So, publishers, how about this: make a one-page document that has fliers for your game on it. Make it so that one page will print out six, ideally 3×2 or 2×3, whichever. Make it easy to cut out after printing from a normal desktop printer, that doesn’t look weird because the outer margins are larger than the inner ones — take mandatory page margins into account. Put your game’s name/logo, your name/company name, website, and maybe one more line on it, and you’re done.

If you’re compelled to make a color version, also make a black & white version for those who don’t have color or are trying to avoid using whatever color you are because they’re out of that ink. Similarly, don’t make an ink-heavy version…or if you do, make an ink-non heavy version too (both to save the ink and to not have the end product have ripples from wet ink drying).

Here’s a text mockup:

Not that I’m a visual designer. That’s someone else’s job, like the wonderfully talented Jeremy Keller. Now, maybe no one will use it, but is there harm in throwing it out there and seeing what happens?

For those games that have related games, like the various in the GUMSHOE line, you could also use this as a space to direct to those games. (Edit: Kit adds a smart idea in the comments about tying this to a meeting/networking/friend-making element.)

By the way, you can totally check out Technoir’s free player’s guide at TechnoirRPG.com. :)

- Ryan

(I’m pretty sure I wrote about this idea years ago on my LiveJournal, but that was an eon ago in Internet time.)

• You sign up for a game, either for one game or a cascading list of preferences
• At some point, a “shuffler” assigns everyone to a game
• Often, before the event
• Sometimes, the morning of the day those games are to be run
• You eventually find out what games you’re in
• Sometimes before the event
• Sometimes first thing when the event goes live, for all the games
• Sometimes very shortly before the game happens

This is seen by some as better than a first-come, first-serve sign-up solution. But for the life of me, I have never seen it executed well. This is something that’s been on my mind since I’ve been managing the Nerdly Beach Parties, where I used a modified first-come, first-serve system.

Let’s talk about the problems lottery style causes:

Inability to Plan for Far Away Conventions

When you don’t know what your plans are for a convention, driving or flying to it becomes unworthwhile. Back when the Good Omens mini-cons were lottery-based, those were the Minicons at Endgame that my Sacramento friends & I intentionally missed.

Now, at least with the Good Omens cons, we found out a week or so before what games we might be in. But that doesn’t really help those who might fly up (as some of the LA indie crowd are starting to do with the Minicons) or negotiate with significant others for a weekend road trip.

Anxiety Triggers

Ever meet someone who finds comfort in knowing how their day’s going to be? If you’ve met me, then you have. I deal with clinical anxiety, and I honestly would rather know I’m not in a game (and thus know to make my own fun) than not know until it’s too late to effectively plan around it. Thus, when I find myself at a convention that does lottery systems (which only happens at cons I’m invited to be a special guest at, since I don’t elect them on my own), I never engage with the system. I’d rather cruise around and find stragglers for a pick-up game than deal with an anxiety trigger.

Selfishness

If you know how many slots are in a given game, and know how many slots are left open, in a first-come, first-serve situation you can add yourself to the list if there’s space or to a wait list. But a lottery system, you can add yourself to the list, possibly kicking someone else off of the game.

When you add your name in the hopes that you’ll get into a game that’s overfull, you’re hoping that you’ll kick someone else out of a game. That’s pretty shitty.

Mismanaged Expectations

Now, sometimes you don’t know the state of a game’s sign ups, which then causes worse problems about planning — you have no idea if you’re subscribing to a very popular game where your chances of being taken are slim, because everyone’s signing up for it since there’s no information about how full it is.

A similar problem happens when you don’t report slots filled/empty with first-come, first-serve. So it’s good to always display that, regardless of sign-up scheme.

Inability to Plan for Partner/Group Participation

Maybe you and your significant other prefer to game together. Or you and some good friends that you haven’t seen in months want to get into a game together. The lottery system could fuck you on that, and then you’re left with either playing in different games, or ditching on a game you wanted to in order to hang out with your friend/SO.

And the biggest problem…

It Doesn’t Solve Organizer Headaches

Sean Nittner is the head of the Good Omens minicons. He used to do the lottery system, but this past year decided to ditch it for the first-come, first-server system that Endgame normally uses. Here was his take on it:

I tried both first-come, first-served and shuffler methods. Gamers had legitimate complaints about both of them, but the issues with shufflers hit people right in the pocketbook. Gas, hotel rooms, and restaurant food is expensive. To pay all that while attend a con where you might not get into games is rough on the wallet. The experience is also a giant disappointment, especially considering the investment in attending a con. So, I know FCFS has legitimate faults, but it doesn’t make false promises and it allows you to plan how you spend your time and money informed rather than in the dark.

