Ugly Talk

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.

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/e/B002KYCE76

David Wong – http://johndiesattheend.com/

Charle Stross – http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/

Peter Hopkirk – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Hopkirk

George McDonald Fraser – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_MacDonald_Fraser

Mark Mazzetti – http://markmazzetti.net/

If you could have 1 pet idea in the game or setting that isn’t in there already what would it be?

Jeff Combos and Exile Studio’s Hollow Earth Expedition –http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/23437/Hollow-Earth-Expedition-RPG?it=1

David Drake “Than Curse the Darkness” – http://www.amazon.com/Balefires-David-Drake/dp/1597800716

War of Canudos – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Canudos

Laird Barrin, Goodfellow, Stross (deconstructs Robert E Howard style characters)

In honor of Halloween what is the spookiest (or spoopiest) story/game you’ve read/watched/played?

Exile – http://midnightreleasing.com/exile/

Sticks – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sticks_(short_story)

The Thing on the Fourble Board – http://www.quietplease.org/index.php?section=episode&id=60