After 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 the part he really thinks is cool, which is what John's doing with the Limited Edition of Houses of the Blooded, particularly the Graphics Pack.

John Wick & Houses of the Blooded:

• Wicked Dead Brewing Company
• Houses of the Blooded (offical site)
• Pre-order Houses of the Blooded (Indie Press Revolution)
• Pre-order Houses of the Blooded Limited Edition (Indie Press Revolution)
• John Wick's blog entries for Houses of the Blooded (LiveJournal)

Running time: 29:29 / File size: 20.3 MB

Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=32

Have 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 idea of making clear what parts of a design are important, Paul and Ryan talk about how they address the issue of modular design in A Penny For My Thoughts.
• 17:08 - Finally coming around to the original premise for this episode, Paul and Ryan talk about how publication is not the end-point, what they mean by development, and their collaboration style.
• 29:31 - And that's it from the Nerdly Beach Party 2. A big thanks to Albert, Nancy, and Josh for organizing it!

Running time: 30:50 / File size: 21.2 MB

Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=31

Master 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 other podcasts where you can hear him talk and April's Sponsor Quote.

Willow Palecek & Awesome Adventures:

• Awesome Adventures (Lulu.com)
• FATE: Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment by Evil Hat Productions
• Spirit of the Century by Evil Hat Productions
• Open Gaming License (Wikipedia)

Places where Ryan won't shut up:

• Dreamation 2008 Indie Design Roundtable, part 1 (Sons of Kryos, non-direct link)
• Canon Puncture 32

Other mentions:

• d20 by Wizards of the Coast
• GURPS by Steve Jackson Games

Running time: 27:00 / File size: 18.6 MB

Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=30

Ryan 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 general being there to listen.

Jennifer Rodgers:

• Dictionary of Mu by Judd Karlman
• Mortal Coil by Galileo Games
• Shadow of Yesterday by CRN Games
• Primetime Adventures by Dog-eared Designs
• Dresden Files RPG by Evil Hat Productions

Other mentions:

• White Wolf
• Endgame Oakland
• BoardGamePodcasts.com
• My journal

Running time: 29:25 / File size: 20.2 MB

Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=29

Ryan 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.

Mentions:

• Don't Rest Your Head by Evil Hat Productions
• GURPS by Steve Jackson Games
• Dungeons & Dragons by Wizards of the Coast
• Burning Empires by Luke Crane
• Ashcan Front

Running time: 24:26 / File size: 16.8 MB

Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=28