Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by James D'Amato, Jim McClure, Laura Simpson. It is tempting to pour money into marketing a crowdfunding project. We'll discuss strategies you can use that take your project further without breaking your marketing budget.

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Michelle Lyons, Danielle Lauzon, Pete Petrusha, Maury Brown, Cam Banks. It's relatively easy to make a game in this day and age. Making a business is harder. How much effort do you want to put into bringing a game to market/getting some revenue for your work? What are your options? How will you know what you want until you do it? Come join us for a panel discussing the whys and wherefores of game publication and where people choose to land on that spectrum. Apologies for sound quality issues. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Jason Walters, Brennan Taylor, James Dagg. We'll talk about how to accept that your game will never be perfect and how to know when it's ready to publish anyway.

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Phil Vecchione, Will Hindmarch, Beth Rimmels. Designing the "For GMs" Section of your RPG" . GMing sections of RPGs are often a collection of rules, advice, etc, but they are not always effective. In addition, there is a host of great, generic GMing advice in both blog and podcast form, that no longer needs to be included in an RPG. What can we, as game designers, do when we design the GMing section of a game to better empower GMs to run the games we are creating?

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Jason Pitre, Jim Crocker, Jason Walters. Congratulations on producing your game! Now, you have to decide how you want to sell it. This panel will talk about all of the different ways you can sell games and the costs associated with each of them. We will help you pick which options are best for you, based on your product and priorities.  

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Jason Pitre, Matthias Bonnici and Will Hindmarch. Producing a book involves communication and negotiation between the layout professional, writers, editors, and art-directors. In this panel, we will talk about how to establish structures that work for everyone, and point out some ways to keep your layout gal happy.  The presentation used for this panel is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GE7skzfOoRBUIDmw5hRZMvIApl6CguCO/view?usp=sharing  

Special Episode Presented by Jason Pitre, Anna Meade, Sarah 'Doombringer' Richardson, and Eloy Lasanta.    In this special episode, most the panelists from the previous gencon panel get together to answer questions posed by attendees.  The questions on offer are...  Q1: I've got a game, it's playtested: how do I get to market? Q2: Outside of the mechanical or thematic design of the game, which part of development and release is the most challenging for you, and in what way? Q3: What is the best value services to ensure a successful kickstarter? Q4: How should one go about acquiring a publisher for their design? Q5: How do you balance an RPG across as many levels as possible when the system is rather complex? Is it just a long slog or is there a faster method than what I currently use? Q6: How to turn a story/setting concept into a workable game system? Q7: I'd love any advice specifically on making Powered by the Apocalypse games. Q8: What is the single most important element of an RPG system that can determine its success or failure? Q9: How technology is changing the Design and Publishing process?   Enjoy this special episode!  

Recorded at GenCon 2018 Presented by Jason Pitre, Anna Meade, Jerry Grayson, Eloy Lasanta, and Sarah "Doombringer" Richardson.  This panel serves as a welcome introduction to the twin fields of roleplaying game design, and publishing. It features a long discussion on how and why we design games, how games have to be about something, and how we can practically turn our ideas into products. This was a two hour panel full of brilliant insights from the panel speakers and has some fun banter to boot.  Note that the audience submitted a number of questions in advance of the panel, which we will be responding to in next week's episode!

Recorded at Metaopia 2017 Presented by Whitney Delaglio, Brand Robins Sexy Times in-game can be serious business, but it doesn't have to be! Join us for a discussion about using artwork and tone to encourage fun and playful exploration of intimacy in games. This episode coincides with the release of the kickstarter for Prism! Check it out here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2026929256/prism-1    

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Gil Hova.  "Player in Three Persons - Studying the Theme/Mechanism Join of Board Games". "This game is so immersive!" "This theme is pasted on!" "Should designers start with theme or mechanism?" Lots of board game fans like to debate theme and mechanism. This panel is a technical deep-dive into the fascinating join of theme and mechanism of a commercial board game, and why the two don't always get along. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by  Jack Parra, Leslie Casilli, Lissanne Lake "The Artist's Process: Game Illustration From Start To Finish." presented by Jack Parra, Leslie Casilli, Lissanne Lake. Our panelists go over the process they go through when creating a finished illustration, and the different approaches they take. This panel is about helping artists of all levels improve. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Tim Hutchings and Evan Torner. Criticism and Feedback: How to Talk about that Game You Just Played. How do we talk about games in a productive, useful way? The panel will discuss methods and tools for giving useful, critical feedback for the game play experience. We will introduce critical methods from the creative arts and inclusivity-promoting discussion tools pioneered by Games to Gather in Portland, Oregon.

