The Independent Insurgency

Episode 010: Vincent Baker on kill puppies for satan

Fri, 2 May 2008 01:14:00 GMT

In this episode, I interview Vincent Baker of Lumpley Games about his
first published roleplaying game, kill puppies for satan. This was kind of a
silly one, as many of the questions I'd ordinarily ask a little weird in this
context. You'll see.

This episode is 01:01:48 long and 84.8 MB big.

01:36: What is kill puppies for satan?
02:39: "It is extremely mean to Vampire: The Masquerade."
03:33: Obligatory Forge reference
04:57: Conpulsion in Edinburgh and the kpfs resurgence
05:31: Malcolm Craig (of Contested Ground Studios)
05:45: kpfs 2nd edition?
05:35: Ralph Steadman
06:36: How does the game work mechanically?
10:03: A bunch of different kinds of NPCs
11:25: Meguey Baker (of Night Sky Games)
12:11: A parody of gamers or a certain kind of game?
12:44: Alas, now the 23rd hit on Google
12:57: kpfs hate mail site
16:27: Trying to get back to mechanics, conflict or tasky?
18:17: How indie is kpfs?
20:45: Why did you design the game?
22:59: The Lumpley Principle
27:58: kpfs is also self-parody
28:17: Comparing Vampire and Ars Magica
30:13: A reading from kpfs: A character sheet for a vampire
34:30: Playtesting? Fuck no!
34:51: The evil hamster wheel, a mechanic which coincidentally worked fine
38:52: kpfs saves lives
42:17: kpfs and the Columbine Massacre
42:40: The kpfs gun rules
43:32: Why Vincent doesn't run the game anymore
45:54: The DNA that kpfs shares with Poison'd
47:11: Angry threads sell games
48:33: Ron Edwards: "You make games about the morality of people you don't think are moral."
50:33: Is kpfs a success?

Closing song is Bridge Over Troubled Squatter by the Hub City Stompers

Logo courtesy of Daniel Solis: http://danielsolis.com/

Episode 009: Michael O'Sullivan on Criminal Element

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:03:00 GMT

In this episode, I talk to Michael O'Sullivan of Full Motor Productions
about his heist game, Criminal Element (whose development version is
currently available as a free download). This is the first show I've done
from my home and I was very grateful to Michael for coming up to see
me and talking with me about his game.

This episode is 1:03:51 long and 87.7 MB big.

01:16: CE is a heist movie game that came out of the 24 Hour RPG Design contest
01:38: Scott McLeod
02:20: Phil Reed's vs. Monsters and Fred Hicks's PACE
05:00: Tell us about the (blackjack-based) system
05:48: Ron Edwards compared the system to Over the Edge
07:00: Vices, personal weaknesses that create opposition for the crew or
the mission
07:22: Betting on your hand with Drama Points
08:35: The Director's (GM's) currency: Meltdown Points, freaking out
according to your Vice
11:00: Meltdown Points and Tension
11:44: Meltdown and Drama: player currency, not character currency
12:30: Flashbacking
13:02: Obligatory Judd Karlman reference
14:30: Heist (Heat) vs. Caper (Ocean's Eleven)
17:28: How the mechanics model the drama of these flicks
18:05: Heist creation before character creation
19:35: Why did you want to design a game?
19:43: Obligatory Forge reference
20:01: The Mountain Witch, Dictionary of Mu, Universalis, Dust Devils,
and Sorcerer
20:27: Why did you design this game?
22:29: The spoiler mechanic
23:44: Other games that came out of CE?
24:32: Ray Winninger's Underground
24:55: Shock:
26:52: Warren Ellis, The Authority, Planetary
27:49: Who did you steal from?
28:25: Obligatory Spirit of the Century reference
30:00: Mozambique Drill
30:29: What got dropped from the game?
31:07: Game Chef
33:21: Playtester feedback
33:56: Intent, Initiation, Execution, and Effect (IIEE)
34:30: Obligatory Dreamation/DexCon (Double Exposure, LLC.) reference
35:09: Star C. Foster Charity Auction funding a scholarship for Star's high
school
35:38: Slouching Towards Bedlam interactive fiction game by Star and
Daniel Ravipinto
36:35: Obligatory Vincent Baker reference
36:54: The Sons of Kryos
38:59: Ashcanning CE? Ryan Macklin
39:06: Misspent Youth
39:44: Know Thyself
40:23: The hardest thing to fix
43:18: The nascent production process of Criminal Element
46:28: Cthulhutech
46:56: How will art be used in the book?
50:16: Paying for/compensating models
51:17: Marketing the game
54:49: What is success for Criminal Element?
56:43: One shot or ongoing?
57:24: Luke, Emily, and Tobias Wrigstad (of Jeepform) at the Indie Game
Designer's Roundtable

