Advertise on podcast: RPG Design Panelcast

Recorded at Metatopia 2025 Presented by Geoff Engelstein Loss aversion is a core effect in human psychology. Simply stated, losses make people feel worse than gains make them feel better. In other words, the negative emotions from losing $100 are stronger than the positive emotions from gaining $100; about twice as strong according to a variety of experiments. The fundamental aspect of loss aversion to human psychology is very deep, and touches a wide variety of phenomena, most of which are directly relevant to game design.

Recorded at Metatopia 2025 Presented by Ted Hayes  In this panel, we introduce  a practical, visual way to understand how your game's systems connect. We'll explore a simple framework for representing events, quantities, and states as nodes in a graph, and see how these diagrams can quickly reveal opportunities for adding and improving mechanics. The session will be hands-on, with time to sketch and share graphs, so you leave with both a clear methodology and a new perspective on your design.

Recorded at Metatopia 2025 Presented by Meguey and Vincent Baker Every game is based on some underlying models of our social reality. In this panel, we will discuss how to think about these models and how they will affect the games you create, with Apocalypse World as a working example.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Meguey Baker Games and stories have told us that life is nasty, brutish and short, while the true story of human society is built on solidarity and empathy. In this panel, we will discuss how we can come together and care for each other in games and in life. Note that this panel was originally focused more on world building, inspired by some of the excellent posts by Meguey on her blog at https://lumpley.games/2022/11/28/follow-the-thread-a-worldbuilding-guide/

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Curt Covert Self-Publishing is not for everyone, nor is opening a small business as a board game publisher. We will discuss why this is the case and then, for the undaunted, discuss the challenges, pitfalls to avoid, best practices for success and planning for managed growth. Bring your questions.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Stephanie Bryant and Melissa Lewis-Gentry What's Agile and why would I use it? Join us for a quick overview of Agile principles and practices that can help you tune your game design process into more flexible, powerful, and satisfying ways of working, whether you're a solo designer or leader of an entire team.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Melissa Lewis-Gentry Usability is often thought of in game design after mechanics or systems have been developed. User experience design doesn't have to be an afterthought. This panel will go over design frameworks centering player interaction with the game itself.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Meguey Baker, Meri Baker The Bakers lead this panel which will focus on how a family or close friends can share the experience of game design, for better or worse.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Jason Pitre Over the last decade, board game designers have recognized the need to have additional, procedural-driven opponents for challenge the players. The term "Automa" was coined in the 2013 game "Viticulture" by Stonemaier Games. In this panel, we will discuss the basics on how to design such procedural foes and share some advice on how to include them in your own games.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Geoff Engelstein This session will go over the core processes and skills required for successful game design. While intended for people in the early stages of their design journey, we welcome designers of all skill levels to refresh their toolkit and provide valuable alternative real-world experience to other attendees.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Avonelle Wing and Nicholas Ambrose My first question when someone tells me they're self-publishing a game is "What are your goals?" Sometimes, the answer is "I just want to know someone out there is playing it."  Often times, though, designers are knee-deep in designing their One True Game, have sunk countless hours and funds into the process, and want it "in every game store across the country! And Target too!" For a single-title publisher, that's nearly unheard of. If you can name an exception, it proves the rule. So, join me for a discussion of what the 3-tier system is and why you should hold it in mind as a designer-publisher.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Jason Pitre, Moth Rodriguez  and Lauren Don't crowd-fund if you don't want to run a small business. Publishing requires accounting. Filing for taxes can be messy. Join our expert(s) for a discussion of all the little things that might trip you up if you don't have a business adult, or someone who's willing to learn the ropes, on the team.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Jason Pitre Law, like game design, is fundamentally about guiding human behavior. If you don't want people to resolve their problems with axes, you create a rule saying axe-murder is not acceptable or find a way to prevent people from having axes. In this panel, we will discuss how games treat law, governance, and society and what lessons those real world subjects can hold for designers.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Samphire Savage & Meguey Baker Sexy role play has likely existed as long as we have been getting it on. So what makes a game a sex game, and why write them? We willl explore common themes and design concepts in existing sex/sexy games, common pitfalls and risks in sex game design, and ways sex themes can support or derail design goals.

Presented at Metatopia 2024 Hosted by Amanda Valentine, Lisa Padol You’ve probably heard that you should hire an editor for your game project, but why? What can an editor do for you? How do you hire one and how do you work with one? Bring all of your questions to this AMA and our experts will be happy to talk with you.