Stay ConnectedWelcome to Ludology, an analytical discussion of the how’s and why’s of the world of board games. Rather than news and reviews, Ludology explores a variety of topics about games from a wider lens, and discusses game history, game design and game players.
Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, the premier board game media network.
Copyright: © Geoff Engelstein, Sen-Foong Lim, and Erica Bouyouris
Sen and Erica chat with Brian Neff, the freelance developer who currently handles the Unmatched System for Restoration Games, about the process he uses for playtesting and balancing a game with an ever-expanding roster that boasts just under 40 playable characters to date. They chat about how both quantitative and qualitative data drive the development process and how the game's loyal community has been an invaluable part of the process.
Timestamp
Note
Link
00:01:05
Restoration Games
00:01:49
Unmatched Game System
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/295564/unmatched-game-system
00:02:18
Bruce Lee
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/279645/unmatched-bruce-lee
00:02:19
T-Rex
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/284778/unmatched-jurassic-park-dr-sattler-vs-t-rex
00:04:45
Alice
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/274637/unmatched-battle-legends-volume-one
00:04:48
Moon Knight
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/326933/unmatched-redemption-row
00:07:00
Cerebus System
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/23550/game-cerberus-engine-heroes
00:08:03
Star Wars Epic Duels
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3284/star-wars-epic-duels
00:08:43
Tannhauser
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25261/tannhauser
00:0901
Magic: The Gathering
00:09:02
Yu-Gi-Oh
https://www.yugioh-card.com/en/
00:09:03
Hearthstone
https://hearthstone.blizzard.com/en-us
00:09:13
Mondo
00:16:36
Noah
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/75911/noah-cohen
00:16:41
Rob Daviau
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/442/rob-daviau
00:16:46
Justin Jacobson
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/4083/justin-d-jacobson
00:17:20
The Invisible Man
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/294484/unmatched-cobble-fog
00:18:21
Dr. Ellie Sattler
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/284778/unmatched-jurassic-park-dr-sattler-vs-t-rex
00:19:10
Beowulf
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/325635/unmatched-little-red-riding-hood-vs-beowulf
00:19:51
Yennenga
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/335764/unmatched-battle-legends-volume-two
00:21:11
Little Red Riding Hood
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/325635/unmatched-little-red-riding-hood-vs-beowulf
00:23:57
Daredevil
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/326934/unmatched-hells-kitchen
00:29:01
Restoration Games Discord Server
00:30:55
Medusa
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/274637/unmatched-battle-legends-volume-one
00:30:56
Bigfoot
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/274638/unmatched-robin-hood-vs-bigfoot
00:31:10
Sherlock
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/294484/unmatched-cobble-fog
00:32:57
Ms. Marvel, Squirrel Girl, Cloak & Dagger
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/326936/unmatched-teen-spirit
00:34:55
Elektra
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/326934/unmatched-hells-kitchen
00:40:14
Bovine University
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlGC8YnfhN8
00:41:59
Colossus
https://x-men.fandom.com/wiki/Colossus
00:43:49
Wakka
https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Wakka
00:44:34
Unmatched Maker
00:46:27
When I Was A Young Warthog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EILeWQEDtMw
00:46:42
Slice & Dice
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.com.tann.dice&hl=en_CA&gl=US
00:48:03
Jawn
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Jawn
00:49:25
Willow Nightingale
https://twitter.com/willowwrestles
00:5024
Juice Robinson
In this classic Biography of a Board Game, Scott takes a look at how the horror game Betrayal at House on the Hill came to be.
Erica and Sen talk with Spenser Starke about his game, Alice is Missing, and it's jump to the big screen. They discuss how to design cinematic narrative structure into tabletop games, calibration tools, and more!
