We're a group of podcasters who have at least one thing in common: We talk (at least a little) about roleplaying games. We might talk about what we're playing at our tables, about what's going on the industry, or about what we've learned that might help others improve their games. We might even talk about other things besides roleplaying games! Explore this site and find out more about our shows.
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Master Plan is a podcast on the subject of game design and the art of ideas, particularly for role playing, card and board games. Hosted by freelance writer Ryan Macklin, the podcast comes out at least once a month. You can expect interviews with game designers -- both professional and amateur -- as well as advice and news about game design.
| Episode Name | Time | Release Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Plan #53: Monica Valentinelli, FlamesRising.com, Dos & Don'ts of Horror Design | 19:43 | 10/23/2009 | This month being the month of all things horror, Ryan gets together with Monica Valentielli of Flames Rising to talk about some basic things to consider when designing a horror game. The folks at Flames Rising really know their horror, so it's no surprise that Monica's full of... |
| Master Plan #52: Reincorporation | 08/11/2009 | Ryan talks about reincorporation from a design perspective. And he's going to write proper show notes later, when he's not packing for GenCon. | |
| Master Plan #51: Pacing Mechanics part 2, Campaign Level | 19:21 | 07/21/2009 | Continuing the series on pacing mechanics, Ryan talks about campaign-level pacing systems. He revisits D&D, as having a loose sense of pacing based on the setting material linked to various character levels. Afterward, he talks at length about Polaris, as a prime example of an... |
| Master Plan #50: Paul Tevis on Text Presentation, A Penny For My Thoughts | 19:30 | 06/30/2009 | On this fiftieth episode of Master Plan, Ryan talks with Paul Tevis about text production and his new book, A Penny For My Thoughts. Given that Ryan worked with Paul on the game by developing and editing it, it’s not a standard interview -- they talk about it as insiders sharing... |
| Master Plan #49: Pacing Mechanics part 1, Refresh Scale | 15:51 | 06/19/2009 | Ryan sits down for another episode, this one kicking off a series about pacing mechanics. To start off, he talked about there being some broad, different types of pacing mechanics, and focuses on one in particular: the "refresh scale" mechanics -- those that happen then resources... |
| Master Plan #48: Chad Underkoffler on Setting Design, Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies | 18:04 | 06/04/2009 | On this episode, Ryan sits down with Chad Underkoffler about designing setting (and, in some respects, writing in general) with his latest release, Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies. They touch on how the setting for this setting-rich book was conceived, fleshed out, and trimmed down... |
| Master Plan #47: Tangibility in Mechanics | 16:11 | 05/12/2009 | After an unintended hiatus, Ryan's back with an episode about something near and dear to his heart -- thinking about the tangible qualities that mechanics have. He talks about how people should be looking at what their mechanics are causing players to do with their hands, because... |
| Master Plan #46: Designing Epic-Scale Games with Josh Roby Part 2, and Power of Names | 13:15 | 03/25/2009 | On this episode, we continue the discussion with Josh Roby about making epic-scale games, with the third of three points: respect, from the point of view of a game respecting its own epic conceit and NPCs respecting epic-scale PCs. Josh also gives an interesting answer to Ryan... |
| Master Plan #45: Designing Epic-Scale Games with Josh Roby, Part 1 | 14:34 | 03/13/2009 | This week, Ryan talks with Josh Roby about designing games that support & address epic-scale play -- that is, games that have a grand, dramatic scope as a main part of their premise. The interview ran long, as they covered three points they felt were core by contrasting Josh's... |
| Master Plan #44: Ryan's Rules of Playtesting | 02/28/2009 | Still in the post-Dreamation afterglow, Ryan responds to a question asked by friend of the show Remi Treuer, where he asks to hear more about Ryan's playtest process in light of seeing it in action at Dreamation. What he comes up with is something he calls his "Rules of... |