Plus, FCFS is far easier to administer than any shuffler system I’ve ever seen or heard of.

There you go. It is a lot less work to do first-come, first-serve. Sure, it has its own problems, but they’re problems people know how to deal with. When you don’t get into FCFS games, it’s partly on you, because you didn’t register in time or didn’t know in time, whatever. When you don’t in a lottery system, it’s entirely the convention’s fault that your experience sucks.

No system’s perfect. But lottery systems are a holdover from back when nearly every game was AD&D or Champions or a very small number of other games, thus shuffling people into one AD&D game over another was less drastic.

Here’s a question: do you support the lottery systems? Why? Justify its existence. Tell me why it’s a good idea, and not just an archaic holdover that’s designed to punish people who want popular games.

- Ryan

What is PAX Indie RPGs on Demand?

I’m glad you asked, writing device. PAX Indie RPGs on Demand is the place to go to play small press, cutting edge games. Show up and we’ll find you a game to play in.

Where is this hotness?

Room 306, just off the escalators on your way up to the main hall.

How do I get in on some games?

Just show up! Games will start primarily on even numbered hours (10 am, noon, 2 pm, etc.) but we’ll sign you up whenever you stop by. Games might even start other times if there’s players and space. You can also find out the latest news by following @pax_indie_rpgs on Twitter.

What kind of games can I play?

Well, it depends on who’s available when you come by, but some games that will be happening include: Apocalypse World, Fiasco, Burning Wheel, Mouse Guard, Dungeon World, Cat, Microscope, Lady Blackbird, Freemarket, The Wildlings, Blowback, Perfect, Maid, Drifter’s Escape, Cthulhu Dark, Tulip Academy, Geiger Counter, Polaris, On the Ecology of the Mud Dragon, Dogs in the Vineyard

So come on by, play some games, and see something new. And if you’re interested in these games you might also want to check out Friday’s The Art of the Table: GMing Beyond the Basics (Noon-1pm, Raven Theater) and Designing and Publishing a Tabletop Roleplaying Game (4:30-5:30pm, Raven Theater) panels.

You can also find out more at:

• The Penny Arcade forum thread about Indie RPGs on Demand
• The Story-Games thread

- Ryan

But to quote the venerable Walter Sobchak, “This is not ‘Nam. There are rules.” Gen Con is coming up, so I’ll talk that specific, but many of these things apply in general. Today, we’ll talk about bringing your own booze to the show.[2]

Know The Convention Rules on Alcohol

Before you go swinging around booze like it’s the day before Prohibition, find out how kosher that is. What we’re talking about are rules and laws regarding open containers. Conventions often have some sort of rule about this, either their own or inherited from the convention center or hotel[3] they’re held at.

Do a little effort to find out how cool that is. For instance, having an open container and bringing it non-convention center food & drink are apparently not kosher, according to this forum post (and we all know how reliable forums are):

http://community.gencon.com/forums/p/4391/46796.aspx

Not that I’m surprised. I found this by doing a quick google search on “site:gencon.com alcohol”. The only pages that came up where in the forums, and not in the other information. But really, the rules are more complicated. After all, if they weren’t, White Wolf wouldn’t have been able to do their bar in the dealer’s hall last year.

Keep in mind that there’s a difference between having a cover-your-ass policy and enforcing it. Some people won’t care as long as you’re not a jerk or in-your-face. Others are hardcore about enforcing every rule in the book. If you decided to break an alcohol rule (or, really, any rule) and get called on it, be cool. Put it away. There’s always time later to get your drink on. And it’s not worth you getting ejected from the convention. Do you really want your convention story when you get back home to be “yeah, I decided to argue about how I had a constitutional right to this bottle of Captain Morgan and they kicked me out?

Frankly, that’s a better story for what happened to your character that to you. Here are some other ways to keep you in the good.

Follow-up: Check out this post that briefly goes over some of the legalese of Indiana state law. It also talks about how you shouldn’t fornicate with corpses, so it’s pretty good advice.

Don’t Be a Dick

Wheaton’s Law applies strongly here.

