Thu, 25 December 2008
To 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. Afterwards, he talks about some podcasts he's been on recently, the fact that he's now a part of the Dresden Files RPG team, and the game design book he's working on. Finally, you're treated to a unique sponsor quote. Happy holidays, Masterminds. Links:
Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=44 Direct download: masterplan_41.mp3
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Wed, 10 December 2008
On 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 quality.
Also, it's the second anniversary of Master Plan. It's been two good years. Here's to a third. Luke Crane:
Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=43 |
Thu, 6 November 2008
On 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:
Running time: 18:05 / File size: 12.5M Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=42 |
Thu, 23 October 2008
Ryan 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 article on Kobold Quarterly.
Seth Ben-Ezra: Other Jeepform:
Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=41 |
Fri, 10 October 2008
On 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.
Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=40 |
Mon, 1 September 2008
On 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 theory (which means it's probably wrong) about why more roleplaying games take the former approach even though the latter is an older method of storytelling. Finally, Jerry "J-Nasty" Grayson provides us with yet another sponsor quote, forming what might be the first sponsor quote narrative on Master Plan.
Games Mentioned:
Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=39 |
Wed, 13 August 2008
In 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 this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=38 |
Fri, 1 August 2008
This 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. Afterwards, Ryan gushes about how much of a nice guy Chris is, and Jerry "J-Nasty" Grayson provides us with July's Sponsor Quote.
Chris Birch & Cubicle 7 Entertainment:
Running time: 28:51 / File size: 19.8 MB Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=37 |
Thu, 17 July 2008
On 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 Games, and a new podcasting project with Paul Tevis called This Just In From GenCon. This time, he remembers the Design Watch bump.
Specific Mentions:
Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=36 |
Wed, 2 July 2008
On 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 brings back the Design Watch segment to talk about some things Brennan Taylor has mentioned in the last few days.
Clint Krause, KNRPG Productions:
Discuss this episode on the forums: http://www.hmfy.com/masterplan/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=35 |
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Master Plan The People's Podcast About Game Design
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