Closing music is Everytime by the Hub City Stompers
Logo courtesy of Daniel Solis: http://danielsolis.com/

Episode 008: Brennan Taylor on Mortal Coil

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 18:32:00 GMT

In this episode, I speak with Brennan Taylor of Galileo Games about his game,
Mortal Coil. As Brennan is also a co-owner of Indie Press Revolution, we also discuss a
bit about how that business works and what implications there are for him as a client and
owner of IPR.

This episode is 78.2 MB big and 56:55 long.

01:08: Tell us about the game
02:09: Originally a World of Darkness hack
03:51: Why this title?
04:04: The CRPG, Darklands
04:36: The title, Nine Inch Nails, and horror
06:02: The grungy exuberance of Flaming Taft
06:37: Magic that feels magical
07:52: The Price of introducing magical facts
09:11: "I'm a Neil Gaiman fan"
09:31: The bidding system in the game
09:38: A stronger GM than many indie players are used to
10:27: Polaris
11:36: Players' major powers to introduce facts
12:37: Problems in the game
13:29: Second edition
14:54: Who did you steal from the most?
15:02: Primetime Adventures
16:12: Things you had to let go of
17:15: The fruits of playtesting
17:49: The NYC RPG Playtest group with Thor Olavsrud, Mayuran, et al.
18:16: Judd Karlman
20:44: The new game, How We Came To Live Here
22:49: The hardest thing to fix
24:38: Making an economy work
24:25: (Lack of) game balance in Mortal Coil
27:00: Deciding what printer to use
27:31: Alphagraphics, buy-outers of RPI
28:16: Costs of production
30:00: Indie Press Revolution
34:16: How do you use art? Jennifer Rodgers
34:40: Bulldogs!
36:27: Clinton R. Nixon, Dresden Files RPG
37:58: The trifecta of cock, Mortal Coil, The Dictionary of Mu, and It Was a Mutual Decision
38:14: Keith Senkowski
39:29: Layout
41:26: What doesn't work in the book?
45:46: Why this form factor?
46:10: Dogs in the Vineyard and Burning Wheel
46:50: The new Star Wars game
47:06: Fred and Rob of Evil Hat
47:59: Marketing
49:24: Paul Tevis, the other half of The Voice of the Revolution
56:10: DexCon and Dreamation (Double Exposure)
51:33: Defining success for Mortal Coil
53:56: How Mortal Coil saved my life

Closing music is WTFIU? by the Hub City Stompers
Logo courtesy of Daniel Solis: http://danielsolis.com/

Episode 007: Rob Donoghue and Fred Hicks on Spirit of the Century (plus a little Dresden Files)

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:48:00 GMT

On this show I interviewed Rob Donoghue and Fred Hicks of Evil Hat

Productions about Spirit of the Century. We also touch on some
previewey stuff for the Dresden Files RPG as well.

This episode is 93 MB big and 1:07:40 long.

