I've been the host of One Shot (an actual play podcast that features a new indie RPG every few weeks) for just over two years now and in case you missed it, we made something so unbelievably beautiful to celebrate my two years and 100th episode
I played VOID 1680 AM, a solo RPG where you host a radio show. But 27 guests from across two years of RPGs revived their characters and called in with their unfinished business. We have original music by the fictional band from our improvised musical One Shot, commissioned music from 14 musical artists, and it was truly a magical thing to make but a more magical thing to listen to.
You don't NEED to have listened to the backlog to appreciate how magical this is but if you have? oh, what a treat. I wonder what to do after two more years of games with incredible people.
The caller only has the length of a few songs to hold the DJ's attention. The DJ doesn't get to call back. The relationship is brief, often unrequited, almost always unresolved--but the caller makes the call, and the DJ picks up.
Why?
Well, aren't they the same kind of lonely? Driven by the same need to hear, and be heard? Why broadcast, or tune in, if you're already satisfied?
This programming block doesn't last forever. But for the next 12 songs, you have their attention. How will you use it?
With a deck of cards, a six-sided die and a stack of music, you will build a 12 song playlist, invent and interact with Callers to your show, and evolve their stories in a single session or ongoing play. No matter their motivations, they simply must be heard. In that way, you are very alike.
How the creator of VOID 1680 AM made me cry (in a good way)
I was going to write this ahead of Thanksgiving, because I wanted to mention something I was truly thankful for. I've been actually thinking about writing this for a while, but for reasons that will become obvious, it's a hard subject to write about. This is something I've never mentioned before, and it involves opening myself up more than I usually do.
Last year, I released my first solo TTRPG, Cult of the Drive-in. That game was heavily inspired by Ken Lowery's VOID 1680 AM, as well as a few other solo TTRPGs and even a multiplayer one (Nathan D. Paoletta's World Wide Wrestling channeled fandom into art, which was something I was trying to emulate).
Cult of the Drive-in was the result of a lot of restless energy, due to a major crisis I was going through: Specifically, I was in the middle of bankruptcy. I didn't say much about it at the time. A few friends and relatives knew, but I had kept it from the greater internet until it was over. Since I couldn't sleep very well, I decided to pour my restless energy into something other than ruminating and scrolling through the same five social media tabs.
I'm hesitant even now to talk about my bankruptcy for a few different reasons. First and foremost I'd like to avoid any accusations of "pity marketing." This isn't that. I've given away a lot of copies of the game, and I've included it in charity bundles where I didn't make a cent. Also, I really feel like that was a low point in my life, and I try not to revisit it.
I had used as much free art as I could. I used the six-month free demo of Affinity Publisher to design it. The fonts were from Google Fonts. I had to be very careful with money, and basically justify spending a small amount of money on a Noun Project membership, and licensing the cover photo. For those of you playing along at home, this means two things.
The total art budget for Cult of the Drive-in was $22.
At that time, $22 was a large expenditure for me.
During the buildup to the game's eventual release, I had gotten some small buzz. Maybe a single-digit number of people knew about it. And that's where I had expected it to begin and end. I was being realistic about it. It was my first release of what was essentially a modified "hack," and so sales would be sparse, if I got any at all. In the midst of this, I emailed a free download code to Ken Lowery, along with a short "thank you" message for inspiring me to create my own game.
I need you, dear reader, to understand that I didn't email Ken out of any sense of self-promotion. I didn't ask or expect anyone else to plug my game. He had greatly inspired me to roll my sleeves up and create something. And my sole intent at the time was to thank him.
Back to bankruptcy: I was severely broke. I was the kind of broke where my paycheck immediately disappeared to cover last pay period's overdraft fees and bills, leaving me with nothing for groceries. I was seriously wondering how my wife and I were going to eat that week.
My phone buzzed. I made a sale. "Nice," I said. "Maybe I can get a loaf of bread and some--" My phone buzzed again. "Whoa. Two sales?" It buzzed again. And then a handful more times. All told, I was sitting on around $63. It wasn't much, but as long as we were creative, we could get gas and groceries for a week.
I was able to trace it back to a Bluesky post from Ken Lowery himself.
Pleased af to share CULT OF THE DRIVE-IN by @briantransplant.com, in part inspired by VOID 1680 AM.
Book double features at your drive-in f
I fell apart. That's the only way to describe it. There was relief, joy, pride, and a sense of validation, all undercutting the dread I'd been dealing with for weeks.
I wanted to tell my wife we had enough money to hit up the grocery store. I wanted to explain that I'd sold a handful of copies of my game. But I had to take about five minutes to compose myself first.
For the record: The worst is behind us, and things are going better for us now.
I don't know if I'm ever going to have the budget or output to get a table at a convention, or catch the eye of an award panel. And I'm fine with that. The timing of that Bluesky post and those few sales meant the world to me.
A solo playlist building game about being a lone voice in the dark.
i have a physical booklet of this sitting next to me with all of (okay some of) my journaling supplies, and i keep thinking i should show it to @xizisheknows so this is me doing that thing~
On Halloween Night at 9pm EST, creep over to Bannerless Games for a VOID 1680 A.M. affiliate broadcast written by Andrew Ihla and starring MeganBob (of the Hard Choices podcast) as Howlin' Hannah Holmes. With a setlist of certified All Hallow's jams and guests callers sharing their stories of local legend Octoberette, it'll be a howlin' good time.
The show starts right here: https://www.youtube.com/live/2eFt6wv_2OI?si=YEUFgYNZSEa9H3LL
2048 AM Voices in the Wood: a new miniseries from Tales Yet Told
Tales Yet Told is thrilled to announce a brand new actual play coming this August, set in the Sublime–the setting of their series Strangers in the Wood.
2048 AM Voices in the Wood is a five-episode mini-series following 5 broadcasts of a student-run radio show in a dystopian world, where “everyone has a place” and those who don’t like their place are cursed to transform into animals.
Mixing the elements of DIY music, body horror, and TTRPGs, Voices in the Wood explores the anxiety, frustration, and fear of what it’s like to realize that the world you live in isn’t as “great” as those in charge would have you think while also exploring what it means to find hope and community amongst the chaos.
Voices in the Wood is an immersive listening experience using the framework of the Ennie Award-winning TTRPG: VOID 1680 AM–featuring an incredible cast of 17 powerful and diverse voices from across the actual play space, such as Josephine Kim (GUDIYA), Barnaby (Unprepared Casters), Sea Thomas (Transplanar), and many more. The series also showcases a soundtrack consisting of 28 independent, genre-spanning bands and musicians, such as We Are The Union, American Television, and Missouri Surf Club.
If you're sold and want to try our show, you're in luck!
Ep 1 - 'I Don't Know Who Is Doing This' is available to listen to now!
Find us wherever you get your podcasts: Spotify | Apple Podcasts Goodpods | Podchaser
