Master Plan

Ryan is joined by Sean Nittner—owner of Big Bad Con, project manager for Evil Hat Productions, and all around excellent human. (Or human-wolf hybrid.) The conversation revolves around thinking about convention games as part of the design process, but our journey takes a few twists and turns. About Big Bad Con: A fantastic tabletop RPG and LARP convention in Oakland, California on October 16–18, 2015. Check out the Kickstarter (ends July 2nd)! We also talk about: Organizing conventions Being a publisher Katanas & Trenchcoats Useless speculation about Apocalypse World 2 All games will be made into convention games “It doesn’t matter if you have a square or round peg, we will shove it into a con slot.” The amount of work it takes to set up a game The first scene problem in GM-less games Love letters, as seen in Apocalypse World In medias res adventure games Supernatural season 10 Drama game set-ups, notable with Smallville RPG “Shut the fuck up” as a technique Follow Sean at @SeanNitter. 1:22:04 / 41 MB - Ryan

Ryan tries out a new format for the show, and brings on indie game designer Kit La Touche to chat about various game design and game publishing topics. Designing the GM side of games Citizen reviewers Walter Ong’s writing on oral cultures The nature of fans "A failed dream" Games that shift over editing or editions Having a regular playtest group How your form of playtesting shapes your game Fantastical elements in games, and how they make a game more marketable Playtest budgets Being afraid of a game Getting to be a fan Little projects The desire of jamming together as a creative group Check out Kit at: games.transneptune.net and @wlonk 1:25:04 / 41.5 MB - Ryan

Ryan talks with Mark Richardson, who is by night a freelance tabletop games cartographer and indie publisher, and by day a badass Canadian geographical information survey machine. (That means he makes huge maps using very detailed software.) Mark's got a fresh perspective on cartography, coming from a technical, GIS background rather than a purely illustrative one. We sit down to talk about the art and business of making maps for games. If you like the cut of his jib (and you should), check him out at @slavetothehat, his Green Hat Designs, and his upcoming Headspace Kickstarter! Projects Mark has Made Maps For Include King Wen’s Tower: blackgreengames.com Urban Shadows: kickstarter.com/projects/1287928832/urban-shadows-rpg Project Dark: kickstarter.com/projects/wordstudio/project-dark No Country for Old Kobolds: kickstarter.com/projects/53201108/no-country-for-old-kobolds-a-dungeon-world-hack Other maps at his site: greenhatdesigns.com Open GIS Data Resources Metro Extracts from Open Street Map database (Worldwide major cities): mapzen.com/metro-extracts Natural Earth – World wide data at Regional, Country and Continent scales: naturalearthdata.com Canadian GIS Data (Index of a sites across the country): canadiangis.com/data.php GeoGratis (Search for data/maps for Canada): geogratis.gc.ca Other Links David Rumsey (Historical Map Collection): davidrumsey.com ESRI – The Company that makes ArcGIS: esri.com 51:29 / 25.3M View on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=CP_BYapSUpI - Ryan

Ryan kicks on one of his planned 2015 interview series—this one on setting design in roleplaying games—by talking with luminary and setting veteran Robin D. Laws. Robin's well known for his work in Feng Shui (and the recently Kickstarted second edition), the Dying Earth RPG, and various games using his GUMSHOE and DramaSystem engines. Works that we brought up that you can check out now: Feng Shui 2 (linking to finished Kickstarter page, so you can check it out if you were a backer or in the future) The Esoterrorists, a GUMSHOE game that touches on things Robin finds unsettling Mutant City Blues, a GUMSHOE game dealing with police procedurals that features the Quade Diagram Ashen Stars, Robin's take on the space opera procedural through GUMSHOE Hillfolk and Blood on the Snow, the DramaSystem and its collection of setting pitches If you want more Robin goodness, check out Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff. – Ryan 59:35 /29.2M View on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=BeG2XtV-C1g

