray, we want to share some of our stories of failure turned into something positive from various angles of the tabletop game design field.

Panelists: Andrew Hackard [Munchkin Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games], Scott Morris [Director of Business Development, GTS Distribution], Mike Abrahamson [Game Designer, Adventurer’s Guild Games]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:22 — 41.0MB)

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