I’m not dead yet! Sorry for that unforeseen delay, folks. We pick up right where we left off, digging into some of the things that distinguish storyjamming from other approaches to roleplaying. Today, we focus on the pre-liminal phase of the storyjammer’s journey, the warm-up games that we use to try to actively generate creative energy.

  • 0:54 Emotional contagion
  • 1:37 William James, “What is an Emotion?” [PDF]
  • 2:55 Microexpressions
  • 3:25 Mirror neurons
  • 5:38 Lizze Buchen, “Human Laughter Echoes Chimp Chuckles,” Wired, 4 June 2009
  • 6:56 When we sit down to game, we face the challenge of building up energy.
  • 7:52 Business meetings vs. Improv scenes
  • 10:57 Warm-up game #1: Yes, and! (to build energy and get everyone into a collaborative spirit)
  • 13:35 Warm-up game #2: Firing line (to break down self-censorship)
  • 18:48 Warm-up game #3: Short, introductory readings (to get your mouth and throat used to talking)
  • 20:29 Warm-up game #4: See me (to get everyone on the same page, imaginatively)
  • 22:26 Warm-up game #5: Color, advance (to get a sense of pacing)
  • 25:32 Warm-up game #6: One word at a time (to build your attention to cues)
  • 26:45 Find the right warm-up games for the problems that your group faces
  • 27:49 Selling your group on warm-up games
  • 29:06 Once Upon a Time
  • 30:55 “Restitutor Orbis,” our Chronica Feudalis campaign set in post-Roman Britain.
  • 32:33 The Relevant Dickweed
  • We never mentioned this directly, but I learned so much of this from my friend Willem Larsen of Portland, who wrote “Warming Up and Working with Energy” (Parts 1 & 2), and “The Pedagogy of Play: Bite-Sized Pieces.”
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