Timestamp
Note
Link
00:01:05
Alice Is Missing
https://www.huntersentertainment.com/alice-is-missing
00:01:17
Kids on Broom
https://renegadegamestudios.com/kids-on-brooms/
00:01:20
Icarus
https://renegadegamestudios.com/icarus-a-storytelling-game-about-how-great-civilizations-fall/
00:02:51
Dread
https://dreadthegame.wordpress.com/about-dread-the-game/
00:02:53
The Quiet Year
https://buriedwithoutceremony.com/the-quiet-year
00:06:47
Life Is Strange
https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/319630/
00:06:49
Oxenfree
https://store.steampowered.com/app/388880/Oxenfree/
00:06:50
Firewatch
https://store.steampowered.com/app/383870/Firewatch/
00:08:25
Vox article
https://www.vox.com/culture/21656220/alice-is-missing-rpg-text-message
00:10:19
Hollywood Reporter article
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/alice-is-missing-movie-1235173092/
00:11:10
Papergirls Cancelled
https://deadline.com/2022/09/paper-girls-canceled-prime-video-one-season-shopped-season-2legendary-television-1235113183/
00:20:14
RPG Safety Toolkit
https://t.co/gA6hV6VKqm
00:28:39
Chapman Film School
https://www.chapman.edu/dodge/index.aspx
00:30:14
Three Act Structure
https://www.arcstudiopro.com/blog/three-act-structure-in-screenwriting
00:35:51
Joseph Campell's Hero's Journey
https://www.arcstudiopro.com/blog/the-heros-journey
00:35:59
Dan Harmon's Story Circle
https://www.arcstudiopro.com/blog/dan-harmons-story-circle-screenplay
00:36:15
Save The Cat
https://savethecat.com/
00:36:44
Hamlet's Hit Points
https://gameplaywright.net/books/hamlets-hit-points/
00:40:25
L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/did-a-silent-film-about-a-train-really-cause-audiences-to-stampede
00:50:59
Ten Candles
https://cavalrygames.com/ten-candles
00:53:09
Battleship
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/battleship
00:53:10
Clue
rottentomatoes.com/m/clue
00:54:16
Image Comics
https://imagecomics.com/
00:56:01
Blades in the Dark TV Show Announced
https://www.polygon.com/22652023/blades-in-the-dark-tv-show-announced
00:59:24
Game Night
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/game_night_2018
00:59:43
Dune Imperium
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/316554/dune-imperium
01:02:30
Cash Cab
https://www.bravotv.com/cash-cab
01:03:30
Powered By The Apocalypse is the best way to get started with tabletop roleplaying games
https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/22787981/powered-by-the-apocalypse-tabletop-rpg-explainer
01:04:26
Wingspan
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/266192/wingspan
01:04:30
Succulent
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/299372/succulent
01:04:33
Stardew Valley
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/332290/stardew-valley-board-game
01:04:59
Scythe
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/169786/scythe
01:05:18
Tales From The Loop
https://www.loop-rpg.com/
01:06:34
Cameron Cuffe
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1949036/
01:06:50
Rupert Grint
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0342488/
Geoff takes us through the history of the color blue, namely how difficult it is to make as a dye, and considers if we should value it above all other player colors.
Erica, Gil, and Sen discuss some of the tools and processes they use at the various phases of designing a game from their varying perspectives of an in-house designer, a publisher, and freelance designer/developer. SHOW NOTES:
00:08:31 DDS is an acronym for Detailed Design Specification
00:11:38 LucidChart browser-based flowcharting and more www.lucidchart.com
00:18:43 Canva free online graphic design tool www.canva.com
00:19:13 Tabletop Simulator is a virtual tabletop (VTT) run on Steam www.tabletopsimulator.com
00:19:14 Tabletopia is a browser-based VTT www.tabletopia.com
00:21:26 Also known as an MVP - a "Minimum Viable Prototype"
00:21:45 Filemaker Pro is a relational database www.claris.com
00:21:57 Nandeck is cardmaking software www.nandeck.com
00:22:05 Component Studio is a full game design suite that is hooked up to the Game Crafter https://component.studio/
00:26:06 Adobe Creative Suite is the industry standard for the industry in terms of graphic design www.adobe.com
00:27:54 Photopea is an online Photoshop equivalent for raster images www.photopea.com
00:28:29 GIMP is an open source Photoshop equivalent www.gimp.org
00:29:15 Inkscape is a free equivalent of Illustrator for vector images www.inkscape.org
00:29:57 The Affinity Suite is a one-time payment suite of graphic design and illustrative tools https://affinity.serif.com
00:36:46 Fiskars Rotary Cutter is Sen's weapon of choice www.fiskars.com/en-us/crafting-and-sewing/products/rotary-cutters-mats-and-rulers
00:37:13 Arc punches, square punches and corner punches, oh my! This is an example of a 1" arch punch: www.amazon.ca/General-Tools-Instruments-1271M-1-Inch/dp/B00004T7WH
00:41:36 Midjourney and Dall-e are prompt-based AI Art generators www.midjourney.com / https://openai.com/blog/dall-e/
00:44:58 Some great sources for icons etc. www.flaticon.com https://thenounproject.com https://game-icons.net
00:45:32 Face generating software ThisPersonDoesNotExist https://thispersondoesnotexist.com/
00:48:46 Functional Fixedness is the psychological phenomena when a person cannot see any other use for an item because their initial understanding of how it's used is the only way they think it can be used
00:49:10 Sunk Cost Fallacy occurs when a person will not make a change, even one that is likely to be highly beneficial, due to the perceived amount of time, money, effort, etc.they have already invested in the current strategy
00:55:58 You can record your screen right from Windows https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/record-the-screen-d70508e8-25a3-4b97-b78a-a467b5372e21 and MacOS https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT208721
In this classic Biography of a Board Game, Scott takes us through the history of the game Cluedo, better known to Americans as Clue.
Erica and Sen chat with game designer Mondo Davis about how to market yourself in the game industry.
Continuing the previous GameTek Classic, Geoff returns to the subject of AI in first-person shooters. Last time, we learned that researchers had engineered an FPS AI that could beat the best humans. This time, Geoff dives into the different strategies the AI tried, how it shifted over time to prefer distinct strategies, and what we can learn from this.
Gil and Sen meet up with James Hudson of Druid City Games to discuss the pleasure of games that are big, sprawling productions.
Scott takes us through the history of Kill Dr. Lucky, a game where, instead of trying to deduce the murder of a wealthy old man, you're trying to actually do the deed.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
