Using Recordings to Lower Barriers

[Jason Morningstar]

I have Audacity and as a TOTAL AUDIO NEWBIE I found it quite usable.  I recommend it to anyone who wants to go this route.

Audacity is fantastic.  I'm podcasting lectures I give as part of my job and also "tip of the week" snippets, and Audacity is all I need.  I am definitely going to do some game-related audio, maybe some actual play or interviews as well as fun extras,  like this (done in Audacity)

I'm also working on video.  I have a friend who is a documentary film-maker and he went out last weekend and interviewed a bunch of people on their experience playing the Roach.  Our plan is to mix it down, with some actual play, another interview with me, and some other goofy stuff into a three-minute "featurette".  I think both audio and video can effectively communicate enthusiasm as well as lower the perceived barrier to entry with games that may run counter to traditional assumptions. 

My hope is that I'll be able to point people to the video as a way of explaining what the game is about, and they'll get the message that it is unspeakably awesome as they find out the basics.  A lot depends on the quality of the final product.

--Jason

[Valamir]

Check out Viktory for an indie published board game that makes great use of video to teach the game.  You can watch a complete game being played with pieces being moved accompanied by rules and strategies or smaller snippets of different aspects.

I did a review of the game for RPG.net and highly recommend it as a game in its own right (plus its indie too, which is cool) but what sold me on the game was actually being able to watch it be played rather than relying on the sales blurb.

[ffilz]

Is that the right URL for viktory? When I click on that link, I get a page which looks like a web squatter.

Frank

[Valamir]

damn lack of edit feature.

the correct url should be www.viktorygame.com