Episodes
Tuesday Dec 03, 2019
Elizabeth & Jared Kilmer on Therapeutic D&D for Veterans
Tuesday Dec 03, 2019
Tuesday Dec 03, 2019
I'm joined by Elizabeth Kilmer (soon-to-be PhD) and Jared Kilmer, PhD this week as they discuss their use of Dungeons & Dragons in clinical settings with military veterans. They present how the therapy gaming groups are structured and the themes that come up during gameplay. They present examples from past sessions including stories of how veterans have processed through challenging emotional content with the help of in-game situations. They talk about their ambitions and plans to gather more data about their therapeutic D&D approach with veterans, and how they might expand this in the future with other populations.
Tuesday Oct 29, 2019
Dr. Rachel Kowert on Video Games & Mental Health
Tuesday Oct 29, 2019
Tuesday Oct 29, 2019
Dr. Rachel Kowert is a psychologist with years of published research examining the mental health effects of video games. She details how her research has NOT supported a variety of commonly-held and spread myths about video games. She discusses her role as Research Director for Take This, whose mission is to decrease stigma while increasing the support for mental health in the game-enthusiast community and inside the game industry. She talks about her history as a video game player and how she manages her personal use of games and that of her young children.
Thursday Oct 17, 2019
Matt Henderson on Designing Loke Battle Mats
Thursday Oct 17, 2019
Thursday Oct 17, 2019
Matt is the map designer for Loke Battle Mats, which has been releasing tabletop battle mats for roleplaying games in recent years. Matt talks about the origins for the product line and his inspirations while designing the maps. We discuss how Dungeons & Dragons and other systems have shaped Loke Battle Mats and how terrain has shifted in importance over the years for players. Matt shares his approach to preparing for games including routine use of a Dual-Dungeon Master technique. He shares excellent tips on getting the most out of battle mats and other terrain options!
Tuesday Aug 27, 2019
Matt Dixon on Illustrating Hearthstone
Tuesday Aug 27, 2019
Tuesday Aug 27, 2019
Matt Dixon talks about his career as a freelance illustrator and his work in digital spaces leading to his work with Blizzard. He talks about starting on the World of Warcraft TCG and how he got hired again for the Goblins & Gnomes expansion in Hearthstone. He has been a contributing artist to Hearthstone since that time and talks about his creative process. He shares his influences and explores how technology has changed the way he approaches illustration. He talks about his need to bring "life" to an image and how he was drawn to computers and pixels at a young age. He speaks about specific illustrations completed for Hearthstone and what fueled their origin. He indulges me as we discuss one of my favorite pieces of art in Hearthstone, Hecklebot, and he references his earlier work on Annoy-o-tron as when Hearthstone "clicked" for him. We conclude by talking about his recent "speed paintings" and his stunning personal work on his series, Transmissions.
Friday Aug 09, 2019
Elisabeth de Kleer on Dungeons & Dragons Behind Bars
Friday Aug 09, 2019
Friday Aug 09, 2019
Elisabeth de Kleer is an award-winning documentary producer and director that has experience working in the true crime genre. She has been working for the past two years on the subject of Dungeons & Dragons in prisons, and is attempting to Kickstart a documentary on this subject. She joins me to talk about the inspiration for this project and shares some of the stories from the 100s of inmates and prison personnel that she has interviewed thus far. We also discuss the purpose of prison, and the challenges that exist for reintegrating back into society. I share with her my background as a survivor of a violent crime as my father was shot and killed in the line of duty when I was eight-years-old, and we discuss the murky waters of how society deals with individuals that commit violent crimes after they have served their time in prison. We explore the potential rehabilitative powers of D&D for inmates, and the extraordinary lengths they have gone to play the game while incarcerated.
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Teos Abadia on Designing Acquisitions Incorporated
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Teos Abadia joins Ego Check once again to talk about how wonderfully diverse the tabletop roleplaying game hobby has become in recent years. He details how he got involved in the Acquisitions Incorporated book for Dungeons & Dragons, and speaks to the philosophy behind the unique approach to D&D content. He discusses his hand in refining the final segments of the AI adventure within the book, and how delightful it was to work with the other members of the team on the project.
Tuesday Jul 16, 2019
Jim Zub on Creating the Young Adventurer's Guides for Dungeons & Dragons
Tuesday Jul 16, 2019
Tuesday Jul 16, 2019
Jim Zub, writer and creator, joins me this week on Ego Check with The Id DM to talk about the Young Adventurer's Guides for Dungeons & Dragons. The first two books in the series, Warriors & Weapons and Monsters & Creatures, release this month, and I was fortunate to get a preview copy from 10 Speed Press (the same company that published the amazing Art & Arcana: A Visual History).
Jim talks about his work in comics over the last 20 years that have landed him writing for characters such as Conan, The Avengers, Rick & Morty, and Black Panther. He talks about his long relationship with Dungeons & Dragons that was summarized in a recent Tedx Talk he gave, which I encourage everyone to watch. He discusses the genesis of the Young Adventurer's Guides and how the idea grew from a simple pitch to a multi-book series that may continue to grow.
He talks about why he felt the books needed to be created, and the philosophy behind how the books were designed including why it was important to have new art and a different structure from the typical Player's Handbook and Monster Manual. Jim also discusses his work on the upcoming Descent Into Avernus adventure for Dungeons & Dragons.
It was wonderful to speak with him and learn about the creative process behind the Young Adventurer's Guides. I truly believe they are a wonderful entry point for young readers into D&D AND a refreshing source of inspiration for long-time players.
Enjoy!
Friday Jun 28, 2019
Grant Ellis on Streaming RPGs & Celebrating A Knight's Tale
Friday Jun 28, 2019
Friday Jun 28, 2019
Grant Ellis joins me to talk about his efforts to create unique livestream tabletop roleplaying game content with a diverse cast of performers. He talks about his game design efforts and how playing and streaming games like D&D are different processes. We spend the vast majority of the show talking about a shared passion, A Knight's Tale - a film that arrived in 2001 and continues to warm our hearts. We talk about why the film persists in our minds and devote attention to the wonderful cast, characters and themes in the film.
Thursday Jun 27, 2019
Allison Spence on Journalism, Marketing & Finding the "Why?"
Thursday Jun 27, 2019
Thursday Jun 27, 2019
Allison Spence joins me to talk about her early career as a journalist that resulted in her diving into a variety of difficult subject matters. She shares her views on the importance of emotional intelligence, and details how her work in journalism led her to start working for Thompson Coburn LLP, where she is current the Senior Marketing Communications Manager. She discusses her work for nearly 400 lawyers at Thompson Coburn LLP, and the challenges of getting a message to "stick" in the crowded, chaotic digital landscape. She offers a variety of suggestions for individuals and organizations that are looking to market and promote themselves, and details how technology has advanced rapidly in recent years to enhance her ability to connect with an audience.
Tuesday May 14, 2019
Tuesday May 14, 2019
Jason Massey joins the pod to talk about his start with 4th Edition D&D and how that evolved into a full-time career in creating the actual play podcast, Dungeons & Randomness. He speaks about his enjoyment of 4th Edition, and elements of that system that complicated the creation of podcast content. He reviews how the shift to 5th Edition smoothed the podcasting enterprise, and details how his homebrew campaign setting, Theria, came to exist. He discusses the current Kickstarter campaign for The Adventurer's Guide to Theria, and explains how the book will be useful for those running D&D adventures.