The Game Design Round Table

This show is all about the listeners! The mail bag is full and it’s time for Dirk and David to answer your questions on game design, the industry, and the types of games they love the most.------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron @DavidVHeron--Episode Outline 0:00:46 - Do you see Eurocentric themes as a problem in game design? 0:09:27 - What games have made you feel empowered? 0:13:54 - What are the advantages and disadvantages of fantasy themes? 0:18:46 - What are you top five games to play? 0:25:25 - Do you consider player action rate during design? 0:31:54 - What is the status of female game designers? 0:54:42 - What’s your ideal, unlimited-budget game? 0:56:58 - Should I patent my rules?

Jon and Dirk talk to game designer and TGDRT regular Soren Johnson about his upcoming game, Offworld Trading Company. His real time strategy economic game is currently in beta. Soren talks about the state of the game and the challenges he has in front of him.--------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com Soren Johnson - @sorenjohnson, designer-notes.com, offworldgame.com Jon Shafer - atthegatesgame.com, contact@conifergames.com, @jonshaferdesign-------------------------------------Episode Outline 0:02:56 - “The Sid Way” 0:08:59 - The inspiration for OTC 0:20:41 - Gameplay 0:35:35 - Sound design 0:39:15 - The exploration phase 0:47:04 - Current challenges

Ananda Gupta joins Dirk and Soren to talk about Dynamic campaigns. Series like Total War and XCOM merge tactical battles with larger strategic campaigns - what do these games do well, and what challenges seem to be omnipresent?------------------------------------------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com Soren Johnson - @sorenjohnson, designer notes.com, offworldgame.com Ananda Gupta - @agauntpanda-----------------Episode Outline 0:00:28 - Ananda’s background 0:04:38 - Dynamic Campaigns 0:08:05 - Crusader Kings II 0:10:35 - Pacing 0:15:40 - XCOM 0:31:54 - Wargame 0:35:57 - Rise of Nations 0:46:49 - Offworld Trading Company 0:52:11 - Rise of Legends 1:06:34 - Imperial Struggle

Dirk, David, and Rob get together to talk about the betrayal as a game mechanic. Betrayal can bring out the worst in people - yelling, table flipping, and even physical violence. So why does it still get into so many games, and what makes it a compelling mechanic?---------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com-----------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:28 - Betrayal! 0:04:41 - The mechanics 0:12:34 - Betrayal at House on the Hill 0:29:46 - Risk 0:36:36 - The most dastardly of betrayals 0:43:39 - Bang! and Werewolf 0:54:40 - Seafall

Friend and co-founder of The Game Design Roundtable Jon Shafer stops by to talk about the status of his game At the Gates. Learn about the importance of tribes, one of Jon’s new features that adds replayability and personality to the game. Dirk, David, and Jon talk about how far the game has come and what’s coming up in the future.----------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Jon Shafer - atthegatesgame.com, contact@conifergames.com, @jonshaferdesign--------Episode Outline 0:01:15 - Impressions of At the Gates 0:03:58 - Recent changes 0:17:16 - Player choice and game duration 0:21:16 - Clans 0:34:44 - Unit health and healing 0:43:01 - Personality 0:50:23 - Migration

Dirk, David, and Harrison Pink get together to reminisce about the games that they enjoyed in their youth. Check out the extensive list below - how many did you play?---------------------------------------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Harrison Pink - @colonialpink, harrisonpink@gmail.com, blog.harrisonpink.com----------------Episode Outline 0:00:37 - Monopoly 0:08:56 - The Game of Life 0:13:18 - Risk 0:23:11 - Crazy Eights 0:26:03 - Clue 0:30:14 - Scotland Yard 0:35:40 - Mastermind 0:39:25 - Mousetrap 0:41:50 - Fireball Island 0:47:27 - Dark Tower 0:48:54 - Trivial Pursuit 0:52:24 - King’s Quest 0:59:19 - Ultima Online

Dirk and David are joined by game designer Matt Leacock of Pandemic fame. Cooperative games are the topic of the day as Matt goes through his experiences building on the Pandemic franchise.------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Matt Leacock - www.leacock.com-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:32 - Matt’s Background 0:06:43 - Gaming with the family 0:11:43 - Pandemic as a brand 0:19:27 - The future of Pandemic 0:30:36 - Playing with power gamers 0:45:45 - Thunderbirds 0:51:19 - Going full time

Dirk, David, and Rob get together to talk about information. What are the advantages and disadvantages of perfect information games? How much is “enough” for each player to know? And how does Monopoly cause fist fights?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com-----------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:53 - Fog of war and limited information 0:05:31 - Information and scoring 0:14:23 - Game length 0:33:07 - Seafall 0:37:40 - Good examples of hidden information 0:45:50 - War Stories

Dirk and David take a brief respite from interviewing developers to talk about the games they’ve been playing. An extensive discussion on Europa Universalis IV eventually morphs into why people are fascinated by trains.----Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron---Episode Outline 0:01:01 - Europa Universalis IV 0:33:04 - Empire Builder 0:41:13 - Trains!

