Narrative Control

Hi, and welcome back to the show! This week I'm speaking with Whitney Beltrán about her just released kickstarter for Bluebeard's Bride. Host: Sean Nittner Guests: Whitney Beltrán Length: 29:55 We discussed the origins, the goals, and the play experiences of Bluebeard's Bride. Check out these links: Bluebeard's Bride Kickstarter Bluebeard's Bride G+ Community @BluebeardsBride on Twitter @the_strix on Twitter Sean's AP Report from Origins The conversation continues...Here.

Hi, and welcome back to the show! We're talking to Kate and Hakan about how awesome language is and how they use it in their games! Host: Sean Nittner Guests: Kathryn Hymes and Hakan Seyalioglu Length: 51:05 Inspired by listening to Alex Roberts (Backstory) Games we talked about: Sign - A game about being understood Dialect - A game about language and how it dies Gushing about Dialect: Truckers on Mars - a game that's structure was built around the language we made! Not what I expected. Procedurally generated scenes that were very compelling.  Secret Sauce: mayonnaise in the sun... actually, it's "can you tell a story while building a language?" Language creation as a window into people and identity. You pick the things that are important to you and build off them. Friendship as a byproduct of games. Sean's hypothesis: Any subject that people are passionate about could be turned into a game. Discuss! Game as non-dogmatic, non-prescriptive way to share your passions. People who your game connects with are kind

Hi, and welcome back to the show! Over a year later and we're back! John Harper came on the show to talk to me about how his gaming style affects his design and all the pieces of the venn diagram that make for a good times at the game table. Note: There is occasional profanity during the episode, but nothing so egregious that I would add the explicit tag. Also this is a long one, over two hours. We're making up for all the time we missed! Host: Sean Nittner Guests: John Harper Length: 2:12:35 Inspired by Alex Roberts (Backstory) and Marcelo Ferrari (The Curators) to start recording again. The NukeTrust in MeJudd Karlman - The Githyanki Diasporaanyway.The "What would John do?" direct play for John's GMing advice for my game starts at 01:33:50! Games we talked about: AgonBlades in the DarkApocalypse WorldBurning WheelFiasco Games we referenced: Blades in the Dark - Bloodletters (Actual Play | Youtube VODs) Blades in the Dark - Doskvol Spectral Society (Actual Play) Products we're plugging: Undying (Buy | Discus

Hi, and welcome back to the show! This episode I have Rob Donoghue and Vincent Baker on to respond to episode 80 and discus their thoughts on the current state of design. Host: Sean NittnerGuests: Vincent Baker and Rob Donoghue Length: 45:14 [00:26] Introduction to the show. Welcoming Vincent and Rob. [01:46] Vincent’s reaction to episode 80.[08:00] Rob’s reaction.[09:13] Defining Design. Where I get it all wrong.[15:40] Distinction between GMing, Expansibility, and Hacking.[19:08] Seeking authority on "how to do it right."[23:32] Design intent for Fate and Apocalypse World.[24:50] Impact of Fate and Apocalypse World on the design sphere.[38:36] Adding to the influences available in design.[40:37] My roast of Luke. I am not Stephen Colbert.  The conversation continues...Here.

Hi, and welcome back to the show! This episode was recorded many moons ago (June 2014), lost, found, and released! A bunch of fantastic perspectives on sincere emotions in games.  Host: Sean Nittner Guests: Matthew Klein, Avery Alder McDaldno, and Shaun Hayworth Length: 47:52 [00:27] Intro to the show. Amazing experiences gaming with Avery McDaldno, Shawn Hayworth, and Matthew Klein. [03:26] Do you seek to get an emotional response consciously in game, or do you let it occur as a result of the action in the game? 10:40] Does this ever backfire and force an emotion that is artificial? [12:30] How does it happen? How do you know that your group is ready to play an emotional game? [20:25] Prime your emotional responses upfront. Example: Bliss Stage, Monsterhearts, Ribbon Drive. [25:47] Finding the safety valve – looking at the system and playing good faith.[28:20] Game length affecting emotional capacity. Intensity wearing you down. [33:02] When is this a detriment to game? Being mindful of triggers. Using X-car

