Ugly Talk

A branch of the Drunk and Ugly podcast, Ugly Talk discusses concepts from film, TV, videogames, and other forms of media and how to apply them to traditional games. Join us as we discuss things, because we know things.

Episode 23 - Scenario Design: Red Markets 10/03/2018

Episode 23 - Scenario Design: Red Markets This month Matt and Travis invite 3 special guests (and one tag along) to the show. Travis has struggled trying to work with the Red Market's RPG system. Tonight, with the help of our guests, we hope to rectify that. Along the way we will talk the different focuses GM's have when designing games, our advice for learning how to write scenarios, and personal tricks for running games. Special thanks to Technical Difficulties' Greg, Laura, and Adam as well as Roleplaying Exchange's Sean for all their assistance with the creation of this episode. Media Referenced: - Guest Information Matt - - Travis - - Greg - - Laura - - /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/7122352

Episode 22 - Detroit vs The Wire 08/22/2018

Episode 22 - Detroit vs The Wire David Cage's Detroit: Become Human has become something of a bad joke among those who have experienced it due to its nonsensical twists and poor handling of the idea of the Civil Rights Movement. Since the internet at large has spent more than their fair share of time beating it down, we felt like comparing it to another cop story that deals with the subject of racial inequality by also discussing the first season of David Simon's 2002-2008 HBO Drama The Wire. We also talk in detail about the concept of Sensitivity Editors and other ideas to bring more grounding to your work and iron out problems you may not think you had. Media Discussed: Twitter /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/6954828

Strange Cases in Cosmic Horror at Gen Con 2018 08/08/2018

Strange Cases in Cosmic Horror at Gen Con 2018 Cosmic Horror isn't just tentacles monsters and insanity. It is the loneliness of the outsider. It is the realization of how small you our in a system vastly beyond your own. Strange Cases of Cosmic Horror will reveal some examples of media that might now be viewed as traditional cosmic horror, but still fits within the genre's aesthetic. Furthermore, this panel briefly delves into how RPG systems can use the ideas and aesthetics of cosmic horror to provide a voice to individuals who struggle to express their experiences. Panel includes: RPPR's David Dobleman, Aldente Rigormortis' Review Cultist, and DnU's Max Daniel and Travis Gasque. Special thanks to Review Cultist for taking a backup recording so that we could post this. /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/6898560

June Hiatus 06/27/2018

June Hiatus Travis and Matt are currently dealing with personal issues. We will return in July. /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/6748372

Episode 21 - Paranoia Agent 05/16/2018

Episode 21 - Paranoia Agent Paranoia Agent is an animated program from Satoshi Kon, director of animated films such as Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika. Paranoia Agent was described as a way for him to use ideas that he wasn't able to fit into his other feature films, connecting the scraps into an anthology by way of a framing device. In this episode we discuss the themes of Paranoia Agent and the meanings of anthologies, series, and serials. Media Referenced in this Episode ? /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/6598126

The Hasbrothers - Battleship 04/01/2018

The Hasbrothers - Battleship As of now, as of right this second, there's a new dynamic at play. And this dynamic is the final from here on out until I state otherwise. There'll be no more debate, no more discussion, no more compromise. It's me speaking you listening, me saying you doing. Do you understand that? It's time for a new course of action. A new direction. A game change. You're joining me in the navy. /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/6427094

Episode 20 - Speedrunning 02/21/2018

Episode 20 - Speedrunning Speedrunning is a rather esoteric hobby of trying to beat games as quickly as possible under specific conditions. It's difficult to say where it began or what the first speedrun was, but on this day in the year of our lord two thousand eighteen it's grown into a large community that contains many smaller subcultures. To the outside observer, speedrunning may seem like a fruitless or impossible task to pick up, as observation of the fastest run shows that runners immediately understand the whole game and execute it to the finest degree in ways not conceived by the developers. What is actually being observed in each speedrun, however, is the end product of dozens of hands in perfecting a route and hours of practice before finally reciting the sequence in a run. No man is an island, and there's no wrong way to play. In this episode, we talk about this concept as it relates to tabletop gaming with our friend Greg Bennett of Technical Difficulties. Media Referenced in This Episode: Follow Us: Matt - - Travis - Greg - - /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/6284390

Episode 19 - Integration of Mechanics 01/31/2018

Episode 19 - Integration of Mechanics What's the difference between a gimmick and a core mechanic? In this episode, we discuss various games with strange ideas and odd control schemes in an effort to get to the bottom of this discussion, and also how this can be applied to your own games, be they tabletop or otherwise. Strap yourself in and be ready for some spoilers. Media Referenced in this Episode: Do you have some writing ideas for Posthuman Studios? Check out ! /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/6207397

