The Game Design Round Table

Latest Episodes:

#229 Round Table on the Essence of a Theme Dec 24, 2019

Show notes

Kathryn rejoins Dirk and David to talk discuss the past few episodes in the Designing Thematic Games series. The trio talks art budgets, terminology, and thematic mismatches. They also answer listener questions about designing around themes. Much of the discussion explores the distinction between an essence of a theme and the broader theme itself.

#228 Shawn Main Talks Legends of Runeterra Dec 11, 2019

Show notes

Dirk and David discuss the card game Legends of Runeterra with designer Shawn Main. This upcoming game will be Riot's follow up to the wildly popular League of Legends. They chat about capturing some of League of Legends' thematic and gameplay beats despite the completely different game genre, and Shawn finishes up with a brief discussion of his time working on Magic the Gathering.

#227 Meguey Baker Talks Apocalypse World Nov 27, 2019

Show notes

Dirk and David chat with Meguey Baker about her tabletop RPG Apocalypse World and writing in general. The discussion covers Apocalypse World's approach to the post-apocalyptic theme and how the writing and mechanical design helps players feel like they are the movers and shakers with a vision to change their post-apocalyptic world.

#226 David Dunham Talks Six Ages Nov 12, 2019

Show notes

Dirk speaks with David Dunham, the designer of Six Ages and its predecessor, King of Dragon Pass. These narrative strategy games, built from the Glorantha universe of Greg Stafford, use specific mechanics to invoke the theme of clans and struggling to survive and form a foothold in a mythical world.

#225 Round Table on Thematic Games #1 Oct 29, 2019

Show notes

Dirk and David speak with former cohost and friend of the show Kathryn Hymes. Together, the three of them discuss important questions and lessons learned from the first four episodes in the Designing Thematic Games series.

#224 Scott Nicholson Talks Escape Rooms Oct 15, 2019

Show notes

Dirk and David discuss escape room design with Scott Nicholson, a game designer and professor who has studied escape rooms extensively. Scott talks about the predecessors to escape rooms, the thematic threat of ludonarrative dissonance, and the importance of asking "why?" with every component of a game's design.

#223 Kynan Pearson Talks Nintendo Themes Oct 01, 2019

Show notes

Dirk, David, and designer/artist Kynan Pearson discuss what goes into designing games for Nintendo's popular themes. Kynan talks about his role on both the Metroid Prime series as well as Donkey Kong Country Returns, and he also touches on his work with the non-Nintendo property Halo and its differences from fellow sci-fi shooter Metroid Prime.

#222 Elizabeth Hargrave Talks Wingspan Sep 17, 2019

Show notes

Dirk, David, and designer Elizabeth Hargrave discuss the hit game Wingspan: how she decided on the unique theme, why that theme might have been so successful, and when she had to choose fun or function over thematic fit.

#221 Nikki Valens Talks Eldritch Horror Sep 03, 2019

Show notes

Dirk, David, and designer Nikki Valens kick off the Designing Thematic Games series with a discussion about the highly thematic games Nikki worked on at Fantasy Flight Games: Eldritch Horror, Arkham Horror, and Mansions of Madness.

#220 New Directions with Dirk and David Aug 20, 2019

Show notes

Dirk and David catch up with each other and what's new in their game design careers. They talk about the new direction for the show and announce a new series for the podcast: "Designing Thematic Games."

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