Tag Archives: feedback

Feedback Is Back.


It’s been a very long time since I posted any podcast feedback.  Mainly because I had not been listening to any podcasts nor when I did, was not able to take notes.  Feedback was the reason for starting this blog.  It’s about time I returned to it.  So here we go.

A lot of these are old podcasts so bear with me.

I have to begin with Pulp Gamer – Out of Character.  Don and the gang were very supportive of me beginning Go Forth And Game.  I’ll begin with the ‘Games To Be Thankful For’ episode.  There was a lot of mention of ‘The Canon of The Game’ and sticking to or not sticking to it.  In keeping with the theme here are some games I’m thankful for:  Memoir ’44, Homesteaders, Macao, Fiasco, FATE.

They did an episode on Crime in Games.  Leverage was one that was mentioned.  I’ve never seen the TV show it is based on but from their description and those of others, this is one I need to check out.  When people talk about crime in games, especially rpg’s, I immediately think of Fiasco.  I LOVE this game.  I really need to do a review.

Narrative Control 56 covered change in your characters and how to deal with it.  Characters changing during a game or especially a campaign is something to expect.  Characters should grow.  Players should be willing to seriously consider change and where that change can lead.  Change can result in some really cool stories.  As an example my character Jind in our Diaspora game changed radically during character creation from my original idea of him.  And that change has had a major impact on the game.

Narrative Control 57 was about Apocalypse World, Vincent Baker’s newest game.  There has been a lot of buzz on this game, both good and negative.  One of the main points I picked up was that AW tells the players how to play.  This is an interesting thing and generated a lot of discussion in the show.  It seems so simple that we overlook or assume that the game has done this.  But some games don’t.  I appreciated them bringing this out.  I will use it for ‘comatose’ or what ever it will be called.  Another thing they liked about AW was the inclusion of examples of bad play or how not to play.  What a good idea.  All in all the show made me want to check out this game, if only for the GM advice and to see another way to write an rpg.  Note: AW seems like a good game to do a Thundarr game.

I rediscovered Reasonable Faith.  This is a podcast by Christian apologist William Lane Craig.  This is always an excellent podcast that makes me think.  I will do a proper feedback in another post.

I listened to a Please Convince Me show too.  I will cover it in the same post as Reasonable Faith.

The Game Kennel covered Tigris & Euphrates.  I have played it once and really like it.  The Pulpsters do a good job of covering T&E.  It is a deep game, a thinky game.  There is a lot to keep up with and remember.  They are right that you need multiple plays to get your head around it.  I like it and it is on the Buy List.

Voice of The Revolution covered Monsters And Other Childish Things.  This sounds like a fun game.  What really interests me is the One Role Engine (ORE) system it uses.  ORE is a rich dice system in which a single roll of the dice yields more than just a number.  It uses all aspects of the dice.  Pip number of each die, dice color, doubles, high/low – information you can garner from one roll of the dice.  This idea fascinates me.  Wringing all the information you can from your mechanics and props is an awesome idea.  I’m using it in a couple of game I’m developing – The Survivor, The Accused, and The Gold Rush.  This idea streamlines a game and enables you to do a lot more with what you have.  Look for more on this in a future post.

I’m listening more regularly now so more feedback is coming. That’s about it for now.

Go Forth And Game,

tomg

 

Bits And Pieces


I’m trying to catch up on feedback today so here are a few things that have been going on or that I will expand on later.

Game Design update:

  • Comatose is coming along well.  I solved a major issue that I didn’t even know I had until playtesting and playing Fiasco – Story advancement mechanic.  I think I have a built in solution for this.
  • The Gold Rush – static right now as I concentrate on Comatose
  • The Interman Game – I may have Photoshop back up soon so this one will be  ready playtesting soon.
  • Becky Sharp/Lorna Doone DeLongpre – Lorna comics should be out soon according to Micah so I should jump on this one soon.

Gaming:

I’ve been attending Game Night at Hypermind in Burlington over the last few months.  I’ve played a lot of new games and met some really nice people.  Here are a few of the the games:

  • Tribune – I was surprised that I liked this one.  The theme didn’t grab me but the game play is great.
  • China – This was fun and surprisingly simple to play.  Scoring is complex though.
  • Thunderstone – My first time playing the hot new mechanic of deck building.  It was ok but I see that experience with the game would probably make it more fun.  I want to play Dominion now.
  • Endeavor – This was a fun area control/trading game.
  • Escalation – Lots of fun
  • Cuttthroat Caverns – Fun but a little long.  I need a replay of this with some house rules I think.
  • Witch’s Brew – This one needs another play.  I think I may like it but I don’t know.
  • Roll Through The Ages:  This one is on the Buy List.  It’s fun and challenging.  And you can play solo.
  • Descent – Road To Legend – This one is great.  We started it this past week.  It’s fun and dungeon crawl-y.
  • Pandemic – 3 plays of this so far.  What a fun game!  I’m setting up a solo game today to play during the day.
  • Finally the gem so far – Macao.  Wow!  Do I like this one!  Simple yet challenging.  I could not stop thinking about how I could play differently and about strategies this week.   It is definitely on The Buy List at the top.  I can’t wait to try out my strategy.

Feedback update:

  • lots of feedback pending for Pulp Gamer – you can actually hear me on the show now!
  • two episodes of Cody and John
  • an episode of Fear The Boot
  • The Spiel‘s last two
  • two shows of The Dice Tower – really hitting a groove right now, this is the link to TDT from the Funagain website,  the server was down for the home site when I wrote this.
  • Listened to:

Need to listen to:

That’s it for now.