Episode 18 - The Cry of Mann 12/23/2017

Episode 18 - The Cry of Mann The Cry of Mann was an interactive webseries that ran from October 23rd until November 2nd of 2017, performed by the members of the sketch comedy group Wham City. The series followed the trials and tribulations of the Mann family who have been waiting for their patriarch, Tank Mann, to return home, hopefully in time for the annual celebration of TROOL Day. Each family member has their own individual struggles and the family business seems to be unraveling without Tank at the helm. The main crux of this series was that the whole set was lined with telephones and viewers were prompted repeatedly throughout each episode to call in and talk to the characters. This was first thought to be a novelty or a way to scrape more lore from the world but as the series continued it became apparent that interaction with the characters would alter the course of the story. This particular style of fiction is so novel and unprecedented that we were not entirely sure how to define or describe it. It seemed like something of a black box stageplay and an ARG all in one. To help, we called in our friend the Review Cultist of Al Dente Rigamortis to help sort it out. Media Referenced this Episode: (adultswim) (Night Mind) (4 and 5 are recommended) /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/6076984

Episode 17 - American Horror 11/22/2017

Episode 17 - American Horror This month we readdress last years topic on cultural storytelling. This time we are looking at American Culture as can be seen through the lens of American Horror cinema. This does a bit to get into, so give it a listen. We talk about ghosts, film, horror franchises, Travis gets burpy, and the hidden political subtext of Saw. It gets weird. Check it out. Media Referenced in this Episode: /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/5969925

Interview with Greg Predmore about Gobblin' 11/01/2017

Interview with Greg Predmore about Gobblin' Gobblin’ is an original RPG setting and system where players control goblins settling and exploring a post-apocalyptic Earth. The creatures who crave violence, stupidity and chaos have just found the perfect means to obtain it. Travis talks to Greg to better understand this game about everyone's favorite miserable minions. /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/5898269

Neo-Lovecraftian Horror at Gen Con 2017 09/20/2017

Neo-Lovecraftian Horror at Gen Con 2017 This panel was recorded at Gen Con 2017. The panelists were Travis, Matt, and Greg Bennett of . Horror beyond time and space! The unknowable horror of the universe! But is it really all the same? This panel is an exploration of the evolution of Lovecraft's works in the modern era. And how what we experience today might changed due to the influenced by other mediums. /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/5757032

Herding Cats: Ludonarrative Dissonance at Gen Con 2017 08/30/2017

Herding Cats: Ludonarrative Dissonance at Gen Con 2017 This is a panel from Gen Con 2017. Travis talks about Ludonarrative Dissonance (Fludonarrative discobiscuits if you're hungry). If you've been in the video game blog-o-sphere at some point, you have heard of LND (I'm not typing out the entire word you can't make me). But is it necessarily the pejorative term as its become in video game circles. Listen to this panel from Gen Con that gives the answer: NO. Most of all if anything LND is a feature most Tabletop GMs and Players are intimately familiar with, but haven't realized there was a term for. As such, listen in, learn a thing (maybe), and speak up if you have questions. Welcome to Herding Cats: Ludonarrative Dissonance and Players. (Dammit you tricked me into writing the full things again...) Do you want to take part in a playtest of Gobblin': The Goblin RPG? Send an email to [email protected] /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/5689432

Episode 16 - Arrival and Translating Narratives 07/31/2017

Episode 16 - Arrival and Translating Narratives The Story of Your Life is a short story by Ted Chiang following a woman whose understanding of an alien language has vastly altered her perception of reality. This story was later adapted into the multimillion dollar Sci-Fi motion picture Arrival. Experiencing both of these media, the throughline can be easily found, but the two stories are vastly different in their construction to aid in conveying their core message in a written format and a visual medium. In translating writing concepts between media, we have picked apart specific ways the story has been adapted to make it work better, and we will pass these teachings onto you. Media Referenced in this Episode (inspiration for the episode) "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang Arrival film based on SoYL by Ted Chiang Daikatana by John Romero "Wild Cards" series by George RR Martin Persona / SMT series published by Atlus Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (Digital Devil Story: Goddess Reincarnation) by Aya Nishitani Persona 3 by Atlus Digital Devil Saga by Atlus Paradise Lost by John Milton /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/5592984

