Grumpy Old Gamers

here we go, one of those episodes.there are many times we write -- i write jim is designing games -- you are told when we sit down we never have a plan. in this episode this i readily apparent.the episode centers on the feasibility of creating a game commune. the idea is a simple one: move to a place that has a large empty building inventory and convert into a place where all facets of game design and game business come together to share resources and talents and simply create and market games. yes, you are right, this is big thinking.from here we move on design and writing talk. as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

in this episode, we cover a lot of topics. from play style, to design, and well, a lot. we also talk about the Cyberpunk Red Jump Start Kit.before you ask, yes the episode changes topics randomly, but this is how we record. we go in with no plan and we talk. once we reach the end of a topic we finish.however, we keep on talking. then inadvertently we hit on another topic and hit record.this continues over and over until either we run out of steam, we start talking nonsense, or one of us needs to go.  as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

here is an action-packed episode filled with chills and thrills.in this short episode, we work on Harper's Gate. this is the Kickstarter we did late last year. if you backed the project, here is an example of how the two of us work together. if you did not back the project, well, maybe the next time we do one you will.we plan on doing another one of these. why? we love what we have here and have more ideas building off of this project. so yeah, a follow up is going to happen.you heard it here first.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

it has been a while, but we delve into a serious topic. the topic? are there any topics that do not work for a game. by exploring these topics you are not trying to create games where you roll dice and do "things." instead these topics allow you to create environments conducive to exploring situations, topics, or themes that do not just make you uncomfortable, but make you think.springing out of this discussion we talk about is it possible to create games, or write fiction,  that is outside of your life experiences.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

jim and Richard bring you one of our short and to the point episodes. in this one, wen talk about how you can take the classic rpg Cyberpunk 2020 and apply the premise to the current state of the world.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

here we are, 2020. join jim and richard as they look back on the previous year.from there the discussion turns to play style. when does the desire of one player begin to interfere with the enjoyment of everyone else at the table? when do you, as a gamemaster, step in and take control?  there is no easy answer to the question, but as usual, the two of them offer their opinions on the topic.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

jim and richard talk about the Watchmen series and the concept of can a roleplaying game be a solo endeavor.can a roleplaying game be a solo game? this is the question we try to answer. at the end of the discussion, we come to no correct answer. a roleplaying game is a game that depends upon more than one person working together to create a shared experience.from there we take a sharp turn and talk about the HBO series the Watchmen. to put it simply, we like it. from the world-building that takes place in the first ten minutes, to the overall tone, we actually are enthused about something.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money. 

the Kickstarter is over and now the real work begins... or does it?in this episode, we deal with the aftermath of the campaign, and via the five polls we held during the campaign, discover what the town is going to be.  Here are the results.Motif: High FantasyFounder:  An TinkerPopulation: 500Town's Name: Harper's GateThe threat the town faces: a cultWith that set, we plan out what we will write and what the backers will provide us.Three backer reward levels gave them a chance to either name a resident of the town, create a tribe with their leader, and provide a character for the town.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

once again we discuss philosophical topics. this time it centers around the concept of "good." often there are times that you find something you like, and simply feel it is good. good in the sense that you find the enjoyment of it and you do not have a desire to analyze why you like or dislike something.from there we move to talk about the kickstarter. as is the case with this podcast we had no idea we were going to do this, nor did we plan on the excitement we have.the last part of the episode deals with the nature of spoilers. there is no longer a chance to be surprised by anything. all entertainment now cannot be hidden, it is in the open and no longer is a surprise.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

