Narrative Control

Welcome back to Narrative Control.  This episode Eric and I talk about what do when a player Freezes up at the table.  This idea came to us from Rob Donoghue’s blog post of the same name: Freeze (http://rdonoghue.blogspot.com/2010/07/freeze.html) Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric Fattig Length: 21:50 Show Notes [00:00] My silly wanna-be cop intro. [00:28] Intro to the show. What to do at the table when someone freezes up at the table. [01:21] Our backlog of Rob topics from his blog: http://rdonoghue.blogspot.com/ [02:23] What to do at the table when someone freezes up? [02:59] Reasons people freeze up: Asked to make an important decision (analysis paralysis) or if a player is put on the spotlight to role-play when they aren’t ready for it. [04:00] A natural reaction to seeing someone freeze: Try to help, try to get the game started back up again. [05:46] Rule #1: Shut your pie hole [07:10] Rule #2: A little patience won’t kill you. [07:44] Take the time when someone freezes to reflect on what’s going on in the ga

Welcome back to Narrative Control.  Fattig and I are back this episode talking about creative constraints.  We went old school on this one, back to an episode of Have Games Will Travel  in 2006 where two of my favorite Pauls were talking about it.  Well, before I get a head of myself, listen to the show!Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric FattigLength: 28:50[00:27] Intro to the show. Two cons you should go to if you can:  DresdenCon – July 10th at EndGame in Oakland:  http://www.endgameoakland.com/dresdacon/ Good Omens Con 4 – July 17th also at EndGame in Oakland: http://www.goodomensgames.com/gocon[02:01] Boom! You’re in a room with nothing to do.  Of course Fattig figures something out![03:00] Creative constraints the stimulus to give your game texture and context.  [03:39] The conversation we’re continuing.  An interview with Paul Tevis and Paul Czege: http://www.havegameswilltravel.net/index.php?post_id=79107[05:33] Why constraints? How are they going to help you game?[06:24] Why I’m afraid of games without cons

Narrative Control episode 43: David Mamet’s drama.    Fattig and I are talking about a letter written by David Mamet to the writers of The Unit about creating drama in every scene.  Good stuff!  I found this because Josh Roby linked it on twitter.  Here’s the article: http://www.movieline.com/2010/03/david-mamets-memo-to-the-writers-of-the-unit.php Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric Fattig Length: 25:08 Post Feedback Here: Comments

Welcome back to Narrative Control.  This episode Fattig and I are talking about getting games off the rails.  Whether its intentional or accidental, if the gamers are frustrated by the lack of influence the players have, here are some things we think help. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric Fattig Length: 27:52 Show Notes  [00:26] Intro to the show. A response to my own LJ post about railroading and the frustration it causes both players and the GM: http://seannittner.livejournal.com/92349.html[01:48] Best game EVAR! Let me tell you what you do Fattig. [03:01] This story sucks. Blame Nittner for it.[03:55] Sometimes games get so heavily scripted that the players lose their voice in the game.[04:32] Tour de Thea 7th Sea module example.[05:34] The players perspective: surprising and frustrating. [06:34] Benefits of a strong story structure for players: Clear direction. Support from the GM if they follow that direction.[07:30] What does the GM get? Best case scenario: Telling an awesome story. Worst case: A giant head

Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control. This episode I yoinked an excerpt from Things We Think About Games.  “Take Your Turn Already”Hosts: Sean Nittner and Eric Fattig Length: 25:08 [00:26] Intro to the Show and to Eric Fattig [00:44] Open Design Podcast Promo [01:18] Welcome 2010 and some bad audio (it gets better soon) [01:35] I love introducing my co-hosts wrong.  Eric Fattig takes the stage. [02:10] “Take Your Turn Already” – From Things We Think About Games  by Will Hindmarch  and Jeff Tidball.  Also, the audio improves here. [02:51] Reading time with Sean [03:24] Classic board game example: Placing settlements in Settlers of Catan [04:57] How this applies to role-playing games.  Mechanical stumbling blocks in crunchy games. [05:22] This still happens in rules-light games as players hesitate over choices about what to do regarding their character and the plot. [05:37] Sean’s loathes planning sessions.   John Wick’s “Dirty Dungeon” from Wilderness of Mirrors. [06:22] Our L5R game runs in a round robin

