Episode 94: Sensemaking in Classic Traveller
Virtual Play
Bill and I spend 45 minutes or so talking about Classic Traveller. The focus of the episode is on how players make sense of clues and other information provided by the GM and how this contributes both to an adventure as well as adding detail to the imaginary world of the characters. Here is a look at the data file we were trying to make sense of:
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Episode 93: Classic Traveller
Virtual Play
Welcome to the next episode! Bill and I have been playing some Classic Traveller on Roll 20 so this episode is an excerpt of play of two from a recent game. We talk about Bill's penchant for mini-games inside the game as well as the balance between quick improvisation versus more detailed decisions. The episode clocks in at approximately 25 minutes. Thanks for listening!
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Episode 92: Top Secret NWO
Virtual Play
At Total Con 35, which had an espionage focus, I ran a hack of TSR's Top Secret: New World Order. My goal was to run it in the style of TV's Mission: Impossible. I wanted to include the briefing scene, a preview of the mission, and then the mission itself. This meant the characters should start the mission knowing what is going on and what they have to do. It was a bit rough but Bill and I discuss how to make it better. The episode runs at approximately 40 minutes. If you're interested, here is the mission the characters received at the start of the...
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Episode 91: An Encounter with Dungeon Crawl Classics
Virtual Play
Welcome back to Virtual Play! Bill and I take a close look at an encounter in a Dungeon Crawl Classics game. It involves an encounter with undead in a bath house that has since become a tomb! It's a game I ran but Bill has some great insights into how I could have ran it better! The episode clocks in at approximately 55 minutes. Enjoy the show!
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Episode 90: A Virtual Play Year
Virtual Play
Virtual Play podcast to discuss gaming from the past year and the year to come.
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Episode 89: Dying is Easy
Virtual Play
Bill and I are in the last night of Metatopia 2018. We're excited about the result of our playtest of Dying is Easy. In many ways, the evolution of Dying is Easy over the past two Metatopias and particularly this weekend shows how Metatopia helps designers finish their games. Have a listen! Mel
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Episode 88: Metatopia, the Indie Scene
Virtual Play
Bill and are continue our Metatopia special episodes with a discussion about and excerpt from a game Bill wrote called "the Indie Scene". The game will be a chapter in Bill's book on the Forge, which was an online discussion forum for RPG design, publication and play. Mel
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Metatopia Special Part 1
Virtual Play
Bill and I are at Day 1 of Metatopia, the Game Design Festival in Morristown NJ. We briefly discuss the games we are here to playtest, including an excerpt from a moment of play in a game that inspired our thinking about the design of one of those games. The excerpt is from a game in development by E. Tage Larsen called "Roughhouse", featuring the voices of dutiful listener Jim Crocker and Eric's friend, Dave. Mel
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Episode 86: Game Master, You're in a Dungeon
Virtual Play
Welcome to Virtual Play! Bill and I discuss a GM workshop we conducted at Gencon. The format was the participants played characters in an adventuring party, with rotating GM duties. The workshops were planned by Will Hindmarch at but when Will couldn't make it, we were privileged to fill in for a couple of sessions. Here's the result. The episode clocks in at just under one hour. Mel
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Episode 85: What Happened in the Big Hoodoo?
Virtual Play
We talk about Bill running his adventure for Pelgrane Press's Trail of Cthulhu, "The Big Hoodoo," where 1950s sci-fi writers like Bob Heinlein and Isaac Asimov confront a Mythos mystery in sun-drenched California. We try to figure out why the players seemed so bemused by the plethora of clues at their disposal. We identify adventure design and game-running issues that may help other GMs run their mystery games. The episode is about 45 minutes long.
info_outlineBill and I are once again joined by Hannah to talk about games from Camp Nerdly. This show contains excerpts from Star Wars d6, Little Wizards, a Hellboy themed RPG, Night's Black Agents and Action Park, a parsely style game. Duration is just under an hour. Thanks for listening!
Mel