00:01:47: What Spirit of the Century is

00:02:22: A public beta for The Dresden Files RPG

00:02:54: FUDGE > FATE > Spirit of the Century > The Dresden Files RPG

00:04:49: Grey Ghost Games

00:05:15: A quick rundown of FATE, FUDGE dice

00:05:53: The Shadow of Yesterday

00:07:19: The skill pyramid, and the reasons for it

00:07:58: Skills in The Dresden Files RPG

00:08:23: Harry Dresden's player min-maxed him

00:08:51: Musashi

00:09:47: Aspects

00:10:00: Amber and Amber Diceless RPG

00:13:01: Seventh Sea

00:13:25: Trollbabe

00:16:01: The compel mechanic

00:16:25: Leonard Balsera

00:17:02: The Dresden Files RPG: Supernaturals driven by their nature by low refresh

00:19:38: Gateway between hippy and trad

00:20:07: Declarations

00:21:00: "The really hippy stuff is the GM advice"

00:24:00: The traditional stuff in the game

00:24:48: Marvel Superheroes RPG

00:25:22: Don't Rest Your Head

00:26:04: Reign and True20

00:27:11: Stunts in The Dresden Files RPG

00:29:26: Stuff in Spirit of the Century as published that does not work

00:31:13: Companions Reloaded in Spirit of the Season

00:31:44: "We suck at playtesting!"

00:32:20: Stress tracks, problems with them

00:34:42: How The Dresden Files RPG fixes stress track problems

00:36:38: Stuff that didn't make it in to Spirit of the Century

00:36:59: The lost dogfighting rules

00:39:19: Clinton R. Nixon on parallel and perpendicular actions

00:41:03: Editioning through new products

00:42:27: Wherein Rob tries to find something Fred hasn't said already elsewhere about the publishing process

00:43:56: Clinton's game, Paladin

00:45:03: iStockphoto and Dover Publications clip art

00:46:56: Why this form factor?

00:47:21: Skill trappings in The Dresden Files RPG

00:47:56: Aberrant and Trinity

00:49:08: Form factor of The Dresden Files RPG

00:49:00: Jennifer Rodgers is doing art in The Dresden Files RPG

00:49:48: Robot from the future, Chad Underkoffler, writing setting in The Dresden Files RPG

00:50:10: My Newark in the Dresdenverse thingie

00:50:51: How do you do marketing? (HAHAHAHAH)

00:54:20: FATAL, an example of a game with its marketing built right in

00:55:11: Dealing with the problematic elements of the pulp genre

00:56:10: Harry Chapin

00:57:15: The point of Spirit of the Century

00:59:26: Bruce Baugh's New Horizons, a socially-conscious Spirit of the Century supplement

00:59:45: Is Spirit of the Century a success?

01:04:09: The secret origins of The Grey Ghost, Jet Black, Max Silver, and Sally Slick

Closing music is Skins Don't Cry by The Hub City Stompers.

Logo courtesy of Daniel Solis: http://danielsolis.com/

Episode 006: Joshua AC Newman on Shock:

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 22:19:00 GMT

In this episode, I interview Joshua AC Newman on his game, Shock: Social Science Fiction. Joshua's a great graphic designer, so in addition to the interesting things he has to say about his game and the design process, he's particularly instructive with regard to the production phase of putting your game out there.

This episode is 91.4 MB big and 01:06:34 long.

02:00: What Shock: is and does

02:45: Alvin Toffler's concept of the future shock (the inspiration for the game's title)

04:12: Issues (as they connect to shocks)

05:09: Resources for shocks and issues

06:26: Beaming ads into your skull bones

07:25: "The world ends a lot."

08:38: GMless

11:55: The ideal number of people to play

12:10: Minutiae

13:21: Ending soliloquy

14:52: Protagonist and antagonist

15:18: Praxes

15:47: How conflicts work and orthogonal stakes

16:18: Story goals

17:54: The way minutiae affect things

19:08: Playing audience

21:04: "This is the first science fiction game!"

23:55: Why did you design this game?

25:02: Philip K. Dick (in case you didn't know)

26:00: Criticisms of Shock: 1.0, Ron Edwards

27:06: Stuff that had to get edited out

27:28: Ubiquitous Primetime Adventures shout-out

28:50: Most useful feedback from playtesters, Thor Olavsrud

29:35: Vincent Baker

30:53: The hardest thing to fix (writing)

34:50: Deciding what printer to use, Fidlar Doubleday Digital Printing and Publishers' Graphics

38:42: Give yourself a month to get something published

39:38: Ben Lehman

40:00: The Forge

44:29: Costs of production

46:35: IPR

47:31: Graphic design/layout challenges

48:34: Emily Care Boss

50:49: Order of operations for layout vs. editing

52:08: Form factor considerations

52:57: Golden rectangle

54:29: Contact by Carl Sagan

57:10: Success

Closing music is Chatterbox by The Hub City Stompers.