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Steve Radabaugh, Beth Rimmels, Jason Pitre Developing A Marketing Plan For Your Game. We will be taking what Marketing Genius Seth Godin teaches about Marketing and helping you apply it to your game/brand. You will work in a small group to discuss how the information applies to you, and you will fill out a marketing plan template.   Note: This is a shorter panel as the second half was dedicated to filling in the template.   Marketing Plan Questions What Change are you trying to make? Who are you trying to change? What is the promise that you’re making? Pick 2 desireable things to the people you are trying to change. What is your position on these axes? What are you committed to being on behalf of the people you are trying to change? People like us do things like this. Who is the US, and what is the THIS? Why don’t people choose you?  

Recorded at Metatopia 2017   Presented by John Adamus, Jacqueline Bryk. Sales Pitches That Set A Positive Tone.. Building a pitch that captures the atmosphere of the game in a positive, rather than exclusionary way is a huge part of growing an audience and a community around your work. It sets a tone and conveys a lot of info. Let's give you a roadmap for success!

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Joshua Yearsley. Writing Rulebooks: An Introduction and Workshop. Trying to write your first (or seventh) rulebook? Want to build a solid foundation on rules writing fundamentals? Ready to get your hands dirty with real rules revisions? This is for you. We'll first explore why rulebooks are so difficult to get right, discuss the goals of the rulebook itself, and then jump into the fundamentals. You'll learn a new language for describing rules, the theory and application of rules structure, and tons of tips and tricks to improve flow. After the talk, we'll break into groups and put these skills to use, workshopping badly written rules into better ones, guided by a professional rules writer and editor. This talk + workshop was first given as part of a course on game design taught by Rob Daviau, co-designer of Pandemic Legacy, at Hampshire College, where it received a great response (though the METATOPIA version probably won't give you college credit)

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Jack Parra, Scott Bowmanchester, Lissanne Lake   Get art for your game without breaking the bank. Getting high-quality art is key to making a product look professional. How do publishers do it without breaking the bank? Our panel makes with the tips and tricks. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Kiva Fecteau, Beth Rimmels, Doug Levandowski, James Dagg, Nicole Perry. From Imposter Syndrome to Arrogance - Knowing When To Step Back.  How do you measure your success in a field where most people don't have salaries or corporate titles to compare, "bad" games can be hugely popular, and the timeline of creative spark to marketable product can often be years? In other words, when are you an "Industry Pro?" No matter how much they've done, some people continue to feel that they haven't yet hit the mark. Yet others who are completely new to the industry may feel that they have all the answers. Both attitudes can hold back your ability to flourish in the gaming industry

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Jennifer Gutterman, Joshua Yearsley, Melissa Lewis-Gentry, Zev Shlasinger. You made a game! Congratulations! Now explain your incredible game in one sentence. That isn't as easy as it sounds. You want people to buy into your game as players, as investors, or as retailers. You will only have one chance to make that first impression. It needs to have impact. If you want to see your game successful on a crowdfunding site, or sold by your local game store, then you need to know what kind of pitch types and styles to maximize both what you say and target the right audience. This panel will cover it all, from the one sentence pitch through pitches for retailers, and the many options in between.

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Michael Malecki, Elsa Henry, Shervyn von Hoerl, Monica Speca. Join us for a workshop to create a combat system that could possibly allow for the fluid and chaotic nature of combat but not be overwhelmingly disruptive to play style. The first half of the panel will cover offensive and defensive theories. We will go over the positives and negatives of things such as Narrative play, Slow-Fu, and Physical Combat. After a brief Q&A, those who building a system are welcome to stay and workshop with experts.

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Jack Parra, Scott Bowmanchester, Chris Kreuter. The panelists will touch on the process of how to find and approach artists, negotiate the contract, and then successfully work together. It's important that publishers get an artist's-eye-view of things so they can better understand what we do, the process, and the time involved and plan projects accordingly. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Julia Ellingboe, Jess Banks and Laiel. Our panelists will talk about about incorporating actual real life systems of faith into settings, themes, and conflicts, rather than to making up a religion for a game. Let's talk about about writing about faith, particularly when it's different from our own. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Ann Stolinsky, Darren Watts, Tim Rodriguez, Justin Rogers. Running a successful playtest when it's your creation on the table is hard work. It goes beyond putting your game on the table and hoping for the best. Join our panelists for tips and tricks on how to get benefit from every session, including those that don't go according to script. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by John Adamus and Ann Stolinsky. Editing is the crucible through which your idea passes in order to emerge as the game and experience you intended. Find out what works, what doesn't, and how to navigate the red flags and feelings around them. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Brian Dalrymple, Jason Walters, Melissa Lewis-Gentry. Getting your game(s) into stores usually means dealing with distributors. How do you get their attention? What do they expect from you? If you're planning on going direct to retailers, what's the best way to do that? If you're planning on operating outside of traditional distribution, are you leaving money on the table? This is panel gives an overview of the 3-tier distribution system, including its strengths, weaknesses, and alternatives.

