script change – Thoughty

Script Change Rebranding/Redesign

I’m excited to formally announce the Script Change RPG Toolbox rebrand/redesign courtesy of Clayton Notestine! I have dreamed of a pleasing, more functional presentation of Script Change for a really long time, & it’s here & it’s amazing!
Download the new version at briebeau.itch.io/script-change today!

The cover for Script Change featuring the words "Script Change" repeated in black text over the bottom of a yellow background with the subtitle and credit "a consent, content, and safety toolbox created by Beau Jágr Sheldon" and the symbols for rewind, resume, fast forward, and pause.

I first want to extend my thanks to Clayton for the incredible work done on this. He was communicative, thoughtful about my design ethos, & invested a lot of effort in showcasing Script Change. His expertise is noteworthy and undeniable!

A before and after image demonstrating the layout changes between the old Script Change layout and the new one. — Clayton took my very rudimentary layout & organization and turned it into a functional design!

Script Change was originally written as part of [Tabletop] Blockbuster, an early design project by John & me focusing on action movie style play. I love cinematic gaming, & had been introduced to the X-card.

I wanted more for my safety experience in play, and I wanted it to be portable to other systems. I chose language I knew commonly for the tools, starting with pause, which is my favorite safe word & suited the theme.

The Pause card for Script Change featuring the word "pause" repeated in black text over the bottom of a yellow card and a pause symbol above the text. — The Pause card is vital for play & is an approachable way to introduce taking breaks in game to discuss how you want to engage with content, mechanics, or story elements.

I built on it inspired by various concepts – the cinematic fade to black (fast forward), a vibe like Archipelago’s “try a different way” (rewind), and it kept building from there. I’ve updated it often since then, & it’s a full box of tools!

A spread of the Script Change cards by Clayton Notestine that feature all of the cards on yellow backgrounds with black text. — There are many tools in Script Change, including some without unique cards, that help players from the start of planning their gaming experiences to post-play when debriefing and follow-up can be valuable.

Clayton took the simple text layout I had and made easy to recognize cards for the table, as well as reorganizing and at times clarifying my text to ensure it was approachable and fit the conversational intent.

The cinematic language is similar to the kind of words we use for watching videos, listening to music, and is also pretty easy to conceptualize. It carries on into instant replay, wrap meetings, & the further tools that facilitate play.

A spread of the pages of Script Change as laid out and redesigned by Clayton Notestine. — The new layout is really more usable, functional, and recognizable, plus it’s just way prettier to look at!

I love the feeling of the graphic presentation of the new design, & I am so glad to have this new look & organization to help people play games safer, with better control of content & consent! Thanks Clay!

Download the new version at briebeau.itch.io/script-change today!

The pages of Script Change laid out to demonstrate the print version of the laid out text. — Don’t worry, there’s still a printable version that’s easy on at-home printers!

Script Change: The Soft No & Accountability

Content warning for violation of consent (vague), discussion of consent, discussion of the need for consent in games and community, accountability in all spaces

This article discusses the nature of soft no’s, hard no’s, using these in meta accessibility tools, and the use of accountability meta accessibility tools.

approachable theory: Meta Accessibility Tools

Today on approachable theory we’re talking about meta accessibility tools, and we’re going to start by breaking down what I mean by that term. Read more!

Today on approachable theory we’re talking about meta accessibility tools, and we’re going to start by breaking down what I mean by that term.

The Man and The Stag on itchio!

A game for two players where they tell stories and play out scenes about the unusual The Man who stays in their cabin in the woods and alone… except for The Stag from the copse who wants to influence the world of man with magic. Whether this connection leads to a revelation or condemnation does truly depend on the cards. Crowdfund ends March 15, 2021!

I am releasing The Man and The Stag as a crowdfunding project as part of #Zinequest3!

A black and white stag with a man between their antlers. — Logo art by Beau, click for the itchio page!

My goal is $1000 by March 15, 2021 and with the following goals, I’ll provide more content! There’s also a number of rewards on the itch page to help me reach my goal!

$250 – Art by Thomas A. Novosel, fleshing out the interior sketches!
$500 – Art by John W. Sheldon for the cover!
$750 – A recorded playthrough with Thomas A. Novosel!
$1000 – A Print-on-Demand code will be made available to those who have purchased to get an at-cost copy of the zine!
and if we reach $1200, John will do another art piece for us!

I have added a number of rewards that I think suit the project, including one-on-one games and portrait illustrations, but also community copies!

Campaign ends March 15, 2021 at end of day Eastern time!

Script Change 2021 Updates!

Devlog on Itchio: https://briebeau.itch.io/script-change/devlog/209532/script-change-update-2021

Hey all!

I’m excited to announce that Script Change has experienced a significant update with three more tools and a new layout! You can find the new free text version at briebeau.com/scriptchange and the PDF plus the handouts are still free with option to donate at briebeau.itch.io/script-change. I have raised the suggested donation to $5 because of the sheer amount of time and effort I have put into Script Change over the years, and the continued creation of new content. I hope that’s okay!

