Beyond the Game Master: Building Collaborative RPG Worlds with Nat Mesnard

In today's episode, we sit down with game designer and writer Nat Mesnard, co-founder of Scryptid Games and Unquiet Games. We dive deep into the creation of Assemblage, a GM-less roleplaying game where players collaboratively build strange science-fiction ecosystems and face the heartbreaking decision of which species will go extinct. Whether you're interested in innovative game design or looking to explore alternatives to traditional hierarchical play, this conversation will transform how you think about collaborative storytelling.In this episode, you'll discover:How to design games that resist hierarchical power structuresThe challenge of creating truly collaborative play spaces and why "GM-less" doesn't always mean "leader-less"Building game mechanics around collective grief and difficult choicesUsing rigid design rules to enable creative freedomThe journey from pandemic-era online play to published gameJoining us is host Nick Perron in conversation with Nat Mesnard. Together, they explore the intersection of queer survival, ecological thinking, and tabletop game design, covering everything from matsutake mushrooms and Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing's work to the linage of DMs as "referees."Links to what we talked about in todays episode:Nat's article on the gameTry Assemblage on ScreentopPurchase AssemblageMORE LINKS!→ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tabletopped's website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check us out on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We have a new monthly pod as well as behind the scenes clips that you can get on a secret Spotify feed! We will also be dropping some more treats from time to time!Theme music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mitch Poulin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support and Subscribe to the Podcast!