Episode 281 – making online games work

* (0:40) Two new prizes have been added to the postcard contest (a copy of Ultimate Toolbox and World’s Largest Dungeon).  The deadline has also been pushed back to November 10th.  You can find the complete rules on the forums. * (3:26) The absolute horror of the Sesame Street aliens and singing statue. * (7:54) Introducing Greg Christopher.  You can find his Google+ feed here. * (10:57) The reason we brought Greg on the show: to shed some light on the virtues of online games and how to make them work better than we’ve traditionally done. * (14:16) The advantages of remote play when compared to face-to-face play. * (23:44) The growing number and sophistication of online play tools.  See the bottom of the post for a list of links. * (29:14) The degree and frequency of meta-gaming in remote games. * (35:46) Overcoming the common problems of online play, including poor player reliability, social pressure to skip games, and readily-available distractions. * (53:28) Setting expectations for an online game.  You can find Stuart Robertson’s GM Merit Badges here. * (57:41) Getting started in online play. Hosts: Dan, Greg, John, Julia, Wayne   MapTool – http://www.rptools.net/index.php?page=maptool Myth Weavers – http://www.myth-weavers.com Obsidian Portal – http://www.obsidianportal.com Roll20 – http://roll20.net Tabletop Forge – http://tabletopforge.com Wikia – http://www.wikia.com