This month Matt and Travis invite 3 special guests (and one tag along) to the show. Travis has struggled trying to work with the Red Market's RPG system. Tonight, with the help of our guests, we hope to rectify that. Along the way we will talk the different focuses GM's have when designing games, our advice for learning how to write scenarios, and …

David Cage's Detroit: Become Human has become something of a bad joke among those who have experienced it due to its nonsensical twists and poor handling of the idea of the Civil Rights Movement. Since the internet at large has spent more than their fair share of time beating it down, we felt like comparing it to another cop story that deals with t…

Cosmic Horror isn't just tentacles monsters and insanity. It is the loneliness of the outsider. It is the realization of how small you our in a system vastly beyond your own. Strange Cases of Cosmic Horror will reveal some examples of media that might now be viewed as traditional cosmic horror, but still fits within the genre's aesthetic. Furthermo…

Travis and Matt are currently dealing with personal issues. We will return in July.

Paranoia Agent is an animated program from Satoshi Kon, director of animated films such as Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika. Paranoia Agent was described as a way for him to use ideas that he wasn't able to fit into his other feature films, connecting the scraps into an anthology by way of a framing device. In this episode we discu…

As of now, as of right this second, there's a new dynamic at play. And this dynamic is the final from here on out until I state otherwise. There'll be no more debate, no more discussion, no more compromise. It's me speaking you listening, me saying you doing. Do you understand that? It's time for a new course of action. A new direction. A game chan…

Speedrunning is a rather esoteric hobby of trying to beat games as quickly as possible under specific conditions. It's difficult to say where it began or what the first speedrun was, but on this day in the year of our lord two thousand eighteen it's grown into a large community that contains many smaller subcultures. To the outside observer, speedr…

What's the difference between a gimmick and a core mechanic? In this episode, we discuss various games with strange ideas and odd control schemes in an effort to get to the bottom of this discussion, and also how this can be applied to your own games, be they tabletop or otherwise. Strap yourself in and be ready for some spoilers. Media Referenced …

The Cry of Mann was an interactive webseries that ran from October 23rd until November 2nd of 2017, performed by the members of the sketch comedy group Wham City. The series followed the trials and tribulations of the Mann family who have been waiting for their patriarch, Tank Mann, to return home, hopefully in time for the annual celebration of TR…

This month we readdress last years topic on cultural storytelling. This time we are looking at American Culture as can be seen through the lens of American Horror cinema. This does a bit to get into, so give it a listen. We talk about ghosts, film, horror franchises, Travis gets burpy, and the hidden political subtext of Saw. It gets weird. Check i…

Gobblin’ is an original RPG setting and system where players control goblins settling and exploring a post-apocalyptic Earth. The creatures who crave violence, stupidity and chaos have just found the perfect means to obtain it. Travis talks to Greg to better understand this game about everyone's favorite miserable minions. Remember to check out Gob…

This panel was recorded at Gen Con 2017. The panelists were Travis, Matt, and Greg Bennett of Technical Difficulties. Horror beyond time and space! The unknowable horror of the universe! But is it really all the same? This panel is an exploration of the evolution of Lovecraft's works in the modern era. And how what we experience today might changed…

This is a panel from Gen Con 2017. Travis talks about Ludonarrative Dissonance (Fludonarrative discobiscuits if you're hungry). If you've been in the video game blog-o-sphere at some point, you have heard of LND (I'm not typing out the entire word you can't make me). But is it necessarily the pejorative term as its become in video game circles. Lis…

The Story of Your Life is a short story by Ted Chiang following a woman whose understanding of an alien language has vastly altered her perception of reality. This story was later adapted into the multimillion dollar Sci-Fi motion picture Arrival. Experiencing both of these media, the throughline can be easily found, but the two stories are vastly …

Hello internet! We return to you this summer to talk about the return of a revered but short series from the 1990s. Twin Peaks was a TV series by David Lynch and Mark Frost about the murder of the Homecoming Queen Laura Palmer in the sleepy town of Twin Peaks, Washington. We share the experiences and explore the town through Dale Cooper, a federal …

Stasis is a 2015 science fiction horror game developed and published by The Brotherhood, a South African studio comprised of the brothers Nicolas and Christopher Bischoff. In the year of its release, it was awarded Adventure Game of the Year by AdventureGamers.com The plot of the game draws heavily from Event Horizon and Dead Space. It follows John…

Hello Internet! Apologies for the wait, but the March Madness applies to more than college basketball. In this episode we hit on a topic that we have wanted to cover for probably over a year now: Tales from the Wood. For the entire time since we played this game we have been really thinking on how we can make it better or at least better adhere to …

Hello internet! In this episode we continue our discussion from the previous episode on ways to break down media, where we now focus on the supreme way: Deconstruction and Reconstruction. In a deconstruction, a medium is taken apart, usually by playing the subject matter completely straight and considering how the signature elements would work in t…

Hello Internet, and welcome back to Ugly Talk. In our first episode of 2017, we're discussing patterns in media remixing and creation by examining and comparing some very different video games. Namely, we are comparing Punch Club, an early 2016 mobile fight manager simulator with a number of very goofy themes, to the more recently released Final Fa…

