On our penultimate episode, Kristian and Tracy tackle the topic of feedback and criticism. How to seek it, how to take it, and how to give it.

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The Han Cluster® Role Playing Game Website: https://hancluster.com [https://hancluster.com/]
Immaterial Plane: https://immaterialplane.com/

Problem #37: Criticism

This week, Kristian and Tracy meander through the topic of genre, but more specifically, how to facilitate creating the stories you want to tell. Though we use genre as a medium to do that, we also use other tropes, mechanics, and even expectations (whether we meet them or subvert them) to not just tell, but SHOW our players and their heroes what our game is all about. 

Join our discord!: https://discord.gg/Bc9dvuzZYJ
The Han Cluster® Role Playing Game Website: https://hancluster.com [https://hancluster.com/]
Immaterial Plane: https://immaterialplane.com/

Problem #36: Genre

This week, Kristian and Tracy invite virtual table top guru, developer, and overall awesome guy, Chris Valentine to talk about the promise and perils of virtual table tops. The discussion ranges from what's out there, what's possible, what's doable, and what perhaps is too much. We talk about VTTs from a designer's perspective, and what we need to do to get our work into module format, how they get developed for the various platforms, pricing, and more.

Join our discord!: https://discord.gg/Bc9dvuzZYJ
The Han Cluster® Role Playing Game Website: https://hancluster.com [https://hancluster.com/]
Immaterial Plane: https://immaterialplane.com/

Problem #35: Virtual Table Tops

This week, Kristian and Tracy are joined by the amazing Karl Keesler. Karl is a graphic designer by trade, and has been the designer for several PInnacle Entertainment books for Savage Worlds, including Pinebox Middle School, Lost Colony, Holler, Deadlands, the companions and many more. He also created the trade dress for Han Cluster, and for Kristian and Jen's upcoming Campaign Cartomancy. We talk to Karl about the purpose and importance of creating a cohesive look for your product, how to approach and communicate with a graphic designer, and a few other tricks and tidbits.

Join our discord!: https://discord.gg/Bc9dvuzZYJ
The Han Cluster® Role Playing Game Website: https://hancluster.com [https://hancluster.com/]
Immaterial Plane: https://immaterialplane.com/

Problem #34: Graphic Design

This week, Darrell Hayhurst joins Kristian and Tracy once again, this time to talk about creating archetypes for your setting. Who are the characters who inhabit and accomplish things in your setting? How do they do it? And why? Archetypes can jumpstart a player's immersion into your world, and doing it well takes a number of sometimes conflicting factors into account.

Join our discord!: https://discord.gg/Bc9dvuzZYJ
The Han Cluster® Role Playing Game Website: https://hancluster.com [https://hancluster.com/]
Immaterial Plane: https://immaterialplane.com/

Problem #33: Creating Archetypes

Kristian and Tracy are joined by Darrell Hayhurst in what will be two sister episodes. This week we talk about tailoring your rules to your setting. How to make them work together, compliment each other, and reinforce the intent and theme of the game. The rules of the setting can make a GMs life easier, while also immersing players into a particular world simply by interacting with what the rules of the world encourage them to do. Most of all, we talk about how to make them fun. Next week we'll continue the discussion as we explore the creation of archetypes.

Join our discord!: https://discord.gg/Bc9dvuzZYJ
The Han Cluster® Role Playing Game Website: https://hancluster.com [https://hancluster.com/]
Immaterial Plane: https://immaterialplane.com/

Problem #32: The Rules of the Setting

Tracy and Kristian tackle the daunting problem of getting your project to the finish line. Executing that last 10% is many ways harder than the first 90%, and this is just as true in game production as it is in project management or engineering. After discussing the problem in depth, Tracy and Kristian have some valuable tips you can employ that can help make that final 10% easier.

Join our discord!: https://discord.gg/Bc9dvuzZYJ
The Han Cluster® Role Playing Game Website: https://hancluster.com [https://hancluster.com/]
Immaterial Plane: https://immaterialplane.com/

Problem #31: The Final 10%

This week Kristian takes center stage as he and Tracy talk about creating a web presence for your brand. Tracy admits all her failings in this regard, and Kristian gets on his soapbox about not using social media as your company's primary residence on the web. We offer some tips and action items to provide focus to your efforts and maybe make this difficult endeavor a TAD less daunting... but no promises!

Problem #30: Caught in a Web

This week, Kristian an Tracy follow on from last episode and talk about playtesting your game. When do you start? What does "fail faster" mean? What is most and least valuable about the process, when is it best to participate yourself, and when should you just shut up and watch? Everyone does it differently, but this is a look at the subject with no assumptions and fresh eyes as we try to justify our answers with real-world experience.

Problem #29: Playtesting

This week, Kristian and Tracy discuss the sometimes (but not always) contradictory goals of creating a game that we think will sell, versus creating the game we want to play. It's a nuanced topic and in our weird industry of creating "experiences," trying to find a balance between these two goals sometimes leads to difficult and risky decisions.

The Han Cluster PreOrder Store! - https://han-cluster.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Join our discord!: https://discord.gg/Bc9dvuzZYJ
The Han Cluster® Role Playing Game Website: https://hancluster.com [https://hancluster.com/]
Immaterial Plane: https://immaterialplane.com/

Problem #28: A Game to Play or a Game to Sell?

Hosts Kristian Serrano and Tracy Sizemore explore the ins and outs of RPG design, production and publishing. We cover the entire process from the creative woes of working on your own game or setting, to your decision to share it with the world, to the details of layout, working with artists and running a crowdfunding campaign.

Designing Problems