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Podcasts: Narrative Control - Episode 29 - Icebreakers

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  1. Administrator
     

    This week Justin and I talk about icebreakers, exercise and games to remove inhibitions and get everyone’s creative minds moving.

    Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

    Length [28:25]

    [00:26] Intro to the show. Talking about icebreakers, getting people comfortable playing together.
    [00:54] RPGPodcats.com Promo
    [01:05] Did you go to band camp?
    [02:01] Why do we care about camp? Oh yeah, because we can rip off ideas from them.
    [02:55] Links to camp games: http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activities/common-ground-icebreakers.page-1.html, http://www.humanpingpongball.com/
    [03:39] Games at Gamestorm – camp style
    [04:39] Scalagrim the Barbarian Prince.  Our Icebreaker routine.
    [05:22] Part 1 - The Tale of Woe. Practicing “Yes, and…”  (a little over two minutes)
    [08:17] Part 2 – The Epic Journey.  Practicing reading other players flags and sharing the spotlight. (just over a minute)
    [10:41] Part 3 – The Oracle’s Answer. Practicing not interrupting each other and being flexible. (about a minute and a half)

    (Total time for both explanation and performing the exercises, about seven minutes)

    [12:57] Recap of what we got out of these icebreakers.

    Games that have Icebreaker exercises built into them

    [14:56] Prime Time Adventures pitch session.  Gets everyone on the same page about what kind of game everyone wants to play.
    [15:43] Character creation in Spirit of the Century.  Building on each other’s pulp novel.
    [16:42] Dogs in the Vineyard accomplishment.  Playing out one question you ask about your character.
    [17:17] Mouse Guard Prologue.  A reward for recapping the previous game.   An icebreaker that also reminds everyone that happened last time and shows what parts they were excited about.
    [18:35] World of Darkness Preludes.  Often a longer event, but we’ve done it as a single session where everyone ran their preludes simultaneously.

    Games that you could play with people who haven’t role-played before

    [20:47] Once Upon a Time.  A card game with fantasy tropes.  Mixes card game elements (like Uno) and storytelling.
    [21:49] Are you a Werewolf.  A very scripted game that gets everyone talking, trying to discover the Werewolves.  Very much like reality TV elimination.

    Role Playing Games that act as Icebreakers themselves.

    [24:12] Breaking the Ice.  A game about two people meeting each other, but structured for two people (or more) learning to play a role-playing game.
    [25:43] Sons of Liberty.  A game that encourages fast play and, like Once Upon a Time has a very visible mechanic that aids you in narration.
    [26:33] Discussion of common elements in these ice breaker games.  Cards, cues, directions.  Let’s throw Zombie Cinema in the mix as well.

    Direct Download: NC_Episode_029.mp3

  2. Member
    • CommentAuthorwillem
    • CommentTimeMay 6th 2009 edited
     
    Hello!

    I enjoyed the Tale of Woe. :)

    I ran that game of Polaris at Gamestorm, that Zach mentioned. I had a very specific teaching objective in mind, far more than just 'breaking the ice'. I wrote quite a bit about it here: Polaris and the Pedagogy of Play

    Most of my inspiration for this rpg-teaching method comes from Viola Spolin and her "Improvisation for the Theater" book on theater games. I believe when we not only see these games as "icebreakers", but also as "skill builders" and "culture-of-play-creators", that some magical shit goes down. I also believe we can use these games consciously to design the play experience, creating a whole new field of opportunity in play design.

    Thanks for exploring this on your podcast!

    EDIT: a partner in crime of mine also posts about this specific subject quite often at The Fifth World
  3. Administrator
     
    Hey Willem,

    That is awesome that you heard our show. I love it when things circle back and we get feedback. I'm really interested to hear how your exercises go beyond icebreaking and into cultivating your play. That rocks. I'll defiantly check out both links you posted.

    Sean
  4.  
    Member
     
    Its funny because I have actually experienced a form of the Tale of Woe in different context, I went camping with my High school class and we played a game were one person would start a story and then the next person had to continue on it. I never actually considered it being valid for roleplaying. But then again most things can be applied to roleplaying in one form or another.
  5. Administrator
     
    Yep, I'm pretty sure that is where justin stole it, er was inspired from.
  6. Member
    • CommentAuthorEmmanuel
    • CommentTimeMay 8th 2009
     
    hey !

    nice show...

    just to mention that one game system that rewards a player for recapping the previous session is REIGN by Greg Stolze.
    (nothing like that in BW)

    cheers !
  7. Member
     
    Posted By: SeanNittnerYep, I'm pretty sure that is where justin stole it, er was inspired from.


    I stole some from the camp resources sites...but I'm gonna give willem most of the credit! He got Zach excited enough, to then get me excited enough to dig into this idea.

    willem! I'm glad you checked out the show (and the forum) so I can say 'Thanks!'
  8. Member
    • CommentAuthorJustinEvans
    • CommentTimeMay 8th 2009 edited
     
    Posted By: Emmanueljust to mention that one game system that rewards a player for recapping the previous session is REIGN by Greg Stolze.

    I've been meaning to check out REIGN for a while now. Sounds like there's lots of good stuff in there.
  9. Member
    • CommentAuthorwillem
    • CommentTimeMay 10th 2009
     
    Sure! As another clarifier of what I did at gamestorm, at about 50 minutes into Ogre Whiteside's podcast he starts interviewing me - we discuss how I did the play pedagogy for Polaris, among many other things. Episode 24 of stabbing contest: http://bit.ly/utsn9

    It excites me to have company in this - we've got a wide open field for experimentation!

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