Game Mastering 101

About the event

Due to a scheduling conflict, this program series has been moved to July 25 - August 22.

Are you interested in becoming a game or dungeon master but don't know how? Maybe you're scared you'll mess up or maybe you don't have a group of players to GM for. Either way, this is the place for you! Become a master game master in this program series with experienced GM and game studies professor DA Hall!

Throughout the series, participants will learn the basics of GMing, get comfortable with collaborative storytelling, practice running their own one-shots, learn how to homebrew their own campaigns, and more.

July 25, 2 - 2:30 p.m.

GM Fundamentals Interactive Lecture

This first session is an interactive lecture that will cover GM fundamentals such as basic terminology, collaborative storytelling, story hooks and worldbuilding, challenges and progression, game balance and random chance, and managing players before, during, and after the play session.

August 1, 2 - 5 p.m.

Guided Wanderhome Play & Workshop on Running a D&D Campaign

In this session, participants will be split into groups of 3-4 and will play Wanderhome, a system without a primary GM, to get a feel for collaborative storytelling and worldbuilding, as well as playing different characters. Each group will have a veteran player to gently guide them.

The workshop will cover how to structure single play sessions, structuring full campaigns, planning vs prepping, timing, improvisation, and more.

August 15, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. OR 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

One Shot Playtest

In this session, participants will get the chance to playtest the first session of their campaigns and receive gentle, constructive feedback from experienced players. Experienced GMs will be there to observe and answer questions.

August 22, 2 - 3:30 p.m.

How to Homebrew and Q&A

This lecture will cover game design fundamentals, iterative design practices, and when and why to homebrew-- from on-the-fly tweaks to custom items/subclasses to total overhaul mods. Then, there will be a Q&A for participants to ask any remaining questions.

DA Hall holds a doctorate in English & Comparative Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where they are currently employed as a Teaching Assistant Professor. Dr. Hall's dissertation examines the videogame as a key site for the negotiation of Japanese cultural identity within the globalized neoliberal order that coalesced in the wake of the Cold War, presented through a genealogy of Japanese videogames. DA Hall has also written and presented extensively on FromSoftware’s Soulsborne series, and is co-editor of Beyond the Border of Japanese Video Games, a volume currently under review that explores Japanese video game perspectives that reveal, remediate, and resist the imperialist logics of Western worlding.