Brain Trust

Latest Episodes:

Signal, Noise, and Quantum Mysteries May 07, 2025

Show notes

Season 2, Episode 10. On this season finale, Adam and Will talk about Brindlewood Bay and the concept of the quantum mystery. We get into stoner mysteries, the LA of it all, and what to do about ipods.

Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!

Find us at https://braintrust.rocks.

Q&A: Epiphanies, Magic Systems, and Scrapping It Apr 09, 2025

Show notes

Season 2, Episode 9. On this episode, Adam and Will talk about their perfect creative conditions, how long we’ll be making games, magic systems, epiphanies, changes in approaches over time, and more.

Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!

Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

The Pros of Con Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

On this episode, Adam and Will talk about cons: working them, playing games at them, and running games at them, and all the feelings wrapped up therein.

Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!

Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Vestments and VHSs Mar 20, 2025

Show notes

On this episode, Adam and Will talk about finishing projects, Mortal Kombat, and Adam’s white whale project.

Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!

Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

The New End of the World Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

On this episode, Adam and Will recap and discuss this year’s ZineQuest, and explore a spiritual successor to a game they both love.

Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!
Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Brain Trust Babies Mar 04, 2025

Show notes

Season 2, Episode 5: Brain Trust Babies

On this episode, Will regales Adam with an anecdote about a recent game.

Find Adam Vass’s Midnight Marathon here: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/7608ff96-13c1-4dd9-aa9b-c7a50f762b1e/landing?ref=bk-discover-user-profile

Find Seb Pines’ Underneath here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spines/underneath-2

Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!

Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Bullet Points Rock My World Feb 25, 2025

Show notes

On this episode, we chat about what happens when we send games to print, and the eternal struggle of supporting systems with adventure releases. How do you build a play culture?

Check out this link for a list of zine quest projects: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XGdtJVXGD5FD3XMcsS_FXdLN6OuRvmaYlm7Zfyo6zVs/edit?gid=0#gid=0

Find Adam Vass’s Midnight Marathon here: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/7608ff96-13c1-4dd9-aa9b-c7a50f762b1e/landing?ref=bk-discover-user-profile

Find Seb Pines’ Underneath here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spines/underneath-2

Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!

Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Incredible Chair Experience Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

Season 2, Episode 3

Part 3 of 3 on crowdfunding. In this episode, we talk about the existential aspects of crowdfunding, and answering questions from the Brain Trust Discord and Bluesky:

How do you decide if a project is right for the green realm (or equivalent) as opposed to just doing a release on your own stores?
How do we even think this is a good idea to build a business model on? How do we reach the middle class where we don’t need to run crowdfunding campaigns just to get print runs done
At what point in the design process do you recommend launching your crowdfunding campaign? Especially for someone new to crowdfunding? When do you typically do it for yourselves?

Find Adam Vass’s Midnight Marathon here: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/7608ff96-13c1-4dd9-aa9b-c7a50f762b1e/landing?ref=bk-discover-user-profile

Find Seb Pines’ Underneath here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spines/underneath-2

Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!
Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Crowdfunding is a Pencil Dive into a Pond Feb 11, 2025

Show notes

Season 2, Episode 2: Crowdfunding is a Pencil Dive into a Pond.

Part 2 of 3 on crowdfunding. In this episode, we focus on the mental aspect of crowdfunding, and answer questions from our Discord and Bluesky:

How do you crowdfund a second game?
How to balance sustainability and environmental responsibility?
Can crowdfunding be fun?
Do we need to divorce our worth from our projects more?
How do you stop thinking about the campaign when you need to do other tasks, like sleep?
How do you disengage in a healthy way to prevent obsession with watching the meter go up?

Find Adam Vass’s Midnight Marathon here: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/7608ff96-13c1-4dd9-aa9b-c7a50f762b1e/landing?ref=bk-discover-user-profile

Find Seb Pines’ Underneath here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spines/underneath-2

Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!

Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

For Those About to Crowdfund, We Salute You Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

Season 2, Episode 1: For Those About to Crowdfund, We Salute You

Part 1 of 3 on crowdfunding. In this episode, we break down first principles of a crowdfunding campaign. What is it, why do we do it, and how do we stay sane while doing it.

Find Adam Vass’s Midnight Marathon here.

Find Seb Pines’ Underneath here.

Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!
Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

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