Logo courtesy of Daniel Solis: http://danielsolis.com/

Episode 005: Epidiah Ravachol on Dread

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:55:00 GMT

In this episode, I speak with Epidiah Ravachol of The Impossible Dream about Dread.

This episode is 57.5 MB big and 1:02:52 long.

Notes:

02:02: About the game

02:05: Jenga

10:36: Jenga and horror

12:10: Nervousness about running the game

13:08: When your character's out

17:04: Jenga skill

17:29: Multiple sessions

19:15: "I won a freakin' Ennie!"

20:48: Piratecat

22: Sitting with the bigwigs at the Ennies (Robin D. Laws, Brennan Taylor of Indie Press Revolution)

22:52: Goodman Games

23:18: Atomic Sock Monkey Press

24:12: Playstorming at the Imagination Sweatshop

25:15: Kate's Joint in the Lower East Side

29:21: Emily Care Boss on the Fair Game Blog talking about playstorming Sign In Stranger

31:33: Time & Temp at the Imagination Sweatshop

34:02: Voyagers! TV show

37:04: Spirit of the Century has great advice on running a mystery

38:06: Deprotagonizing and horror

41:23: Most useful feedback from playtesters

44:09: What printer to use?

46:28: shock:

47:02: Marketing

47:49: Vegan implications of game publication

52:13: Actual play post from the Adventures in the Land of 1000 Kings session mentioned

57:35: War Eternal, Eppy's story-gamey Warhammer-like game

58:20: Wasabi tamari popcorn recipe

Closing music is Tocatta and Droog by The Hub City Stompers.

Logo courtesy of Daniel Solis: http://danielsolis.com/

Episode 004: Meguey Baker on 1001 Nights

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 05:20:00 GMT

In this interview, I spoke to Meguey Baker of Night Sky Games on about her game 1001 Nights ( http://www.nightskygames.com/ ).

Some background, in case you didn't know: The Arabian Nights ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_One_Thousand_and_One_Nights ).

I'm trying a new time-stamped show notes thing. I don't know how long my patience will hold out for this, but it's worth a shot I figger.

This show is 1:02:11 long and 56.9 MB big.

00:58 -- About the game,

03:25 -- Priorities and the "fake" character

08:03 -- Genesis of the game

08:25 -- Ralph Mazza's Universalis: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/ramshead/

09:15 -- The requisite Primetime Adventures mention: http://www.dog-eared-designs.com/games.html

10:36 -- 1KN & Iraq & Afghanistan

11:10 -- Setting drifting

13:12 -- Games that came from this game?

15:15 -- Joshua A.C. Newman ( http://glyphpress.com/talk/ ) and Ben Lehman ( http://www.tao-games.com/ )

16:07 -- A ruleset you can memorize

17:41 -- Who did you steal from most?

17:48 -- H.J. Ford ( http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/ford/index.html )

18:16 -- Otherkind ( http://web.archive.org/web/20041209151419/http://www.septemberquestion.org/lumpley/other.html )

18:53 -- What got left behind

20:17 -- Sinbad movies ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_7th_Voyage_of_Sinbad )

20:55 -- Playtesting

21:30 -- Emily Care Boss ( http://www.blackgreengames.com/ )

21:12 -- Writing what you're actually doing

22:27 -- Judd Karlman ( http://judd-sonofbert.livejournal.com/ )

23:59 -- The hardest thing to fix

24:46 -- Rules drifting

29:12 -- How art is used in the book

29:19 -- Coloured Fairy Books ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Lang%27s_Fairy_Books )

31:43 -- Primitive by Kevin Allen Jr. ( http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16198&cat=0&page=1 )

