Episodes
Tuesday Jun 06, 2017
Tuesday Jun 06, 2017
I'm joined this week by Katrina Ostrander, Fiction Editor for Fantasy Flight Games Fiction and Story Team Member for Fantasy Flight Games. She talks about her early experiences in gaming, which were mostly comprised of play-by-post games. She speaks about the benefits of her play-by-post games, and how she started to play in tabletop sessions. Katrina describes her experiences playing in gaming groups comprised of all-men and all-women, and how those groups tend to approach RPGs in different ways. She discusses her method for running quality games that engage player emotions, and offers advice for how to deal with the anxiety that comes with the duties of gamemastering. She details her roles over the years with Fantasy Flight Games, including her work on highly-scrutinized intellectual properties such as Star Wars and Legend of the Five Rings. She closes the interview by discussing potential future projects, including designing a game that would connect with the younger version of herself.
Tuesday May 16, 2017
Tuesday May 16, 2017
This week I am joined by Wayne June, voiceover artist and narrator with extensive experience in the audiobook industry. He is perhaps best known recently for his work as the voice of the Darkest Dungeon; he performs the lines of The Ancestor, who serves as the narrator throughout the game. Wayne first discusses his years as a musician and touring with the guitar icon, Johnny Winter. He pivots to detail how he became interested in the voice recording business, and how he found a niche in "creepy" literature such as volumes of H.P. Lovecraft works. Wayne talks about the shift from collaborating in a band to the isolation of voice work, and how the request from the Darkest Dungeon team thrust him into the gaming community. He shares the process for finding the voice of The Ancestor, and what it's been like to gain attention for his work in the game. He closes by talking about current audiobook and gaming projects.
Tuesday May 02, 2017
Chris Benefield on Magic: The Gathering, Digital Card Games, and GenCon 2012
Tuesday May 02, 2017
Tuesday May 02, 2017
This week I'm joined by Chris Benefield, a longtime friend I first met during our days in graduate school way back in 1998. Chris has a masters degree in Educational Psychology, and is now working toward an advanced degree to become a school counselor. In the episode, we discuss our history of arguing, "Who is the bigger nerd?" and explore how social comparison theory affects geekdom, "Sure, I'm a nerd - but I'm not THAT nerdy." I ask Chris why he cannot get into tabletop roleplaying games such as Dungeons & Dragons, and he asks me why I'm unwilling to dive into Magic: The Gathering (MtG). He discusses the merits of MtG, and we explore how games like Hearthstone, SolForge, and Eternal scratch a similar itch. We delve into our approaches to mindfully engage in hobbies and time management, which leads into our use of social media - for better and sometimes worse. Along the way, we review our trip to GenCon 2012, and talk about trying to remain a nerd while parenting young children.
Enjoy the episode, and please provide feedback if you would like Chris and I to continue recording similar discussions as we are considering spinning this off into a separate podcast.
Tuesday Apr 18, 2017
Carina Kom on Crash Free-to-Play and Pay-to-Win Games & Iron Tides
Tuesday Apr 18, 2017
Tuesday Apr 18, 2017
I'm joined by Carina Kom, Co-founder and CEO of Crash Wave Games, which successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign for their next game, Iron Tides. Ms. Kom discusses her years of experience wearing various hats in the gaming industry, which led her to forming her own company. She talks about her interest in understanding player behaviors in videogames, including how players respond to in-game reward systems and overall difficulty settings. She elaborates on her experience working on free-to-play and pay-to-win games. The second half of the interview is devoted to Iron Tides, which is a Viking themed strategy-survival game that is inspired by games such as Darkest Dungeon. She speaks about the benefits and challenges of playtesting with the diverse casual and "hardcore" gaming audiences. She described the systems in Iron Tides, and how some of them grew from a tabletop philosophy.
Tuesday Apr 04, 2017
Brian Patterson on Creating d20monkey and Karthun
Tuesday Apr 04, 2017
Tuesday Apr 04, 2017
I'm joined by Brian Patterson, Co-Owner of Exploding Rogue Studios, and Creator of the webcomic, d20monkey. He completed a successful Kickstarter to fund his efforts to create Karthun, a campaign guide. I previously interviewed Brian in 2011 and 2014 for my blog, and he talks about his work in the gaming industry in recent years, including his role as Art Tsar for Evil Hat Productions. He spends the first portion of the interview talking about his experiences meeting with a therapist for assistance with mental health issues, which have been partially influenced by the lifestyle connected to freelance work. We discuss how therapy works, and dispel some common myths about the interactions that take place between a counselor and a client. Brian later discusses his struggles to produce Karthun, and the emotions related to completing the project. Near the end of the interview, he briefly covers upcoming projects for d20monkey and Exploding Rogue Studios, and educates listeners on how best to incorporate Karthun into any roleplaying game system.
