Jul 19th, 2019 by onyxpathcast
In which Eddy and Dixie interview Matt McElroy, Onyx Path's Operations Manager and long-time employee of DriveThruRPG and DriveThruComics.
- Our middle names
- Matt's start with DriveThruComics
- The history of print-on-demand
- All sorts of interesting experiments
- How we package RPGs, and the iPad
- The move to Onyx Path
- Kickstarters
- Distribution and shipping
- What Operations covers
- Convention strategy and Gen Con
- Community content
- Bringing old games back
- Matthew trains zombies
- But seriously, shipping is awful
- Some chatting about art notes
LINKS
Jul 12th, 2019 by onyxpathcast
Episode 60: Errata and Playtesting
In which Matthew, Dixie, and Eddy discuss the importance of good errata and playtesting! (this episode is a lot more interesting than it looks on paper!)
* Dramatic introductions!
* How errata was treated in the past (supplementary PDFs, inclusion in subsequent books, etc.)
* How we handle errata now, with wonderful forms and spreadsheets!
* How the change in errata processes has affected us as developers
* Foreign languages and font set issues
* Smart punctuation
* The best way to write errata you want to submit (don't assume designer intent!)
* The value of having dedicated fans submitting detailed errata
* Disney via errata?
* How to spell "cemetery"
* Please don't tell us to "die"
* Errata can be thought-provoking and make us reevaluate content
* How easy should it be to kill zombies in Dystopia Rising: Evolution?
* The importance of playtest data
* How to assemble strong playtest data
* How Cinematic cards emerged from playtesting of They Came from Beneath the Sea!
* Stunts in AGE and Storypath
* Building a spellbook in Mage: The Ascension
* A rapid wind-up!
Links:
Dark Ages British Isles: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/1484/Dark-Ages-British-Isles
Giovanni Chronicles: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/2288/Giovanni-Chronicles-I-The-Last-Supper
Pugmire: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/204313/Pugmire-Core-Rulebook
Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/94815/Vampire-The-Masquerade-20th-Anniversary-Edition
Pet Sematary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_Sematary
All Flesh Must be Eaten: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/627/All-Flesh-Must-be-Eaten-Revised
Dystopia Rising Evolution: Backerkit: https://dystopia-rising-evolution.backerkit.com/
They Came from Beneath the Sea! Backerkit: https://www.backerkit.com/projects/200664283/they-came-from-beneath-the-sea-a-tabletop-roleplay
Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/149562/Mage-The-Ascension-20th-Anniversary-Edition
Jul 5th, 2019 by onyxpathcast
In which Eddy and Dixie interview Steve Kenson about his career and his work on Trinity Continuum: Aberrant!
- Dixie decides not to abandon Eddy
- Back to being comfortable with completely blowing the intro
- Eddy introduces Steve flawlessly. FLAWLESSY.
- Steve started with Shadowrun 2nd Ed on the GEnie Network
- Working with FASA and quitting his day job
- Accidentally becoming "the super hero guy"
- Hero Games was somewhat responsible for Mutants & Masterminds
- More chat about Blue Rose
- Aberrant's queer content and "Divis Mal has arms?!"
- Trying a new development process
- Rebooting Aberrant and updating its original late 90s cynicism
- The role of media in Aberrant
- Storypath design challenges
- Sidestepping the "preserve the status quo" problem of other superhero games
- Matthew gets obsessed with Kalamazoo
- Writing for another creator's favorite character
- We guess on how well the Aberrant Kickstarter is doing
LINKS
Jun 28th, 2019 by onyxpathcast
In which the trio talks about the sometimes-touchy subject of various kinds of harassment. Don't worry, the whole episode isn't doom and gloom, we swear!
Disclaimer: We are three white, cisgender people and as such we don't really go into racism or intersectional topics aside from gender, as that's not our lane or lived experience. We speak almost entirely from personal experience in this episode.
For a bit more on those topics, we recommend our discussion with Chris Spivey (episode 46) or James Mendez Hodes' website, at https://jamesmendezhodes.com, just two of many discussions on topics we didn't cover.
* WW usenet days versus today
* We didn't screw up the intro until we did
* Podcast disruptions
* Harassment based on being visible online
* Criticism vs. harassment
* Malicious intent vs. single shitty comments
* Anonymity of the internet
* Whistleblowing vs. brigading
* Transformers fandom
* Getting personal
* Company size
* A bit on the video game industry vs. the RPG industry
* On personal attacks and defending your friends
* In-person harassment
* Convention interactions
* Eddy stands up for introverts!
* Unintentional harassment
* Eddy tells a personal story
* On unwanted touching
* A hypothetical!
