GamingPerspectives

    The Last but not least of the Pre-Dundracon interviews, this one is with Ezra Denney.  I got to know these GM's by going to local gaming conventions.  Ezra is one of the best at running games that uses a lot of improvisation, which is not an easy skill to develop.  I had the pleasure of playing in one of his Paranoia games at Big Bad Con about 5 years ago and it is the best Paranoia game I have ever played in.  So when I sent out a call to do the interviews, Ezra was one of the first ones to sign on.  This was the 2nd attempt at the interview as the first one was during a West Coast Storm that knocked out Ezra's internet.  But he was gracious enough to try again and we are lucky to have him on our show.

     Ezra is doing a actual play of Mask's of Nyarlathotep on Twitch and You Tube here is the link to the You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f3c5fFMm1k&fbclid=IwAR1dr6jedHEplcSr6VUYfZDIEAVf5GRWLXh1KKuyVOMgz7nx0dcX-Ex3RD0

      These interviews were recorded in our non-standard time.  We usually record Sunday morning at 6 am which is why you might hear us yawn and stretch but here you have phone ringing and particularly loud cars zoom by.  No intro music  with these bonus episodes..  

       We will be recording LIVE at : http://www.dundracon.com/   Saturday and Sunday from 9:30am to 11am.

     And Thanks to Ezra, David and Shannon for letting us interview them.  See you at DunDraCon!!!

      The Second Interview with a GM that is attending and running games at Dundracon.  Shannon is a very accomplished GM and usually has many people trying to get into his very well regarded games.  

      Saul and Jolene will be doing a live recording from Dundracon on Sat and Sun.  Hope to see you all there.

    Thanks to Shannon for taking time out of his busy schedule to do this interview with us.

      The Second Interview with a GM that is attending and running games at Dundracon.  Shannon is a very accomplished GM and usually has many people trying to get into his very well regarded games.  

      Saul and Jolene will be doing a live recording from Dundracon on Sat and Sun.  Hope to see you all there.

    Thanks to Shannon for taking time out of his busy schedule to do this interview with us.

    Saul and Jolene are taking Gaming Perspectives on the road when they attend DunDraCon taking place over President's Day weekend.  This is the first GM David Jones.  He will be running a Tales From the Loop game on Friday Night.  You can see the DDC program online.

      We would like to thank David for taking time to do this interview.  

     See you at DunDraCon!!!

     Saul and Jolene discuss what systems are good for running mystery adventures.   Saul really likes the Gumshoe line of RPGs which are specifically made for running mystery games.  Also good for mystery games is the Fate Core system as it is not a combat heavy game.  Jolene reminds Saul that he had run a couple mystery games using Pathfinder and 5th Edition D&D.   Other subjects relating to mysteries are discussed in relation to rpgs from movies like Murder on the Orient Express and tv shows like, The Rockford Files, The Republic of Doyle, and Scooby Doo.  

  The Full line of Gumshoe games can be found here:  http://site.pelgranepress.com/index.php/gumshoe/

  Information about the Rockford Files show: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071042/

  The Saturday Morning Cartoon Scooby Doo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooby-Doo

   The Republic of Doyle tv show : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Doyle

      Music by Jared Leibowich, song We Love Mystery 

    Available at FreeMusicArchive

     Saul and Jolene discuss what systems are good for running mystery adventures.   Saul really likes the Gumshoe line of RPGs which are specifically made for running mystery games.  Also good for mystery games is the Fate Core system as it is not a combat heavy game.  Jolene reminds Saul that he had run a couple mystery games using Pathfinder and 5th Edition D&D.   Other subjects relating to mysteries are discussed in relation to rpgs from movies like Murder on the Orient Express and tv shows like, The Rockford Files, The Republic of Doyle, and Scooby Doo.  

  The Full line of Gumshoe games can be found here:  http://site.pelgranepress.com/index.php/gumshoe/

  Information about the Rockford Files show: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071042/

  The Saturday Morning Cartoon Scooby Doo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooby-Doo

   The Republic of Doyle tv show : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Doyle

      Music by Jared Leibowich, song We Love Mystery 

    Available at FreeMusicArchive

     In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about Player Narrative Control in RPG's.   It is sometimes difficult to define some of the terms that pop up in Role Playing games.  Saul defines what Narrative Control means to him and Jolene questions his definition.  Saul and Jolene discuss this term and what it means in role playing games.  Saul describes games that don't have implicit narrative control like old school games like Original D&D, Space Opera, Shadowrun and those that do like Feng Shui, Fate and GM less games.  Jolene questions if it is needed or even wanted by players, Saul ponders that with certain players that want that kind of experience player narrative control can make a good rpg session.  

       Some links to things mentioned in this Episode,

      Critical Role a very popular actual play program played and GMed by voice actors.  They are very famous in video games and animated shows but are very good at playing D&D.  They play D&D 5th Edition using a world made up by Matt Mercer a very inventive storytelling GM.  They are playing their 2nd campaign.  Both campaigns are available as a video and pod cast.      https://critrole.com/

      The Secret Kabal Podcast is mainly a board game podcast but recently included another podcast that deals with RPGs, mainly D&D 5th edition

    http://www.thesecretcabal.com/

    Music by The Blend, song Control on the album, Losing the Game.

   Available at FreeMusicArchive.com

     In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about Player Narrative Control in RPG's.   It is sometimes difficult to define some of the terms that pop up in Role Playing games.  Saul defines what Narrative Control means to him and Jolene questions his definition.  Saul and Jolene discuss this term and what it means in role playing games.  Saul describes games that don't have implicit narrative control like old school games like Original D&D, Space Opera, Shadowrun and those that do like Feng Shui, Fate and GM less games.  Jolene questions if it is needed or even wanted by players, Saul ponders that with certain players that want that kind of experience player narrative control can make a good rpg session.  

       Some links to things mentioned in this Episode,

      Critical Role a very popular actual play program played and GMed by voice actors.  They are very famous in video games and animated shows but are very good at playing D&D.  They play D&D 5th Edition using a world made up by Matt Mercer a very inventive storytelling GM.  They are playing their 2nd campaign.  Both campaigns are available as a video and pod cast.      https://critrole.com/

      The Secret Kabal Podcast is mainly a board game podcast but recently included another podcast that deals with RPGs, mainly D&D 5th edition

    http://www.thesecretcabal.com/

    Music by The Blend, song Control on the album, Losing the Game.

   Available at FreeMusicArchive.com

     Can roleplaying games be more than games?  Saul and Jolene talk about psychology in roleplaying games.  Jolene curiosity was piqued when this subject was brought up in the many esoteric conversations she has with Saul.  After a bit of research and discussion with Saul the present episode was born.  There has always been talk about how rpgs can be used other than a game.  It turns out there have been many programs and research on the subject of roleplaying games.   

     Below are articles and programs where rpgs are used as tools for therapy.

      Operation Z Day, a program to help clients use public transportation in Tocoma  http://www2.rpgresearch.com/blog/using-role-playing-games-for-autism-spectrum-participants

     http://www.seattleschild.com/Valuing-Difference-Local-Programs-Help-Kids-on-the-Spectrum-Connect/

     https://geekandsundry.com/role-playing-gamers-have-more-empathy-than-non-gamers/

     https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1609&context=etd

         Music by Nick Bommorito,  song Folk Psychology from the album Harp Fragments.

   Available from FreeMusicArchive.com