In 2021, I’ve added Bloopers & Outtakes, a formal wrap meeting structure, the Editor’s Notes with picks, squicks, and icks to help guide content and response, and Two Thumbs Up to help with quiet check-ins and for less verbal players. These changes have been developing for a while, and I’m so excited to release them for you all!

Note: For the time being, please use the previous revision’s handout to put out descriptions on the table for reference, as I need more time to do the layout work and nothing’s changed on it. Also, in the new Bloopers & Outtakes section, I managed to only write “bloopers” on each Reel listing, but I’ll fix this soon if I can. I apologize for missing it!

Thank you so much for your continued support!

The Script Change tools for cutting out. — The Script Change RPG Toolbox Handout’s first page. Download the formatted version for free at briebeau.itch.io/script-change to get the full handout and these instructions in a printable format!

The Editor's Notes sheet for Script Change. — The second page of handouts for Script Change.

A Very Merry Mental Illness to Me

Hey, friends, supporters, consumers, and colleagues. this one is a little important.

I hope the best came for you in major holidays for each culture and religion or lack thereof that came before this post, and the same wishes for you in the festivities (or lack thereof!) to come. Please stay safe in the continuance of COVID-19 and the many dangers all marginalized people face, and seek joy in every moment – even if it’s fleeting, it heals more than all the rest.

That being said, this is me. Beau Sheldon.

Beau in a black and grey hoodie tee with festive makeup. — *Me. 2020.*

Content warnings for discussion of mental illness, physical disability, financial insecurity, gender identity, gender dysphoria, mention of hallucinations, mention of schizoaffective disorder, mentions of political and social issues in the United States, and details of creative dysfunction.

Thoughty Ending Regular Interviews

Thoughty remains! So does Script Change. I still hope to do some interviews, as mentioned, very periodically. I want to talk more about design, and about leadership in games. I want to talk about the things I personally enjoy in games, break them down, see if I can make them make sense. I hope when the worldsuck eases I’ll release more games, though I doubt anything I do solo will be as big and fancy as Turn. I’ll be separately supporting my partners with their projects. Oh yeah, and I’ll still be accepting guest blogs here when I can build up a larger fund for paying creators!

Times do change.

My first interviews were before Thoughty – on my previous and now defunct site that I ported here with Systir Productions & 616, and on Gaming as Women with attendees of a Gamerati game day and then Judy Bauer of all people. I kicked off Thoughty and Five or So Questions in 2014 as a continuation of the original blog, but only the interviews really stuck around.

Younger Beau with long brown hair, glasses, and a nerdy tee shirt standing next to a man with short dark hair and a blue Paizo polo. Behind them is a busy convention crowd. — *Me in 2013 at Gen Con with F. Wes Schneider, Paizo’s then Editor-in-Chief, who I had interviewed for GAW.*

I have done over three hundred interviews on Thoughty, about 250 of those being Five or So Question interviews. I have only had a few interviews fully fail to be completed due to scheduling, and one pulled by the creator. I’ve interviewed people about not just tabletop but also card, board, and video games, plus lonely solo games, huge collections of tabletop and live action games, their artwork, their design process, their Kickstarters, and more. I have had an exceptional opportunity to pick the brains of the most brilliant designers in tabletop games, from legacy designers like Ron Edwards to genius women designers like Dr. Jessica Hammer and Meguey Baker to groundbreaking modern designers like Jay Dragon and Rae Nedjadi. Many of these people I have grown to consider friends and colleagues, and I’m so grateful for the amazing things I’ve learned from them and shared with you.

I have been supported by my Patreon supporters primarily for these interviews, enough funds to pay for my website and a bill every so often, some busy months enough to help me pay medical expenses. I am incredibly grateful for my supporters, for everyone who has shared an interview, recommended a creator to reach out to, or praised my interviews, regardless of whether they supported me financially!

You may ask, if this is so great, why does the title say you’re ending interviews? What does this mean for Thoughty? Why has the site been so slow recently, anyway? Well, that’s what I’m gonna try to answer here. This is… a bit long. I’m still me, you know.

Let’s Talk: A Thoughty Update…among other things

I apologize if this is the first some of you may be hearing of my current health status, but the quarantine has made communicating really difficult. Please watch this video and feel free to reach out, but do not feel any obligation to give platitudes. Things have been rough but I’m doing my best! <3

Script Change is Now Available in Korean!

You can now find the Script Change RPG Toolbox translated into Korean at this link, which is so exciting! I’ve also added some new language to the Script Change page to help with anyone else interested in using Script Change in their game or in translating the text!

Beau's hand making the Korean heart symbol on a purple and pink background.

Script Change Now Has Discord Emojis!

Check it out!

Tag: script change

Script Change Rebranding/Redesign

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The Man and The Stag on itchio!

I am releasing The Man and The Stag as a crowdfunding project as part of #Zinequest3!

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Let’s Talk: A Thoughty Update…among other things

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Script Change is Now Available in Korean!

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Times do change.

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