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by John Adamus, Bryan Shipp, Laura Simpson, Tim Rodriguez Games are a hydra on a roller coaster on fire. There's so much to do, so much to avoid doing, so much to plan for, and so much to hope works out. We'd like to talk about the process.

Recorded at BreakoutCon 2018 Presented by: Robin Laws, Rachel Kahn, Jax Bryk, and Cindy Moore Moderator: Pieter van Hiel From fascinating NPCs to deadly dragons, each adventure the heroes brave must be memorable. Join our incredible panelists to discuss how to keep your adventures interesting and keep your players coming back for more!

Recorded at BreakoutCon 2018 Presented by: Rachel Kahn, Mark Richardson, Daniel Kwan, Alex Roberts Moderator: Philip Vecchione How do maps, minis, props, tools and other tactile elements enhance or affect our tabletop RPG games? Ways to add a tempting, touchable layer to your gaming experience, whether for your home group or as a designer.

  Recorded at BreakoutCon 2018 Presented by: Sen-Foong Lim, Rob Daviau, Allysha Tulk, Nicole Hoye Moderator: Daryl Andrews Have you ever wanted to be a boardgame designer? Join our wonderful panel of guests to discuss what it takes to get started down this path!

Recorded at BreakoutCon 2018 Presented by: Robin Laws, Daniel Kwan, Emily Care Boss, and Michelle Lyons-McFarland Moderator: Corey Reid Learn how the best GMs run the best games. No matter what system or play style you love, this panel will have tips and tricks to help you level up your game.

Recorded at BreakoutCon 2018 Presented by: Mark Richardson, Anna Kreider, Emily Griggs, Misha Bushyagar Moderator: Jonathan Lavallee The wondrous journey from beginning to end of working on your first game. It's a highlight reel of the big process parts and what to keep track of to make your first game as successful as possible.

Recorded at BreakoutCon 2018 Presented by Sarah Richardson, Michelle Lyons-McFarland, Jaym Gates Moderator: Brand Robbins Jaym Gates (BLUE ROSE 2nd Ed., TIANXIA: Blood, Silk, and Jade,), Michelle Lyons-McFarland (Chill, A Tragedy in Five Acts), and Sarah Richardson (Bluebeard’s Bride, Velvet Glove) as they discuss how diverse viewpoints bring new life to tired horror tropes. Topics may include feminine horror, setting the right tone, disrupting player assumptions, plus tips and tricks for running horror in trad, OSR, and story games. Make sure to bring questions of your own!

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Shoshana Kessock, Neall Price, Susanne Vejdemo, Joshua A. C. Newman. Art is and has always been political, and game design is no different. In this panel, we'll talk about developing games with political agendas not only wholly in mind, but front and center. We'll tackle discussions about the hard topics that come up in political games, whether or not you design for unity or for controversy, how to use game design to create the political message of your games, and how to design games with political messages in the current charged political world.

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Roberta Taylor, Curt Covert. Everyone loves a good story, whether it's in a book or on a screen, but what about memorable story in boardgames. What does story look like in a boardgame? How is story different from theme? How does the designer partner with players to tell a story? What are the limitations and where is the creative space wide open?

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Gil Hova, Jonathan Gilmour. From Jones Theory to "this game fired that game", hierarchical thinking - comparing one thing to another in a way that ranks one as better than the other - is very popular in the gaming world. How useful is it? Are there situations where it hurts us? We will talk about the pros and cons of hierarchical thinking, and dive into why it's so appealing to us game fans.

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Bill White, Brennan Taylor, Lisa Padol, Evan Torner, and more.  Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Forge (But Were Afraid To Ask). The Forge (www.indie-rpgs.com) was an online discussion site for indie TRPG design, publication, and play that was active from 2001 to 2012. Across tens of thousands of discussion threads, Forge participants hashed out new ways of understanding the dynamics of tabletop RPG play, and developed a new conceptual language for talking about game design, as part of a larger project of promulgating the "indie RPG" message that anyone can design and publish the game they want. This larger mission largely accomplished by 2010, according to its founders, the Forge closed its forums in 2012. But the ideas it offered still have value, and so five years after the closing of the Forge we look back and assess its insights, its accomplishments, and its imbroglios. Presented by Bill White, game designer and game studies scholar currently working on a book about the Forge, along with several regular posters from that era

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Tam Myaing, Heather Wilson. Games by their nature are learning tools. When we play games, we are, at a minimum, learning the mechanics and the boundaries of the game space. Can we use this 'learning mechanic' to design better games, and better players? The panel will explore the mechanics of learning in games and their potential to reach beyond the game space. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Darren Watts, Christopher O'Neill, Roberta Taylor. You've got a board game, card game, RPG or LARP in your head, but something's stopping you from settling down and doing the work to get it done and out there in the world. What is it? Let's get into your head and smack down the voices telling you it can't be done. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Kate Bullock, Michelle Lyons, Kathryn Miller, Anna Kreider. As much as we'd like to banish "Women in Gaming" panels to the depths of our historic archives, there is still value in addressing the fact that being there are challenges for women at the gaming table that different than those faced by our male counterparts. This panel will talk about the ways women have always contributed to gaming, and how to handle some of the more nuanced situations that still come up.