Hi, and welcome back to the show! This episode sparked from a twitter conversation between Luke Crane and I about design intentions. To hack or not to hack, Conversations in Design. Luke had thoughts. An hour of thoughts. Check em out! Note: This is an explicit episode. Host: Sean Nittner Guests: Luke Crane Length: 1:08:21 [00:28] Intro to the show – Interview with Luke Crane.[01:16] Luke prepared for an interview and to say things he probably shouldn’t.[03:03] Design process. Different when you’re working on a game and when people are playing it. [03:35] Luke’s History of Hacking.[07:40] Part of the hacking culture is the belief that games don’t work as written.[08:01] Difference between expansibility (developing products for a game) hacking (changing the rules)[09:35] Design intent for Burning Wheel – Make the system shoulder the work. [14:37] “If the game can do the heavy lifting, it should.”[15:04] The anatomy of Burning Wheel – See diagram below: [16:27] Burning Wheel Refined – A very compact and tight

Hi, and welcome back to the show! This episode I have three awesome gamers that have played in some extremely character driven games with me. I brought them on to discuss what's needed in a game to give players the tools they need to drive a game, how do you keep player antagonism safe at a table, and what external threats are necessary to keep the action moving and prevent the game from turing into a soap opera. Host: Sean Nittner Guests: Jon Edwards, Regina Joyner, and Karen Twelves Lenth: 30:47 [00:27] Intro to the show[00:53] Welcoming my guests Jon Edwards, Regina Joyner, and Karen Twelves[03:13] What is needed in the game to give players enough direction to drive the game forward themselves?[08:20] Unstable situations with no status quo, and characters determining where the power would go.[10:54] What maintained the tension mounting between the characters? [15:04] How many external threats do you need to prevent the game from becoming a soap opera?[18:03] Handling player versus player conflicts in a sat

Hi, and welcome back to the show! This episode I have two phenomenal GMs, Leonard Balsera and Todd Furler, on to talk about the rationale for running games either with low/no or very high prep, as well as their techniques for doing so. Host: Sean Nittner Guests: Leonard Balsera and Todd Furler [00:26] Intro to the Show[01:06] Introducing my guests Todd Furler and Leonard Balsera[02:10] Todd and Lenny represent pillars of best practices for different methodologies for running games.[03:10] Why choose one method or another? Reasons for high prep. Todd’s answer.[09:33] Reasons for low/no prep games. Lenny’s answer.  [13:50] What the GMs get out of it.[16:55] How it all happens? What are the techniques each GM uses? [48:17] Dodging pitfalls. What to do if you find yourself unprepared in a low prep? How do you prevent high-prep games from railroading players. The converstaion continues...Here

Hi, welcome to the show! This week I’m reflecting on the emotional impact of a particular LARP I was in at GenCon, how to facilitate that kind of play in general, and how to port those experiences to tabletop. My guests are awesome LARPers, and other players in the game Lizzie Stark, Emily Care Boss, and Jason Morningstar. Host: Sean Nittner Guest: Lizzie Stark, Emily Care Boss, and Jason Morningstar Length: 54:10 [00:27] Intro to the show [01:30] Introduce the guests to the show [02:20] Premise of the show, a very moving game. How did it happen? [03:30] Always have a debrief at the end of a game. Time to discuss what people got out of the game. How it impacted them. [07:38] Establishing buy-in and setting expectations early on. [09:23] Transparency at the beginning of a game. [11:07] Model that your willing to use the tools your suggesting. X Card, Cutting, Breaking. [13:00] Start with a sharing circle. Talk about something that relates to the topic of the game. Get people comfortable with the subject matte

Hi, welcome back to the show. This week I’m talking torches with Shaun Hayworth, Josh Curtis, and David Gallo. We discussed GMing and playing Torchbearer! Host: Sean Nittner Guest: Shaun Hayworth, Josh Curtis, and David Gallo Length: 1:35:16 [00:23] Intro to the show [01:36] Introducing the guests: Shaun Hayworth, Josh Curtis, and David Gallo [03:48] Keeping suspense in the game. Setting player expectations to expect and enjoy the grind. [09:40] The system is definitely a game. Keeping focus on fiction instead of the mechanics are driving play. [15:27] Signal to the GM that stakes aren’t high enough? Bigger rewards, more consequential actions. [17:03] Counterpoint. Putting constant pressure on the characters prevents the players from exploring other options (camp, town, pursuing belifs/goals). Deciding on how hard to push. [21:23] Reluctance to back down. Player skill to recognize when it’s time to cut losses and run? GM and Player skill. [27:38] Torchbearer teaches you how to play it, but there are some gr

Welcome back to Narrative Control, season 3. This season we’re taking calls from listeners and offering up what advice we can about their gaming conundrums. This episode we talked to David McBride about handling a back-seat GM. Hosts: Sean Nittner, Leonard Balsera, and Eric Fattig Guest: David McBride Length: 52:05 [00:27] Intro to the show. Explicit episode in both English and French. [01:26] News: Fattig got a HOUSE![02:17] Fate Core is at print! http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core/[04:08] Welcome David McBride to the show. Is it David or Dave?[05:20] Regular player in a weekly group, very close friend – he back seat GMs games.[07:03] Seven players, two hour sessions, powerful (11+ refresh) characters.  Brave GM![07:42] Big fight in the game – Player suggest using another system to adjudicate it.[09:59] Does the player reflect the group consensus or is he an outlier? [11:44] What happened? How does the story end?[12:53] Starting point. Have you talked to him about this?[13:33] Sean sympathizes. I could b

Welcome back to Narrative Control, season 3. This season we’re taking calls from listeners and offering up what advice we can about their gaming conundrums. This week we talked to Austin Smith about hierarchies in game settings. Hosts: Sean Nittner, Eric Fattig, and Lenny Balsera Guest Caller: Austin Smith Length: 52:26 Show Notes [00:26] Introduction to the show. Brining back Austin Smith from Episode 70.[01:20] Austin’s games. Built into the game setting was a hierarchy. Problems presented by power.[03:24] Using hierarchy to reinforce an aspect of the setting. Embrace what it tells you about setting.[04:43] How we deal with question of hierarchy in fiction is very different from the way we deal with it in life.[07:25] If someone is pulling rank to get what they want, lots of other things have gone wrong.[08:21] Orders vs. strong personal convictions. Good hierarchy drama![09:10] When we talk about hierarchies in a RPG, we are most often talking about them as they are portrayed in fiction.[09:50] Authority a

Welcome back to Narrative Control, season 3. This season we’re taking calls from listeners and offering up what advice we can about their gaming conundrums. This week we talked to Jamil Walker about presenting non-violent opposition for his PCs. This really touched on a cornerstone of our GMing styles. It’s a good 40 minutes. Have a listen! Hosts: Sean Nittner, Eric Fattig, and Lenny Balsera Guest Caller: Jamil Walker Length: 42.16 Show Notes [00:26] Introduction to the show. Jamil Walker from http://www.meetup.com/Indie-Gamers-Network/ comes on to talk about non-violent opposition.[01:08] Explicit warning on![01:26] Discussion about GMing styles. How does a player self-identify what kind of GM they are looking for?[02:59] Diversity in the hobby making the term role-playing game and elusive term.[05:55] Cons using symbols to designate content of games (legend). Big Bad Con will start using something like this. http://www.bigbadcon.com/[08:18] Welcome Jamil Walker to the show. Playing Apocalypse world and try

Welcome back to Narrative Control, season 3. This season we’re talking about methos for finding a game that will suit your needs. It's kind of the anti-hack episode (Episode 69) where our goal is to find you a system that will match your epectations without having to re-invent it yourself. We doing something special this year and hosting a fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders Hosts: Sean Nittner, Eric Fattig, and Lenny Balsera Guest Caller: Soren Ludwig Length: Show Notes [00:30] We’re doing good. In the holiday spirit we’re raising money for Doctors Without Borders. (see the link above)[01:20] Sean is moving to the Bay Area! My last Davis summer.[02:15] Fattig’s exciting story. The one not involving a donkey and three pounds of cocaine.[03:29] Soren Ludwig’s question: How to pick out a tabletop RPG.[03:57]Lenny’s strategy. Throw money at friends making games.[04:44] Welcome Soren![05:17]The only advice you’ll ever need from Lenny. Look for the name “Leonard Balsera” on the spine of the book.[07:07] And n

Welcome back to Narrative Control, season 3. This season we’re taking calls from listeners and offering up what advice we can about their gaming conundrums. This week we talked to Rich Rogers about a transgressive experience he had playing in a game and review both what he could have done differently and what both GMs and players should watch out for so that they don't cross over boundries inadvetantly. Hosts: Sean Nittner, Eric Fattig, and Lenny Balsera Guest Caller: Rich Rogers, of Canon Puncture and RPG Crosstalk Length: 50:27 Show Notes [00:28] Welcome to the show. This episode is explicit because of the content. Specifically character rape. [01:17] Welcoming the hosts on board. Discusson of secrets. Sean presents his theory. [03:37] Lenny's thoughts on secrets... or is that what we're really talking about? [05:53] Eric's crazy project. Building the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) Presentig the situation [07:42] Bringing Rich onto the show. Rich tells us about the game. [09:50] A failed carousing roll results

Welcome back to Narrative Control, season 3. This season we’re taking calls from listeners and offering up what advice we can about their gaming conundrums. This week we talked to Austin Smith about both dropping clues to your players, keeping them attached to the outcomes, and introducing a rich setting.Hosts: Sean Nittner, Lenny Balsera, and Eric FattigGuest Caller: Austin SmithLength: 1:01:36 The conversation continues… here.

Welcome back to Narrative Control, season 3. This season we’re taking calls from listeners and offering up what advice we can about their gaming conundrums. This week we talked to Joe Harney about hacking settings from one game into the system of another’s. In this case we focus on Gordian Knot of Settings: ShadowrunHosts: Sean Nittner and Lenny BalseraGuest Caller: Joseph HarneyLength: 45:07 Show Notes [00:25] Intro to the show – Hacking settings to systems.[00:55] Joe starts the call. Used to run Shadowrun, but the system doesn’t do what I want it to do.[02:36] What isn’t the existing system doing? - Discuss[03:41] Are you interested in changing or emphasizing parts of the setting as well? – Discuss[05:11] First suggestion – Prime Time Adventures for interpersonal drama.[06:33] Discussion – PTA will not provide the level of crunch some players are looking for.[07:14] Tangible advice – Pick a system that allows you to identify: X is important -> assigned to Y mechanic.[07:35] One system that does this well:

Welcome back to Narrative Control, season 3. This season we’re taking calls from listeners and offering up what advice we can about their gaming conundrums. This week we talked to David Bozarth talking about selling players on complicating their characters.Hosts: Sean Nittner, Eric Fattig, and Lenny BalseraGuest Caller: Dave BozarthExplicit. This episode contains a smattering of explicit language. Length: 37:14Show Notes[00:27] Intro to the show. Dave Bozarth coming on and talking about adapting your play style to the group, games that help sell players on character complications and Rob Donoghue’s “The Trick”[00:55] Daniel Hodges of the game Victoria had me on his podcast Penny Red. You can download it here.[01:22] Want to be on the show. Email us at narrativecontrol@gmail.com or on the forum [01:53] The hosts arrive, Eric Fattig and Lenny Balsera[02:04] But I digress. I just play tested Durance. Here’s my AP report[02:40] Dave recounts his situation. A player character that killed off his brother because h

Welcome back to Narrative Control, season 3. We’ve taken a break for Gen Con and my very own Big Bad Con and now we’re back in the saddle. Season 3 has a new format. We’re taking calls from listeners and offering up what advice we can about their gaming conundrums. This week we talked to David Miessler-Kubanek from dmkcreative.com. We’re talking about intellectual properties, setting expectations and finding out what’s going on with an unhappy player. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Lenny Balsera Guest Caller: David Miessler-Kubanek Length: 32:01 Show Notes [00:31] Welcome back to Narrative Control. Intro to the season three format.[01:22] Eric Fattig is out for today. Welcoming guest host Lenny (not Leonard) Balsera.[01:45] What real friends are for.[02:57] “Shuu Nittner” – A name that will never been used.[03:13] Sean’s current project – Apocalypse Galactica.[04:09] Lenny working on Fate Core and Paranet Papers for Evil Hat and just moved to Austin, TX.[04:34] Bringing on David Miessler-Kubanek from DMKcreative.com

Hi, welcome to the last episode of Season 2.  Warning, this one is explicit.  This episode is my farewell for a time as well as the bloopers from Season 2.  Good times in here! Hosts: Sean Nittner, Justin Evans and Eric Fattig Length: 25:29 Show Notes A few minutes of me talking about the show followed by 20 minutes of our mistakes.  Have fun.