Ryan interviews three fantastic folks about prepping for large conventions like Gen Con: Adam Jury, co-founder of Posthuman Studios Derek Guder, Event Programming Manager at Gen Con Jessica Price, project manager at Paizo We did a mixed focus: while we focused on useful tips for event runners and exhibitors, it turns out that many tips we shared work for general attendees. We talked a lot about food, a little about alcohol, about packing and shipping, domestic and international travel advice, and so on. For old hats, this won't be revolutionary advice, but it might help some people out who aren't as veteran at Gen Con. This was originally broadcast live as a Google+ Hangout on the Air on Saturday, August 8th, 2014, and has more audio issues than I'm used to dealing with. I tried to fix what I could, but there's only so much you can do with bad audio. Notes from the Episode You can often find Adam at the Posthuman Studios booth -- booth #559, near the art show area.Ryan and Jessica will frequently be at the Paizo booth -- #203 -- when not doing events like panels.If you need to find Derek, you can email him at events@gencon.com, call the events line at 857-559-2420, or go to the GM HQ or an event HQ booth and ask for him. Outside-of-US people, check out Nelly's Nerdy Adventures for more on dealing with flying into/out of the US. Thanks to everyone who contributed questions and advice! Gen Con advice posts from the past: My post on alcohol at conventions, including a video of packing alcohol for safety and weight concerns Adam Jury's series of posts: before the show, at the show, looking for work Gen Con links: Premier Events (click on the link on the page for the Excel file) Gamemasters Forum Things you should totally check out: visit this blog post for info on Games on Demand, First Exposure, and more stuff I think you should check out! We had two winners of the Gen Con badge giveaway: Mike & Amber! (Though, if one doesn't claim in time, I might give the badge to a runner-up.) ...and that's it! See some of you at Gen Con! - Ryan 55:49 /27.4M View on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=mu7B2NDa0-A

Ryan talks with Amanda Valentine, John Adamus, and Lynne Hardy about what it is to be a freelance editor, answer questions from freelance editors and prospective editors, and possibly give some tips to writers who are hiring freelance editors for the first time. Amanda Valentine: ayvalentine.com | @ayvalentineJohn Adamus: writernextdoor.com | @awesome_johnLynne Hardy: cogscakesandswordsticks.blogspot.com | @cogsandcakes The PaizoCon panels mentioned in the intro: Editing in RPGs Horror in Gaming (where we again praise Dread, and I discover how to creep out one of my bosses) 1:05:31 / 32.1 MB

Brian Clevinger—co-creator of the fantastic comic series Atomic Robo—talks with Ryan Macklin about licensed roleplaying games from a side of the fence not often talked about: the licensor's point of view. They talk about what Brian expected before getting involved with Evil Hat Productions to create the Atomic Robo Roleplaying Game, how that matched with what happened, his involvement in the process, and more! The comic: atomic-robo.comThe game: evilhat.com/home/atomic-roboFollow Brian on Twitter: @bclevinger Other RPG books mentioned: Kerberos Club (and Strange Fate) Guide to the Technocracy Convention Book: Progenitors Spirit of the Century Delta Green Originally as a Master Plan Live episode: youtube.com/watch?v=L6g3eEsgNjY

Ryan sits down with Stephen Hood and Will Hindmarch or Protagonist Labs to talk about the new online roleplaying experience known as Storium. On this live episode, they talk about Storium's origins and design, issues that came up in playtesting, the differences between developing for an upgradable platform versus a static book, and more. If you aren't a part of the beta yet and would like to be, check out Storium's Kickstarter campaign. Ryan also mentions that he'll be shifting toward more live format shows than pre-recorded, as an experiment and to speed up production. Links: Storium's site Storium's Kickstarter (ends on May 8th, 2014) Protagonist Labs' blog You can also check out this episode on YouTube. 52:28 / 25.8M - Ryan

Ryan sits down with Vincent Baker to ask him what ends up being some big questions: Where did Murderous Ghosts come from? What does "Powered by the Apocalypse" mean? What are his thoughts on his own design evolution? We go all over the place in this lengthy interview -- talking about the old days at the Forge, the nature of various playtesting, a love of RoboRally, what being "innovative" actually means, on freelancing and what that sacrifices, selling games to non-gamers, silly unpublished games, and so much more. This is one of my favorite interviews to date, and a fitting way to both close out 2013 and be (functionally) my 7th anniversary episode. Thank you to Plate Mail Games for the use of the audio loop -- an experiment I'm trying in this episode. Check out their Kickstarter! Good stuff.   Vincent's (published) games mentioned: Dogs in the Vineyard Apocalypse World Otherkind Otherkind Dice (and here) Poison'd Murderous Ghosts The Sundered Land Other games mentioned: Psi*Run by Meguey Baker Bliss Stage by Ben Lehman Annalise by Nathan D. Paoletta RoboRally by Richard Garfield Lost Worlds Dungeon World by Adam Koebel and Saga LaTorra Sorcerer by Ron Edwards Steal Away Jordan by JuliaB. Ellingboe Dread by Epidiah Ravachol 53:01 / 26.1M - Ryan