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Eric Simon, Darren Watts, Shoshana Kessock, and Elsa Henry. From the implicit imperialism of steampunk to the complicated controversy of HBO's Confederate, it seems like alternate history is often fraught with problems. We provide you with techniques and ideas for writing, designing, and playing with historical and alternate historical themes in ways that are positive, inclusive, respectful, and productive.  The slideshow presentation used at the panel is available at https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Uyj3bTumXtXSSz6s7JV_kAc2mwnfSs1abUoeYfjWFfQ/edit?usp=sharing  

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Michelle Lyons-McFarland, Jason Pitre. Professionalization has been defined as "transformation into a profession of the highest integrity and competence." Integrity and competence are laudable goals for the profession as a whole, but how do we get there? What practices should we pursue? How do we differentiate between industry/business/community relationships, and are we willing to do so? This roundtable will try to hit on some best practices and identify the obstacles that stand in our way. 

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Dev Purkayastha. A workshop for designers who have playtested their game - here or elsewhere - and have gotten challenging feedback. It's easy to feel discouraged, but it's important to take the next step. The goal of this workshop is to provide encouragement towards the ongoing process, rather than workshopping specific feedback. Note: This is a workshop rather than a panel, but there is some good advice and discussion worth your time.

Recorded at Metatopia 2017 Presented by Melissa Lewis-Gentry, Brian Dalrymple. So you're planning crowdfunding for your game, and have heard that Retail is important. Maybe you did a retail tier in a previous Kickstarter and had no one buy it, or maybe you lost money by creating that tier. Regardless, the industry is changing faster than we can keep up. Learn from Retailers on what they want and what they won't back for 2018 Kickstarters & IndieGoGos. Learn from Expert Campaigners on the pitfalls of building tiers. Be sure to bring questions about your upcoming campaign, we want to hear them.

Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Joshua Yearsley, John Adamus, Dr. Jessica Hammer. Writing and editing rulebooks is still a black art, not an empirical science. In this panel, Dr. Jessica Hammer and professional editors John Adamus and Joshua Yearsley hash out the state of the rulebook. What works? What doesn't? Why do so many professionals (including us!) disagree about how to write good rulebooks? Why are so many rulebooks still bad, and what can we do about it? We won't have all the answers - maybe you'll help us find some. It is somewhere between a panel and a roundtable. We'll certainly have things to say and discuss with each other, but we absolutely welcome audience input to figure out what the world's thinking about. Apologies for the poor sound quality.

Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Jason Pitre, Jeff Tidball, Stephen Tasker, Darren Watts. As a game master, you use NPCs to describe the setting, and to interact with the PCs. As a designer, you help shape the kinds of NPCs that fill those roles. This panel is all about different ways that designers can establish NPCs and relationships in their designs. Who do the PC's love, hate, defend, or overthrow? Apologies for the poor sound quality.

Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Fred Hicks and Chris Hanrahan. Innovation and new ideas are fantastic in game design, but designers have borrowed, stolen, and adapted other people's ideas for as long as we've been making games. Let's talk about whose works have influenced us, how we can best credit and pay homage to that work, and what we might not understand about ourselves as designers based on the works we ourselves have created. Note: This is a short episode with mediocre sound quality. The content is good though!

Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Kenneth Hite, Bill White. The principles of worldbuilding for games are not the principles of worldbuilding for novels (depth of field) and certainly not the principles of worldbuilding for physics (plate tectonics). What are they? How can you apply them to a pre-existing world, real or fictional?

Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Emily Dresner, Fred Hicks, Rob Donoghue. You're a successful indie publisher! You did a great job wearing all the hats - game designer, writer, editor, artist, and graphic designer. Now, you want to create something bigger and more grand! You discover that, without years of time, you cannot carry out your vision yourself. You need other people... and that leads to new headaches. We'll talk about tools, techniques, schedules, planning, effective communication, using freelancers, and even a little Agile on how to turn yourself from a one man band into product making machine.

Recorded at Metatopia 2016 Presented by Kenneth Hite, Jason Pitre, Marissa Kelly, Fred Hicks. When designing a game, the temptation is to use another tested rules set: Fate, PbtA, HERO, BRP, OSR, or what have you. When shouldn't you do that? What demands special treatment, and when should you make it yourself?