This episode Erik Woodbury and I are talking about character death and how that affects the players in the game and the story ramifications.    This was inspired by an article from Judd Karlman on the Burning Wheel forums.Hosts: Sean Nittner and Erik WoodburyLength: 27:15Show Notes[00:27] Intro to the Show.   My celebration of holiday cheer.  Our thoughts on how to make Character death more satisfying in game.[01:44] What’s up Justin?  I mean an intro to Erik Woodbury.[02:38] Judd’s post.  A discussion took place on both his LiveJournal here: http://judd-sonofbert.livejournal.com/462520.html and the Burning Wheel forum thread here:  http://www.burningwheel.org/forum/showthread.php?p=76980#post76980[03:00] An excerpt from Judd’s post.[03:55] Putting Erik on the spot.  Characters of his that have died.[04:44] What character death means to Sean? The end of player agency in the story.[05:11] Agency is the ultimate currency in any RPG.  Doing stuff is what makes it fun.[05:35] Erik recalls his character’s “death”[

This show Justin and I are talking about a method of giving players the ability to do some more of the story crafting in traditional games.   Asking questions as actions in game. Length: 22:49 Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans Links:  Virtual Play #34 (http://virtualplay.podbus.com/?p=66) Post Feedback Here: Comments

We’re talking about trust at the game table.  How much do you need trust your fellow players? Does the game you’re playing change how much trust you need? What games address trust around the table? Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans Length: 23:04 Show Notes [00:28] Introduction to the show.  Continuing a conversation from Josh Rensch’s blog gmwithadd.com[00:45] Woops. This was supposed to be episode 35. [01:24] Sorry Josh, this impersonation was made before we met.  [01:37] Amorphous Blobcast Promo[02:26] Josh Rensch is a cool dude.  He sent me stuff.[03:00] He’s continuing the conversation on his blog… and hey, so are we in Season 2.[03:56] Josh’s conversation with Fear the Boot.[04:18] An excerpt from his post.  Done in my best “badass” voice.[05:18] A little present for BG_Meg[06:12] My first impression of Trust – Cheating in the game.  It doesn’t bother me.[06:54] It is more nuanced that just cheating on dice rolls though.[07:20] John Wick talks about why we shouldn’t need rules to handle cheaters in g

This week Justin and I talked about Exploring the Premise, taking time out of the game for exposition about the setting, the characters and their place in the story.  This episode continues a conversation we found on Rob Donoghue LiveJournal post of the same name here: http://rob-donoghue.livejournal.com/328884.html Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans Length: 26:45 Show Notes [00:28] Intro to the show – a response to Rob’s LiveJournal entry.[00:55] Definition of the Premise in a story.[01:18] Super Intelligent Hamsters![01:41] Justin reads the first paragraph of Rob’s entry.[02:55] What we imagine Rob sounds like.[03:12] Sean’s argument with a friend about exploring the premise vs. facing conflicts.[08:55] Exploring the premise is there to give the audience (the players in this case) a chance to learn about the characters and settings and begin to care about them.[10:02] A unique situation in a role-playing game.  Each player is contributing to the premise, which requires it to stay flexible.[11:54] Another

Hi, and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week’s episode was a bit delayed.  Justin and I both went to GenCon last week and my recovery time is not what it would have been 10 years ago.  But here the episode is, edited and with better audio quality than the last (cheating on account of the fact that the last one was recording at a con).  This week Justin and I are talking about one of John Wicks’s Play Dirty videos.  John, as always, has some great ideas, thing we wanted to expand on, specifically playing to fail, or in other words “Dare to be stupid.” Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans Length: 25:04 Show Notes [00:27] Intro to the show and a super short GenCon review.[01:05] Promo for White Wolf blogcast: http://eddyfate.podbean.com/[01:33] A failed roll.  Wait. I still find Lando?[02:47] Inspired by John Wicks’s Play Dirty Video: Players, Players Everywhere (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww5wWoap_uQ)[04:20] Succeeding all the time doesn’t make for a good story.  Heroes aren’t de-protagonized by fa