Not Being a Dick During a Game

When I do drink at a game, I limit it to one shot, one I sip. The point isn’t to get drunk, but to enjoy a moment in time where I’m engaging in my beloved hobby while also enjoying an adult beverage.[4] But before I do, I ask two things:

• “Hey, does anyone mind if I do?”
• “Would anyone also care for some?”

I don’t ask when I don’t know other folks at the table, because I don’t want to put people in an awkward position. It’s only when I feel like the answer will be “totally cool” when I bother to bring it up. Use your inherent social gauge for if it’s cool or not.

And when you offer, pour for those who accepted before you pour your own. Again, this is not Walter’s ‘Nam.

Not Being a Dick in the Dealers’ Hall

Offer to people you know, and if you’re in a situation where they’re around others, offer to them as well. Take quick pulls from a flask or bottle; don’t make a big deal with as you’re walking around the convention hall.

Not Being a Dick in General

You might be around alcoholics and not know it, or around people for whom alcohol is a bad memory trigger. Shit happens. Respect that. Be magnanimous. Discretion is the better part of valor, they say.

Don’t offer to minors. I know, I know, but I gotta say it.

Offer once, but don’t be pushy. If people say no, respect that. I violate this rule with friends sometimes, but that leads to the next bit…

Know Your Limitations

And here’s where we heed the words of Saint Callahan: “A man’s gotta know his limitations.” This comes in two forms: knowing your body’s limits on consumption, and knowing your social limits. Some people can walk around the convention with a few bottles of booze on them without blinking an eye because that’s their function in their social circle. Others would look stupid, like they’re just drunks in constant need of a fix. (Some would argue that these are the same person. Whatevs. :)

Don’t get tipsy or drunk, especially during a game when people are relying in you to actually engage with others. Don’t be pushy or awkward about having it on you.

Use good judgement on when it’s cool to throw back. And if you don’t have a good sense of social cues, just don’t fucking do it.

It boils down to this: Don’t be a guy that causes concern.

Be Amusing

The best way to get out of an awkward social situation you’ve created, beyond just walking away, is to make a joke about it. Look at what’s engraved on my flask pictured above. People might not want to drink from it, but I get chuckles when they see it. It goes a long way to making me not look like a dick when I take a quick pull in front of them.

When In Doubt, Remember: After Hours

What I’m talking about is how to do the open container thing during a convention hall’s hours and at sanctioned events. Remember that there’s another time that’s more or less designed for this: after hours parties. Hotel lobbies, bars (though don’t flaunt your own stash there), suite parties, private games, things like that are great for drinking.

Final Word: The Litmus Test

If you think you’re pushing it, you are.

If someone else thinks you’re pushing it, you are.

If you’re pushing it, back the fuck up. Slow your roll, son.

Keep all this in mind, and people will not give you shit for carrying a small bar in your shoulder bag. (That said, it’s damned heavy. Stick to a small flask if you have back problems. I’m not kidding.)

- Ryan

[1] True story: I was told if I didn’t make it, it would be made on my behalf. And I wouldn’t know the password.

[2] A friend said of this post: “That’s possibly the thing you’re most qualified to write about.” Wow.

[3] To be fair, hotel lobbies are hives of scum and villainy. You won’t get busted for an open container inside, especially one with a hotel bar. Being disorderly, however, that’s no good.

[4] Admit, you thought I was going to finish that sentence with “…while playing a game.”

Dresdacon II’s Coming Up!

I’ll be at Dresdacon II, at Endgame Oakland this June 18th. Want to chat with me? Want to play some Dresden Files? Want to enjoy the fine eateries in Downtown Oakland? Come on up!

We need some help, though. To quote Fred Hicks quoting Chris Hanrahan of Endgame:

Hey, folks. The fine folks over at EndGame are hosting a second DresdaCon event at their store on June 18th, but they’re short on GMs. Here’s the message from the store:

DresdaCon II needs a few more GMs!

We are rapidly approaching the deadline for GM signs-ups for DresdaCon II. We have space for 3 more GMs in each time slot. Yes, we are going for 16 games! Wanna help? Head over to http://endgameoakland.com/dresdacon for all the details.

Hope to see you there!

We’ve even made it easy for you to run, with the release of Neutral Grounds and Night Fears! So if you live in or near the San Francisco bay area, and are willing to run a game, please contact the store and let them know. And if you haven’t made it to Endgame before, you owe it to yourself — it’s one of the best gamestores in the nation.

