Ugly Talk

Sam and Matt did another panel on publishing indie RPGs.  This year they picked a name that meant something and also Sam was able to make it to Gen Con to talk about it.  It quickly turns to a roundtable discussion and Q&A about common problems while publishing and both of them talk about their experiences publishing Sordid Dystopia, both good and bad.

In this episode, we discuss the ubiquity of Creepypasta and the easy fodder it makes for horror video games.  We discuss games that successfully adapt the material into a new medium, the ones that simply copy ideas, the endless clones of successful games, and what sets them apart.  To aid in our exploration of the realm most creepy and most pasta, we bring on the Review Cultist, host of Al Dente Rigamortis, to elaborate on these never-ending internet campfire stories. Reading List The Dionaea House NoEnd House Sigma Radiation Slender Sickness Caught Not Sleeping Eversion Why Horror is Scarier with Weapons Everything Is a Remix The Inspiration for Silent Hill Check out Al Dente Rigamortis on Patreon!

HP Lovecraft is undoubtedly a driving force in the ever-changing face of horror in the modern age.  While but one of a movement, his works changed the basic inspirations of horror from a universe of divine punishment doled out by monsters to a universe that couldn't be bothered to care if you lived or died.  His talk of ancient powerful beings from worlds beyond the stars and the insignificance of mankind were fantastical and horrifying in ways the stories of vengeful monsters couldn't be.  In the modern age, Lovecraft's work is still highly influential, but the original stories are a bit lacking in modern sensibilties.  We discuss those who took inspiration from Lovecraft and made horror exceptionally weird. Matt and Ross Payton from Role Playing Public Radio hosted this panel at Gen Con 2016.  Travis was supposed to lead this panel, but due to personal issues he was not able to make it to the con.

Welcome back to Ugly Talk!  This episode, we know things about our experiences with This Is The Police.  In playing this game, we learned a bit about Noir storytelling and Gameplay / Story balancing, as well as the meaning of impactful storytelling, the illusion of choice, and dissonant characters. Important Links: Neo Noir Reading List Patreon for Al Dente Rigamortis The Works of Brenda Romero

At Gen Con last year, Travis and Matt let the fine con attendees in on the secrets they had learned about online roleplaying via their time on The Drunk and the Ugly.  Also along for the ride was Aaron Carsten of Role Playing Public Radio, talking about his recent experiences running games online and the differences from his time at the table.

Over the weekend, we attended Gen Con, where we hosted several different seminars.  Kevin and James join Matt on this one in describing their campaign design philosophies to the attending audience before opening the floor for questions, advice, and discussion.

Welcome back to Ugly Talk!  This month, we know things about Film Writing and the Three Act Structure.  Travis is out of town on business, so Matt brought in Kevin Colmar and Charlotte Adams to discuss what they know about filmmaking, film writing, film direction, and what of it can be applied to games and how. 

Support Red Markets on Kickstarter!   Welcome back to Ugly Talk!  This month, we know things about Red Markets, the game of economic horror where the world has ended and the rent is still due.  Along with Matt and Travis, we have the one and only Caleb Stokes to talk a bit about the game, where and how it started, the influences that brought it into being, the development process, and also how things have changed since our initial playtests (and even since the playtest campaign that is happening on Role Playing Public Radio).

This month we are discussing the Powered by the Apocalypse system Monster Hearts, a game that aims to recreate the feel of shows like The Vampire Diaries and Being Human and other sorts of supernatural teen drama.  We go through a basic breakdown of how Powered by the Apocalypse works as well as the specifics of how they work in Monster Hearts and the new mechanics added.  We talk with this month's special guest Axe, the gamemaster who ran Camp Rosewater and The Harvester for The Drunk and the Ugly.

Hello internet and welcome to Creepy Talks, a show wherein we discuss creepy stories, horror films, spooky computer games, and the important elements that make each of these things work and how we can tie them back to spooky stuff.  This month, we discuss the reading of Creepy Pastas and how we've turned them into creepy collaborative storytelling experiences.

Hello Internet!  Welcome back to Ugly Talk, a show wherein we discuss RPGs, film, computer games, and the important elements that make each of these things work and how we can tie them back to the traditional games media. This month we are discussing two different approaches to open world puzzle videogames:  Croteam's The Talos Principle and Johnathan Blow's The Witness.  One is a more "traditional" game that takes you on a ride on the rails with the illusion of choice but many intentional and obvious blockades to progress, and the other has no obvious narrative, no handholding, and no limits on where you can go and what you can do.  The comparison between the two caused us to think on the classic conundrum of where the player ends and the character begins.  Sit down as we talk with this month's special guest Sam Graebner, an experienced gamemaster from our sister show The Drunk and the Ugly.  

