Whether the source material is a comic, a novel or a movie it's going to need to be adapted from the original in order to be fun and engaging in its game form. Our guests talk about how that's done.
How is art handled differently across different intellectual properties? Why does the art look different in The Doctor Who Card Game to The One Ring? What's the creative process here?
How to collect art for your self published or small press endeavour without breaking the bank. How to talk to artists, the inside track on their habits and crazy ways.
Dice & cards have often been criticized for their randomness, potentially outweighing skill. Come learn how effective game design can use randomness to enhance skilled play instead of outweighing it.
Quick-play rules, beginner's boxes, & mini-games are everywhere, making it easy to try out new RPGs. Industry guests share favorite examples and discuss what role these products play in the industry.
Board games have come a long way in the last twenty years, with hundreds of classic titles for all ages and play styles. Why and how have they become so popular again? What does the future hold?
Break It to Make It Stronger: The Value of Editing
Summary:
Editors break your beautiful creation, it's true, but they send it back stronger than ever. Industry guests will discuss how to build a relationship with an editor & improve everything you write.
Managing your community is now a crucial part of everyone's life. Our guests share their insights on dealing with trolls, Goons, the easily offended, rockstars and evangelists.
Designing Card Games from the Top-Down and Bottom-Up
Summary:
"Top-Down Design” is taking a concept like The Hulk & designing mechanics that evoke that flavor. “Bottom-Up Design” is starting with raw mechanics & building them into a flavor that fits the game.
Description:
Its the art of starting with raw mechanics and building them into a flavor concept that fits the game.
Unlike most horror protagonists, roleplayers KNOW that they are in a horror story and are often well versed in the lore of the setting. As a designer or GM, how can you bring suspense to the table?
Taking your game from a design to a prototype that you can show to a manufacturer or publish yourself. Join our Industry guests as they discuss the ins and outs!
Raising new gamers doesn't happen by itself. Parents need games that meet kids where they are at each age. Guests will talk about games for different ages, & what gaming with kids can teach adults.
Under the covers of creating, polishing, and posting your own gamer-oriented podcast/video blog/web series. Digital media has made things easier. Has it made them BETTER? Opportunities, tips, & traps.
Some playtests produce clear, actionable changes to a game, while others bog down in a morass of unhelpful contradictions. Join us to learn how to make playtests maximally helpful to a game's success.
As a game goes through more than 1 edition, or even more than 1 printing, the rules evolve away from the originals. Our panel of industry pros talk about how to keep the rules changing for the better.
Kickstarter has made a big impact on the RPG industry. Behind every successful campaign is a lot of work - so what goes in to the setting up and launching of one?
Kickstarting Your Project - How to Run a Successful Program
Summary:
Our Industry guests talk about how Kickstarter works and how it can be used to fund and market projects. Experiences will be shared as well as tips on how to crowdfund your next project.
Little Big Planet: Navigating the Social Media Maze
Summary:
A look at how social media is reshaping dialogue within the gaming community. Topics include: "Avoid Getting Buried by Your Twitter Feed" and "Facebook: Mostly Useless, or Completely Useless"?
Steal a few tips from the Actor's Studio: entrances, exits, and improv tools, among others. Our panel of luminaries walks you through the basics & the advanced techniques to make your RPG night shine!
Making a game based on your favorite movie or comic book can be a process with both pleasures and pitfalls. Designers of games based on TV, novels, toys and even other games tell their tales.
Both RPGs and fiction draw heavily on historical cultures and narratives, even for a new setting. Our Industry Insider Guests of Honor will talk about how to use primary sources to enrich your play.
A panel with fellow art directors & graphic designers: how RPG books can be visually exciting and artistic on a design level, beyond manuals for playing, they are an immersive experience.
A Q&A with the audience & panelists on how to set up and manage a Kickstarter for RPG products that works for both the financial goals and the community building ones.
How to submit, publish, self-publish, and survive as a small-press publisher in the RPG field. Come hear about the nasty, brutish, and sometimes short life of a small press game studio!
A discussion on the current state of LARP design in the US. The panel will talk about the spreading Nordic influence, the recent spate of reality shows and other companies seeking to monetize LARPs.
Tough-love GMing advice for fans of fantasy and other RPGs: how and why to be a bastard and make PCs suffer. Why this works to motivate better play, and when to shower players with rewards and riches.
How, why, when and where of making your art pay. How to get into professional gaming art, with a comparison of experiences, war stories and straight talking advice.