I’ll be a Special Guest at Celesticon!

Celesticon is a San Francisco Bay Area convention happening this Labor Day Weekend, September 2-5, 2011 at the Hotel Sofitel in Redwood City. I’ll be there, along with James Ernest & Kenneth Hite. (As of the time of this post. Check out the special guests page.)

You can find out more about the show at the website, www.celesticon.com. I’m pretty excited to be there, and we’re working out what sort of shenanigans are in store for folks attending. Naturally, I’ll update as we get closer to time.

(Side note: after reading this blog post about writing bios, mine on their site feels anemic.)

Reddit Interview about Dresden Files RPG!

A few months back, Ben Woerner polled folks on reddit for questions to ask Fred Hicks, Leonard Balsera & I. The interview is up now! It’s a two-parter, done with the four of us on Skype, so take the audio quality as you will. It was a fun interview, and the questions were neat. A good group of folks there. Hope you enjoy!

- Ryan

I’m pretty damned excited to announce some stuff I’ll be doing at DunDraCon 2011, February 18th-21st in San Ramon, CA. I’ll be hanging out with the redoubtable Jennifer Brozek, drinking at the hotel bar, or, well, both. For the events that don’t involve a bar tab, here’s what I’m doing:

How GMs can Bring their ‘A’ Game to the Table

Saturday 9:00 AM-10:00 AM, room 156

Having problems with your GMing? Or maybe it’s perfect…except for that one kink? Ryan Macklin and Jennifer Brozek have the solution for you! They’ll roll up their sleeves and show you how to use various techniques they’ve learned over the years to help you find your ‘A’ game. Get and keep your players hooked on your game while making your GMing easier.

Stealing From Indie Games: Borrowing systems, themes, and settings to enhance your RPG campaign

Saturday 10:00 AM-11:00 AM, room 156

There’s a lot of very interesting “gaming technology” out there for role-playing games. Systems such as FATE are really opening up story telling and leading to some very interesting gaming experiences. This seminar will talk about some of the cool stuff that’s out there and how to use it in more traditional RPGs such as D&D or CHAMPIONS.

[Note: This is a late addition, and my name’s not on the schedule. But I’m totally going to be there, rocking with Bruce Harlick & the rest of the crew.)

Learn From Our Mistakes

Sunday 5:00 PM-6:00 PM, room 156

Jennifer Brozek and Ryan Macklin, award winning veterans of the RPG industry talk about what it is like to write RPGs and for each other. Combined, these two Swiss Army Knives of publishing have authored, edited, and managed more than 30 RPG products. Learn from our mistakes. Reap the benefit of our experience and discover some of the secrets of what really goes on in the back halls of the RPG industry.

Random Pick-Up Gaming

I’m otherwise a free agent at the con. @ me on the Twitters if you’re at the con, and we could meet up! I’m happy to drink with folks and play games. I can run a crapton, and will probably have some secret and not-so-secret playtests on me. Look forward to seeing you there!

- Ryan

Loads of my friends will be at NeonCon. I’m looking forward to it. If you’re going, you might have noticed how many panel & seminar tracks there are for CreativeU. I’ll be doing two, but I encourage you to look at the whole damned list. It’s filled with awesome!

Here’re mine:

Lessons From Dresden

Friday, November 5th, 2010
Noon-1pm
Room: Montecristo 3

Leonard Balsera and Ryan Macklin discuss the lessons they learned from designing the breakout hit “The Dresden Files RPG” based on the novels by Jim Butcher.

Note: Lenny might not make it. I’m intending on making this more of a Q&A. It’s hard to distill years of lessons down into an hour.

Your ‘A’ Game: Techniques for Better GMing

Saturday, November 6th, 2010
6:30pm-8:30pm
Room: Montecristo 2

If you want to learn how to engage players at a table, whether friends at home or strangers at a convention, you want in on this workshop. Ryan Macklin will roll up his sleeves and show you how to use various techniques that he’s learned over the last decade of convention GMing–by doing them with you! Ryan will show you these techiques for gauging interest, creating buy-in, and responding to the sort of input players don’t even realize they’re giving. He’ll do this by turning you into play groups and showing you how you respond to these tricks, then turn you loose to try it for yourself. Looking to level up as a GM? Don’t miss this workshop!

