Master Plan
70 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 9 years ago - ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsMaster Plan is a podcast on the subject of game design and the art of ideas, particularly for role playing, card and board games. Hosted by freelance writer Ryan Macklin, the podcast comes out at least once a month. You can expect interviews with game designers -- both professional and amateur -- as well as advice and news about game design.
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Episodes
Master Plan #69: Sean Nittner on Convention Games
June 18, 2015 05:52 - 1 hour - 38.2 MBRyan 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 Be...
Master Plan #68: Kit La Touche, Design Chat
June 02, 2015 05:30 - 1 hour - 39.5 MBRyan 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 B...
Master Plan #67: Mark Richardson on Cartography in RPGs
February 11, 2015 17:03 - 51 minutes - 24.2 MBRyan 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...
Master Plan #66: Robin D. Laws on RPG Setting Design
January 21, 2015 17:00 - 59 minutes - 27.9 MBRyan 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 th...
Master Plan #65: Gen Con Prep with Adam Jury, Derek Guder & Jessica Price
August 11, 2014 19:00 - 55 minutes - 26.1 MBRyan 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 ad...
Master Plan #64: Freelance Editing with Amanda Valentine, John Adamus & Lynne Hardy
August 04, 2014 05:56 - 1 hour - 30.6 MBRyan 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 | @ayvalentine John Adamus: writernextdoor.com | @awesome_john Lynne Hardy: cogscakesandswordsticks.blogspot.com | @cogsandcakes The PaizoCon panels mentioned in the intro: Editing in RPGs Horror...
Master Plan #63: Brian Clevinger on Being an RPG Licensor and the Atomic Robo RPG
July 01, 2014 02:00 - 1 hour - 28.4 MBBrian 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.com The game: evilhat.com/home/atomic-robo Follow Brian on...
Master Plan #62: Stephen Hood & Will Hindmarch on Storium
May 05, 2014 16:21 - 52 minutes - 24.6 MBRyan 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 ...
Master Plan #61: Vincent Baker on Evolution of Games and a Game Designer
November 26, 2013 17:00 - 53 minutes - 24.9 MBRyan 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...
Master Plan #60/Live #1: Daniel Solis on Card Game Design and Rapid Prototyping
September 10, 2013 07:13 - 1 hour - 40.5 MBOn 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 Bel...
Master Plan #59: Jason Morningstar & Steve Segedy on Building Fiasco Playsets
August 13, 2013 06:38 - 45 minutes - 21.5 MBRyan 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...we...
Master Plan #58: Amanda Valentine, Editing and Language Choice
May 06, 2013 17:00 - 43 minutes - 20.7 MBOn 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 h...
Master Plan #57: Editing and Indie Games from Gen Con 2012
February 12, 2013 06:09 - 50 minutes - 23.6 MBAt 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 ...
Master Plan #56: Keith Baker on Designing Eberron
August 01, 2012 00:25 - 31 minutes - 14.4 MBThe 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 (Wiza...
Master Plan #55: Luke Crane on Mouse Guard
July 05, 2012 19:33 - 32 minutes - 15 MBThe 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...
Master Plan #54: Kenneth Hite, Setting Creation & Day After Ragnarok
August 02, 2010 17:26 - 28 minutes - 19.9 MBAfter 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 s...
Master Plan #53: Monica Valentinelli, FlamesRising.com, Dos & Don'ts of Horror Design
October 23, 2009 19:22 - 32 minutes - 22.2 MBThis 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, indi...
Master Plan #52: Reincorporation
August 12, 2009 03:25 - 19 minutes - 13.5 MBRyan talks about reincorporation from a design perspective. And he's going to write proper show notes later, when he's not packing for GenCon.
Master Plan #51: Pacing Mechanics part 2, Campaign Level
July 22, 2009 01:42 - 32 minutes - 22 MBContinuing 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-focus...
Master Plan #50: Paul Tevis on Text Presentation, A Penny For My Thoughts
July 01, 2009 02:28 - 32 minutes - 22.1 MBOn 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...
