The Game Design Round Table

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#169: Listener Mail June 2017 Jun 08, 2017

Show notes

This week, David, Rob and Dirk get together to catch up and answer listener questions. Ice cubes are involved.---------------------David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau - @robdaviau Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com---------------------Episode Outline 0:00:26 - What's David been up to 0:03.37 - Update from Dirk on the Tesla vs Edison Dual kickstarter 0:05:18 - Rob got a haircut 0:07:27 - Listener Steve asks about cancelled kickstarter backers 0:10:43 - Listener Steve asks about the 'Winner Effect' 0:15:18 - Listener Doug asks about Escape Rooms 0:23:27 - Listener JC asks about revealing key information in a game 0:26:04 - Listener Glen asks a question regarding an idea you can't get off the ground, when do you shelve it or keep going? 0:28:48 - The Little Zen Handbook

#168: Emily Care Boss May 25, 2017

Show notes

This week, Dirk and Kathryn welcome veteran game designer Emily Care Boss to the show. Emily has a long history in designing RPG games and making tools available to players to challenge their views and expand their gaming horizons. Some of her games encourage players to examine uncommonly represented topics, such as romance and sexuality.--------------------- Emily Care Boss - @emilycare, www.blackgreengame.com Kathryn Hymes - @chicalashaw, thornygames.com Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com---------------------Episode Outline 0:00:19 - Emily's background 0:03:25 - Tabletop games and sexuality 0:15:40 - Emily's catalog 0:25:56 - RPG and game theory

#167: Chelsea Howe and VR May 11, 2017

Show notes

Dirk and David are joined by Owlchemy Labs' Chelsea Howe to talk about Virtual Rick-Ality and the new frontier of VR. Chelsea's involvement with VR goes back to her days at EA and she continues to be on the forefront of development for this new platform. Chelsea describes what it's like to develop and port games for VR and gives Dirk a pop culture lesson on Rick and Morty.--------------------- Chelsea Howe - @manojalpa David Heron - @DavidVHeron Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com --------------------- Episode Outline 0:01:14 - VR and Virtual Rick-Ality 0:09:03 - VR 101 0:13:39 - Augmented Reality 0:17:28 - Virtual communities 0:19:35 - New tech and novelty 0:22:21 - Dirk learns about Rick and Morty

#166: John Harper May 05, 2017

Show notes

Dirk and Kathryn are joined this week by designer John Harper, the mind behind Blades in the Dark. John's transition to full-time developer has been helped by his fans that support him via Kickstarter and Patreon - this following allows him to fully concentrate on his multi-disciplinary craft and continue to release free, hackable material.---------------------John Harper - onesevendesign.com, @john_harper---------------------Kathryn Hymes - @chicalashaw, thornygames.com Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com Episode Outline 0:01:41 - Blades in the Dark 0:10:51 - Growing in tastes as a designer 0:20:49 - Supporting yourself with indie work 0:27:34 - Game development over several disciplines 0:32:19 - Hackable game designs 0:35:13 - Upcoming designs

#165: Listener Mail April 2017 Apr 20, 2017

Show notes

Dirk, Harrison, and Kathryn dive into the mailbag once again to answer your game design questions. Is it really that difficult to get published in North America from other markets? What's life on the digital side like when it comes to publishing? And what can you do when you (inevitably) get stuck?.---------------------Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com Harrison Pink - @gilespink, harrisonpink@gmail.com, harrisonpink.com Kathryn Hymes - @chicalashaw, thornygames.com.---------------------0:00:24 - The difference between design and development and getting stuck 0:06:05 - Publishing from non-American or European markets 0:10:04 - Linear narratives 0:16:03 - Game design and budget 0:21:53 - Self-publishing and digital games 0:26:02 - Players vs. The Game

#164: Nels Anderson and Firewatch Apr 13, 2017

Show notes

Designer Nels Anderson stops by to talk to Dirk and Harrison about his work on 2016's hit Firewatch. Nels worked with a small team at Campo Santo studios to create a unique storytelling adventure that was a critically acclaimed success. Nels describes the pros and cons of working with a small team of core developers and the lessons he learned from working on a team that was birthing their first game together.---------------------Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com Harrison Pink - harrisonpink@gmail.com, harrisonpink.com Nels Anderson - @nelsormench, above49.ca---------------------Episode Outline 0:00:58 - Firewatch 0:08:00 - Getting started 0:11:53 - Narrative and level design 0:15:14 - Working with a small team 0:18:42 - Firewatch as a first game 0:23:14 - Current projects 0:26:13 - Design lessons learned

#163: Jason Thompson Apr 01, 2017

Show notes

Dirk and Rob are joined by writer, artist, and game designer Jason Thompson to talk about his innovative drawing game "Mangaka: The Fast & Furious Game of Drawing Comics", co-published by Mock Man Press and Japanime Games. Jason talks about his background in manga and writing as well as the process that caused Mangaka to evolve over the course of several years into the game it is today.---------------------Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com Rob Daviau - @robdaviau Jason Thompson - @mockman---------------------0:01:33 - Mangaka 0:09:15 - Early ideas 0:15:48 - How the stories unfold 0:17:48 - From writing to game design 0:21:48 - Jason's future plans

#162: Listener Mail February 2017 Mar 09, 2017

Show notes

Dirk, David, and Kathryn Hymes are here to answer your questions. This week they go over replayability, ambitious ideas, and the differences between design and development.---------------------Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Kathryn Hymes - www.thornygames.com.---------------------0:01:04 - Replayability and value 0:16:06 - Trimming game length 0:26:39 - IP creation and long-term goals 0:31:19 - The difference between design and development

#161: Paizo Games Mar 02, 2017

Show notes

Dirk and Harrison are joined by Jessica Price and Wes Schneider from Paizo games to talk about their voluminous tabletop roleplaying library. Paizo is best known for their Pathfinder roleplaying system, a successor to Dungeons and Dragons Version 3.5. Wes and Jess talk about their paths into game development as well as the highly anticipated new RPG, --------------------- Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.CQGames.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com Harrison Pink - harrisonpink@gmail.com, @colonialpink Jessica Price - @delafina777 Wes Scneider - @fwesschneider --------------------- Starfinder. 0:00:21 - Paizo Games 0:09:00 - Backgrounds before Paizo 0:18:10 - Creating tabletop modules 0:29:40 - Starfinder RPG

#160: Dominic Crapuchettes and North Star Games Feb 17, 2017

Show notes

Dirk and David are joined by Dominic Crapuchettes of North Star Games to talk about their breakout hits and the process of creating mass market games. North Star Games is most well known for their widely-available games Wits and Wagers and Say Anything but also their educational Evolution series that is used by teachers across the country. Dominic shares what it's like balancing creating games using a winning formula and branching out into something new. --------------------- Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.CQGames.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Dominic Crapuchettes - www.northstargames.com, dominic@northstargames.com --------------------- Episode Outline 0:00:30 - The beginnings of North Star Games 0:01:59 - Wits and Wagers and Say Anything 0:06:17 - Business partners 0:10:20 - Evolution: Climate 0:19:44 - Managing success and aspirations 0:22:29 - The Evolution series 0:30:48 - New and upcoming games

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