Steph and Stu are back for a bonus episode of Control Panel! Joined by guest Maggie, we discuss an exciting new format- the PBEMRPG. Stu has recently run one of these combination PBEM and RPG games with Steph, Maggie, Mickey, and Kyle as players. Join us as we discuss how it went and how you can make one!

Steph and Stu are back for another bonus episode of Control Panel! In this episode, we review the PBEM submission rubric for submitting PBEM games to OMEGA. We'll go through each of the categories on the rubric and talk about our rationale for including them, what we're looking for in terms of top scores in each category, and what made the accepted games for the first half of 2023 successful.

Pitching PBEM games for the second half (July through December) of 2023 is now open! You can pitch games here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdFPpjhBBuqpNpPFxasnSBH0YlKH3VmTJbzIKR9Q1NoUqf-vg/viewform Pitches are due by February 19th and you should find out within a few weeks if yours has been accepted!

You can review our rubric and successful pitch examples here:

PbEm Pitching Rubric: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1D7yCjlKM3Cw-lSHYPXadzkfJTA9-bRZ2mYYW7nua7F0/edit#gid=0 Successful PbEm Pitch Examples: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xtxjSxXBGsYGTCcF8OY8dkiMmzzgb9ePwv76r-lls8I/edit?usp=sharing

A special thank you to Guest Editor Will who did all of the lovely editing for this episode!

Steph and Stu are back for a bonus episode of Control Panel! Tempest is OMEGA's most recently completed play by email game, run by Stu, and assisted by Steph (as well as Kyle, Mickey, Maggie, Shona, and Ben D.) In this episode, ee review the pros and cons of the game's mechanics, vision, and themes. It is an in depth look at creating a PbEm game, which focuses more on building a game than the stories and fun contained within (though there was plenty of this that was had!)

A special thank you to Guest Editor Will who did all of the lovely editing for this episode as well as Guest Musician Justin who played the accordion music featured on the episode.

On the final episode of Control Panel, Steph and Stu answer your questions about how to create PbEm games! If you have more questions or want to chat about any of these topics in more detail, feel free to contact us on discord and/or the OMEGA server. Thanks to everyone for listening! :)

Steph and Stu interview Kyle and John K about the non-traditional PbEm games they have run. What does it mean for these games to be non-traditional? What were their inspirations for writing these games? What are the biggest differences between their games and the traditional format? These questions and more will be answered on this week's Control Panel!

Steph and Stu are joined this week by Maggie and Will to discuss safety and inclusivity in Play by Email games. If you are thinking of running a megagame, you will definitely want to consider how to keep your players safe and make your game an environment inclusive for all. All four people on this week's episode share a variety of tips and advice for how to make sure you do! 

PbEm's would not be the same without the CANDI app, which nearly all of them have used. Steph and Stu interview Scott, CANDI's creator, on this week's episode. He tells us about his inspirations, challenges he's faced, and more! 

In this episode, Steph, Stu, and Kyle talk plot in PbEm games! Why do you need plots? What are the differences between minor and major plots? How do you create good plots? All of these questions and more will be answered on this week's Control Panel!