* On the current state of the industry
* Matthew lives in the ocean
Jun 21st, 2019 by onyxpathcast
In which Eddy and Matthew interview Klara Herbøl at UK Games Expo!
- Eddy's radio voice
- Linguistics digression!
- Nuclear disasters
- Eddy forgets how to pronounce Klara's name
- How Klara started as a freelancer
- Insecurity, criticism, and validation
- Klara's career over the past year and a half
- Finding your limits
- Networking difficulties for European freelancers
- Drawing inspiration from real life
- Writing in American English
- Meeting peers for the first time
- We digress a bit (shock!)
- Running convention games
- Interviewing people at different experience levels
- Matthew is 85 years old
- Working with only one client
- What we're working on! (At time of recording)
- It's been a while since the three of us just chatted
LINKS
Jun 14th, 2019 by onyxpathcast
Episode 56: Scion Actual Play Part Two
In which Matthew, Dixie, and Eddy continue their actual play of Scion!
* Introductions
* Where we last left our crew
* Scion: Origin Actual Play
* Thoughts on the game
* Onyx Path games in stores
* Matthew's embarassing autograph signing
* Where to find us on social media
Links:
Scion Origin: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/246765/Scion-Second-Edition-Book-One-Origin
Scion Hero: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/256173/Scion-Second-Edition-Book-Two-Hero
Remember to order Scion through your local retailer!
Jun 7th, 2019 by onyxpathcast
In which Matthew and Eddy record their thoughts while at the UK Games Expo!
INTRO
- Eddy isn't here, but Dixie held things together
- We had a large crew at UK Games Expo, nearly all of whom were previously on the Pathcast
FRIDAY
- Emergency dental surgery, missed flights, and luggage woes
- Selling through Leisure Games
- Contagion Chronicle tournament, Dystopia Rising, and Pirates of Pugmire
- Surprise (and muffled) appearances by Klara and Burke!
SATURDAY
- A wild Richard Thomas!
- Leisure Games had to go back to London for more product
- Dystopia Rising game went well
- Chatting with freelancers, business partners, and fans
- Dave Brookshaw spreads rumors
- A lovely experience so far, but an awkward ending
SUNDAY
- Contagion Chronicle tournament conclusion
- Showcasing what a game feels like, not everything that's there
- Pirates of Pugmire adventure
- Everyone gets distracted by steam engines and Transformers
- Final thoughts about the show
OUTRO
- Matthew makes it political again
- Dixie pretends she heard the episode
- Prince's Gambit was a surprise hit
- Watching conventions grow
- Dixie got a lot done while we were out
LINKS
May 31st, 2019 by onyxpathcast
Episode 54: Scion Actual Play Part One
In which Matthew, Dixie, and Eddy play Scion and discuss Cliffhanger (with Sylvester Stallone)!
* Introductions
* Reginald Pewty, Call of Cthulhu Anorak
* Scion: Origin Actual Play
* Cliffhanger (the movie)
* Dixie's Dark Eras 2 progress
* Matthew's Shunned by the Moon and C20 Player's Guide progress
* Pirates of Pugmire Kickstarter
* Where to find us on social media
Links:
Dark Eras 2 Backerkit: https://chronicles-of-darkness-dark-eras-2.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
C20 Player's Guide: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/274520/C20-Players-Guide
Pirates of Pugmire Kickstarter: http://kck.st/2EoRkyp
May 24th, 2019 by onyxpathcast
* Welcome back, Rich Thomas!
* What's Rich excited about?
* Trinity!
* A bit of "back in the day" talk
* On art direction
* Pirates of Pugmire!
* Rich's Magic-card art
* State of the Pathcast!
* On working from home
* Dixie promotes...the Delaware DMV?
* Future of the Pathcast?
* Blog questions!
Links:
Us! Rich!: theonyxpath.com
MASH RPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/199282/MASHED-A-Korean-War-MASH-RPG
Rose Bailey's works: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/4895/Fantasy-Heartbreaker
May 17th, 2019 by onyxpathcast
In which Eddy talks about the process of making Pirates of Pugmire!
- Dixie and Matthew are bitter they're not in the episode
- How our editing skills have improved! (It's not much.)
- August 22, 2018: Outlining the book
- September 4, 2018: Concept art
- October 9, 2018: Project kickoff
- October 22, 2018: First drafts
- December 20, 2018: Deadline extension
- January 31, 2019: Redlines finished
- March 29, 2019: Development finished
- Pirates of Pugmire Kickstarter will go live next week!
- One of the rare projects where so many of us work together on it
- We talk about the success of past Pugmire Kickstarters
- Matthew sings a sea shanty! (Kind of.)
- Eddy is now the dog guy, not the vampire guy
Links:
