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I found it, Yochai. I found the Cauldron. This was a great discussion. I really need to make it to Gary Con.
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Great discussion all around, was a lot of fun to listen to!
A slightly tangental thought on the topic of online community, but it’d be really interesting if somebody with the necessary skills built a Google+ clone on top of AT Protocol (Bluesky). Obviously wouldn’t have the near same preexisting network as Google had, but it’s definitely got a great user base and community building would have a lot less friction than Discourse while also being a lot less siloed than Discord.
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I’m so glad this was recorded. Hearing about this panel really spiked my Gary Con FOMO. I appreciated that you all (the panelists) asked each other questions, and I particularly enjoyed hearing Matt talk how the OSR has changed.
I’d have been curious to hear discussion about the future of the OSR. As Matt mentioned, one of the most conspicuous changes in recent years has been the increase in project budgets and production quality. High-quality books may soon become inaccessible for the US audience (a sizable portion of TTRPG consumers, from what I’ve heard).
On one hand, I’d anticipate a return to the DIY, folk art roots of the scene. On the other hand, I wonder if the folks who’ve made RPGs their livelihood will pivot to innovative digital products. PDFs have been around for a quite a while, and I could imagine new formats for digital RPG materials emerging. (The Sun King’s Palace comes to mind)
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Me too, I also found it. (no thanks to Google as mentioned in the panel)
Exactly what brought me here. The community discussion has got me pumped to start something local.
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Maybe you just need to astroturf YouTube, Yochai? 
Loved the discussion and the points they raised. Would have been interested in their thoughts about the future where they each think things are heading. Also, it would have been a lot of fun to see them all play, say swords and wizardry after with Matt in the driving seat :). Where do you guys think things are heading? Personally I believe things will become less OSE focussed and more system neutral. More OD&D in spirit rather than in actual rules, I.e. things written more openly for homebrew systems and everyone’s own interpretation of the rules.
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I’m not great at prognostication, so I can’t really draw any conclusions on the future direction of the OSR space. What I can say is that where things are now (other than the community/silo issues) feels pretty damned good to me. I think there are a lot of smaller indie creators making really good shit and being seen for it and in many cases the cost of entry is very low - so finding a new system that fits with your group is easier than it’s ever been.
This is such a pleasure to watch!
It is truly heartbreaking to hear Google+ come up again, and Matt’s comments on the difference between “a community or an idea” and “a company” in current social media reach and how that loops back into the ways that we talk to each other and about the games we play. I adore a lot of the flow of this conversation, thanks for putting it together and thanks for recording it with great audio and video quality! It’s not usually a dealbreaker, but it means a lot when it’s done well.
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Awesome discussion - I really enjoyed hearing the different creators’ perspectives and also so many great recommendations!
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It’s so cool to see a bunch of these OSR big-names just chat about stuff.
I’m newer to the scene, and didnt really know who Matt Finch was, but I love how positive he is about the younger crowd.
OSR at this point feels to me like the “Punk RP” scene. We’re burnt out on the corpos draining us for shitty products, and have decided to make our own scene. It’s duct-tape and cardboard at times, but it’s ours.
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This reminds me of how for a while there was discourse about making RPG book .epub and .mobi instead of .pdf. I personally never liked those alternatives because they demanded a certain amount of compromise on the designer’s layout, art, and overall presentation. But mostly I never liked the alternatives because all of their points for .epub were better executed online as websites.
I think websites and to a lesser extent programs/apps are going to rise in popularity. I’m surprised (maybe a little relieved) that we don’t have more games on a members-only webpage.
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Really good point about websites! I’ve made it a key criterium for choosing a game for my table if the rules are easily and freely available, and my players really really like good online srds (basic fantasy, cairn, vaults of vaarn, black sword hack etc), to the point where they use them over PDFs. Links really make a big difference and being able to live in a tab either on your computer or phone while playing also facilitates accessibility. Also GitHub makes so much sense for posting / sharing home brew rules, hacks, etc
HTML is probably the most universal, accessible and feature rich way to distribute a game. And there’s so many options to generate that HTML: plain HTML, markdown, visual editors, etc.
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I finished the video, it was interesting. But it was also a first time for me to put some faces on the voices of Yogai and Brad. It’s always weird at first when you’ve listened to a voice for a long time. Also, for some reason I really like Brad’s laugh, it’s kind of contagious. And it’s even better when you see him laughing!
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I’ve only just started learning HTML and CSS, but I’m somewhat surprised this isn’t already commonplace. I see so much potential utility, especially for presenting adventure modules. That said, I hope websites and apps serve as a supplement—rather than a replacement—for print books and PDFs. Even if print distribution becomes unfeasible in the US for a time, I’d hate to lose the charm and soul that the book format offers (even in PDF form).
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Great panel! For whatever reason, I was not aware of the Cauldron before I watched it. The only other comment I have is to mimic the panel in encouraging gamers to consider in person community building. Though it’s a great event, you don’t have to go to Gary Con to meet people and run games. There are many small local conventions and game shops are always looking for game masters to run events.
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I live out in the boondocks of rural Oregon, but a town about an hour away has an annual Ren Faire type thing that also has a strong RPG presence.
On top of that, the local library encourages community members to schedule and advertise events, and you can often find some friendly nerds through that channel.
I started the video, kicked up to a quicker pace to get through it quckly. (I generally don’t watch videos because it takes too damn long to get the information. I can read the same amount of info much more quickly, so avoid videos for the most part.)
I didn’t make it through the first question. Seriously, a panel at Gary Con specifically about the OSR and the first question is “What is the OSR?” I noped out at that point because I don’t have the time available for that nonsense.
I might revisit it at some point and try to find where they get to visions of the future of the OSR. I don’t have time for discussions of what the OSR is.