Episode 382: Business Adulting 101

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Avonelle Wing and Nicholas Ambrose My first question when someone tells me they're self-publishing a game is "What are your goals?" Sometimes, the answer is "I just want to know someone out there is playing it."  Often times, though, designers are knee-deep in designing their One True Game, have sunk countless hours and funds into the process, and want it "in every game store across the country! And Target too!" For a single-title publisher, that's nearly unheard of. If you can name an exception, it proves the rule. So, join me for a discussion of what the 3-tier system is and why you should hold it in mind as a designer-publisher.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Jason Pitre, Moth Rodriguez  and Lauren Don't crowd-fund if you don't want to run a small business. Publishing requires accounting. Filing for taxes can be messy. Join our expert(s) for a discussion of all the little things that might trip you up if you don't have a business adult, or someone who's willing to learn the ropes, on the team.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Jason Pitre Law, like game design, is fundamentally about guiding human behavior. If you don't want people to resolve their problems with axes, you create a rule saying axe-murder is not acceptable or find a way to prevent people from having axes. In this panel, we will discuss how games treat law, governance, and society and what lessons those real world subjects can hold for designers.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Samphire Savage & Meguey Baker Sexy role play has likely existed as long as we have been getting it on. So what makes a game a sex game, and why write them? We willl explore common themes and design concepts in existing sex/sexy games, common pitfalls and risks in sex game design, and ways sex themes can support or derail design goals.

Presented at Metatopia 2024 Hosted by Amanda Valentine, Lisa Padol You’ve probably heard that you should hire an editor for your game project, but why? What can an editor do for you? How do you hire one and how do you work with one? Bring all of your questions to this AMA and our experts will be happy to talk with you.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Hosted by Jim Dagg, Misha Bushyager, Whitney Delaglio & Amanda Valentine Game design is art. And play. And craft. So what about when you just want to hone your craft and find joy in something, but don't want to make it a second-job? In an industry where success is defined by quitting your day job or running a $1M crowdfunding campaign, HOW do you shake the hustle vibe and let yourself enjoy design as a hobby?

Recorded at Metatopia 2023 Presented by Hosted by Whitney Delaglio Hand-Holdy content means it has the support of the content its holding hands with to help inform the reader on how to play and avoids lonely content that doesn't add to the gameplay as much as it could. It also makes it easier for the designer to create a game that tells the story/does what the designer wants it to.

Recorded at Metatopia 2023 Presented by Sean Jaffe, Joshua Jaffe, Casey Edison, and Jason Pitre The brothers behind Rememorex, Commandroids, and other titles talk about the ins-and -outs of layout. Making a TTRPG is a challenge to a layout artist, who must juggle aesthetics and theme with readability and ease of use. A valuable resource for anyone just starting out.

Recorded at Metatopia 2023 Presented by Taylor Hubler and Nicholas Ambrose Join our experts for a conversation looking at how to physically design, package, and ship games. We want to make sure that every copy that is printed makes it into the hands of a player, but games can get damaged in transit, or be passed up by game stores due to a physical design misstep. Part one will be going over physical design, layout considerations, and what retailers like to see in a product on their shelves. Part two will be going over why product gets damaged in transit, best packaging practices for distribution, and how avant garde physical design can make shipping difficult. Q and A, as well as workshop elements will be present in this panel.

Recorded at Metatopia 2024 Presented by Avonelle Wing and Nicholas Ambrose So, what is "the three-tier system"? What's a consolidator? Hobby? Mass-market? Specialty? Once you have a design that seems viable, there are a lot of steps between here and retail success. Bring your questions, and we'll try to answer them after a brief overview of possible paths forward.