Info

Ugly Talk

A branch of the Drunk and Ugly podcast, Ugly Talk discusses concepts from film, TV, videogames, and other forms of media and how to apply them to traditional games. Join us as we discuss things, because we know things.
RSS Feed Subscribe in Apple Podcasts
2018
October
August
June
May
April
February
January


2017
December
November
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
January


2016
December
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February


2015
December
November


Categories

All Episodes
Archives
Categories
Now displaying: 2018
Oct 3, 2018

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 personal tricks for running games.

Special thanks to Technical Difficulties' Greg, Laura, and Adam as well as Roleplaying Exchange's Sean for all their assistance with the creation of this episode.

Media Referenced:

Guest Information

Aug 22, 2018

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 the subject of racial inequality by also discussing the first season of David Simon's 2002-2008 HBO Drama The Wire

We also talk in detail about the concept of Sensitivity Editors and other ideas to bring more grounding to your work and iron out problems you may not think you had.

Media Discussed:

Twitter

Aug 8, 2018
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. Furthermore, this panel briefly delves into how RPG systems can use the ideas and aesthetics of cosmic horror to provide a voice to individuals who struggle to express their experiences.
 
 
Panel includes: RPPR's David Dobleman, Aldente Rigormortis' Review Cultist, and DnU's Max Daniel and Travis Gasque.
 
Special thanks to Review Cultist for taking a backup recording so that we could post this.
Jun 27, 2018

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

May 16, 2018

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 discuss the themes of Paranoia Agent and the meanings of anthologies, series, and serials.

Media Referenced in this Episode

Apr 1, 2018

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 change.

You're joining me in the navy.

Feb 21, 2018

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, speedrunning may seem like a fruitless or impossible task to pick up, as observation of the fastest run shows that runners immediately understand the whole game and execute it to the finest degree in ways not conceived by the developers.  What is actually being observed in each speedrun, however, is the end product of dozens of hands in perfecting a route and hours of practice before finally reciting the sequence in a run.

No man is an island, and there's no wrong way to play.  In this episode, we talk about this concept as it relates to tabletop gaming with our friend Greg Bennett of Technical Difficulties.

Media Referenced in This Episode:

Follow Us:

 

Jan 31, 2018

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 in this Episode:

Do you have some writing ideas for Posthuman Studios?  Check out their current writing contest!

1