Dan Fabulich from Choice Of Games joins Dirk and David to talk about the interactive fiction genre and the process of choosing an adventure that may or may not be your own.--------------------------------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Dan Fabulich - @choiceofgames, dan@choiceofgames.com, www.choiceofgames.com-----Episode Outline 0:00:31 - Choice of Games 0:01:43 - Interactive Fiction 0:05:58 - UI 0:23:30 - Gender and Choice 0:31:37 - Best Practices 0:42:57 - Other IF Developers 0:46:26 - Branded Properties 0:54:20 - Making choices matter---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Choice of Games http://www.choiceofgames.com/ Inkle Games http://www.inklestudios.com/blog/ A Dark Room https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a-dark-room/id736683061?mt=8 Device 6 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/device-6/id680366065?mt=8 San Franciso Interactive Fiction Meetup http://www.mee

This week Dirk is joined by game designers Jay Cormier and Sen Foong Lim of Bamboozle Brothers. Jay and Sen describe what it’s like working with a partner long distance, getting picked up by a publisher, and their process to designing tabletop games.---------------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com Jay Cormier - @bamboozlebros, http://www.bamboozlebrothers.com/ourgames.html Sen Foong Lim - @senfoonglim--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Episode Outline 0:02:20 - Belfort Design Process 0:03:27 - Starting Small 0:14:27 - After getting picked up by a publisher 0:18:10 - Getting Started 0:23:37 - Teamwork and Collaboration 0:27:12 - Disagreements 0:35:04 - Game Artisans of Canada 0:56:13 - Starting with theme or mechanics

Dirk, David, and Rob talk about the the importance of marketing. How important is it and how do the numbers compare between tabletop and the digital realm? And what’s the Wil Wheaton factor?----------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com-----------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:56 - Marketing at Hasbro 0:08:20 - Marketing and conferences 0:12:18 - The differences between tabletop and digital marketing 0:21:01 - Data 0:26:54 - Pricing 0:33:38 - Theme and marketing 0:41:25 - Copycats and “inspired by” 0:51:43 - Marketing as independence 0:54:52 - Wil Wheaton gets his own bullet point

Harrison Pink returns to the show to talk with Dirk and David about playing games. This episode is all about what games our panel has been playing and how they have reacted as both players and designers.-----------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Harrison Pink - harrisonpink.com, @colonialpink, harrisonpink@gmail.com-----------------------Episode Outline 0:01:33 - Sir, You Are Being Hunted and stealth 0:09:12 - Splendor 0:28:26 - Diplomacy 0:39:56 - Neptune’s Pride 0:44:49 - Dune 1:01:16 - X-Wing Miniatures

In this week’s episode, Dirk and David take some time to talk about their current projects. Futbol Strategy is around the corner and David’s Knights of Puzzelot has launched - find out how the games are going and what else the two have up their sleeves for the future.-------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron-------------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:20 - Futbol Strategy 0:11:30 - Knights of Puzzelot 0:24:03 - Dirk’s unrevealed project 0:26:18 - David’s deck building game 0:34:29 - David’s new project 0:42:28 - Design books

Nels Anderson joins Dirk and David to talk about the concept of “Push and Pull” style games and how it relates to game styles and gamer choice.--------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Nels Anderson - @Nelsarmensch, www.above49.ca, https://www.idlethumbs.net/terminal7, firewatchgame.com---------------------------------------------------------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:30 - Push vs Pull 0:14:40 - Push/Pull and player choice 0:29:07 - Tabletop games 0:32:30 - Game responsiveness 0:40:35 - The illusion of choice 0:50:13 - Firewatch

This week Dirk, David, and Rob go over the process that leads up to experiencing the game. From first hearing about it and finally unboxing it, what matters the most to designers and players? And just how many of our regular panel are old-school D&D nerds? (Hint: all of them.)----------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com-----------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:26 - Early announcements and Seafall 0:11:46 - Expectations and age 0:19:00 - Boxes and graphic design 0:34:32 - Opening the box 0:45:05 - Time to play the game 1:04:30 - Favorite new product memories

Harrison Pink joins Dirk and David to talk about what motivates both players and developers. Is it the journey, the destination, or the sweet, sweet Steam achievements at the end?------------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Harrison Pink - harrisonpink.com, @colonialpink, harrisonpink@gmail.com-----------------------Episode Outline 0:00:58 - Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation 0:09:42 - Telltale Games and extrinsic rewards 0:12:40 - Chocolate covered broccoli 0:31:15 - Authorial intent 0:46:34 - Can design be extrinsic or intrinsic

Dirk and Soren talk to Double Fine’s Brad Muir about streaming the development process and interacting with fans. Listen in on how to walk the fine line between listening to your fans and still steering the ship while working in an open development environment.--------------------------------------- Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com Soren Johnson - www.designer-notes.com, www.mohawkgames.com, @sorenjohnsonBrad Muir - @mrmooear, brad@doublefine.com------------------------------------- Episode Outline 0:00:58 - Streaming at Double Fine 0:10:24 - Civ IV’s early access 0:17:03 - Unexpected benefits 0:31:15 - Other streaming developers 0:37:11 - Kickstarter and fundraising 0:49:31 - What’s next for Double Fine 0:52:30 - Soren’s project

Dirk, David, and Rob get down to the nitty-gritty about prototyping their game concepts, both on the digital side and the tabletop side. What does a good prototype look like, and more importantly: how is one actually made?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com, David Heron - @DavidVHeron, Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, hello@robdaviau.com------------------------------------------- Episode Outline 0:00:58 - Working with the family 0:09:36 - Resolution and detail 0:15:46 - Digital prototyping 0:23:28 - Prototyping a licensed game 0:27:30 - Prototyping different components 0:42:22 - Playing prototypes

Dirk and David take a moment to discuss the games they’re working on and the challenges they face when trying to bring new game concepts to life. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron------------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:49 - War Stories 0:06:33 - The Knights of Puzzleot0:15:15 - David’s side CCG project 0:29:30 - New CCG mechanics and approachability 0:35:01 - Futbol Strategy