We discuss the classic Empire of the Petal Throne. Our verdict? It is dense. Too much information dumping, dense text, archaic writing, and use of a language created by Barker. There is no easy way to get into the game and we both could not make it through the who thing. That does not mean we think this game is bad or not important. It just means for us, it did not grab or click with us.While talking about EotPT, jim mentions the game Hypertellurians. Here is a game we both love. In real-time Richard discovers the game for his first time, and they both cannot talking about what they see.Finally, they talk about game design. The topic centers around how much do you need in a game.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

the time has come we start planning of our unnamed Kickstarter. this one is going to be vastly different than our last one.there is a lot here. we plan what we actually want create, we talk about the format, and nail down the ideas. though this is the very early stages, a very good product is grown. if you want to listen to the process of doing one of these, this a is for you. it is also a good example of our design styles and how we will work together.also, listen to richard over plan.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

back again, we talk about our tendency of being abrasive. jim shares a Trader Joe's story while richard talks about leaving grocery charts due to bad social interactions.once we go full circle we actually talk about a topic suggested by one of the backers of a last Kickstarter.as for what we think here is a quick summary:celebrities who play Dungeons & Dragonsbetter cultural awarnessboard game mechanicsthe past now podwe also talk about .moviesas always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

once again the two discuss the games they love. the topic of conversation this time centers on the TSR classic Star Frontiers.though the discussion starts with an in-depth look at the first book, Basic, the discussion switches gears to the second book Expanded. though at first the two stay on point but the discussion quickly moves to art direction. why? that is how they are.in all, the two examine this early TSR game. though jim did not care for the Basic book, due to it making all of the same cliche design choices, richard feels otherwise. for him, the book is perfect in that everything you need to run the game is there. despite the page count, you could run Star Frontiers with little effort.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

last episode, we talked about the classic Dungeons & Dragons adventure B4 The Lost City. it went so good we decided to do it again.like our last episode, we pick one page of the adventure and talk about what works and does not work for us. we soon discover that there is a lot that works. as we continue our discussion we realize that this is perhaps some of the best ideas we have seen in awhile. as we finish the discussion we realize that this adventure reminds us why we love this hobby so much.i can go on, but then you will have no need to listen. so, go listen.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

we switch up the format and do something we have wanted to do since day one.what?be positive about games and the hobby.no, we have not been replaced. we just have grown tired of all of the negativity that exists in this hobby.so what do we do? we talk about the classic Dungeons & Dragons adventure B4 The Lost City.by picking one page of the adventure we we discuss what works and what does not work for us. there is some good and some bad on this page and you learn what we think.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

after 34 episodes, we have had enough! we're done!wait a second, we're not stopping the podcast.so what are we doing?celebrating the hobby we love.that's right folks, game talk.this episode deals with discussing the idea of doing another Kickstarter. thius one, however, is going to be different. how? we are going to create something punk and full of the game ideas we love.so it is this episode that sets the table for what is to come.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

one week after the release of the pdf Consent in Gaming, we make a second attempt talking about the controversy. we talk honestly about why a document like this does not do what it intends to do.we move from this  topic to more about group and individual identify and tribalism.the discussion is frank, honest, and sometimes surprising.honestly, we think this might be our last word on this topic.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

is anyone out there?does anyone read this?in this action-packed episode, jim and richard talk about writing gamemaster advice and the handling  topics when dealing with historical games.though they thought they were done for recording, they come back and talk about how this, the podcast, helps them clarify things.don't worry, they soon pull the ripcord and talk about professional wrestling.as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go.thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.comtwitterapple itunesgoogle playspotifystitcherradio publicAlso if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

well, we talk about how you should not hide from other opinions. additionally, all games should not play the same. we do a bad job at writing show notes but really the topics we cover lend themselves to this. as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go. thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.com twitter apple itunes google play spotify stitcher radio public Also if you like what we do, we will not say no to your money.

we let it rip. the crux of the episode is the outdated cliche of every game requiring it to be written in a hand-holding manner. a game should not waste the pages with the cliched "what is a role-playing game." it should get to the point and get you playing. it should talk to you, not at you. additionally, we clarify the issues we have with casual games. it is not just a silly hatred, but a fundamental view of games needing to be better. to further illustrate this point we shift to d&d and discuss the tired belief that we should take that game into account. as always, we are honest. if you thought we've mellowed out, this one proves otherwise. once again, we swear. a. lot. brace yourself. we do a bad job at writing show notes but really the topics we cover lend themselves to this. as always if you have comments or want to subscribe at your provider of choice here, you go. thegrumpyoldgamers@gmail.com twitter apple itunes google play spotify stitcher radio public Also if you like what we do, we w