I’m really looking forward to this one.

And when I’m not there, I’ll be floating around Games on Demand, running Dresden Files RPG (or, if you’re really luckily, Mythender or Emerging Threats Unit). Follow me on Twitter and you’ll know when I’ll be running stuff.

I might even have some swag on me.

Finally, if Night Macklin is gentle on Friday, I’ll be on This Just In…From NeonCon Saturday morning.

- Ryan

Friday 6p-or-whenever: Macklin-Tevis Mindmeld

Paul Tevis and Ryan Macklin want to talk about something, but we also want to have beer. So we’re going to do a thing that’s off the con books. We’re going to gather at some place, sit down, possibly record the conversation, and talk about pacing in GMless games. It’s something we’ve wanted to brainstorm about for a bit…though for what, we’re not going to say just yet. :)

I’m going to be using Twitter to organize this, so if you want in then follow me on Twitter.

Saturday 10a-2p: Playtesting Mythender (RPG Playtesting Extravaganza)

Come and experience the latest indie RPGs before they are published! Special guest Ryan Macklin (Dresden Files) joins Jerry Tidwell, Eric Boyd and Colin Mulkerin to demonstrate their latest creations. Do you want to stab Odin in his good eye and make the world around you tremble with change and power? Then you want to try Mythender, an upcoming Evil Hat/Ryan Macklin game about epic power and consequence. Eric Boyd brings a high-flying heist game, “House of Cards”. Atelier is “Touched by an Angel” meets Mage: The Ascention, in an alternate apocalyptic 1930s America. You play a mojo-enhanced emotional troubleshooter who helps people reconnect with each other in the midst of a magical dust storm bent on driving humanity into estrangement and extinction – brought to you by Jerry Tidwell. And Colin Mulkerin brings his local favorite “Trilogy”, a card-based fantasy short story game! You won’t just get to play, you’ll also get to give much needed feedback and be a part of the design process up close and personal!

Saturday 2p-6p: Dresden Files

The Dresden Files novel series has excited fantasy and mystery fans for years, and now the Dresden Files RPG is lighting a fire in the roleplaying community! Come and experience the fantastical mysteries in a modern setting – wizards, faeries and psychics contend with crooked cops, backstabbing femme (or homme!) fatales, and strange crimes. Game creator Ryan Macklin will show you how to play this exciting new roleplaying game – no prior experience necessary!

Saturday 6p-10pm: Houses of the Blooded LARP

Last year’s Houses of the Blooded LARP was the event everyone was talking about. John Wick brings the unique world of the Ven back to RinCon with the Houses of the Blooded LARP. Houses of the Blooded is a fantastic RPG of a decadent culture of ambition, romance, revenge, art and politics, in which the players take on the roles of nobility engaging in a deadly game of espionage, sabotage and assassination. In the LARP, all the major players gather together…secrets will be exposed and grudges will be carried out. No prior experience is needed to play and characters will be provided.

(I’m merely going to be attending this. But holy crap this was fun last year.)

Sunday 10am-noon: GM Conference

The Southern Arizona Gamemaster’s Conference has offered ideas, training and discussion for over a year, and it returns to RinCon for a second session. Our presentations this year include many special RPG Guests: John Wick, a returning favorite of the SAGC, will present “Play Dirty: The Con Man”. This will be a revved up and revamped version of what he presented at the first Gamemaster’s Conference, so long-time attendees will have a special treat, and first-time attendees will be blown away (we already know.) Ryan Macklin will be our keynote speaker, and he will talk about “Creating Context Quickly and Collaboratively”, turning the first 30 minutes of a session into a rich setting for play. Since his Dresden Files RPG has a much-celebrated setting creation system, he is sure to have some exciting insights. Paul Tevis, another special RPG guest and creator of the innovative Penny For My Thoughts, will talk about “What Improv Taught Me About GMing”, a topic which many at previous conferences have expressed interest in.

Also, I’ll be a guest at NeonCon! When my schedule for that’s firmed up, I’ll have a post on that.

- Ryan

[1] I lived in Tucson when I was five years old. While I have very little memory of it (though one vague memory of my first schoolboy crush still exists).

The lovely and badass Jen Dixon of The Walking Eye Podcast did a great job filling in for our traditional One Cool Thing video:

(Look at that handsome bastard.)