On this first live episode of Master Plan, I talk with Daniel Solis about a host of subjects: card game design, rapid prototyping, remote playtesting, design philosophy, DriveThruCards, and so on. Naturally, we talk about Belle of the Ball (currently on Kickstarter) and Koi Pond (on DriveThruCards). You can watch the video on YouTube (via this link or the embed below), or download the audio-only version from this feed & post. Show notes Daniel's Blog and Twitter feed. Daniel's Games Belle of the Ball Koi Pond Happy Birthday, Robot! Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple (full disclaimer: I was one of the editors on Do) And many others, finished and not, on his site Daniel's online video course at skillshare.com on card design in InDesign. Apps Mentioned for Remote Testing CardWarden (for iPad) Roll20 (browser-based) Other Games Mentioned Guillotine by Paul Peterson Deadwood Studios by James Ernest/Cheapass Games Audio thanks to listentoyoutube.com, which Daniel turned me on to. If you use it, be warned: there are like a million ads on the site, though none in the audio once you get to downloading it. 1:27:07 / 42.4M - Ryan

Ryan sits down with Jason Morningstar and Steve Segedy of Bully Pulpit Games to talk shop about creating Fiasco playsets. They give the lowdown on what to think about when creating playsets, how they tackle different problems that come up, and a the inside scoop on how their process was and is today. They have the occasional aside about tips for better playing Fiasco as well, if that's your bag. (If not, they still talk about it.) They also throw down the gauntlet, and make me commit to...well, listen to find out. It's heavily suggested that the Fiasco Companion is required reading if you want to get more out of this process (and out of the interview). Also check out Fiasco: American Disasters, the first in their series of trilogies, and also includes the Trainwreck mode, which allows you to string multiple sessions together. Playsets mentioned (linked ones are free to download): All the Damn Time Flight 1180 Gangster London Hocus Focus, the Dresden Files playset Living Dead, the add-on Lucky Strike Mission to Mercury, Companion pages 125-134 The Quest for the Golden Panda, the stunt dice originator; stunt dice can also be found in the Companion, pages 81-82 Rainbow Mountain, in American Disasters Regina's Wedding, Companion pages 105-114 Touring Rock Band Vegas, Companion pages 115-124 White Line Fever, in an upcoming trilogy Other notes: Carolina Death Crawl is totally awesome! (And the rules are free online) Find Games on Demand at indiegamesexplosion.org and @Games_on_Demand You can check out Sascha Illyvich's work (the mentioned romance author/editor) at saschaillyvichauthor.com Not mentioned in the interview, but sadly a few months back, the tobacconist I mentioned closed down. Here's to you, Grant's. If you'll be at Gen Con 2013, come see me! You can find out my schedule from this blog post. 45:40 / 22.5M - Ryan

On this episode, I talk with the ever-talented Amanda Valentine, freelance editor who has worked on a number of award-winning RPGs. We decided to have a conversation about editing from the perspective of language: why to choose different words, what that means, how does that impact understanding, etc. And then she becomes the Scarlet Owlbear. Links: Amanda's Blog Reads 4 Tweens Evil Hat Productions Margaret Weis Productions ENnie Awards 43:52 / 21.5M Thanks again to Jason Pitre for his help with post-production. - Ryan

At Gen Con 2012, I was on an Industry Insider Guest of Honor panel with Michelle Lyons-McFarland called “Editing and Indie Games.” The description from last year: Have a game that needs an editor’s touch but don’t know what to ask? Learn what makes a book user-friendly, how organization affects use, & what the unforgivable sins are BEFORE your book is in print. Michelle and I talk about various aspects of editing and producing a functional text, focused on the small, underfunded shops. We have different takes and different opinions, talk about the differences in various scopes of editing, a bit about working with editors, and so on. You can find out about Michelle’s company, Play Attention Games, at playattentiongames.com. 50:18 / 23.6MB

The second & final basement tape episodes comes from September 2009: Ryan sat down with Keith Baker, creator of Eberron, to talk about setting design. They discuss various principles, ways to diverge from classic fantasy setups, working in lore, and so on. In particular, it’s interesting because of a setting design constraint: using monster and dungeon lore from Dungeons & Dragons as a core requirement of the setting, while still bringing something new to that subject. Links: Eberron (Wizards of the Coast site) Eberron (Wikipedia page) Keith Baker’s blog Keith Baker on Twitter (@HellcowKeith) Shout-out: Jason Pitre, Genesis of Legend (Twitter) — for the bulk of the interview’s audio production - Ryan 31:11 / 14.4M

The first of the basement tape episodes! Ryan recorded a fantastic interview with Luke Crane back in Gen Con 2009, talking about the GM's & Players' Turns in Mouse Guard. It turned into a discussion about text design, reader assumptions about RPGs,  media touchstones and their pitfalls, and of course the evolution of Mouse Guard's turn structure. When this was recorded, Ryan assumed it would be a two-part episode, so you'll hear stuff to that effect. But Luke's a charismatic interviewee, so we left all that in! Links: Burning HQ Mouse Guard Thank yous: Jason Pitre, Genesis of Legend (Twitter) -- for the bulk of the interview's audio production Duane O'Brien, A Terrible Idea (Twitter) -- for help in little, secret ways - Ryan 32:47 / 15.7M