Master Plan #49: Pacing Mechanics part 1, Refresh Scale
June 19, 2009 20:42 - 25 minutes - 17.8 MBRyan sits down for another episode, this one kicking off a series about pacing mechanics. To start off, he talked about there being some broad, different types of pacing mechanics, and focuses on one in particular: the "refresh scale" mechanics -- those that happen then resources are expended in order to regain them. This idea traces back to old school D&D, but people have done interesting things with it since -- including the recent edition of D&D and Dirty Secrets. To end, he talks a tou...
Master Plan #48: Chad Underkoffler on Setting Design, Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies
June 05, 2009 01:23 - 30 minutes - 20.7 MBOn this episode, Ryan sits down with Chad Underkoffler about designing setting (and, in some respects, writing in general) with his latest release, Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies. They touch on how the setting for this setting-rich book was conceived, fleshed out, and trimmed down to aim the right information at the play group. Afterward, Ryan tells you to check out Paul Tevis' A Penny For My Thoughts, because he's frankly damned proud of the work and thinks it makes for a great case study fo...
Master Plan #47: Tangibility in Mechanics
May 13, 2009 01:09 - 26 minutes - 18.4 MBAfter an unintended hiatus, Ryan's back with an episode about something near and dear to his heart -- thinking about the tangible qualities that mechanics have. He talks about how people should be looking at what their mechanics are causing players to do with their hands, because it's in that space where some people are better able to connect with the game. After giving an overview of the idea, he discusses four games and how they use this idea in their mechanical design. Games Mentioned: ...
Master Plan #46: Designing Epic-Scale Games with Josh Roby Part 2, and Power of Names
March 26, 2009 03:15 - 21 minutes - 15 MBOn this episode, we continue the discussion with Josh Roby about making epic-scale games, with the third of three points: respect, from the point of view of a game respecting its own epic conceit and NPCs respecting epic-scale PCs. Josh also gives an interesting answer to Ryan asking about how his previous master plan is coming along. Afterward, Ryan talks about "the power of names" -- exploring an idea that the names we give terms in our games have a dramatic impact to how well they're un...
Master Plan #45: Designing Epic-Scale Games with Josh Roby, Part 1
March 13, 2009 22:30 - 23 minutes - 16.4 MBThis week, Ryan talks with Josh Roby about designing games that support & address epic-scale play -- that is, games that have a grand, dramatic scope as a main part of their premise. The interview ran long, as they covered three points they felt were core by contrasting Josh's new game in playtest, Agora: how shall we live?, with Ryan’s current project, Mythender. In this half, they talk about the scope & pacing of the game, and how their two very different games support their own sense of ...
Master Plan #44: Ryan's Rules of Playtesting
March 01, 2009 04:49 - 24 minutes - 16.8 MBStill in the post-Dreamation afterglow, Ryan responds to a question asked by friend of the show Remi Treuer, where he asks to hear more about Ryan's playtest process in light of seeing it in action at Dreamation. What he comes up with is something he calls his "Rules of Playtesting" -- things he calls "Rules" because he has to constantly, consciously remember to apply them rather than things that come easy. The five rules he mentions: The Rule of Consideration, The Rule of Conceit, The Rul...
Master Plan #43: Interview with Crafty Games, Part 2
February 12, 2009 00:55 - 21 minutes - 14.9 MBRight before heading off on a bi-coastal convention adventure, Ryan serves up the second half of the interview with Crafty Games. In this half, they talk about collaborating as a team and their main hurdles in revisiting their system & making Fantasy Craft & Mastercraft -- along with, naturally, their own personal master plans. Afterward, Ryan tells you that he'll be at OrcCon and Dreamation this month, and gives a shameless plea to donate to the show. Crafty Games: Fantasy Craft Spycraf...
Master Plan #42: Interview with Crafty Games, Part 1
January 20, 2009 04:48 - 25 minutes - 17.5 MBRyan starts 2009 off with the first of a two-part interview with Alex Flagg, Scott Gearin & Patrick Kapera from Crafty Games. They talk about their upcoming product, Fantasy Craft, and how they retooled their award-nominated Spycraft system both for streamlining the rules (for their new Mastercraft base system) and for working with a different genre. After the first part concludes, Ryan talks about a game & a content that has hit his radar, and figures it's worth other people knowing about....