Of course, you can get your fix by going over the shows we did as part of This Just In From Gen Con 2010! The post-show wrap-up, a.k.a. Ken Hite’s traditional unpacking of the Gen Con we all just experienced, will be up in the next day or so. (Some news about me will drop on that episode as well.)

But I just did a couple shows every day. There was amazing live coverage this year, thanks to the good folks at NeonCon. If you know me, you know I’ve raved about NeonCon since I was one of their GamesU (now rebranded CreativeU) guests last year. (With all or most of their GamesU seminars up online, you can see me make an ass of myself.) The team there — with folks like Doug and Jules being the faceman/woman for the broadcast — were a joy to work with and to watch produce what was essentially hours of Gen Con for those at home.

You can check out archives of the live stream, like the filming of the ENnie Awards, at http://www.livestream.com/neoncon/

I was really happy to accept on behalf of Jason & Steve at Bully Pulpit the ENnie Fiasco got. Of course, I also feel like a touch of a heel, because that was a moment that I wished I could have admired from the audience, like I got to with Ken Hite & Hal Mangold accepting their gold ENnies for Cthulhu 101 & Day After Ragnarok. But, the point of accepting an award is less for the person accepting and more for the crowd watching. When you’re up there on stage, your job is to say (using completely different language) “Thank you for putting the effort into this award and giving me this opportunity. I will not belittle those efforts.”[1]

In other words, it’s okay to fuck up my own award speech, but I take accepting for someone else seriously, because it’s their moment and the crowd’s moment, and I’m just a stand-in. A stunt-Morningstar or -Segedy, if you will.

Speaking of Fiasco, this was fun:

(Thanks to Travis & Kira Scott for the bourbon pictured in the photo.[2])

Anyway, that’s all right now. Thanks for indulging this non-post. :)

- Ryan

[1] A non-zero number of you are reading between the lines. Good.

[2] If your comment is “but there’s no bourbon in that picture!” I assure you there is. See those smiles. Yeah. ;)

First is the Podcasting 101 panel I did with Ed Healy. It went pretty short, partly because there was a room snafu and we needed to clear out earlier. If you’ve heard either of us talk shop before, this won’t be new to you, but I still think it’s always good info. (Running time: 19:29)

Note: it does start a minute or two late, so you mainly miss Ed & I introducing ourselves & the beginning of my “so, here’s how I screwed up” bit.

Second is the “5 Major Design Mistakes” presentation I did with Leonard Balsera. That was a load of fun, as we riffed on and kept harassing the other as we talked. (Running time: 40:13)

Fun fact: a friend of mine who was watching live texted me when we were done, asking if Lenny & I were mistaken for lovers often. (And if that doesn’t get you to watch the video, I don’t know what will.)

Not that I was involved in them (except as occasional mouthy audience), but check out the other presentations online by going to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/gamesu. I also believe some of them will be up elsewhere, as there was a second video crew (the one we were looking at in the panel with Lenny), which means that some of the videos that aren’t up on UStream now hopefully will be available somewhere later. If you’re interested, I recommend you follow @NEONCON on Twitter for updates.

And yes, I know — the pig hat is life.

- Ryan

A lot going on here in my world. I’ve been buried under a pile of work, day-job and elsewise. But I’m taking a quick breather to tell y’all about stuff:

Podcasts

I’ve been on a few podcasts recently. Of course, there’s the most recent episode of Master Plan, where Monica Valentinelli and I talk about horror game design. It was a great conversation, and I’m happy to have teamed up with FlamesRising.com on that ep. Those guys are pretty awesome.

(As yes, that’s proof that I’m not podfading yet. Master Plan is still around!)

I was interviewed by Wolfgang Baur on the Open Design Podcast episode 006. We talk a bit about how I got started as a podcaster, making my journey as a game designer more public than most. Of course, I come from indieland, where we’re all fairly public about it — I suppose the main difference is that I turned my journey into produced show rather than something more journal-esque. (Not because I look down on journal-type stuff — I read them all the time. But producing a show is fun for me. :)

While at RinCon, a few of us “hijacked” an episode of The Game’s The Thing. It was fun to sit down with Don Dehm & Derek Rex from Pulp Gamer, and of course as always with Paul Tevis. We talked about the con and just had a good time doing the episode.

