What Simon Says About Curated Play – Magpie Video games

However we all know that the true success of this system is constructed on our superior GMs. Each session, they present up prepared to assist their teams inform incredible tales, lots of them working wildly totally different video games from week to week.

We determined to verify in with one in every of GMs, Simon Moody (who has been with us since we launched this system) to get his perspective on the Curated Play Program and be taught extra about what bought him to the place he’s right now!

So Simon, inform us a little bit bit about your self! Who’re you exterior of gaming?

I put on a number of hats each in and outdoors of the gaming world! Though I do loads of issues that aren’t associated to gaming, a number of them are nonetheless influenced by it. I’ve been a performer, educator, and storyteller for years, all of which impacts my work as a recreation designer and a GM. I’m a co-founder and co-director of Enkindle Storytelling, a manufacturing firm centered on creating socially accountable, narrative-focused live-action occasions like LARPs. I’m honored to be a voice actor for a queer sci-fi & fantasy audio drama sequence known as The Penumbra Podcast. I additionally spend a number of time within the kitchen – I’ve been moving into pickling at residence for the final yr!

What’s your background in GMing? What was the primary recreation you ever GM’d? What’s your favourite?

I realized about RPGs in center college however I didn’t play a “conventional” RPG till a number of years later. An older child at my college began working what he known as “Speaking Adventures” for me at recess, which have been easy diceless story video games – he’d narrate a scene, I’d inform him how my character responded, and he’d add issues. My first GMing experiences have been working these for my family and friends; it wasn’t till highschool and the recognition of third Version D&D that I began working video games conventionally. In faculty, I began accumulating and working video games from the primary large wave of recent indie video games (like Canines within the Winery and Shock: social science fiction), which completely modified how I checked out roleplaying. I like working any recreation the place gamers have instruments to have an effect on the reality of the sport’s fiction, uplift one another, and push the drama and narrative ahead with minimal GM affect. I’m biased however to that finish, a few of my greatest roleplaying experiences in years have come from MCing Pasion de las Pasiones as a result of everybody instantly is aware of the tropes and what buttons to push to make the sport sing!

How would you characterize your GMing model? Do you’ve any inspirations?

Every time I GM, I exploit a number of the abilities I picked up as a instructor and an improv actor. A instructing colleague gave me the expression “Be the information on the facet, not the sage on the stage,” which is core to my GMing model. As a result of the sport is a dialog, I like asking questions and utilizing these solutions to construct the story. If I needed to choose a phrase for my model I’d go along with “collaborative.” In any case, I may inform you what legend your character’s heard in regards to the haunted fort you’re touring to, but it surely may not be one thing you as a participant are thinking about! In the event you inform me what it’s, I do know it’s one thing you need to discover and I can construct to that expectation. Stylistically, I’ve grown keen on utilizing the visible language of movie and TV to assist set scenes – it actually evokes a way of house that helps construct everybody’s immersion within the story.

What’s been your favourite factor that you simply’ve seen in a session of the Curated Play Program?

I do know it’s trite but it surely’s onerous for me to choose anyone factor! I’d say a latest reminiscence was a recreation of Masks the place the gamers have been coaching in a “Hazard Room” simulation and took an in-game lunch break earlier than the situation’s second half. Throughout that scene, they have been in a position to discuss their methods, share weaknesses and vulnerabilities, encourage one another, and have messy teenage moments in a context that felt very pure. As an MC, I used to be in a position to take extra of an observer function as a result of everybody was nudging the scene alongside so properly and setting one another up for their very own moments to shine. All I needed to do was ask probing questions, whereas the gamers supplied their very own issues!

In the event you may play a TTRPG with anybody on the planet, who would it not be and why?

This can be a little bit of a bizarre reply however I’d actually like to share a recreation desk with an arts-and-crafts YouTuber named TheCrafsMan. He’s fairly non-public so his entire on-line persona is a funny-looking puppet. He’s bought an extremely soothing presence and distinctive expertise in making every kind of issues, from resin jewellery to customized motion figures. He is at all times full of fine life recommendation and positivity so I think about it might simply be a number of hours of healthful and comfy storytelling. I’d like to see what somebody with such a artistic thoughts and intensive skills would carry to the desk, even when I used to be speaking with a puppet the entire time.

And eventually, what’s a recreation that you’d like to GM however haven’t had the possibility to up to now?

I’m a sucker for tactical fight and video games with a little bit of meat on their mechanical bones, however I’ve been extra thinking about seeing how indie video games deal with that problem than taking part in a number of the large names with that type of gameplay. To that finish, I’ve been following Ajey Pandey’s BOLT and would actually like to sink my tooth into the way it frames crunchy motion via a narrativist lens. After all, my gaming schedule is tied up in streams, the Curated Play Program, and private commitments, however I’m hoping to take a while to see it in motion for myself quickly!

We’re so excited to have Simon with us as a Curated Play GM! He really has a love and keenness for what he does, and we expect it reveals in each session he runs for us. Thanks, Simon!

If you wish to try one in every of Simon’s classes or any of our different Curated Play video games (with our different superior GMs) head over to https://www.magpiegames.com/cp-session and take a look at our newest schedule releases!

We hope to see you there!