We're back with a very special episode, as co-host Ryan Anderson walks us through their design methodology for the combat in Wintermoor Tactics Club. We break down how Ryan intentionally approached Wintermoor so that it would introduce new pla

Roleplay - Priming Proactive Players

Sep 9th, 2020 1h 42m

Jon and Kyle sit down to discuss player proactivity in tabletop roleplaying. What is the difference between proactive and reactive play? Why is proactivity important for collaborative storytelling? And how do you create a space where your playe

Quickplay - Death Stranding & Animal Crossing

Aug 2nd, 2020 34m 49s

The gang breaks into Death Stranding and Animal Crossing, two games that are perhaps more similar than they first appear. We discuss how adding friction to mechanics can make the player feel more present in the game world and debate whether th

Quickplay - Doom Eternal

Jun 10th, 2020 22m 59s

The gang digs into the audacious design of Doom Eternal, which manages to be too similar to its predecessor for new players to learn, yet is also too different for some existing fans to enjoy. You can punch the ribs out of a giant brain with a

Quickplay - Clash Royale

May 25th, 2020 30m 58s

After taking a few months off, we're back ready to discuss the latest and greatest in digital games... by talking about a five-year-old mobile game. Rob's been grooving on Clash Royale's clan battles, and the gang discusses how these types of

Roleplay - Expectations and Invitations

May 4th, 2020 1h 5m

We're back with another dive into the fascinating world of tabletop roleplaying! This time, Jon comes to Kyle with a problem -- he feels anxious that the last session he GMed didn't go so well, and he's not sure how to deal with this in a const

Roleplay - Engaging Imaginations

Mar 30th, 2020 1h 11m

We're back to discuss more of the hows, whats, and whys of GMing tabletop roleplaying games! This time, Kyle and Jon discuss how to get your players to engage their imaginations and provide more colorful contributions to the ongoing story. Amon

Roleplay - Working with the Game

Mar 15th, 2020 1h

We're trying something new! While video games are cool and all, we've been spending a lot of our design energy recently playing, running, and thinking about tabletop RPGs. RPGs are some of the most fascinating and unique gaming experiences you

End of the Decade

Jan 1st, 2020 2h 36m

It's the end of the 2010s, and the gang is looking back to try and make sense of what just happened. Join us for a jaunt down memory lane that is almost as insightful as it is exhausting. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll be amazed at how ma

Quickplay - Really Bad Chess

Nov 11th, 2019 21m 9s

The gang discusses Really Bad Chess, which is actually really good. We dig into how developer Zach Gage made a classic game more fun and accessible, and Rob expresses his surprisingly deep love for Backgammon.

Quickplay - Sayonara Wild Hearts

Nov 4th, 2019 13m 5s

The gang discusses the gorgeous visual album game Sayonara Wild Hearts, heaping praises upon its aesthetics but picking apart its bizarre relationship with its scoring system.

Quickplay - Sayonara Wild Hearts

Nov 4th, 2019 13m 5s

The gang discusses the gorgeous visual album game Sayonara Wild Hearts, heaping praises upon its aesthetics but picking apart its bizarre relationship with its scoring system.

Quickplay - Untitled Goose Game + What the Golf?

Oct 21st, 2019 24m 41s

The gang discusses comedy in games and how Untitled Goose Game and What the Golf? each tackle this difficult design area.

Quickplay - Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Sep 20th, 2019 30m 1s

The gang discusses Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the latest entry in the long-running tactics RPG series. We dig into how Three Houses uses its character development mechanics to encourage the player to invest in their characters both mechanically

Quickplay - Keyforge

Sep 3rd, 2019 31m 47s

We discuss Fantasy Flight Games' recent 'unique deck game', Keyforge, in which every deck you buy is a randomly generated, unique, and unchangeable combination of cards. We look at how this system makes the game more approachable than tradition

Quickplay - Steamworld Quest

Aug 13th, 2019 21m 38s

The gang compare the card combat systems in Steamworld Quest and Slay the Spire and analyze how one simple difference massively changes the focus of each game.

Designing the Mysteries of Outer Wilds (Alex Beachum)

Aug 5th, 2019 1h 13m

We're super excited to be joined by Alex Beachum, creative director of Outer Wilds, the time-looping space exploration game that won the Independent Game Festival's grand prize back when it was still a student project. Together we explore the s

Quickplay - DOOM (2016)

Jul 1st, 2019 28m 34s

Jon and Rob discuss how the developers of 2016's Doom reboot pursued a philosophy of 'push-forward combat', utilizing smartly-design systems and AI to give the player a sense of agency and empowerment. (We also referred to Doom 2016 as Doom 5,

Quickplay - Dungeons & Dragons

Jun 24th, 2019 21m 56s

Jon and Rob are back from vacation, and we're ready to deliver some spicy hot takes! This time: Jon can't stand playing Dungeons & Dragons, despite loving lots of other tabletop RPGs. Improv comedy technique, homebrew magic systems, and bad fan

Quickplay - Workplace Communication

May 6th, 2019 30m 21s

This week we're discussing one of the most important skills for a professional game designer to cultivate -- workplace communication! We share thoughts and personal anecdotes on how to clearly get your ideas across, how to foster a non-toxic wo

Quickplay - Bloodborne

Apr 30th, 2019 21m 48s

Continuing on from last week's discussion of non-standard RPG stats in games, we dig into the confusingly named stats that make up Bloodborne's progression system. Designs will be analyzed, honor will be challenged, and in true From Software fa

Quickplay - Digimon World

Apr 22nd, 2019 18m 34s

The gang discusses Digimon World's Brains stat and how it allowed the designers to tutorialize the game's combat by abstracting the player's access to each monster's moves until they had gained a certain level of familiarity with them. Also: th

Early Access (Casey Yano)

Apr 15th, 2019 50m 51s

We're back with a new interview episode! Special guest Casey Yano drops by to discuss the experience of developing his hit game Slay the Spire using early access development, in which a game is made available for play and purchase while it is s

Quickplay - Ladykiller in a Bind

Apr 8th, 2019 15m 36s

Rob and Jon take to the mics alone to discuss Ladykiller in a Bind, Christine Love's 2016 visual novel about queer romance and mistaken identities. Specifically, we're digging into Ladykiller's innovative dialogue system, breaking down what mak

Quickplay - Beat Saber

Apr 2nd, 2019 15m 7s

Ryan's computer is down for the count, so Rob and Jon go it alone to discuss Beat Saber's campaign mode and how its modifier-based system makes it both more fun and more educational than other rhythm games' campaigns.