Tuesday Mar 21, 2017
Tuesday Mar 21, 2017
I am joined this week by Dr. Janina Scarlet, and we talk about her upcoming book, Superhero Therapy - A Hero's Journey Through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Dr. Scarlet shares her fascinating origin story and how her personal journey with negative emotions led her to pursue a career in psychology. She describes how she has used various elements of geek culture in her work as a therapist providing care to Veterans and other individuals struggling with shame, anxiety, fear, and anxiety. She educates people about the purpose of therapy, and elaborates on several skills listed in her book. Near the end of the conversation, she shares her personal experience as a refugee to the United States, and how recent political events have been challenging. We also talk a bit of hockey before closing down!
If you are interested in coming on the show for an interview, or would like to become a sponsor, contact me to make arrangements.
Tuesday Mar 07, 2017
Tuesday Mar 07, 2017
This week's MEGA Hearthstone episode celebrates the annoucement of the next expansion, Journey to Un'Goro. First, Dr. Peter Whalen, Senior Game Designer for Hearthstone, joins me to discuss his experiences working for Blizzard since 2015 and his role as Lead Designer for the Journey to Un'Goro expansion. He provides additional details about the Adapt and Quest mechanics, and discusses the realities of designing content for a passionate fanbase with access to data analytics to attack Ranked play. Around the 30-minute mark, Dr. Tzachi Zach joins me to talk about the his role as Co-Owner and Data Analyst for Vicious Syndicate. He explains how the weekly Data Reaper Reports are created, and comments on how players and the Hearthstone designers can benefit from the analytics provided by Vicious Syndicate.
If you are interested in coming on the show for an interview, or would like to become a sponsor, contact me to make arrangements.
Tuesday Feb 21, 2017
Shanna Germain on Writing and Advocacy in the Gaming Community
Tuesday Feb 21, 2017
Tuesday Feb 21, 2017
My guest for Episode 9 of Ego Check with The Id DM is Shanna Germain, co-founder of Monte Cook Games, and an acclaimed writer and game designer. She covered many topics during our discussion, including her work as an activist and advocate in and out of the gaming industry. She speaks about her work with Monte Cook Games and how she balances the demands of writing novels and designing games. We spent an extended amount of time on the concept of grief in gaming, and this led into a discussion of politics and the recent statement by Monte Cook Games titled, Our Core Values. We conclude by talking about her roleplaying game for young children, No Thank You, Evil.
If you are interested in coming on the show for an interview, or would like to become a sponsor, contact me to make arrangements.
Tuesday Feb 07, 2017
Allison Rossi on Starting Dungeons & Dragons and Competitive Overwatch
Tuesday Feb 07, 2017
Tuesday Feb 07, 2017
My guest for Episode 8 of Ego Check with The Id DM is Allison Rossi, Dungeon Master for Adventurer's League and Social Media Manager for a Competitive Overwatch League. She discusses her entrance into tabletop roleplaying games several years ago and her experiences playing Dungeons & Dragons as a new player. She offers suggestions for helping new players feel comfortable playing D&D, and speaks about the trials of being a young woman running games for organized play. During the second half of the interview, she talks about her involvement in competitive Overwatch and provides useful strategies for find more success in that game. You can watch her play games on Twitch as well.
If you are interested in coming on the show for an interview, or would like to become a sponsor, contact me to make arrangements.
Tuesday Jan 17, 2017
Hawke Robinson on the RPG Research Project
Tuesday Jan 17, 2017
Tuesday Jan 17, 2017
My guest for Episode 7 of Ego Check with The Id DM is Hawke Robinson, founder of the RPG Research Project. Hawke discusses his early history in gaming, which dates back to the 1970s, and talks about choosing a career in recreation therapy, which allows him to use role-playing games in therapeutic settings. He details his work with the RPG Trailer, a mobile gaming unit that he drives to facilities to bring the gaming experience to those who would otherwise not be able to participate in RPGs. We discuss the challenges of collecting useful data on role-playing games, and explore opportunities for advancing knowlege and practice into the future.
If you are interested in coming on the show for an interview, or would like to become a sponsor, contact me to make arrangements.