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Roleplaying (mostly) Podcasts
Feb. 6th, 2007 03:11 pmThe word "podcast" annoys me. It always has, for some reason. I think I have a general allergic reaction to buzzwords, maybe. That would explain why I detest the word "blog" as well.
Nonetheless, in the past few weeks, I've been listening to a lot of gaming-related podcasts, and I've enjoyed them immensely. Like webcomics, creators of these things tend to refer to one another's work, so listening to one is like finding a bibliography that directs you to others, which directs you to others still, ad infinitum. Many of these are relatively long-running, so there's quite a bit of backlog to go through if you want the full picture, but I consider that to be half the fun. All of these podcasts are available through their websites as well as iTunes.
1) The Penny Arcade Podcast - Technically, this one isn't new to me, since I started listening to it when they first started producing it last year. It's basically Jerry/Tycho and Mike/Gabe going through their process of writing a strip, and it's both funny and an interesting glimpse into their creative processes.
Rating: 4/5
2) The Butcher Block - I've mentioned the roleplaying game Spirit of the Century a number of times now in various entries. One of the creators of the game (Fred Hicks) is an old friend of Jim Butcher, the author of the Dresden Files books, and Evil Hat Productions (publishers of SotC) are also currently working on the Dresden Files RPG. Because of all this, Fred has started a Dresden Files/Jim Butcher-related podcast. Having never read the books, it's only of limited interest to me, mostly because of the bits of rpg-related content, but it was a gateway for me to find several other, more interesting podcasts.
Rating: 3/5
3) 2d6 Feet in a Random Direction - Named for an old Warhammer Fantasy critical hit table, 2d6 Feet is one of the best podcasts I've discovered so far. It features two guys with a regular string of guest co-hosts talking about GM and Player advice, interviews with game creators and publishers, reviews, roleplaying theory discussion, and just general gabbing about games, including board games and miniatures games, as well as rpgs.
Rating: 5/5
4) Sons of Kryos - Sons of Kryos is very similar in format to 2d6 Feet in a Random Direction in all the best ways possible, but it is different enough that you don't feel like you're listening to the exact same show. It also includes occasional talk about LARPing, which is absent from 2d6 Feet, and has a lot less discussion of board and miniatures games.
Rating: 5/5
5) Have Games Will Travel - Hosted by Paul Tevis, HGWT is a short, weekly, review-heavy podcast about all kinds of tabletop games. It's very well done, and fun to listen to, but the dynamic of a one-person podcast is very different from one with multiple hosts (as 2d6 Feet and Sons of Kryos have), and I find that I prefer the multi-host setup a bit more.
Rating: 4.5/5
6) Voice of the Revolution - A relatively new podcast co-hosted by Paul Tevis of Have Games Will Travel and Brennan Taylor, founder of Indie Press Revolution, a distributor/network for self-publishing rpg authors and indie games. VotR is all about IPR games and features news, reviews, industry info, and playtest reports about its current rpg line-up, once a month, in a half hour format.
Rating: 4.5/5
7) Gamer's Haven - A tips, tricks, and rants podcast for GMs. The segments vary widely in quality, as do the tips for running games, but it's still a decent listen, if a bit more amateur than some of the other podcasts here.
Rating: 2.75/5
8) The House of the Harping Monkey - This is actually a collection of several podcasts, only one of which I've really listened to so far. The "Side Dish" episodes are recordings of gamers actually sitting down at the gaming table. There are plenty of digressions, but most if it is actual play, mostly unedited. As one might expect, this makes for a very hit-or-miss sort of recording, and I have to be in a certain mood to enjoy it. Still, they play a wide variety of games and are currently experimenting with Spirit of the Century, which is a big plus in my book.
Rating (Side-Dish only): 3/5
There are also a few podcasts that I've started downloading but haven't actually listened to yet. OgreCave Audio Report is the audio companion to the OgreCave website. The podcast is supposed to focus on industry news and events, and I have high hopes for it, since one of the hosts also co-hosts 2d6 Feet in a Random Direction. Godzilla Gaming Podcast is another two-man show, featuring a pair of gamers who currently live and game in Japan. Beyond that, I know very little about it, but it comes highly recommended. I'll probably eventually throw up ratings for these two (and possibly others), as things develop.
