The Game Design Round Table

Latest Episodes:

#189 Gaming the Past with Jeremiah McCall Feb 23, 2018

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In this episode, Dirk and Cole have a conversation with Jeremiah McCall who uses games in the classroom to help in teaching history.

#188 Listener Question - You Don't Blind Test a Painting Feb 09, 2018

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In this episode, Dirk, Kathryn and Rob get together to answer listener questions around playtesting and professional backgrounds in design.

#187 Listener Question - Acronym Edition Jan 18, 2018

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Description In this episode, David, Dirk and Harrison get together to answer listener questions. Lots of acronyms and great insights in this episode! JRPG, MUD, MMO ... David Heron - @DavidVHeron Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, artana.com, dirk@artana.com Harrison Pink - @gilespink, harrisonpink@gmail.com

#186 Looking forward and back, 2017 to 2018 Dec 29, 2017

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In this final episode of 2017, David, Dirk and Kathryn get together to review 2017 and look forward to 2018.

#185 Game Designer Cole Wehrle Dec 22, 2017

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In this episode, David and Dirk speak with game designer Cole Wehrle. They discuss Cole's work and how to find balance designing games with deep historical and cultural context.

#184: Narrative Designer Edwin McRae Dec 08, 2017

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In this episode, Harrison and Dirk speak with Edwin McRae, a narrative designer. They discuss the importance of the narrative line in game design and how it can keep game players engaged throughout a game with immersive details. --------------------- Edwin McRae - www.edmcrae.com, edwin@edmcrae.com Harrison Pink - @gilespink, harrisonpink@gmail.com Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, dirk@artana.com, www.artana.com --------------------- Episode Outline 00:14 Welcome Edwin 00:17 Edwin's background 03:34 What is a narrative designer? 05:48 What processes or tools does Edwin use? 07:04 What is jigsaw storytelling? 08:26 What is Harrison's background in narrative storytelling? 10:54 Information on Edwin's work on Path of Exile 13:40 Edwin's background in school and professionally 17:01 Edwin's book writing on narrative design for indies 20:07 Advice to indies on hiring a narrative designer 23:09 What if someone is part way through developing and feels like the narrative is not right 27:27 How would a young writer get experience in game design?

#183: Listener Questions with David, Dirk and Rob Nov 24, 2017

Show notes

In this episode, David, Dirk and Rob finally get back together to catch up on each other's projects and answer listener questions. --------------------- David Heron - @DavidVHeron Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, artana.com, dirk@artana.com Rob Daviau - @robdaviau --------------------- Episode Outline 00:11 The group is back together again - it's been a while. David, Dirk and Rob catch up with what they've all been up to. 07:55 Listener Questions 08:12 Opinions on the rise of game engine marketplaces. 11:49 What is the ideal listener profile where a game engine would be useful? 13:48 Any particular game design books that are recommended? 20:34 David takes the question back to design, in general, and think of philosophy of design. 23:19 Math models and how they are created. Let me know if you have any questions.

#182: Game Designer Mike Bithell – Thomas Was Alone Oct 19, 2017

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In this episode, Dirk and Harrison have a chat with Mike Bithell, designer of games such as Thomas Was Alone, Volume, EarthShape, and Subsurface Circular. They discuss Mike's path to success and how he's been able to make such a variety of games. --------------------- Mike Bithell – @mikebithell, mikebithellgames.com Harrison Pink – @GilesPink, harrisonpink.com, harrisonpink@gmail.com Dirk Knemeyer – @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com --------------------- Episode Outline 0:17 Background on Mike 1:23 How did Mike get into games? 3:43 To what does Mike attribute his success? 5:55 Was it really all luck? How about the marketing side? – How Mike ended up on Steam 7:49 For the game, Thomas is Alone, how did narration get added to the game? 11:54 What about games more recent than Thomas is Alone and their great reviews? 15:24 What makes a game, an Bithell company game? 18:46 What's next? 21:11 Did lack of marketing actually help? 22:59 How do you balance making customers happy against sales volume? 25:01 Design process 27:47 Advice for aspiring indie game designers

#181: Listener Questions with David and Dirk Oct 05, 2017

Show notes

Description David and Dirk answer listener questions surrounding game design, board production, 3d printing and play testing. --------------------- David Heron - @DavidVHeron Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, artana.com, dirk@artana.com --------------------- Episode Outline 0:13 Listener Questions 0:33 What are the most common mistakes new designers make with blind playtesting? 6:55 What is the current state in board game printing? 8:44 How does it work with games with lots of mini's? 10:56 Will 3D printing change how mini's are handled? 11:46 When you start designing a game, how much research do you do in the genre? 15:00 What are the pros and cons of physical cards vs digital? 21:21 Any advice on identifying broken strategies before taking a game to external testers? 27:03 On a desert island, what games do David and Dirk pick?

#180: Spy Club from Foxtrot Games; How Collaboration helped deliver results. Sep 28, 2017

Show notes

In this episode, Dirk is joined by John Schulter, Sarah Graybill and Randy Hoyt to discuss their work on their new game, Spy Club from Foxtrot Games. They describe how their collaboration works and how Foxtrot Games and Black Straw Games fit into this relationship. --------------------- John Schulter & Sarah Graybill - @BlackStrawGames, blackstrawgames.com Randy Hoyt - @Randyhoyt, @foxtrotgames, foxtrotgames.com Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, artana.com, dirk@artana.com --------------------- Episode Outline 0:11 Welcome John, Sarah and Randy - Background 0:35 Discuss the new game, Spy Club, and how they all started on the team 1:18 It is based on another game by Jason D. Kingsley 2:18 These games have a long and intensive development process 3:05 How did it get from Jason to Foxtrot Games 3:53 How did playtesting turn into participation in the dev process? 6:34 Spy Club - what type of game is it? 7:58 John and Sarah have experience in designing games for children 9:54 Is Foxtrot Games making a directed effort into family friendly games? 11:12 Is this collaboration going into more projects? 13:32 This shows how relationships can pay off 14:53 Sarah and Black Straw Games 16:44 How does the collaboration work between the two companies? 19:35 How would people who are interested in working together do so? 22:44 Foxtrot, is the pace of releases increasing? 26:49 Spy Club the campaign aspect 34:07 What are some challenges of collaboration?

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