Excited to announce that I will be teaching a follow-up to my Writing & Editing for Gaming course for the Professional Writing department at Taylor University during the Fall 2019 semester, called Tabletop Game Writing Lab. While teaching the precursor course the second time this past spring semester, many of my current students and one of my former students who had not graduated yet, approached me about teaching a follow-up course that is more focused on developing and publishing an rpg book.
Seven students are signed up to spend a semester working on an accelerated schedule to develop and publish a source book for an RPG. In under five months they will be picking a topic, outlining, researching, writing, editing, rewriting, proofreading, choosing art, laying out, and publishing the book. For this first course, we are working with Chaosium to publish an adventure module for Call of Cthulhu. I am requiring students to read Hamlet’s Hit Points by Robin D. Laws as a reference point for understanding rpg adventure writing. So excited to work with these students and see what they can produce.
Below is an overview of the course that was approved as a first version for this fall. Really looking forward to working with this smaller group of students on an intensive and creative project.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Hands-on design, development, and writing from concept to finished product of a tabletop game source book. Students enrolled will work with the professor and associated tabletop game publisher to learn the assigned game system, research supplemental materials, outline the manuscript, then draft, write, edit, and proofread the source book in preparation for publication.
COURSE GOALS: At the end of this course, students will have experienced the unique elements and skills required for writing, editing, layout, and self-publishing in the tabletop game industry.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
- To experience the roles of writer, editor, and layout in the game industry.
- To learn from game industry professionals.
- To give students practical experience that will help them garner the attention of game publishers.
Please let me know any questions you have about the course or suggestions you might have for making it even better!
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