31:54 -- Poison'd ( http://goplaynow.org/?p=14 )

32:11 -- Choosing a shape for the book

34:20 -- "The Wrong Heads on the Wrong Bodies" ( http://books.google.com/books?id=2c2ujuioL38C&pg=PA250&lpg=PA250&dq=%22the+wrong+heads+on+the+wrong+bodies%22+fairy&source=web&ots=Ta1POA-NCk&sig=BpN7c6hc8lTYBn_shEiYUHggniY#PPA251,M1 )

36:44 -- Marketing the game

37:10 -- My Life With Master by Paul Czege ( http://www.halfmeme.com/master.html )

37:44 -- The Forge ( http://indie-rpgs.com/ )

38:26 -- What is success for 1001 Nights?

39:00 -- Nathan Paoletta's Carry: A Game About War ( http://www.hamsterprophetproductions.com/wordpress/?page_id=25 )

41:03 -- Shreyas Sampat ( http://swingpad.com/shreyas/blog/ )

43:18 -- Choosing a printer, Collective Copies ( http://www.collectivecopies.com/cchome.html )

44:20 -- Fred Hicks on different ways to get your game printed ( http://drivingblind.livejournal.com/315530.html )

46:57 -- Three other games?

47:39 -- #1: Twist

49:32 -- #2: Miss Schiffer's School for Young Ladies of Quality

49:48 -- Reverse Engineer Challenge ( http://www.kevinallenjr.com/reverseengineer/reversed.html )

50:24 -- Gibson Girls ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_girl )

52:42 -- Committee For the Exploration of Mysteries ( http://ericjboyddesigns.com/The_Committee.aspx )

53:36 -- #3: Intertwined ( scary and hawt! )

54:24 -- Jeepform ( http://jeepen.org/ )

54:54 -- The Fountain ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountain_%28film%29 ) Darren Aronofsky ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darren_Aronofsky )

55:30 -- The Time Traveler's Wife ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Traveler%27s_Wife )

56:25 -- Frotteurism ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frotteurism )

Music by The Hub City Stompers: http://www.hubcitystompers.com/

Logo courtesy of Daniel Solis: http://danielsolis.com/

Episode 003: Julia Bond Ellingboe on Steal Away Jordan

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 22:30:00 GMT

In this episode, I interviewed Julia Bond Ellingboe about her game Steal Away Jordan.

This episode is 59:07 minutes long and 54.1 MB big

Links!

Stone Baby Games (Julia's company): http://www.stone-baby.com/
The Imagination Sweatshop (playstorming): http://imaginationsweatshop.com/?page_id=10
Buffy RPG: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffyverse_role-playing_games
Primetime Adventures: http://www.dog-eared-designs.com/games.html
Fairy Meat: http://www.kenzerco.com/index.php?cPath=34_63
Lumpley Games (Vincent's Baker): http://www.lumpley.com/games/
Ron Edwards' Sorcerer: http://www.sorcerer-rpg.com/
Yahtzee: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahtzee
Spelman College: http://www.spelman.edu/

The episode ends with the Hub City Stompers song WHOLOTTAMULATTO: http://www.hubcitystompers.com/lyrics/wholottamulatto.html

Logo courtesy of Daniel Solis: http://danielsolis.com/

The Independent Insurgency Episode 002: Vincent Baker on In a Wicked Age...

Wed, 9 Jan 2008 17:10:00 GMT

In this episode, I talk with Vincent Baker of Lumpley Games about his upcoming game, In a Wicked Age, which will be released at Dreamation 2008, in late January. I was so excited, I couldn't wait for my preproscribed deadline this Saturday.

The show is 01:10:38 long and 64.6 MB big.