Neoncon

Also, I’ll be at Neoncon in Vegas this week! I’ll be speaking at GamesU, with at least two panels on my docket:

Gaming Podcasting 101 (alongside Ed Healy), Sunday 11am

Interested in getting your voice out there in the world of podcasting, but don’t know where to start? This presentation is for you! You’ll learn the basics on a variety of topics, from microphone & recording space, to audio editing (on PC and Mac), to show theory and speaking to your target audience. In addition to planned topics, there will be plenty of time to answer your questions.

and

5 Major Design Mistakes and How to Avoid Them (alongside Leonard Balsera), Sunday, 2pm

In this seminar, you’ll learn about five foundational mistakes that people make in the process of designing a roleplaying game and how to keep them out of a game during development. Whether you’re working on a project right now or are just interested in learning more about the design process, this overview will provide you with some concrete techniques and tactics to focus both the concept and execution of your design.

I’ll be attending some of the other panels, and otherwise be popping around having a good time. If you see me, feel free to say hi!

Dresden Files RPG

Oh, and we have a little announcement about the upcoming Dresden Files RPG on the official site. Enjoy! ;)

Anyway, that’s it for now. There’s more on the horizon…but there always is. Hope to see some of you at Neoncon!

- Ryan

The thought I had on Sunday night can be summarized as:  Provided the extra work is tolerated, some of Vinny’s concerns could be potentially solved with the enforcement of player-hour requirements for free GM badges.

So, when Kat emailed me that I was getting a free badge for Dreamation, I was honestly surprised.   I was only running two games, and then only for four players per game.  To me, this didn’t seem like enough to warrant a free badge, but hey, I won’t complain.

Vinny’s concerns of limited numbers of players and having to turn so many away are totally valid, and I was bummed to hear that people who wanted in Mythender didn’t get in.  At the same time, I wanted to have fun playing in other games and I know my game breaks with six players.  So, what am I to do?

Well, since I assumed that I wasn’t going to get a free badge, I felt the numbers were alright.  Last year, I ran three games — two four-player slots of A Penny for my Thoughts and one of Don’t Rest Your Head.  I felt I earned the badge then, but I also felt like I didn’t get to play enough other stuff (hence only two games this year).

Working back from that personal experience and towards what Vinny’s suggested of running six-player slots, here’s my thought:  not every game works for six players, and fitting games that don’t into that format will only create sourness.  But we clearly can’t do what we’re doing right now and just assume it’ll work.  Thus, I’m brought to the idea of serving the same number of players in two different configurations:  running two slots for six players (2×6 = 12) or running three slots for four players (3×4 = 12).

Now, you could leave this as player-slots or go to the GenCon standard of player-hours.  At four hours per slot (with some exceptions, which will disincentivize those slots in this model), that comes to 48 player-hours.

If you want to encourage this behavior, you need to create an incentive for that, either carrot-style or stick-style.  Carrot-style makes sense here; you get a free GM badge if you run at least that many player-slots or player-hours.

To concisely state my idea:  Require people to run enough games to fit 12 player-slots (or 48 player-hours) to receive a free GM badge.

If you buy the idea that this is a potential solution, we can talk about how to hack it.  I’m not saying I recommend any or all of these, but point them out to show how flexible a solution like this could be with some work.

Partial Credit. If you run, say, 1/2th or 2/3rds the number required, then perhaps you only get half off your badge.  It could still be a nice, shiny pink GM badge, but it’s one you had to pay for.

Playtests Count Less.  If you want to create a disincentive for the number of playtests on the schedule, you could count them as a fraction of player-slots, like 2/3rds or even 1/2th.  I do think this could blow up, given the number of playtests that happen at Dreamation (and, frankly, part of why I fly out from the West Coast to go to this thing.)

Minimum Player-Slot Counts. You could deny putting people on the schedule at all if they didn’t hit a certain count, like only running one game on the schedule (I’m talking about you, Tony! *grin*).  This might sound bad at first, but consider this in concern with a Games on Demand type place at the con, and it has a potentially positive spin on things.

In any case, that’s the idea in a nutshell.  Hopefully it’ll help someone wiser than I (like Rob Donoghue) articulate an idea that works.  It mainly came as a reason to Vinny’s comment on the playtests, saying that most of the people involved have pink badges anyway, and reacting with “Yes, but the fact that so many have pink badges is not exactly our fault.”  (Bleh, that sounds like I’m being ungrateful for getting a free badge, which I’m not since I have to worry about layoffs and travel expenses.)

- Ryan