The G*M*S Magazine RPG Podcast–Episode 49 Ennies and Cartography with Jenn and Rob

The G*M*S Magazine RPG Podcast–Episode 49 Ennies and Cartography with Jenn and Rob

The time has come for another episode of the RPG Edition of our podcast and it is a very exciting one. Not that the rest aren’t exciting, but this one is special because we have a new person joining us. Mr. Robert Sullivan, aka the Grumpy Celt, who will lend us his knowledge, wit and charm for the commentary.

Well. You judge about the charm bit.

We do discuss the Ennies. With “we” I mean Jenn, Rob and myself, of course. The nominees for the most prestigious award in the Role Playing industry were announced and, as is to be expected, there is controversy aplenty. A couple of the categories gave us plenty of reasons to talk about what we think went well and which ones we think shouldn’t even be there.

Of course we celebrate and congratulate Jenn for her nomination for Best Podcast. I say nomination with a pinch of salt (or a grain if you prefer), because she should be getting the award and she will with your help. Please head onto the Ennies voting page and make sure the Jennisodes are your number one choice!

As usual we also have an interview that we hope you’ll enjoy. If you lurk Kickstarter (and you should!), you might have noticed Encountermaps.com. This young company has been set up to produce high quality printed maps you can use on the table. But not just any maps, as you will find out.

With Jared Blando as their artist and some production values that more experienced companies should learn of, Encountermaps.com should be doing very, very well in the future!

Remember you can always reach us via email by writing us on podcast@gmsmagazine.com.

Hope you enjoy the show!

http://gmsmagazine.podbean.com/mf/web/xwarnx/podcast49.mp3

Dunno why you don't like Stealing Cthulhu. That book's ace and if you can't read the layout is your problem and not the author.

You shouldn't just say is bad because you don't like the layout. The people who make the Ennies know more than you and if they have chosen it, then it has to be good.

Saying things like that make you look like a dick.

Right... so giving my honest opinion in my own podcast, based on my professional experience as a graphic artist makes me sound like a dick...

I think I can live with that!

My own products have been criticized for layout issues before, but I think people have a right to such opinions. If leviatham was bothered by Stealing Cthulu's layout, especially if he feels its a readability concern, there is nothing wrong with him judging the book on those grounds (i haven't heard this podcast yet as I am currently listening to the one with Laws so dont know the specifics pf the criticism).

One thing I wuod like to say, while the ennies are a great contest and its judges generally quite good, that doesn't mean other bloggers, podcasters, etc can't disagree with them. No one likes having their favorite game criticized, and i can tell you first hand as a publisher it is never pleasant hearing negative feedback....but you can't expect everyone out there to love what you love. And specific criticism, like the compaint about layout and readability, is probably te most helpful for publishers. We got a lot of negative comments about too much white space in Terror Network and have made an effort to improve our layouts with each new book. Ultimately this industry is about having thick skin and knowing what criticisms to heed and which ones to ignore. These days I get a lot more out pf negative feedback than praise because it helps me identify areas to improve.