Return to Game Design Paradise – METATOPIA 2023

It was so good to be back at the bumblebee of game conventions that is METATOPIA. The laws of aerodynamcis say it shouldn’t fly, but it soars! Many thanks to all the Double Exposure team, the generous playtesters, and the brave, insightful designers that brought their amazing creations and provoked so many fascinating conversations.

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Metatopia 2019

Is this what game conventions are like in Blade Runner? Metatopia was better than a floating sushi bar. I playtested Grognards & Gorgons, a GUMSHOE game of Napoleonic investigators facing down monsters from Greek mythology. It’s does some interesting things with troops, where we are commanding a few dozen soldiers, distributing them like resources, but … Read more

Metatopia 2017

Metatopia was great! The entire Double Exposure staff did a great job handling a record number of events and attendees. Personally, I really enjoyed not having to playtest any games all weekend. Instead, I got to be a tortured anime super soldier in Russell Collins’s Project Wingspan; a well-dressed angel hunter in Miguel Espinoza’s Nahuales; … Read more

Metatopia 2014

I think this was the best time I’ve had at Metatopia yet, and that’s saying quite a bit. Many thanks to Avie and Vinny and our hard-working hospitable hosts from Double Exposure for making this amazing gathering possible. *With Great Power* My first moments at the convention were the first playtest of my newly-revised kappa … Read more

Closing in on the Elusive … Name

Thanks to all who suggested names. Kat and I have been suggesting several of them, plus ones of our own creation, to one another over the weekend. The current front-runner is: “Serial Homicide Unit: Hunting the Hunters” I like it. It’s a simple, direct name for a simple, direct game. But, what do you think? … Read more

Playtest! Last call!

I sent out the material for the final playtest of Serial this morning. I’ve had several volunteers from new friends and old who have never played the game before. They’ve offered to print out the forms, listen to the audio, and let me know how well this format teaches the game. Getting help is truly … Read more

My game design process

Cross-posted at my RPGtalk blog. Somebody’s always got to be late to the party. Oh well. In trying to catch up on the last few weeks in blog-land, I came across Troy Costisick posting about his design process on his Socratic Design blog. I’m thinking about my own design process a lot at the moment, … Read more