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.

Recorded at Metatopia 2023

Presented by Avonelle Wing, Curt Covert, and Alex Cutler

You've read game design blogs and Facebook groups. You've delved into conventional wisdom. You did your homework. A game should be replayable. You should set your funding goal as 1/5 of your overall costs to fund fast. A prototype should be a single sheet of paper and some markers. A prototype needs to be full production value. Publish it yourself and sell it out of your bedroom; order fulfillment is easy. All of these things might be true, and they could still be the thing that sinks your ship. Our experts talk about the ways accurate advice can still be wrong for you.