Go Forth and Game your sock off.  Buy Macao.

Pulp Gamer Out of Character 96 – Gift Giving


I’m trying to catch up on my listening and posting.  Next up – PGOoC 96.

With the Christmas season approaching, the Pulpsters tackle giving games as gifts.  Tis a fun and relatively short OoC this time so let’s get to it.

The gang goes over several criteria for giving games not the least of which is not giving games you want but giving games the receiver may want.  This is big and hard for me.  The gifting so far has been for my kids and I have to remember that they probably will not want to play Descent or Battlestar Galactica.  I did pick up Pandemic for my birthday last month but I think I can get them to play that.  Appropriateness in theme and style of play is addressed.  These are good to remember.  You do not want to give Agricola to someone who dislikes farming.  Just because it is the BGG.com(Geekdo.com) #1 game doesn’t mean they will like it.  Likewise if they don’t like heavy games don’t go with Twilight Struggle.  Know the person you are giving to.  That was the bottom line I got from the episode.  Now let’s look at a few of the games they discussed.

Ron brought up that abstract games make great gifts for new gamers.  I agree.  With many of these types of games you do not have to worry about theme because theme is absent or thin.  Derrick mentioned Station Master.  I don’t know this one but it sounds like a winner.  Aye, Darkoverlord was brought up as a good one.  Don’t know this one either but it too sounds like fun. They mentioned Once Upon A Time as a good intro game.  I agree.  We picked it up a while back and my 7-year-old loves it.  The storytelling part of the game is really fun for him as he can go off into wild and silly adventures.

On the rpg front, several intro type games were mentioned.  D&D4e, Faery’s Tale, Prime Time Adventures,, and  A Penny For My Thoughts were talked about.  Haven’t played 4e.  I have read through Faery’s Tale and like it.  It is on the buy list.  Ron (and Veronica) mentions that he was in a Faery’s Tale game at MACE that was GMed by a 9-year-old girl.  And it was fantastic.  I’ve played PTA and it is super fantastic.  I recommend it highly.  Penny is one I want to play.  I have a friend (gamerchris) who says only good things about this.  The press and word of mouth on this is very positive.  I hope Chris will run it soon.  I had an idea of using the Penny mechanic of asking questions in Once Upon A Time.  This could be interesting.  I would add Savage Worlds and FATE based games like Spirit of The Century, to the list.  Both systems are relatively easy to learn and allow for a lot of player input.  I would recommend 3:16 – Carnage Among The Stars if you friend likes shooting things and army type stuff.

That’s all for now.

Go Forth and Game.

tomg

Feedback on Pulp Gamer Out of Character – Elder Pronunciation Gods


I’m catching up on my podcast listening. I always check to see if there is a new Pulp Gamer episode of any kind first. And sure enough there was a new Out Of Character. In fact there are two. This is feedback on the first – Elder Pronunciation Gods.
The first thing to mention is Ron Blessing is back. This is a good thing. Ron brings good insight as a gamer and retailer to the program.
The first topic covered was Jess Hartley’s new book, Conventions for the Aspiring Game Professional.  For those who are aspiring game professionals, this book sounds like a must have.  Jess knows what she is talking about in this book.  She’s a well respected professional in the gaming industry whose works include these.  I’m particularly interested in her World of Darkness books, Innocents and Geist.  Geist is talked about more in PGOC 88.  Both of these books sound like they would be fun and scary.  And I don’t get to play scary very much.  If you are a game designer, check this one out.

Jess also mentioned that she is a homeschooler.  As a fellow homeschooler it is nice to see the community expand.

There was more talk of Adventures In Oz, a rpg where you play characters in Baum’s world.  As I mentioned previously, I would like to get some more info on this one.  I’ve not read much of the Oz material but I think it would be fun.  And I could play this with my kids.  The website has the character creation and a bit of the rules up for download so that you can see what the game is about.  There is an interesting mechanic in the game.  Combat doesn’t necessarily result in death of one of the combatants as in most games.  Here you combat until one gives in.  The mechanics seem to support this non-lethal conflict.  I’ll need to read more to find out though.

The rest of the episode was responding to feedback and emails.  A good portion of this was taken up by me in what they are calling The Tomg Spot.  Ha Ha.  I even got a big voice intro with an echo.  Ron mentioned that he and Veronica will be in my neck of the woods, NC, at MACE.  MACE is the local/regional gaming con.  It is a sweet con that is devoted solely to gaming.  Many of the Savage Worlds folks will be there and they are having a Savage Saturday Night event on – Saturday night.  So if you are in the High Point, NC area on Nov. 6-8, come on by.

There was mention of Jeremiah’s game company.  As I understand it he is hard at work on a new role playing game, MERP – Middle East Role Playing.  JD, you should check that out.

I would be remise if I didn’t mention Hive.  Everyone should have a copy of this great two player game.

I will mention that Pulp Gamer is running a ‘bribe’.  If you leave a review of Pulp Gamer Out of Character on iTunes you can get a copy of ‘Accent Your Character‘ – PG’s role playing aid to assist you in mastering those United Kingdom type accents.  And if you leave a review of one of the other Pulp Gamer shows you can get a digital copy.  Very cool.  I’m headed over there right after this post.

All in all another good episode.

Go Forth and Game

Upcoming feedback


I listened to several podcasts this week and have notes on each. Hopefully I will be able to get some feedback up on them tomorrow or Sunday. Podcasts: Pulp Gamer – Out of Character & Family Night, The Spiel, The Dice Tower, Boardgame Babylon, Narrative Control, The Durham 3

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