Episode 15 - Twin Peaks and the MICE Quotient 06/21/2017

Episode 15 - Twin Peaks and the MICE Quotient Hello internet! We return to you this summer to talk about the return of a revered but short series from the 1990s. Twin Peaks was a TV series by David Lynch and Mark Frost about the murder of the Homecoming Queen Laura Palmer in the sleepy town of Twin Peaks, Washington. We share the experiences and explore the town through Dale Cooper, a federal agent called in to investigate the murder. The M.I.C.E. quotient is a writing foundation credited to Orson Scott Card, known most notably for his science fiction series Ender's Game. The basic idea as listed in the acronym is that every story seed falls into the categories of milieu, idea, character, or event. You will have many of these story ideas overlapping and building upon one another in the course of your story, but the important thing is that you resolve them in the reverse of the order you introduce them. The structure of the early episodes and the subsequent failure of Twin Peaks can be heavily traced to MICE (among other things), and in this episode, we will discuss MICE through Twin Peaks, and how you can apply it to your own writing. Media Discussed in this Episode: A Very Thorough Murder () () () If you want to follow us on social media: Read more at http://drunktalk.libsyn.com/#iWrtGmB2yx3K3uXF.99 /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/5467196

Episode 14 - Learning from Stasis 05/29/2017

Episode 14 - Learning from Stasis Stasis is a 2015 science fiction horror game developed and published by The Brotherhood, a South African studio comprised of the brothers Nicolas and Christopher Bischoff. In the year of its release, it was awarded Adventure Game of the Year by AdventureGamers.com The plot of the game draws heavily from Event Horizon and Dead Space. It follows John Maracheck, a family man and school teacher who wakes up from cryostasis on an unknown and apparently abandoned vessel known as "The Groomlake. Injured, unarmed, and alone, he must search out and rescue his family and escape the dying vessel, all the while learning the horrifying secrets it holds. Through the course of this episode, we discuss the story and design decisions of Stasis along with James and Kevin Colmar. We discuss what we think could have been improved, as well as design lessons to take away in our own writing. /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/5395253

Episode 13 - Tales from the Wood 04/01/2017

Episode 13 - Tales from the Wood Hello Internet! Apologies for the wait, but the March Madness applies to more than college basketball. In this episode we hit on a topic that we have wanted to cover for probably over a year now: Tales from the Wood. For the entire time since we played this game we have been really thinking on how we can make it better or at least better adhere to the themes that it seems to be aiming for while also making it a more cohesive system in general. In this episode, we discuss the design and writing choices of this game, what mistakes we feel it made, and ways we would try to correct it. /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/5220379

Episode 12 - Deconstruction and Reconstruction 03/02/2017

Episode 12 - Deconstruction and Reconstruction Hello internet! In this episode we continue our discussion from the previous episode on ways to break down media, where we now focus on the supreme way: Deconstruction and Reconstruction. In a deconstruction, a medium is taken apart, usually by playing the subject matter completely straight and considering how the signature elements would work in the real world. In a reconstruction, the criticisms pointed out by deconstructing are accepted and modified in such a way that they feel faithful to the core work, but don't require the same caveats they once did. In the course of this episode, we will analyze several deconstructed and reconstructed works, find the connecting threads between the relevant media, and find a way to use it in your own writing. Media Discussed in this Episode: Neon Genesis Evangeleon Doom (2016) If you want to follow us on social media: /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/5128431

Episode 11 - Final Fantasy XV, Punch Club, and Remixing 01/31/2017

Episode 11 - Final Fantasy XV, Punch Club, and Remixing Hello Internet, and welcome back to Ugly Talk. In our first episode of 2017, we're discussing patterns in media remixing and creation by examining and comparing some very different video games. Namely, we are comparing Punch Club, an early 2016 mobile fight manager simulator with a number of very goofy themes, to the more recently released Final Fantasy XV, a AAA multi-hour JRPG that wears its previous influences on its sleeve. In our discussion, we break down the ideas of parody, bricolage, pastiche, homage, and plagiarism and how to consider taking elements from other media to remix into your own games. Media Discussed in this Episode: If you want to follow us on social media: /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/5036137

Episode 10 - Learning from Black Mirror 12/22/2016

Episode 10 - Learning from Black Mirror Welcome back to Ugly Talk! We've got one more to close the year out, focusing some feel good TV. Black Mirror is a project by the great Charlie Brooker, humorist, satirist, critic, etc, etc. Brooker has produced many short run television series, mostly comedies, but all of which seem to deconstruct the world of entertainment around us and call into question that which we have either ignored or normalized. Black Mirror is the extreme of this deconstructivism as via a Twilight Zone lens of sci-fi conceits to shine a light on some element of media we already live with. In the episode, Travis and Matt look at how Brooker's deconstructive nature and its influence from the British culture and how you can apply these mindsets to your games. Media Discussed in this Episode: including Black Mirror (now on Netflix) A Touch of Cloth (quick start) (Creative Commons Licensed) If you want to follow us on social media: /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/4933502

