Mike Perna

Episode 27 – Episodic Structure and Pacing (Science of Storytelling, Part 2)

By Mike Perna October 22, 2013 October 22, 2013 Podcast, Saving The Game

Branden, Mike, Peter, and Grant pick up our “Science of Storytelling” series with a discussion of episodic storytelling structure and pacing! Branden walks us through the structure and guides the discussion; and as usual, we come up with examples along the way. See the full show notes for Branden’s suggested outline.

Scripture: Genesis 1:14-18, Matthew 28:19-20

—-more—-

Branden’s suggested episodic structure outline:

I see a problem
and decide to do something
that helps the situation
but something else happens related to one of my actions
and I must deal with that
so […]

Episode 26 – Patience (Virtues & Vices, Part 8)

By Mike Perna October 8, 2013 October 8, 2013 Podcast, Saving The Game

We’re back with more virtues! This time, we’re talking about the virtue of Patience, and its glosses of Peace and Mercy. As usual, we discuss and define Patience from a theological perspective, and then talk about its in-character and at-the-table uses.

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 7:8-9, Hebrews 10:32-38, Galatians 5:22-25, James 1:19-20

Episode 25 – Therapeutic Roleplaying (with Jack Berkenstock)

By Mike Perna September 18, 2013 September 18, 2013 Podcast, Saving The Game

It’s our distinct pleasure to welcome Jack Berkenstock of The Bodhana Group as a guest host for this episode! We give Jack plenty of time to talk about his group and their mission to help young victims and perpetrators of sexual trauma—a mission they’re carrying out with tabletop roleplaying games as a crucial therapeutic tool. We also discuss the science and goals of therapeutic roleplaying and trauma therapy in general. Plus, we do our best to plug Save Against Fear, a three-day convention in Lancaster, PA from Oct. 11th-13th hosted by and fundraising for The Bodhana Group. A big list of everything Jack mentioned is below the fold, too.

We don’t usually ask this, but please share this episode around. We want to get the word out about Save Against Fear in time for […]

Episode 24 – Wrath (Virtues & Vices, Part 7)

By Mike Perna September 10, 2013 September 10, 2013 Podcast, Saving The Game

We welcome Mike, occasionally known as Mindtakerr on the Internet, as a new host! Then we talk about wrath – when anger is (and isn’t) a mortal sin, and how it can manifest in people. Then we talk about how incredibly common wrath is in all forms of entertainment, including roleplaying games; and we wrap up with a discussion about handling anger and wrath in your group of players.

Scripture: Proverbs 15:1, Ephesians 4:26-32, James 1:19-21

Things we said we’d link to in the show notes:

Episode 23 – Narrative Structure (Science of Storytelling, Part 1)

By Mike Perna August 27, 2013 August 27, 2013 Podcast, Saving The Game

Two major announcements: This is the first episode in our new “Science of Storytelling” series; and Save Against Fear, a remarkable gaming convention and fundraiser for sexually traumatized kids, is the weekend of October 11th-13th. You’re going to be hearing much more about Save Against Fear in the future!

In this episode, Grant, Peter, and Branden (but mostly Branden) explain the continuous plot structure used in almost all movie scripts. (See our full show notes for a copy of that outline!) Then, Branden walks us through creating an actual plot for a game using the outline he laid out in the first half of the episode.

Scripture for this episode: Psa […]

Episode 22 – Morals in Stories

By Mike Perna August 13, 2013 August 13, 2013 Podcast, Saving The Game

Back when we recorded this episode, Saving the Game had just turned one year old! That’s pretty awesome! A big thanks to all of our listeners, old and new.

In this episode, Grant, Peter, and Branden discuss morality in storytelling: How to effectively tell stories with moral lessons without pontificating, without insulting the other players at the table, and without taking away player agency. Peter also references an episode of Extra Credits, “Beyond Fun” (S5E8).

Scripture for this episode: Micah 6:8,

Welcome to the new Saving the Game site!

By Mike Perna August 12, 2013 August 12, 2013 Podcast, Saving The Game

Saving the Game has switched to Podbean for our web hosting—they’re specifically designed for podcasts and as such, require much less maintenance. Unfortunately, that also means we have a bit less control over things like RSS feeds and core Wordpress settings, so a few things have changed.

First, our RSS feed is now at http://savingthegame.podbean.com/feed. This is also going to be our ‘default’ feed for podcast aggregators like RPGPodcasts.com, which means blog posts and the like will creep in. This is probably the biggest inconvenience for longtime listeners, and we apologize—we’d have kept our feed URL the same if we cou […]

Episode 21 – Redemption Stories

By Mike Perna June 24, 2013 June 25, 2013 Podcast, Saving The Game

This time our episode topic is redemption stories in your roleplaying games. We discuss how to successfully tell redemption stories in a collaborative storytelling environment; how these stories differ for protagonists and antagonists; redemption stories for player characters and NPCs; and how to get Branden and Peter to argue. Also, Peter’s bookseller rage activates!

Scripture: Psalm 111:9, Titus 2:11-14, Romans 3:22-24

Episode 20 – Diligence (Virtues & Vices, Part 6)

By Mike Perna June 9, 2013 June 10, 2013 Podcast, Saving The Game

Grant, Peter and Branden continue our Virtues & Vices series with an episode on Diligence, the virtue contrary to the vice of Sloth. As usual, we explain the virtue—both culturally and theologically—before talking about its application in games and in our lives.

Scripture: Proverbs 13:4, Matthew 25:14-30, Ephesians 4:28

Episode 19 – Sloth (Virtues & Vices, Part 5)

By Mike Perna May 6, 2013 May 7, 2013 Podcast, Saving The Game

We’re back with Part 5 of our Virtues & Vices series! First, Grant talks about finding a church again, and some other news. Then we delve deep into one of the Seven Deadly Sins: Sloth. What is it? Why is it more than just laziness? Why is it dangerous, and how does it commonly manifest? And how can we use it in game, and deal with it at the table?

Scripture:Proverbs 24:30-34, Hebrews 6:9-12

Author: Mike Perna