Links:

Lumpley Games (Vincent's company): http://www.lumpley.com/games/
- There you will find links for In a Wicked Age..., Dogs in the Vineyard, Poison'd, Mechaton, and kill puppies for satan.
Dreamation 2008: http://www.dexposure.com/d2008.html
Conan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_the_Barbarian
Tanith Lee: http://www.tanithlee.com/
- Tales From The Flat Earth: http://www.enotes.com/salem-lit/tales-from-flat-earth
Jack Vance: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Vance
- Lyonesse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyonesse
Drew Baker: http://www.drewbaker.com/
Joshua A.C. Newman:
- Joshua A.C. Newman Design: http://joshuanewmandesign.com/
- The Glyphpress http://glyphpress.com/
Cheap & Cheesy Fantasy Game (via the waybackmachine): http://web.archive.org/web/20050909010740/http://www.septemberquestion.org/lumpley/cnc.html
Clinton R. Nixon:
- CRN Games: http://crngames.com/
- The Fantasy Oracle generator for AG&G/IaWA: http://crngames.com/oracle
Grey Ranks: http://www.bullypulpitgames.com/games/index.php?game=grey_ranks
Play Collective: http://playcollective.org/
Ashcan Front: http://ashcanfront.net/
Ron Edwards' Sorcerer: http://www.sorcerer-rpg.com/
Black and Green Games (Emily Care Boss): http://www.blackgreengames.com/
Tony Dowler: http://tony.dowler.com/
Troels's fixes for IaWA: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=25173.0
Judd Karlman:
- Livejournal: http://judd-sonofbert.livejournal.com/
- Paka's Thread Games: http://www.bobgoat.com/mu/
Durham 3 (Jason Morningstar, Clinton R. Nixon, Remi Treur): http://www.durham3.com/
Agon (John Harper): http://www.agon-rpg.com/
Night Sky Games's 1001 Nights (Meguey Baker): http://www.nightskygames.com/
Collective Copies: http://www.collectivecopies.com/cchome.html
TAO Games (Ben Lehman): http://www.tao-games.com/
Lulu: http://lulu.com/
The Forge RPG Bookshelf: http://bookshelf.indie-rpgs.com/
RPGNow: http://www.rpgnow.com/
Anna Kreider: http://wundergeek.blogspot.com/
Ed Heil: http://esotericmurmurs.blogspot.com/
My Life with Master (Paul Czege): http://www.halfmeme.com/master.html
Ars Magica: http://www.atlas-games.com/arsmagica/

Logo courtesy of Daniel Solis: http://danielsolis.com/

The Independent Insurgency Episode 001: Judd Karlman on 1st Quest

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 02:40:00 GMT

This is my first show, and Judd Karlman (designer of Dictionary of Mu and a member of the Sons of Kryos podcast) came on to talk about his Young Adult fantasy hack of The Shadows of Yesterday, entitled 1st Quest.

Judd's awesome and so is this episode. I'm so glad he's on the first one.

This episode is 48.3 MB big and 00:52:46 long. Here are the relevant show notes:

Hub City Stompers: http://hubcitystompers.com
The Dictionary of Mu: http://www.bobgoat.com/mu/
The Sons of Kryos: http://www.sonsofkryos.com/
Birthright: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthright_%28campaign_setting%29
Rob Donoghue (Evil Hat Games): http://evilhat.com/
Days of Wonder: http://www.daysofwonder.com/
The Shadow of Yesterday: http://crngames.com/the_shadow_of_yesterday/
Keith Senkowski: http://www.bobgoat.com/
Ralph Mazza (Ramshead Publishing): http://www.indie-rpgs.com/ramshead/
Sorcerer: http://www.sorcerer-rpg.com/
Philip Pullman: http://www.philip-pullman.com/
Thor Oluvsrud and Luke Crane (Burning Wheel): http://burningwheel.org/
Thor Oluvsrud (blog): http://urdwell.blogspot.com/
FATE RPG: http://faterpg.com/
Wraith: The Oblivion: http://www.white-wolf.com/Games/Pages/Wraithhome.html
The Riddle of Steel: http://www.theriddleofsteel.net/
Ron Edwards (Adept Press): http://www.adept-press.com/
The Forge playtesting forum: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?board=62.0
Aaron Kuder: http://www.comicspace.com/aaronkuder/ and http://dancingdoorguy.deviantart.com/
Riddle of Blood Yahoo Group: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/TRoB/

Logo courtesy of Daniel Solis: http://danielsolis.com/