Master Plan #41: Further Thoughts on Advancement
December 25, 2008 17:18 - 21 minutes - 14.6 MBTo truly close out 2008, Ryan records one last show on Christmas Day. Inspired by a post from Rob Bohl (of the Independent Insurgency podcast), Ryan talks about more thoughts on advancement: as a way to flesh out a character post-creation, as a world-changing element rather than a character-changing one, as a ritual for marking points in time, and as a way to keep the game feeling fresh from a tactile perspective. They're short thoughts on this solo episode, but ones worth noting. Afterwa...
Master Plan #40: Luke Crane on Advancement, Failure & Reward Cycles
December 10, 2008 04:07 - 27 minutes - 18.9 MBOn this year-end episode of Master Plan, Ryan publishes an interview he did with Luke Crane back at GenCon. They talk (or as much as one can talk when it's 8am & ones voice is completely shot) about thoughts on building advancements systems in games. Luke shares his thoughts on the subject with his building of Burning Wheel, and they drift to related topics like Failure & Reward Cycles. Luke, frankly, has a lot of interesting stuff to say, provided you don't mind the profanity & poor audio...
Master Plan #39: Interview with Seth Ben-Ezra part 2, on A Flower For Mara
November 06, 2008 15:13 - 18 minutes - 12.5 MBOn this episode, Ryan & Seth finish up their interview on A Flower for Mara and designing an "American Jeepform" game. Due to necessity, Ryan's forced to be brief & only quickly mentions the Endgame 7th Anniversary party he'll be at and quickly congratulates Shaun & Kristin from This Modern Death. Seth Ben-Ezra: Dark Omen Games A Flower for Mara Dirty Secrets Seth's A Flower for Mara videos on YouTube A Flower for Mara post on Cultures of Play Other Games:: In a Wicked Age... by Lump...
Master Plan #38: Interview with Seth Ben-Ezra part 1, on A Flower For Mara
October 23, 2008 03:47 - 24 minutes - 16.9 MBRyan talks with Seth Ben-Ezra on his latest game, A Flower For Mara. It's one of a new trend in the independent RPG scene, of taking ideas from the Nordic tradition of Jeepform and merging that with a Forge style. It's the first of a two-part interview, this half focusing on what Jeepform is and how this game came to be. Afterward, Jonathan Walton tells us a little bit about Bleeding Play, and Ryan talks a bit about submitting ideas for future episodes, October's Sponsor Quote, and an arti...
Master Plan #37: Have Master, Will Plan 2 with Ken Hite
October 10, 2008 00:15 - 48 minutes - 33 MBOn a very late, very tired Sunday evening of GenCon, Paul Tevis & Ryan Macklin sit down with the ever-present Ken Hite to talk about the hobby, culture, GenCon, and all that good stuff. [02:24] The banter has just begun [04:29] Ken gives a brief on the vibe coming into & at GenCon 2008 [07:30] Talking about the Forge Diaspora, retailer numbers & casual gamer acceptance [09:40] Throwing yourself into GenCon [12:09] Ken's pinnacle moments, the ENnies & Where the Deep One's Are [13:40] Rya...
Master Plan #36: Understanding Play Styles
September 01, 2008 03:31 - 22 minutes - 15.4 MBOn this solo episode, Ryan talks about this thing he calls "Play Style" -- with respect to design, that's how people are interacting together in a particular medium. This idea comes primarily from a conversation he's had with Daniel Solis regarding his game in development, Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple. Ryan talks about the different things people get out of a game that's akin to rehearsing a play versus one that is more akin to telling stories around a campfire. He also shares a pet t...
Master Plan #35: The Situation Problem
August 13, 2008 03:02 - 26 minutes - 18 MBIn this last episode before GenCon 2008, Ryan talks about a problem he's recently encountered in his own and other people's projects -- that we spend too much time on mechanics and not enough on situation. He talks about why we likely run into this problem, what "situation" is (opposed to mechanics or setting), and an exercise he did in order to get his head out of mechanics and into situation. Jared Sorensen's blog post on Game Elements. Running time: 26:07 / File size: 18.0 MB Discuss t...
Master Plan #34: Working with Intellectual Property, Chris Birch on Starblazer Adventures & Doctor Who RPG
August 01, 2008 03:11 - 29 minutes - 19.9 MBThis week, Ryan talks with Chris Birch of Cubicle 7 Entertainment about two licensed properties they're working with: Starblazer Adventures & the Doctor Who RPG. The two licenses are radically different, and Chris has a background in working with the intellectual property of others due to his clothing company, Joystick Junkies. They talk about some of the issues around and advice with licensing, as well as touch on why he chose to also license a game system as well for Starblazer Adventures...
Master Plan #33: Unpacking Mechanics 1, Points of Tension
July 17, 2008 02:07 - 35 minutes - 24.7 MBOn this episode (which is my longest yet), Fred Hicks and I kick off the long-awaited series on mechanics with a discussion about "points of tension," relating both to Don't Rest Your Head's Exhaustion mechanic and Mythender's Mortality mechanic. Fred starts with a wacky assertion -- that conflict is underutilized in RPGs -- and goes from there. Afterwards, Ryan brings up three things: the now-in-preorder Don't Lose your Mind (which he's proud to be the editor of), Levi Kornelsen & Amagi G...
Master Plan #32: Designing from Other Games 4, Clint Krause on Roanoke
July 02, 2008 14:09 - 26 minutes - 18.3 MBOn this episode, Ryan talks with Clint Krause of KNRPG Productions about his early game, Roanoke, for the Designing from Other Games series. Clint released this game some time ago, derived from the Wushu system. They talk about issues Clint had to deal with, which given how light the base system is, meant more dealing with establishing tone & genre conventions that systemic hacking. They also talk briefly about thoughts on historical-based games and endgame mechanics. Afterwards, Ryan bri...
Master Plan #31: Designing from Other Games 3, Robin Laws on Mutant City Blues
June 13, 2008 20:56 - 30 minutes - 21.1 MBRyan talks with gaming luminary Robin Laws about his upcoming game, Mutant City Blues. Mutant City Blues is the latest GUMSHOE game, this one not focused on the horror genre but on police procedurals & super-powers. They talk about designing this game from the original GUMSHOE framework, what was changed to make the game focused on the new premise, and overall the experiences of making this game. Throughout the show, Robin also talks a bit about moments in GUMSHOE's design in general. Rob...
Master Plan #30: Lessons I've Learned 1, On Mythender
May 29, 2008 03:40 - 26 minutes - 18 MBOn this episode, Ryan takes a moment from is current interview track to make a dreaded solo episode about some of the lessons he's learned lately as a designer. Specifically, he talks about some things he's been dealing with regarding one of his current projects, Mythender. He talks about some of the inspiration elements and how he re-evaluates them periodically to make sure they're still relevant, about looking closely at the player role in a game as well as the GM role, about having to de...
Master Plan #29: Designing from Other Games 2, John Wick
May 08, 2008 23:01 - 29 minutes - 20.4 MBAfter the beach sabbatical that was Have Master, Will Plan #1, Ryan goes back to his series of designers talking about their experiences working with other games. This week, he talks with John Wick about his now-in-preorder game, Houses of the Blooded. Along with talking about where various parts of the game were inspired, John drops a bit of insight into some other games and shares some stories where he's collaborated with and contributed to other designers. Then Ryan talks briefly about ...
Master Plan #28: Have Master, Will Plan 1, part 2
April 25, 2008 17:02 - 30 minutes - 21.2 MBHave Master, Will Plan #1 with Paul Tevis, part 2 0:34 This episode is the second part of a conversation between Ryan Macklin and Paul Tevis at the second Nerdly Beach Party. Pick up the first half over on Have Games, Will Travel. 1:19 If you like this show, check out RPGPodcasts.com. 1:28 Ryan and Paul talk about Project Cowbell, their attempt to recapture their convention gaming roots, and how that play style differs from what they've been doing recently. 8:10 - Sprigboarding off the id...
