New Year, New Game Jam
A Sneak Peek at Many Sided Media’s 2024 Plans
Happy New Year and welcome to the first newsletter of 2024! I’m keeping this one short and sweet as we all ease our way into the new year, but wanted to take a minute to acknowledge all the exciting things Many Sided Media accomplished in 2023 and give you some updates on what to expect in the coming months.
Over on My First Dungeon, we certainly lived up to our motto of “if you’re having fun, you’re already doing it right.” Our ever-growing cast of players explored 13 games ranging from the delightful audio cartoon Yazeba’s Bed and Breakfast to the deliciously sad Orbital Blues to the regency-inspired Good Society. It was, in short, a stupidly fun year, one which we fully plan to top in 2024.
We also launched a Patreon, with more than 1,500 minutes of content made exclusively for the Dice Pool (splash!!). This is also where we debuted two brand new games: Something is Wrong with the Turkeys, a Thanksgiving twist on Elliot’s original Something is Wrong with the Chickens, and the hilariously unhinged Magic Magic, Brian’s fever dream of a game that’s guaranteed to leave you laughing like an idiot. And for those who like to wear their heart on their sleeve, we created our very first pieces of merch!
As for Talk of the Table, Elliot and Brian interviewed 11 creators in the TTRPG space, gaining insight into the evolving world of actual play with J Strautman, the art of collaboration across mediums with Rick Perry, and the highs and lows of game creation with momatoes.
And right here, at the Twenty Sided Newsletter, we welcomed nearly 700 new subscribers eager to read all of Shenuque’s tips for creating chaos goblin characters your friends and GMs will inevitably fall head-over-heels in love with, Elliot’s real-time advice on how to successfully release a brand-new TTRPG into the world, and dip a toe into Brian’s extensive knowledge of recording, editing, and designing an actual play podcast.
We accomplished a lot last year, but we’re hoping to do even more in the coming months, starting with a brand-new season of 9 Lives to Valhalla hitting your feed in just a few weeks. And, as this newsletter’s new Editor in Chief, I’ll be here to keep you posted on all the latest and greatest throughout the year ahead. Stay tuned for more of all the things you love (and maybe a few bonus surprises, as well)—here’s to more games and more fun in 2024!
— Abby
Want to share the things you loved most about 2023? Or the things you hope to see more of in 2024? Write us a note!
Get Lost in the ECCOSYSTEM
Join the Project ECCO Game Jam
It was just about a year ago that the first words of Project ECCO were put to paper. Since then, I’ve had the joy of watching the game come to life as a physical book. But the most exciting thing for me has been seeing the wild stories that have come out of people playing this game.
There is an Entity, an Agency, and even a canon of Project ECCO that exists in my head, but it isn’t the only one, or even the “correct” one. The best part of writing a TTRPG is that it comes to life when people play, with each individual creating their own version of the universe within.
This year, I’d like to take that one step further.
Enter: Welcome to the ECCOSYSTEM - A Project ECCO Game Jam
If you’re not familiar, a game jam is a community event where designers are encouraged to create games or game-related projects around a central theme over a set period of time. On itch.io, you can find jams for TTRPGs of specific sizes, themes, and systems.
For the ECCOSYSTEM jam, I want to help support other designers in creating new materials inspired by and based on Project ECCO. This could be a supplement, writings related to the world of the game, or even an entirely new game that uses Project ECCO’s mechanics.
If you’re looking to design your first TTRPG project, this is a great place to start. My aim is to provide as many resources as I can to make this a beginner-friendly process. So far, you can grab almost all of the visual assets we used in the creation of the Project ECCO book, free to use with attribution. Later in the month I’ll be releasing:
A device writing guide for supplemental Project ECCO material
An SRD for creating your own ECCOSYSTEM game
Go forth and make some weird new time travel games!
Don’t forget your coin.
— Elliot