Hello Internet!  Welcome back to Ugly Talk, a show wherein we discuss RPGs, film, computer games, and the important elements that make each of these things work and how we can tie them back to the traditional games media. This month we are discussing the new Star Wars, how it compares to the original and prequel trilogies, and what we can learn from JJ Abrams work on George Lucas' Franchise in adapting our own collaborative stories within an established setting.  For this episode, Matt and Travis are joined by Kevin Colmar of The Drunk and the Ugly, who is currently in the process of running Fate Ascendant, a Star Wars game set during the Old Republic Era using the Edge of the Empire system.  We will also get off-topic many times and discuss things like how St Elsewhere decanonized reality.

Hello Internet!  Welcome back to Ugly Talk, a show wherein we discuss RPGs, film, computer games, and the important elements that make each of these things work and how we can tie them back to the traditional games media. This month we are discussing the Leverage RPG, based on the hit TV show Leverage which follows a group of modern-day Robin Hood criminals who steal from the rich and powerful and give to all the little people they have stepped on to get that power.  We talk deeply about ideas expressed in the book (such as the 5-act structure and the insight it gives into writing a television drama) and how you can see the ideas specific to the show being used in the game.

Gen Con 2015: Matt Campen and Ross Payton sat down and talked about their shared experiences designing, publishing, and producing roleplaying games. Game Design is a long and tedious process. Turning a pile of notes into a book can seem nearly impossible. There's a phrase in journalism that all the mayonnaise in the world can't turn chicken crap into chicken salad; nevertheless, you have to do it over and over each time. This panel explores the essential steps to consider when looking at your loose-chicken-parts collective of ideas and a formula to turn it into some chicken salad goodness.

Hello Internet!  Welcome to our first-ever episode of Ugly Talk, a show wherein we discuss RPGs, film, computer games, and the important elements that make each of these things work and how we can tie them back to the traditional games media. This week we are discussing the Lovecraft-Inspired letter-writing RPG De Profundis, a rules light GM-less storytelling game by Cubicle Seven which attempts to recreate the epistemological psychodramas of H.P. Lovecraft by way of actually writing letters to fellow players.  We discuss this no-boundaries collaborative experience and how it has worked in our other games and take advice from TV writing to make sure that collaborative games don't go off the rails.

Hello, Internet! In the wake of Fury Road, we realized there are some artists on the podcast who have a lot to say about style, composition and color and our own Travis Gasque led a discussion with them about the styles and themes in the movie.  Depending on reactions, this may be a recurring segment about other films, video games, and pop culture media.   Finally, thanks to Memal25, Beardface5000, Anupstart, and Stiefund for reviewing the show on iTunes, thanks to UnitOmega for retweeting our show announcements on Twitter, and thanks to the curator of the F*** Yeah Drunk and Ugly Podcast tumblr for spreading word about the show, archiving fan entries, and creating some original content.  All you guys are super great! Remember to review the show on iTunes or wherever you get podcasts, and be sure to leave us comments on the site letting us know what you think.

We sat down with horror master Dennis Detwiller to get news on all of his new projects and his favorite moments from Delta Green. Important Links Delta Green Arc Dream Dennis Detwiller's Personal Blog Delta Green the Roleplaying Game on Kickstarter

Travis sat down for a Drunk Talk with Adam Scott Glancy of Delta Green fame. He took us on a journey through his process and what he draws inspiration from (Spoiler Alert: it’s not always whiskey). Introductions – Who are you? What do you do? What are you working on? Delta Green Kickstarter – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcdream/delta-green-the-role-playing-game   Why did you focus on the idea of bonds and relationships in the Delta Green game? Modern Television extended narrative: The Sopranos – http://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the-sopranos/?search=Sopran Boardwalk Empire – http://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/boardwalk-empire/ Buffy – http://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/buffy-the-vampire-slayer/?search=buffy%20the Supernatural –  http://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/supernatural/?search=Supernatural True Detective – http://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/true-detective/s01/      What inspirations do you draw on when you design a game or write a story? History! Cody Goodfellow – http://www.amazon.com/Cody-Goodfellow