Welcome back to Ugly Talk! We've got one more to close the year out, focusing some feel good TV. Black Mirror is a project by the great Charlie Brooker, humorist, satirist, critic, etc, etc. Brooker has produced many short run television series, mostly comedies, but all of which seem to deconstruct the world of entertainment around us and call into…

Sam and Matt did another panel on publishing indie RPGs. This year they picked a name that meant something and also Sam was able to make it to Gen Con to talk about it. It quickly turns to a roundtable discussion and Q&A about common problems while publishing and both of them talk about their experiences publishing Sordid Dystopia, both good and ba…

In this episode, we discuss the ubiquity of Creepypasta and the easy fodder it makes for horror video games. We discuss games that successfully adapt the material into a new medium, the ones that simply copy ideas, the endless clones of successful games, and what sets them apart. To aid in our exploration of the realm most creepy and most pasta, we…

HP Lovecraft is undoubtedly a driving force in the ever-changing face of horror in the modern age. While but one of a movement, his works changed the basic inspirations of horror from a universe of divine punishment doled out by monsters to a universe that couldn't be bothered to care if you lived or died. His talk of ancient powerful beings from w…

Welcome back to Ugly Talk! This episode, we know things about our experiences with This Is The Police. In playing this game, we learned a bit about Noir storytelling and Gameplay / Story balancing, as well as the meaning of impactful storytelling, the illusion of choice, and dissonant characters. Important Links: Neo Noir Reading List Patreon for A…

At Gen Con last year, Travis and Matt let the fine con attendees in on the secrets they had learned about online roleplaying via their time on The Drunk and the Ugly. Also along for the ride was Aaron Carsten of Role Playing Public Radio, talking about his recent experiences running games online and the differences from his time at the table.…

Over the weekend, we attended Gen Con, where we hosted several different seminars. Kevin and James join Matt on this one in describing their campaign design philosophies to the attending audience before opening the floor for questions, advice, and discussion.

Welcome back to Ugly Talk! This month, we know things about Film Writing and the Three Act Structure. Travis is out of town on business, so Matt brought in Kevin Colmar and Charlotte Adams to discuss what they know about filmmaking, film writing, film direction, and what of it can be applied to games and how.…

Support Red Markets on Kickstarter! Welcome back to Ugly Talk! This month, we know things about Red Markets, the game of economic horror where the world has ended and the rent is still due. Along with Matt and Travis, we have the one and only Caleb Stokes to talk a bit about the game, where and how it started, the influences that brought it into be…

This month we are discussing the Powered by the Apocalypse system Monster Hearts, a game that aims to recreate the feel of shows like The Vampire Diaries and Being Human and other sorts of supernatural teen drama. We go through a basic breakdown of how Powered by the Apocalypse works as well as the specifics of how they work in Monster Hearts and t…

Hello internet and welcome to Creepy Talks, a show wherein we discuss creepy stories, horror films, spooky computer games, and the important elements that make each of these things work and how we can tie them back to spooky stuff. This month, we discuss the reading of Creepy Pastas and how we've turned them into creepy collaborative storytelling e…

Hello Internet! Welcome back to Ugly Talk, a show wherein we discuss RPGs, film, computer games, and the important elements that make each of these things work and how we can tie them back to the traditional games media. This month we are discussing two different approaches to open world puzzle videogames: Croteam's The Talos Principle and Johnatha…

Hello Internet! Welcome back to Ugly Talk, a show wherein we discuss RPGs, film, computer games, and the important elements that make each of these things work and how we can tie them back to the traditional games media. This month we are discussing the new Star Wars, how it compares to the original and prequel trilogies, and what we can learn from…

Hello Internet! Welcome back to Ugly Talk, a show wherein we discuss RPGs, film, computer games, and the important elements that make each of these things work and how we can tie them back to the traditional games media. This month we are discussing the Leverage RPG, based on the hit TV show Leverage which follows a group of modern-day Robin Hood c…

Gen Con 2015: Matt Campen and Ross Payton sat down and talked about their shared experiences designing, publishing, and producing roleplaying games. Game Design is a long and tedious process. Turning a pile of notes into a book can seem nearly impossible. There's a phrase in journalism that all the mayonnaise in the world can't turn chicken crap in…

Hello Internet! Welcome to our first-ever episode of Ugly Talk, a show wherein we discuss RPGs, film, computer games, and the important elements that make each of these things work and how we can tie them back to the traditional games media. This week we are discussing the Lovecraft-Inspired letter-writing RPG De Profundis, a rules light GM-less st…

Hello, Internet! In the wake of Fury Road, we realized there are some artists on the podcast who have a lot to say about style, composition and color and our own Travis Gasque led a discussion with them about the styles and themes in the movie. Depending on reactions, this may be a recurring segment about other films, video games, and pop culture m…

We sat down with horror master Dennis Detwiller to get news on all of his new projects and his favorite moments from Delta Green. Important Links Delta Green Arc Dream Dennis Detwiller's Personal Blog Delta Green the Roleplaying Game on Kickstarter

Travis sat down for a Drunk Talk with Adam Scott Glancy of Delta Green fame. He took us on a journey through his process and what he draws inspiration from (Spoiler Alert: it’s not always whiskey). Introductions – Who are you? What do you do? What are you working on? Delta Green Kickstarter – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcdream/delta-gree…