Gen Con 2016 - Indie Game Design and Publishing 12/01/2016

Gen Con 2016 - Indie Game Design and Publishing Sam and Matt did another panel on publishing indie RPGs. This year they picked a name that meant something and also Sam was able to make it to Gen Con to talk about it. It quickly turns to a roundtable discussion and Q&A about common problems while publishing and both of them talk about their experiences publishing Sordid Dystopia, both good and bad. /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/4868275

Episode 9 - Translating Horror Concepts 10/26/2016

Episode 9 - Translating Horror Concepts In this episode, we discuss the ubiquity of Creepypasta and the easy fodder it makes for horror video games. We discuss games that successfully adapt the material into a new medium, the ones that simply copy ideas, the endless clones of successful games, and what sets them apart. To aid in our exploration of the realm most creepy and most pasta, we bring on the Review Cultist, host of Al Dente Rigamortis, to elaborate on these never-ending internet campfire stories. Reading List /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/4771557

Gen Con 2016 - Neo Lovecraftian Horror 10/15/2016

Gen Con 2016 - Neo Lovecraftian Horror HP Lovecraft is undoubtedly a driving force in the ever-changing face of horror in the modern age. While but one of a movement, his works changed the basic inspirations of horror from a universe of divine punishment doled out by monsters to a universe that couldn't be bothered to care if you lived or died. His talk of ancient powerful beings from worlds beyond the stars and the insignificance of mankind were fantastical and horrifying in ways the stories of vengeful monsters couldn't be. In the modern age, Lovecraft's work is still highly influential, but the original stories are a bit lacking in modern sensibilties. We discuss those who took inspiration from Lovecraft and made horror exceptionally weird. Matt and Ross Payton from Role Playing Public Radio hosted this panel at Gen Con 2016. Travis was supposed to lead this panel, but due to personal issues he was not able to make it to the con. /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/4743646

Episode 8 - This Is The Police 09/21/2016

Episode 8 - This Is The Police Welcome back to Ugly Talk! This episode, we know things about our experiences with This Is The Police. In playing this game, we learned a bit about Noir storytelling and Gameplay / Story balancing, as well as the meaning of impactful storytelling, the illusion of choice, and dissonant characters. Important Links: /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/4684306

Gen Con: Intro to Skype Gaming 09/14/2016

Gen Con: Intro to Skype Gaming At Gen Con last year, Travis and Matt let the fine con attendees in on the secrets they had learned about online roleplaying via their time on The Drunk and the Ugly. Also along for the ride was Aaron Carsten of Role Playing Public Radio, talking about his recent experiences running games online and the differences from his time at the table. /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/4666478

Gen Con 2016 - Campaign Design and You 08/11/2016

Gen Con 2016 - Campaign Design and You Over the weekend, we attended Gen Con, where we hosted several different seminars. Kevin and James join Matt on this one in describing their campaign design philosophies to the attending audience before opening the floor for questions, advice, and discussion. /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/4577282

Episode 7 - The Three Act Structure 07/28/2016

Episode 7 - The Three Act Structure Welcome back to Ugly Talk! This month, we know things about Film Writing and the Three Act Structure. Travis is out of town on business, so Matt brought in Kevin Colmar and Charlotte Adams to discuss what they know about filmmaking, film writing, film direction, and what of it can be applied to games and how. /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/4544949

Episode 6: Red Markets 06/08/2016

Episode 6: Red Markets Welcome back to Ugly Talk! This month, we know things about Red Markets, the game of economic horror where the world has ended and the rent is still due. Along with Matt and Travis, we have the one and only Caleb Stokes to talk a bit about the game, where and how it started, the influences that brought it into being, the development process, and also how things have changed since our initial playtests (and even since the playtest campaign that is happening on Role Playing Public Radio). /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/4423941

Episode 5 - Monster Hearts 05/30/2016

Episode 5 - Monster Hearts This month we are discussing the Powered by the Apocalypse system Monster Hearts, a game that aims to recreate the feel of shows like The Vampire Diaries and Being Human and other sorts of supernatural teen drama. We go through a basic breakdown of how Powered by the Apocalypse works as well as the specifics of how they work in Monster Hearts and the new mechanics added. We talk with this month's special guest Axe, the gamemaster who ran Camp Rosewater and The Harvester for The Drunk and the Ugly. /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/4403029

Creepy Talk - They Think They Know Things 04/01/2016

Creepy Talk - They Think They Know Things /episode/index/show/drunktalk/id/4263134

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