This week’s episode was recorded in EndGame at Oakland during Good Omens Con 3 in July 18th.  Paul Tevis, author of A Penny for My Thoughts played a game of Penny Justin and me and then recorded interview with us about the game.  And now you have it… the story behind Penny. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans Guest Host: Paul Tevis Length: 37:55 Show Notes [00:25] Intro to the show, an interview with Paul Tevis at Good Omens Con.[01:49] Excerpt from “A Penny for My Thoughts” from the Orphic Institute[04:19] The rules are simple, but this piece shows “how” to play this game.[05:18] Design decision: A book that could teach you the game during play.[06:33] The three ingredients for Penny at Game Chef: Currency, Memory and Drug.[07:43] Penny is a very procedural game, so the rules can unfold as you’re playing it.[07:59] The trick is making it fun.  Memory triggers and presenting the rules in the fiction.[10:09] Everyone sitting at the table is playing.  One player takes the role of the Reader, but they still pla

Welcome back to Narrative Control – Season Two!  Justin and I took a two month sabbatical to reflect on season one and plan for the new material.    This week we’re brining you Ira Glass.  He has a few Youtube videos up on storytelling that both Justin and I really enjoyed.  Here’s our take on how his advice applies to gaming. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans Length: 26:14 Show Notes [00:32]  Welcome back to Narrative Control.  [01:07] Preview of Season two.  What is the new season all about?[02:16] Intro to this episode: Storytelling by Ira Glass (of This American Life)[02:49] Links to all four clips of Ira: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4[03:27] An excerpt from Ira’s clip. The building blocks of a story.[04:19] Our discussion on the antidote.  In RPGs the antidote is a sequence of scenes.[04:59] Made more complicated by every player acting as a storyteller and a protagonist.[07:07] Sons of Kryos talked about “weaving” threads together. [09:31] Passing scenes around like a hot potato. SoK talked about

Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This episode marks the end of Season 1 and offers a glimpse into Season 2.   Following that is the combined mistakes we've made over the last 10 months in a long series of bloopers.  Warning, many of these cuts were originally made because of profanity, so this episode is most definately explicit. Not safe for work or kids. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans Length: 23:09 Show Notes Sorry, not for this.  The first five minutes is a wrap up of Season 1 and intro Season 2.  The next twenty is nothing but bloopers.  Post Feedback Here: Comments

Hey all.  This week is a little long.  We’ve got two guests on the show, a convention to talk about and secrets to spill.  Check it! Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans Guest Hosts: Shaun Hayworth and Kirstin Hayworth Warning: TMD + Con + NC = Swearing.  Lots of it.  Not safe for work (or kids) Length: 38:49 [00:27] Intro to the show.  We’re at Kublacon with Shaun and Kristin from This Modern Death to talk about secrets in games.[00:41] Where did I just wake up?[01:31] Talking about secrets and segues. [02:07] The games we’ve been in and how they handle secrets.  [02:33] Sean’s Game – The Gift.  Lots of secrets.  We kept them secret from the players and I think it could have been improved if the players knew in advanced.  Actual Play write up here: http://wildljduck.livejournal.com/67833.html (scroll down a bit)[05:29] How did the secrets get revealed.  Some were pushed for, others revealed to just some players,  and one I revealed in the middle of the game. Thus leading to what should have been a secret: A

This week Justin and I are talking about timelines in games (flashbacks and flash forwards) and out (campaign length, how to end games, etc). Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans Length: 28:26 [00:27] Intro to the show. Talking about timelines in game and out.[00:49] Telling stories about our characters.[01:50] One way to tell stories in game is to use flash backs or flash forwards[2:00] Justin pains me with a discussion of Lost[03:10] Talking about timelines on two levels. Flashing back and flashing forward [03:30] We display our ignorance to games who incorporate time manipulation in their games.[03:58] A LARP that flashed back and flashed forward throughout.  They worked from the far future and past closer to the present.[06:15] This allows you to start on a very dramatic note.  Starting with tension in the present by using Flashbacks to explain how you got there.[06:52] Flashbacks are very useful for fleshing out the backstory.[07:14] Starting with a normal scene and flashing back (or forward)

Welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week Justin and I respond to a old post by Vincent Baker on suspense, what cause it and how to add it to a game. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans Length: 25:08 Show Notes[00:28] Intro to the show.  What causes suspense in stories and how to recreate that in your games.[00:39] RPGPodcast.com promo[00:47] Do you ever doubt Jack Bauer will stop the terrorist in 24?[01:43] What do we learn about in the first 23 hours?[02:10] The question isn’t will he make it, but what does he have to do to get there.[02:24] I didn’t think of this.  I read it on Vincent Baker’s blog. [02:49] Suspense: What will the protagonist have to go through and how will they change?Techniques we have used to create suspense[03:33] Setting stakes that are not directly tied to the character goals.   Make the stakes involve the cost of success. Thank you Mario Brothers and Jim Butcher.[05:18] Negotiating the stakes between GM and the players.[05:56] Using dice cups to prolong the suspense.  Yup, we

This week Justin and I talk about icebreakers, exercise and games to remove inhibitions and get everyone’s creative minds moving. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans Length [28:25] [00:26] Intro to the show. Talking about icebreakers, getting people comfortable playing together.[00:54] RPGPodcats.com Promo[01:05] Did you go to band camp?[02:01] Why do we care about camp? Oh yeah, because we can rip off ideas from them.[02:55] Links to camp games: http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activities/common-ground-icebreakers.page-1.html, http://www.humanpingpongball.com/[03:39] Games at Gamestorm – camp style[04:39] Scalagrim the Barbarian Prince.  Our Icebreaker routine.[05:22] Part 1 - The Tale of Woe. Practicing “Yes, and…”  (a little over two minutes)[08:17] Part 2 – The Epic Journey.  Practicing reading other players flags and sharing the spotlight. (just over a minute)[10:41] Part 3 – The Oracle’s Answer. Practicing not interrupting each other and being flexible. (about a minute and a half) (Total t

Justin and I heard an episode of HGWT:FAFGM (#34) about structuring stories in RPGs and thought “Huh”.  Here’s the 25 minutes that followed our monosyllabic revelation. Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans Length: 25:35 [00:28] Introduction to the show.  Talking about story structure. Hippies vs. Engineers.[00:57] Survey: http://www.spookyouthouse.com/survey[01:19] Have Games Will Travel: For a Few Games More: #34.  Story structures. [01:56] Dirty Hippies and Stinking Engineers[02:11] Story Structure: A pattern that we fall into or actively follow when telling stories. [02:47] Hippies: The original gamers playing moment to moment and allowing story to follow from their actions.   Allowing for more surprises, creativity, and immersion.[05:07] Engineers:  A gamer who wants to structure their game and drive towards specific goals in each game.[07:02] Games with known ends: Grey Ranks, Roanake, Polaris.  These games are one step closer to being engineered.[07:36] Montsegur 1244 is very structured.  A story told i

This week on Narrative Control Paul Strack, Mike Parker and I talk about monsters in 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons and what we’ve learned from the designers of the game. Hosts: Sean Nittner Guest Hosts: Michael Parker and Paul Strack Length: 27:04 Show Notes: [00:30] Intro to the show.  A sit down with Paul Strack and Mike Parker to talk about how 4E got monsters right.[00:49] A RPG Podcast Survey:  http://www.spookyouthouse.com/survey[01:14] Intro to the guys… some portion of Good Omens (http://www.goodomensgames.com)[01:35] Planning the next Good Omens Convention – July 18th.  http://www.goodomensgames.com/index.php/con/[02:13] 4th Edition does Minions really well.  Seen in other games: Feng Shui, 7th Sea but usually they never pose a threat.[03:15] Not the way mooks are depicted in fiction, which is to heighten the tension of the story.[03:50] Mike’s use of Minions to shake up a fight and change expectations.[04:30] The difference is that in other games, everything about a minion is scaled down so not o

Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  Here's a snippet I cut from last episode about PDF vs. Print media.  It seems like a good conversation to be having right now. Hosts: Sean Nittner, Justin EvansGuests Hosts: Shaun Hayworth, Kristin Sullivan Length: 9:29 Show NotesCheck out the Podcast Survey at: http://www.spookyouthouse.com/surveyPost Feedback here: Comments