Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Content

Hey Everyone. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we will not be able to have this livestream today. We will make a new post when the new date is set.

—Jerry

=========================================

Hey folks! Dael is going to be live this Thursday June 5th at 4PM Pacific time here on Patreon asking our executive producer Josh your burning questions about the production of Draw Steel.

What exactly does an executive producer do? Well, if it weren't for Gertz, we'd likely have another 9 months to a year before you all see the completed PDFs. He determines timelines, budgets, and is constantly adjusting those things as we hit snags, unexpected successes, or decide to throw something out and start over completely. You might ask Josh to tell you about the major art timeline changes he's made to help us get production faster. You could ask him about how we're planning on getting two classes, six adventures, and an ancestry book done before the end of the year alongside the core rules. You could ask him what is was like working in video games and how tabletop is similar or different. You could ask him what it's like to be the unsung hero of MCDM. (Note to self: Compose rock opera to sing Josh's praises.)

The stream will be hosted here on Patreon. We'll send out a post with the video right before we go live. And don't worry! If you miss the stream, you'll still be able to access the video later.

In the meantime, post your questions for us about Draw Steel production in the comments below, and Dael might ask them on air! See ya then!

—James

Files

Comments

Andrew Miller

Hey all, not sure if this has been discussed. Do Ajax edition supporters get the Codex for free?

Corey Knowler

Hello all, I dont know much about the role of an executive producer, what did your career path look like to get to this position, and what kind of skills are needed to do well in your role? Thanks!

Caleb Cairns

How will incorporating non-Draw Steel / Non TTRPG products, such as Derelict, impact MCDM from the executive producer side of things?

mcdm

This is a great question! -James

Declan Murphy

I deffs want to know all about those art challenges and timeline changes. But I also want to know how you guys think of success for this product and what different levels of sucess allow you to do?

ThunderMo_HellKite

A question that came up last Q&A was will patrons who have supported MCDM for X period of time ( I forget how long was said in the chat) be receiving the ancestry book, other adventures, new classes ect when they are released if they continue to support the patreon beyond receiving the Draw Steel pdf? This question was unanimously determined to be a "Josh question". Is this the correct Josh to be asking? I'll be buying everything regardless of the answer but others may want to know!

Ricardo Rivera

Howdy: my question would be, what is your method of choosing what to prioritize when conflicts arise with scheduling and different projects? Not just which projects get priority, but also considering things like the health/productivity/artistic expression of the company/employees? Thanks!

Ry

Question for Gertz, who tf is Josh?

Tabletop Nonsenseverse

When Matt and James come up with crazy product ideas what's the first thing you do and how do you break it into small chunks.

Joshua Gertz

C'mon peeps, where are the softballs here, everyone is throwing heat...

Joshua Gertz

I agree, Im not sure who James is talking about

Alex Cline

Is there still a desire to support 3rd party developers for Draw Steel (financially or otherwise), and if so, are there any plans in motion for to provide said support?

Dalen W. Brauner

If you had carte blanche to break all the rules, do something crazy- what would you want to put into Draw Steel?

Kevin Smith

What’s the status and current plan for the Draw Steel focused VTT, in terms of customer access, the starting adventures, and third party marketplace support?

Kevin Smith

And a colorful one, What’s your favorite class and ancestry in Draw Steel?

Tim

My question is did you leave any staff at TRS? Seriously though what's the biggest challenge launching a new IP in the TTRPG space?

Hive_Indicator

No Greg Maddux, only Randy Johnson for you

Lilcultish Inc

How did you determine the budget for something as critical as Art? Any other thoughts and advice in this realm would be appreciated.

mcdm

My question is: how much does a page of Draw Steel Core Rules cost to make, and how did you arrive at that number? My next question is: Does Geoff think it's ok to answer that question? :D -M

Pedro

How does one wrangle a tidal wave of creative ideas into a finished product that actually comes out at some point? Asking for a friend.

Narul

With the 9 core classes already established and additions like the Summoner and Beastheart making waves, can you share any teasers or hints about upcoming classes—perhaps the Operator or something entirely new we haven’t heard of yet?

aiden davenport

What systems/processes do you utilize that have proven to save time in the schedule?

aiden davenport

How does the communication structure at mcdm work?

aiden davenport

What factors go into deciding whether to add a new team member rather than rely on more freelancers?

Melissa Harden

At what company points and about what subjects did your job fell like a herding wrangler of your co workers in stead of a enforcer of guidelines. Like at what points did your job feel harder &/or was most impactful.

Nathan Kennedy

What parts of your previous experience has been the most useful in preparing you for your current role at MCDM?

