Actual Play podcasts

[Matthan]

Matthan,

I agree about live streams, I definitely don't have the time. I like podcasts that I can listen to while I work or drive.

Regarding combat, it's definitely hard to keep it entertaining, especially when you get to higher level play and there can be more drawn-out fights. After 10, 20, 30+ fights it seems like there's only so much "narration" one can do to make it anything other than nerds doing math, but I guess if the players can keep the banter going for entertainment purposes then it wouldn't be so bad. But then again if players are talking a lot it's hard to keep things straight with the combat, I would think.

I think that's where editing happens. Griffin McElroy (The Adventure Zone) has mentioned cutting entire fights out of the podcast because while the players used their abilities and rolled some dice, nothing happened that was crucial to the plot or pacing. The other side of that is the DM can make the combats interesting (listen to Crit Juice for some set piece fights) and empower the players to own some of the entertaining portion (listen to Crit Juice again and Campaign is a great example of letting the players help carry the load of making an entertaining session).

 

[SunGold]

1. Yep
2. Gamerstable's Openly Gamer Theater is the only one I listen to reliably.
3. Highly edited, environment sounds, etc. I've tried a few "just a low quality mic at a gaming table" podcasts and couldn't get into them.
4. Hasn't really come up, but I suspect I might, especially if it wasn't edited at all.
5. Both. Usually levity (the Victoriana episode where the Gamerstable guys got into a bar brawl at an all-halfling pub comes to mind), but there are occasional times for a bit more seriousness.

 

[iserith]

wedgeski,

4. Indeed. Sometimes it's hard to get around the "nerds doing math" portions of combat-heavy scenarios, even if they try hard to narrate and add flavor.
5. Yes, it seems a hard balance to strike. Good point.

Iserith,

2. Thanks! I give this one a try.
3. It's definitely hard when you're in the moment and playing. I guess it's just the nature of the beast? What do you think can be done to better engage audience, if anything?

3. Being mindful that you have an audience or trying to build one is a good start. This means doing things that are entertaining and fun and move the game forward at all times. Avoid doing boring stuff. Always be thinking about what to do that both makes sense and will make for the most entertaining stories. This is generally good advice for games that aren't being cast, but it's even more important when you have an audience.

 

[timmy2383]

This excellent info, guys. To be honest, I'm part of an APP. We do it mainly for fun, there's no monetization involved. We have done one full season (playing through Princes of the Apocalypse and offering our opinions on it, as a product, during and after).

It wasn't until halfway through the first season that we significantly improved audio quality with a new setup. We just started season two and are playing Out of the Abyss. I want to incorporate a lot of these great ideas to make it a more enjoyable experience (like editing out boring combat, trying to make listening to combat more fun, reducing my loud chip crunching, etc.).

I have enjoyed listening to most of our episodes, but it's hard to tell if that's just because I was there and a part of it.

I've listened to two episodes of Crit Juice so far. Pretty entertaining, even if it's 4e

I'll need to check out Adventure Zone and others too.

 

[not-so-newguy]

I'm interested to know peoples' preferences/opinions on Actual Play podcasts:

1. Do you listen to them?
2. If so, which ones do you listen to?
3. Do you prefer professional (highly edited, high sound quality, music, effects, etc)? Or more low-tech/amateur (limited editing, standard audio quality, chip crunching, etc.), almost literally just a recording of regular people playing D&D?
4. Do you get bored listening to long combat sequences?
5. Do you prefer a serious tone or one with levity?

1 & 2 I still listen to Adventure Zone. I used to listen to Nerd Poker.

3 I prefer the well edited version of things. Though I could do without the sound effects.

4 Listening to long combat sequences are pretty boring.

5 Mo' humor, mo' better. Though the Nerd Poker podcast got very annoying because the jokes took precedence over the adventure after the initial DM left. I suspect this was the case because there was no real adventure planned and they were just winging it.

 

[timmy2383]

Also,

What kind of episode release length do you prefer? Each episode is length of session (like 3 hours or so)? Or always set length (like maybe 1 hour per episode)?

 

[not-so-newguy]

I prefer 60-90 minute length. When I listen to podcasts I'm doing something else (usually cleaning or playing a video game). If I'm doing something that's long than this. I'll listen to second podcast.

 

[iserith]

I've listened to two episodes of Crit Juice so far. Pretty entertaining, even if it's 4e

Wait till you hear the one when the party is hunting dark pixies for a pervy dwarf NPC. It's hilarious.

 

[timmy2383]

Wait till you hear the one when the party is hunting dark pixies for a pervy dwarf NPC. It's hilarious.

Hilarity ensues!

 

[timmy2383]

I prefer 60-90 minute length. When I listen to podcasts I'm doing something else (usually cleaning or playing a video game). If I'm doing something that's long than this. I'll listen to second podcast.

Ha! Me too. I think we will definitely start release as shorter episodes in season two. More digestible.