Backstory

Hosted by Alex Roberts, Backstory is an ongoing series of interviews with game designers, organizers, scholars, and other members of the role-playing community. This show is all about the person behind the work. What draws them to gaming? In what context do they work and play? What are they most excited about for the future? Alex loves getting to know people, and you’ll love coming along for the ride.

Alex Roberts is a giggling cutie who wants role-playing to be safe, healthy, and fun. She play tests, runs, and promotes live-action and tabletop games from her impenetrable ice spire in the frozen wastelands of Canada.

In a previous life she made and wrote about video games. At the moment, she is probably reading a very cute comic book.

69. Jeff Stormer

Podcaster and Unofficial Larpwright of the Olive Garden chain of restaurants Jeff Stormer joins us for a nice chat about professional wrestling, karaoke, and other roleplaying games.

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68. Karen Twelves

Gamer, editor, and improv performer Karen Twelves joins us for a talk about performance, play, and the importance of trust.

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67. Jose Zagal

Games scholar Jose Zagal starts a new semester of Backstory, with discussions of Role-Playing Games Studies, the intricate web of influence among different game media, and identifying the ethical frameworks in Animal Crossing. If Emmanuel Kant made a videogame, what would it be like?

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66. Casey Hardy

Co-organizer of the long-running campaign Shadowmoor, Casey Hardy tells us about sustainability, growth, and change in a larp community.

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65. DC

Game designer, streamer, RPG theorist and your new favourite podcast host DC joins us to talk about twitter threads and forging in the dark.

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64. Magdalene Loh

Magdalene Loh is making live-action career design games in Singapore! And stay tuned for some special announcements.

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62. Stephanie Bryant

Game designer, crafter, and scrum master Stephanie Bryant brings us a kinder, gentler post-apocalypse.

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61. Terri Cohlene

Children’s author and game designer Terri Cohlene shares her insight on designing for kids, introducing roleplaying, and working in co-creation.

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60. Adam Koebel

Dungeon World co-designer and game streamer Adam Koebel shares insight on the relationship between design and play, and the future of streaming and game publishing.

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Alex Roberts

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