Dave the Effable

What, if anything, is your role when it comes to coordinating product development for business partnerships such as the DM Hub VTT?

Zawad Chowdhury

not sure if this is the right conversation for this question, but I'm curious how the dates when different products get released are determined? I was surprised that the Codex might be ready for patreons by December but not for public release by June, and was curious what the reasoning into decisions like that looks like.

FoxTrick

How do you determine when to call a project or design “done” due to sunk costs? What signals tell you it's time to move on rather than keep investing time or resources?

FoxTrick

With such a diverse pool of talent, how do you keep everyone fully engaged in a project at the same time? And how do you schedule things like art and layout when design is still in progress?

David Penguin

Different products (likely) have different production needs. As executive producer, what are the main differences between producing a class, adventure, or supplemental book (such as the ancestry book)? Is one more time consuming, costly, or difficult then the other?

Ori Klein

According to your estimation, how does a full year of a fully released Draw Steel looks like? How many adventures / classes / other products can we expect to see each year?

KingGurke

Are there ever any problems with how open MCDM is about development (with the patron posts and weekly designer streams)? Matt sometimes says he'd get yelled at for sharing, but are there actually any downsides?

Josh Rodell

Presumably there are times when your job is being the bad guy, and looking someone who's really excited about something in the eye and telling them it's not going to happen. Across the development of Draw Steel, what examples have there been of the opposite? What do you remember as your big hero moment?

Callum Iles

How do you plan out the timelines of the core products (Heroes & Monsters)? Does this change throughout the process especially when weighing up staff allocation to supplemental products (e.g. Codex development, Adventures & New Classes)?

Callum Iles

As quite a unique project for MCDM, how have you been able to plan timelines for Codex - now that level 1 is implemented for the most part does that make projecting a final deadline easier?

Cole Jay

What is the most satisfying part of being a producer for a project like Draw Steel?

Hive_Indicator

What kooky idea could Matt have for DS right now that would make Player Gertz excited but Producer Gertz scream?

Christian Keegan

What was the most challenging hurdle you had to overcome during Draw Steel's production?

Mattamue

What is a lesson you've learned from your mentors?

Daniel Dias

How does one become a producer? What was your path, what lead you here?

MEEP

What products are projected to be launching near or with the core rules?

GubDM

Q for everyone (including Dael): what campaign/adventure are you most excited to run next in draw steel?

Arthur_OL

What's your favourite part of your role at MCDM?

Benjamin Gothman

With the official release rapidly approaching, any idea how much of the roadmap for Draw Steel’s first year or two will be determined by MCDM’s vision during development vs adapting to the wants and needs of the player base post-launch as the game finds its footing?

Joshua Heisler

As Executive Producer, how do you decide what are the best supplementary products to start making with the approaching release of Draw Steel? Is there data you are using to guide decisions about whether to focus on more monsters vs adventures vs classes vs things like Delves?

haggis42

Is the ancestry book going to focus on new ancestries and expanded options, or is it meant to dive deep(er) into the already existing ancestries and expand their lore? TBH I'd like both. I'd love to read more about MCDM Dwarf, Memonek, and Time raider (and the others), yet I'm also happy inventing my own lore to fill in those gaps and discover yet unimagined options...

haggis42

As MCDM seems (to me) more involved/connected with their fanbase and potential 3rd party creators might this also lead to collaboration/official adoption between MCDM and certain products? Say novels set in Orden/The Timescape being "approved" as official MCDM canon. A specific delve designed by a 3rd party getting a canonical location on the next iteration of the MCDM map. 3rd party content integrated in the Codex etc... note: yes, I do create some stuff myself but I dare not consider my scribbling to be anywhere near MCDM quality standards.

haggis42

What, if any, are the plans for after release support/updates (errata etc)

haggis42

What are your teambuilding techniques?

The Yaki

Is there plans to send any RPG YouTubers copies of draw steel to build hype?

Andy

I’m a project manager working in digital marketing. What advice would you give to a pm wanting to hop into game design and production for either tabletop or video games?

Nick Munch

When are we going to see a one-shot/mini-series with Colville running Draw Steel on Critical Role?

haggis42

New question: I hope yous all survived the heat waves, or got resurrected afterwards? More seriously though, take care of yourselves, the world has gone bonkers.

Jan Plewa

What are the most and least enjoyable parts of your job? :)

Ben Milne

Gertz: As a producer, how do you manage projects developed partially or entirely by 3rd parties? I.e, what does project management on the Codex look like for you?

Keith

What will the SRD include, specifically for VTT module support in Foundry, Roll20, ect (I plan to try codex also)

Brian Kirk

Now that you have some more adventure design under your belt, do you have any pro tips for Directors creating their own adventures?