Nonetheless, in the past few weeks, I've been listening to a lot of gaming-related podcasts, and I've enjoyed them immensely. Like webcomics, creators of these things tend to refer to one another's work, so listening to one is like finding a bibliography that directs you to others, which directs you to others still, ad infinitum. Many of these are relatively long-running, so there's quite a bit of backlog to go through if you want the full picture, but I consider that to be half the fun. All of these podcasts are available through their websites as well as iTunes.
1) The Penny Arcade Podcast - Technically, this one isn't new to me, since I started listening to it when they first started producing it last year. It's basically Jerry/Tycho and Mike/Gabe going through their process of writing a strip, and it's both funny and an interesting glimpse into their creative processes.
Rating: 4/5
2) The Butcher Block - I've mentioned the roleplaying game Spirit of the Century a number of times now in various entries. One of the creators of the game (Fred Hicks) is an old friend of Jim Butcher, the author of the Dresden Files books, and Evil Hat Productions (publishers of SotC) are also currently working on the Dresden Files RPG. Because of all this, Fred has started a Dresden Files/Jim Butcher-related podcast. Having never read the books, it's only of limited interest to me, mostly because of the bits of rpg-related content, but it was a gateway for me to find several other, more interesting podcasts.
Rating: 3/5
3) 2d6 Feet in a Random Direction - Named for an old Warhammer Fantasy critical hit table, 2d6 Feet is one of the best podcasts I've discovered so far. It features two guys with a regular string of guest co-hosts talking about GM and Player advice, interviews with game creators and publishers, reviews, roleplaying theory discussion, and just general gabbing about games, including board games and miniatures games, as well as rpgs.
Rating: 5/5
4) Sons of Kryos - Sons of Kryos is very similar in format to 2d6 Feet in a Random Direction in all the best ways possible, but it is different enough that you don't feel like you're listening to the exact same show. It also includes occasional talk about LARPing, which is absent from 2d6 Feet, and has a lot less discussion of board and miniatures games.
Rating: 5/5
5) Have Games Will Travel - Hosted by Paul Tevis, HGWT is a short, weekly, review-heavy podcast about all kinds of tabletop games. It's very well done, and fun to listen to, but the dynamic of a one-person podcast is very different from one with multiple hosts (as 2d6 Feet and Sons of Kryos have), and I find that I prefer the multi-host setup a bit more.
Rating: 4.5/5
6) Voice of the Revolution - A relatively new podcast co-hosted by Paul Tevis of Have Games Will Travel and Brennan Taylor, founder of Indie Press Revolution, a distributor/network for self-publishing rpg authors and indie games. VotR is all about IPR games and features news, reviews, industry info, and playtest reports about its current rpg line-up, once a month, in a half hour format.
Rating: 4.5/5
7) Gamer's Haven - A tips, tricks, and rants podcast for GMs. The segments vary widely in quality, as do the tips for running games, but it's still a decent listen, if a bit more amateur than some of the other podcasts here.
Rating: 2.75/5
8) The House of the Harping Monkey - This is actually a collection of several podcasts, only one of which I've really listened to so far. The "Side Dish" episodes are recordings of gamers actually sitting down at the gaming table. There are plenty of digressions, but most if it is actual play, mostly unedited. As one might expect, this makes for a very hit-or-miss sort of recording, and I have to be in a certain mood to enjoy it. Still, they play a wide variety of games and are currently experimenting with Spirit of the Century, which is a big plus in my book.
Rating (Side-Dish only): 3/5
There are also a few podcasts that I've started downloading but haven't actually listened to yet. OgreCave Audio Report is the audio companion to the OgreCave website. The podcast is supposed to focus on industry news and events, and I have high hopes for it, since one of the hosts also co-hosts 2d6 Feet in a Random Direction. Godzilla Gaming Podcast is another two-man show, featuring a pair of gamers who currently live and game in Japan. Beyond that, I know very little about it, but it comes highly recommended. I'll probably eventually throw up ratings for these two (and possibly others), as things develop.
