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 #20: Scene Framing and Pacing Mechanics with Luke Crane
December 10, 2007 04:58 - 30 minutes - 20.7 MBOn this anniversary episode of Master Plan, Ryan puts out an interview with Luke Crane he did at GenCon earlier in the year. They talk about the scene framing and pacing mechanics (or Disposition mechanics) in Burning Empires, partly sparked because Ryan didn't completely understand them when he and his group played it. Luke goes into detail about how he came up with various design goals and elements in that part of Burning Empires and also gives some insight in how to play the game. Warni...
Master Plan #19: Busting GM Assumptions with Ben Lehman
November 30, 2007 03:22 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MBAs the first episode in a series about busting assumptions in game design, Ryan talks with Ben Lehman about assumptions regarding game masters (or GMs). Ben has written three games that each deal with GM distribution differently: Polaris, which has no GM; Bliss Stage, which has a typical GM; and The Drifter's Escape, which has many GMs and one PC. Bringing these various experiences to the table, they unpack various assumptions and various design pitfalls. Afterwards, Ryan shares some rando...
Master Plan #18: Emergent Play
November 10, 2007 09:40 - 24 minutes - 17.1 MBRyan returns from nearly a month off to talk about a topic he's very passionate about: Emergent Play (or Emergent Behavior in Play). That is play that emerges from the people engaging and interactive with the text, but isn't a direct result of the instructions of the text. He goes into some examples to illustrate the idea from different vantage points: the board game Diplomacy, Call of Cthulhu, Paul Tevis' A Penny For My Thoughts, his own Know Thyself, and Beast Hunters. While he only scr...
Master Plan #17: Joshua BishopRoby on Playtesting
October 11, 2007 03:12 - 23 minutes - 16.4 MBRyan talks with Joshua BishopRoby of Kallisti Press about beta playtesting -- getting the game your working on playtested by people outside of your table. They talk about his current project that's in beta playtest, Sons of Liberty. Speaking both generally and using Sons of Liberty as an example, Joshua discusses what a "beta playtest" is, the issues in getting people to playtest, what he's looking for in feedback, and other playtesting topics. Ryan then talks about what he sees as the ben...
Master Plan #16: Personal Experiences with Card Production on Know Thyself
September 27, 2007 16:18 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MBRyan talks about doing the physical card production for his recent ashcan game, Know Thyself. As he ended up doing most of the production himself, he has a lot to say about the various steps in the process. He talks about the process after designing the cards: physically printing the cards, having the cards cut, collating the decks, etc., sharing with everyone the little problems and little successes he had in the process. After discussing that, Joshua BishopRoby pops on briefly to call u...
Master Plan #15: Leonard Balsera on the FATE Fractal
September 14, 2007 19:05 - 27 minutes - 18.9 MBRyan sits down with Leonard Balsera of Evil Hat Productions and talks about a design concept central to the FATE -- the system used by Spirit of the Century and the upcoming Dresden Files RPG -- called the Fractal. They talk about this concept that treats elements larger and smaller than characters, like planets & possessions, the same way as characters are treated mechanically. Leonard also gives us a bit of an update on the Dresden Files RPG. FATE & The Fractal: FATE: Fantastic Adventur...
Master Plan #14: Cool Revisited
September 04, 2007 19:48 - 23 minutes - 16.1 MBWhile editing another episode, Ryan gets an audio comment from Paul Tevis about the last episode, The Siren Song of Cool, along with some questions. He takes a stab at addressing those comments and answering those questions, after thanking some of the folks he got to meet at GenCon. Mentions: Have Games, Will Travel #100 Theory From The Closet My interview with Clyde on Theory From The Closet Ashcan Front Pulp Gamer GenCon 2007 Podcaster Panels Burning Empires Steal Away Jordan A P...
Master Plan #13: The Siren Call of Cool
August 15, 2007 03:59 - 27 minutes - 19.1 MBRyan tries his new format out with an episode talking about the Siren Call of Cool. He talks about how he's had to deal with problems around cool ideas he's had and thought he had with Know Thyself, and how the sort of problems you might have to deal with when it comes the confidence in your design and dealing with playtesters and people you talk with about your game. He apologizes for the roughness in the editing, but he had to push this out before leaving for GenCon. Know Thyself Master...
Master Plan #12: Interview with Bully Pulpit Games
July 31, 2007 06:01 - 29 minutes - 20.3 MBRyan talks with Jason Morningstar & Steve Segedy of Bully Pulpit Games, about The Shab-al-Hiri Roach and the design & production issues with making a role-playing game that involves a custom deck of cards. Ryan also talks about changes he's planning on making with the format of Master Plan, brings back his Design Watch segment for a brief moment and talks about how to find two things: him at GenCon and other podcasts on the Internet. Bully Pulpit Games Interview Bully Pulpit Games The Sha...
Master Plan #11: Master Mines round table #1
July 13, 2007 04:40 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBMike Sugarbaker & Paul Tevis sit down with Ryan at Go Play Northwest on Saturday evening and talk about the design collective they've put together. Paul & Ryan talk about playtesting at the convention, and all three talk about how they've set up the collective and what they've been getting out of it. Master Mines The website The mission statement & rules A Penny for my Thoughts by Paul Tevis Know Thyself by Ryan Macklin Outside Men by Mike Sugarbaker Kingdom of Nothing by Jeff Himmelm...
Master Plan #10: Interview with Ken Hite, Playtesting at Go Play NW
June 29, 2007 03:31 - 30 minutes - 20.8 MBThis week, Ryan gets gaming luminary Kenneth Hite on the show. They start by talking about Ken's upcoming book, Adventures Into Darkness, and then go into talking about designers notes, pulling from other games and the continuing evolution of game design. Afterwards, Ryan talks about his experiences playtesting at Go Play NW, helping out with A Penny For My Thoughts & Sea Dracula as well as testing his own game, Know Thyself. Games mentioned: Adventures Into Darkness available soon at Ron...
Master Plan #9: Interview with Ashcan Front
June 19, 2007 02:50 - 29 minutes - 11.8 MBRyan interviews Matt Snyder and Paul Czege from The Ashcan Front. They talk about what an ashcan is when it comes to a game development, how to better achieve design goals with ashcans, and about what they're trying to accomplish with The Ashcan Front. Afterwards, Ryan talks briefly about his book now available for pre-order, Finis: A Book of Endings to Give People New Beginnings. The Ashcan Front: The Ashcan Front Interview with Paul Czege on Theory From The Closet Interview with Paul ...
Master Plan #8: Game Chef and Game Design Duel
May 29, 2007 15:15 - 32 minutes - 22 MBRyan comes back from an impromptu hiatus to talk about what he got out of Game Chef and why he thinks others should do such contests. Then he interviews two Game Design Duelists, Adam Rappold and Justin D. Jacobson, about why they decided to duel, how badly the other person will lose, and their response to using musical scale as a mechanic ingredient. Afterwards, he talks about other podcasts talking about game design, theory & publishing. Game Chef: Game Chef My game, Know Thyself The ...
Master Plan #7: Interview with Evil Hat Productions, Shield Bracelet Woes
April 20, 2007 03:55 - 23 minutes - 21.7 MBRob Donoghue and Fred Hicks come on the show to talk about an issue they're dealing with while working on the Dresden Files RPG -- working with the shield bracelet and how to mesh mechanical modeling and the feel from the fiction. They get pretty into it about what they're dealing with. Then Ryan talks about Chad Underkoffler's latest project, Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies, and talks about some listener email and his upcoming book. Evil Hat Productions: Evil Hat Productions Dresden Files ...
Master Plan #6: Interview with Christian Griffen
March 21, 2007 03:42 - 22 minutes - 21.1 MBRyan interviews Christian Griffen of Berengad Games about his new book, Beast Hunters. They talk about why the game was created, touch on how the game works, then go a bit into how Christian and his wife created it together and some elements that evolved from the original draft. Later, Ryan talk obsessively about Game Chef. Beast Hunters Beast Hunters is currently offering a pre-order deal until March 25th, 2007. For more information on the offer, go to: http://www.berengad.com/joomla/i...
Master Plan #5: Interview with Chad Underkoffler -- Wacky Damage in PDQ
March 13, 2007 15:48 - 24 minutes - 22.6 MBRyan brings the first of many guests on the show. This week, he talks with Chad Underkoffler of Atomic Sock Monkey Press about his Prose Descriptive Qualities (PDQ) system, specifically about the strange way damage is handled and what he went through to create and revise it. Chad Underkoffler's Games: Atomic Sock Money Press PDQ Core Rules -- Free Download Dead Inside Monkey Ninja Pirate Robot Deluxe Monkey Ninja Pirate Robot the RPG Truth & Justice The Zorcerer of Zo Games Mentione...
Master Plan #4: Questioning Mechanics
February 19, 2007 18:33 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MBRyan talks about the questions he's come up with to help guide him when designing game mechanics. He talked about the current problem he's having with his game and offers an idea to folks still trying to get their mechanics ideas off the ground. Games mentioned: Burning Empires by Luke Crane Dogs in the Vineyard by Lumpley Games Don't Rest Your Head by Evil Hat Productions Dungeons & Dragons by Wizards of the Coast GURPS by Steve Jackson Games Hero System by Hero Games Mortal Coil by...
Master Plan Audio #3: Designer's Block
January 09, 2007 16:46 - 19 minutes - 17.7 MBWhile both struggling with problems lately writing and designing and helping a friend who is going through the same thing, Ryan decides to talk about writer's block & designer's block. He goes into what being blocked has been for him and the various ways he's dealt with it. Mentions: The Butcher Block -- a podcast about all things Jim Butcher The Show with Ze Frank, 7/11/2006 (Note: video with some explicit language) Wil Wheaton's Blog, 12/31/2006 Running time: 19 minutes, 21 seconds ...
Master Plan Audio #2: Playtesting
December 23, 2006 23:16 - 13 minutes - 12.7 MBInspired by some of the comments he received about the first show, Ryan talks about playtesting. He goes into some embarassing moments where he failed as a designer in dealing with playtesters, and talks about a couple general ways of going about playtesting. Games & Companies mentioned: Crafty Games GURPS by Steve Jackson Games Luke Crane The Zorceror of Zo by Atomic Sock Monkey Press My own Damned Anonymous, still in development. You can find out more on the Master Plan web column. ...
Master Plan Audio #1: Podcast Intro
December 10, 2006 22:57 - 13 minutes - 12.6 MBRyan introduces himself and the podcast, then moves on to getting peeks into various designers' heads. Design articles mentioned: Burning Empires From Inception to Finished Product by Thor Olavsrud Designing Dresden by Rob Donoghue & Fred Hicks My own Master Plan web column Games mentioned: Burning Empires by Luke Crane Dogs in the Vineyard by Lumpley Games The Dresden Files RPG by Evil Hat Productions FATE: Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment by Evil Hat Productions Lege...