Master Plan #27: Designing from Other Games 1, Willow Palecek
April 18, 2008 00:44 - 27 minutes - 18.7 MBMaster Plan #27: Designing from Other Games 1, Willow Palecek Ryan kicks off this new series on designers discussing their experiences designing from other games by talking to new publisher Willow Palecek. She's recently published Awesome Adventures, her derivative of Evil Hat's FATE system. They talk for a bit about why she started with FATE, the reasons behind some of her design choices, and what sort of issues she's faces in playtesting those choices. After that, Ryan mentions a couple...
Master Plan #26: Jennifer Rodgers on Working With Artists
March 28, 2008 02:05 - 29 minutes - 20.2 MBRyan talks with Jennifer Rodgers, artist & colorist, about what a game designer should expect to know and should expect to find out in talking with an artist such as herself. They get a bit in-depth about her specific process, and she talks about some of the things she's learned over her time working with clients. Afterward, Ryan mentions BoardGamePodcasts.com, follows up on some comments made about episode 25, and thanks his awesome listeners for supporting him, criticizing him and in gene...
Master Plan #25: Good Games, Poor Texts
March 10, 2008 02:53 - 24 minutes - 16.9 MBRyan takes another solo episode to talk about the part of game books we rarely talk about -- the text of the book separated from the game. He talked about the purposes of a game text, how a game text starts and ends a conversation with the reader, and some examples of games that do and don't do this effectively (even though as they're they aren't poor). Along with the issues, he tries to bring it home with some potential, if broad, solutions. Then Ryan talks about the show's first sponsor....
Master Plan #24: Emily Care Boss on Romantic RPGs
February 15, 2008 04:29 - 28 minutes - 19.8 MBBeing Valentine's Day, Ryan sits down with designer Emily Care Boss to talk about her romantic role-playing games Breaking the Ice, Shooting the Moon and the upcoming Under My Skin. While the topic begins with the typical "trials and tribulations" question, this one about designing romantic RPGs, they cover quite a few other insightful topics: discovering what your game is really about through playing it and seeing others play it, being unexpectedly pigeonholed, and her experience with anot...
Master Plan #23: Daniel Solis, Part 2 on "A Cover is a Promise"
February 06, 2008 03:38 - 25 minutes - 17.6 MBFollowing up on the the last show, Ryan finishes up his interview with Daniel Solis. They talk about something Daniel has said in the past, "A Cover is a Promise." Daniel discusses what that means, what some of the covers he has done seeks to promise to the browser and his method for designing those covers and communicating those promises. Afterwards, Ryan mentions a few RPGs that might be timely to play, given that Valentine's Day is around the corner, and ends the show by talking about t...
Master Plan #22A: Interview with Daniel Solis, Part 1A on Soft Question Anecdotes
January 23, 2008 07:25 - 6 minutes - 4.13 MBHours before leaving home for Dreamation, Ryan puts together a short episode of Master Plan. Daniel Perez from The Gamer Traveler and The Digital Front podcasts mentioned on the Master Plan forum that he wished I had published the anecdotes that Daniel Solis told me. Ask and ye shall receive! Note: this podcast has been quickly edited and posted up, so it will sound different from most other podcasts. Running time: 5:50 / File size: 4.1 MB
Master Plan #22: Daniel Solis, Part 1 on Layout Questions
January 18, 2008 03:28 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MBFor his first podcast of 2008, Ryan talks with Daniel Solis, layout designers for such games as Lacuna, Reign, Wilderness of Mirrors and the upcoming Houses of the Blooded. As part one of their interview, they talk about questions a designer should be able to answer or keep in mind when talking to someone about doing layout for their game. Daniel goes into his list of Hard, Firm and Soft Questions, and goes into detail as to how the answers to those questions helps help layout a project. D...
Master Plan #21: First Drafts
December 30, 2007 02:05 - 23 minutes - 16.2 MBAfter making his brief comment about first drafts on Master Plan #19, Ryan decides to unpack his thoughts on the subject by talking about what he has to deal with. He touches on forms of procrastination that feel like work, dealing with judging himself against the finished works of others, "sexy" and "unsexy" writing, some things other writers have said that help him when he's struggling, and embracing intentionally-bad writing. Mentions: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life...