After 10 months of podfading, Ryan Macklin is back with a new episode of Master Plan! This is the first of his "basement tapes" episodes -- interviews recorded back in 2009 that until now were out of the can. He talked with Kenneth Hite back in early September 2009 after setting creation and Day After Ragnarok. In honor of Day After Ragnarok's ENnie nomination for Best Setting, Ryan's kicking off his basement tapes episodes with this interview. Naturally, Ken has many, many good things to say on setting creation. You can read more in a post of his from a few months back that compliments what he said in the interview. Correction: The IPR booth this year is at 2339, not 2334 or 2335. Clearly I should have hit pause and found out like a civilized person. Running time: 28:50 / File size: 19.9M [Note: at the moment my forums are down]

This month being the month of all things horror, Ryan gets together with Monica Valentielli of Flames Rising to talk about some basic things to consider when designing a horror game. The folks at Flames Rising really know their horror, so it's no surprise that Monica's full of great insight about mood, theme, player involvement, and pacing. Towards the end of the conversation, they discuss a little bit of the differences between more traditional horror game set-ups and some of the newer, indie/character-focused ones. After the interview, Ryan reminds you he exists by continuing to talk, this time about the recent The Thing's The Game episode and Jess Hartley's new book, Conventions for the Aspiring Game Professional. Monica Valentinelli & Flames Rising: FlamesRising.com Monica's site Exquisite Replicas by Abstract Nova Entertainment Worlds of the Dead by Eden Studios Obsidian: the Age of Judgment by Apophis Consortium Other Mentions: One of the Living by Eden Studios Little Fears Nightmare Edition by Jason Blair Don't Rest Your Head by Evil Hat Productions Don't Lose Your Mind by Evil Hat Productions (yay, Silver ENnie for Best Writing!) Orpheus by White Wolf Vampire: The Requiem by White Wolf Conventions for the Aspiring Game Professional by Jess Hartley The Game's The Thing, Episode 063: Hijacked at RinCon 2009 RinCon 2009 (and my post & video on it) This Just In...From GenCon! The Dresden Files RPG website Running time: 32:18 / File size: 22.1M Discuss this episode on the forums

Ryan talks about reincorporation from a design perspective. And he's going to write proper show notes later, when he's not packing for GenCon.

Continuing the series on pacing mechanics, Ryan talks about campaign-level pacing systems. He revisits D&D, as having a loose sense of pacing based on the setting material linked to various character levels. Afterward, he talks at length about Polaris, as a prime example of an individual character-focused pacing mechanic -- with what it means to achieve and how it achieves it. Then he brings up a setting book for Polaris, Thou Art But A Warrior, that introduces a group-focused (or world-focused) pacing alongside the character-focused one. Finally, he talks about Burning Empires as a competitive, GM vs. PCs system. He closes out by bringing up some pitfalls to watch out for in any pacing mechanic you do. He also shamelessly asks you for you consideration in voting for The Voice of the Revolution at the ENnie Awards. Games Mentioned: Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition Polaris by These Are Our Games Thou Art But a Warrior by Tasty Bacon Games Burning Empires by Luke Crane Other Mentions: Have Games, Will Travel #109: Burning Empires Master Plan #20: Scene Framing and Pacing Mechanics with Luke Crane Master Plan #40: Luke Crane on Advancement, Failure & Reward Cycles Master Plan #41: Further Thoughts on Advancement Master Plan #50: Paul Tevis on Text Presentation, A Penny For My Thoughts This episode is sponsored by RPGNow.com. Running time: 31:59 / File size: 21.9M Discuss this episode on the forums

On this fiftieth episode of Master Plan, Ryan talks with Paul Tevis about text production and his new book, A Penny For My Thoughts. Given that Ryan worked with Paul on the game by developing and editing it, it’s not a standard interview -- they talk about it as insiders sharing a bit about creating the project with fans, especially over some of the pitfalls and issues they ran into together. After the interview, a few people wish Ryan well on achieving his fiftieth episode, and he shares his thoughts on the future of the show. A Penny For My Thoughts: A Penny For My Thoughts by Paul Tevis Evil Hat Productions Paul's Gameslinger Enterprises and his blog Post on my blog, sharing my experiences working with Paul on Penny Paul's recent interview on Canon Puncture This episode is sponsored by RPGNow.com. Running time: 32:04 / File size: 22.0M Discuss this episode on the forums