Podcasts and More
Inspiration 4
Due to the length of my daily commute I do like to listen to podcasts in the car as I drive to and from work. Whilst a lot of my podcast listens are gaming related, there are a few non-gaming honourable mentions:
No Such Thing as a Fish, a weekly podcast on various topics of interest from the makers of QI (a British TV game show). It's all about random facts along with a slice of comedy on top; and
The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry, a podcast where scientists investigate everyday mysteries sent in by the listeners. Coming from a science and engineering background, this is right up my street.
Two new podcasts I have found recently which I think are worth listening to are:
Ludonarrative Dissidents, a podcast where the hosts (gaming folk Greg Stolze, Ross Payton and James Wallis) explore and analyse tabletop RPGs. I like the critical look the hosts lay against the games and mechanics of each of the games they discuss.
Role Playing Public Radio, a podcast (by Ross Payton) looking at gaming with the host and other members of the RPPR crew. There is the main RPPR podcast (which I listen to) and then a separate podcast stream with Actual Plays by the RPPR crew. I am not a fan of Actual Plays so I tend to give this a miss but if you are interested in such things there is content out there for you. The nice thing about RPPR is the variety of games they play and discuss.
Another source of inspiration I have mentioned previously is Rookery Publications. They now have a weekly live stream on Twitch where they interview various Authors and RPG designers. They not only discuss topics related to the guests but also general topics relating to gaming. I generally join in the livestream chat adding in my own two-pence to the discussions.
The Rookery Publications live stream, Ludonarrative Dissidents podcast and Role Playing Public Radio podcast have given me a lot to think about, and it is nice to see (or or should I say hear) various opinions on RPG games and mechanics, as well as discussions around tabletop groups, group dynamics, and other ancillary tabletop topics.
Royal Road is still one of my go to places for stories. I am currently reading three different fantasy novels in the LitRPG genre. I like the LitRPG genre as it reminds me of gaming, however I have realised I am not a big fan of RPG stat tables and lists of skills splattered throughout a story. Some of the stories I started with good intentions as the MC or plot hooked me in, but after a few chapters they turned me off with their endless list of skills and RPG stats (which I feel do not add to the story, because even if the MC has increased a skill or two, it is now lost in the rest of the guff). There are however stories out there which do keep the RPG information to a minimum, and these read much better as a story. It is some of these I am currently reading.
Also, I seemed to have missed the start of 2023 – so a belated welcome to 2023 and another year of more gaming, crafting and writing about both.
J