Author Archive: Jason Pitre

GenCon 2012 Seminar Recordings

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I always love to attend GenCon and record as many seminars as I can. This year is no exception, and I had the honour to speak on two separate panels. While I still have to work on my presentation skills, I feel like people got a great deal out of those panels.

This year, the most excellent Jason Morningstar of Bully Pulpit fame was on six different seminar panels and recorded each of them. With his permission, I provide them here for your listening pleasure.

Here are the recordings in no particular order. I will try to link to the presenters websites whenever possible.
 

Introduction to Indie RPG’s

Special thanks to “This Just In from GenCon” for some editing and posting this in their feed.

Event Number: SEM1230671

Presenters:

Jason Pitre (https://genesisoflegend.com/)

Kirin Robinson (http://www.oldschoolhack.net/)

Kit La Touche (http://games.transneptune.net/)

Elizabeth Shoemaker Sampat (Regrets) (http://elizabethsampat.com/)

Link to the Recording

 

Introduction to Playtesting RPG’s

Event Number: SEM1233486

Presenters:

Jason Pitre (https://genesisoflegend.com/)

Adam Koebel ( http://www.dungeon-world.com/)

Link to the Recording


Secrets of RPG Editing

Event Number: SEM1232354

Presenters:

Paizo Managing Editor F. Wesley Schneider (paizo.com)

Paizo Editor Judy Baur (paizo.com)

Paizo Editor Chris Carey, (paizo.com)

Paizo Editor Patrick Renie (paizo.com)

Link to the Recording

 

 

Jason Morningstar’s Recordings

These raw recordings have been taken directly from a post by Jason Morningstar on www.story-games.com, with the files uploaded to my own site for posterity.

http://www.bullypulpitgames.com/

 

Introduction to GMless Play

This is me by myself rambling about GMless games for an hour. Link to Recording

 

The International RPG Scene

This is me and Dominic McDowall-Thomas . I spend a lot of time being excited about Japan. Link to Recording

Introduction to Nordic Larp

Me, Emily Care Boss , Lizzie Stark , Aleksi Airaksinen , Ville Takanen and Joonas IIvonen . As the least clued-in guy in the room I took the role of questioning moderator. Link to Recording

 

Volatility in Game Design

Me and James Ernest . Or, really, James Ernest’s well thought out and useful lecture on volatility with an occasional unhelpful comment from me. Link to Recording

History, Panic and History Panic

Me and Kenneth Hite talking about how to love gaming in history and still not be a total dick. Link to Recording

From Indie Cradle to Indie Grave: Making Independent Games

Me and James Ernest, mostly talking about business-y stuff. Link to Recording

 

 
GenCon 2011 Seminar Recordings can be found Here.

 

The Intrigue Engine – A First Draft

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Hey all,

Sorry about the delays in getting the latest version of Spark out the door, but that should be ready in about a week or so. Until then, I bring you a free little mini game called the Intrigue Engine.  It’s a little thought experiment inspired by Rob Donoghue’s Mighty Brain.

Feel free to take a look, to comment and to pilfer any clever bits.  It’s mostly Amber and Durance smashed together with a light sprinkling of Polaris in there.

The Intrigue Engine First Draft

Cheers!

P.s. The GenCon seminars, including the “Intro to Indie RPG’s” one, will be up very soon.

Your First RPG

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This is a section of the Spark RPG that I will regretfully have to cut during the revision process while I prepare version 3.5 of the beta. If anyone is looking for a write up on logistics for new gamers, please feel free to grab this wholesale.

 

Your First RPG

Time

You need to schedule some time when your group would be available. Discuss what day of the week you will be playing on and how frequently you plan on meeting. Try to determine when you plan on starting and finishing each session as well; I prefer 3-4 hour long sessions.

Every group has its own expectations on attendance at games. Some people can reliably block off game night, while others may have personal responsibilities or erratic work schedules.  The system can accommodate players who only participate infrequently but it’s up to you to figure out what’s comfortable for your group.

Play Space

You need fixed and dependable space to play the game. It could be the home of one of the players, the GM’s apartment, a gaming club, or even an online environment. Discuss what the best play space might be for the group. If you are playing in someone else’s space, be polite and help clean up after the game.

Food and Drink

I find it helpful to talk about food and drink before I start playing a game. Try to discuss any meal arrangements, snack foods, allergies, or beverage preferences. Games are much more enjoyable on a full stomach!

The Massive Microscope Hack

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Microscope, by Lame Mage Productions, is an amazing game.  It gives you all of the tools to create your own epic history, outlining the epochs and describing the events within. If there is one complaint, it is that the game only accommodates a max of 4 people per game session.  When I was running it at Games on Demand at GenCon 2012, I wanted to share the experience with more people than the game allowed, so I started to hack.

I dragged in a total of 7 other players to play a massive game of Microscope.  The eight of us came together with the broad concept and the palate of the game world. Once we had that determined, we created a total of three bookends.  We created the Start Period, the Climax Period and the End Period.

 

At that point, we split into two even sizes groups. Group A explored the span of time between the Start and the Climax, while group B explored what happened between the Climax and the End.  Both sides shared the Climax period and all of the Legacies.  Most importantly, we had sporadic communication between the two groups.  I asked the other group if they had established a particular important location, for example.  We also notified each other about facts that we had established about the world.

For scale, we ran an eight-person game of Microscope in 2 hours. I limited each group to two new Periods between their respective book-ends, and we were able to flesh things out beautifully. The only thing that would have made it better was a full 4 hour time slot, so we could explore the setting in more depth.

Hope you find this helpful! I will have some updated information on Spark shortly.

Spark RPG Open Beta: Revised Version

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Thanks to all of your kind feedback, I have revised the Spark RPG open beta text. You can find the expanded text, with slightly improved formatting, under the link below!

https://genesisoflegend.com/spark-open-beta/

I would love to hear what you think about this iteration of the game. I welcome all feedback especially more constructive criticism so I can further revise the game. The layout is still rudimentary, but I think that the text is a bit more functional.

I will be happy to run this version of the text for you at Games on Demand at GenCon. I hope to see you there!

Thank you for your time!