The Game Design Round Table

This week Jon and Dirk are joined by Soren Johnson, best known as the designer of Civilization IV. The gang discusses the 4X genre with a particular focus on the Civilization series. They dig into what makes this category of games special, what problems they have yet to solve and what opportunities exist with multiplayer and on mobile platforms.

Lucky #13! In this week’s episode, our hosts discuss Jon’s new game: ‘At the Gates,’ a 4X strategy game where you play as a barbarian tribe during the fall of Rome. They discuss the background for the game’s development, as well as the design thinking that went into many of its features. ‘At the Gates’ will be available on Kickstarter from February 6th until March 8th, so please check it out!

Jon and Dirk are joined by designer David Heron to discuss his work on the Legend of the Five Rings CCG (Collectible Card Game). Along the way, they examine the business side of building a CCG. The discussion then shifts to deckbuilding and drafting games, with a particular focus on Dominion and 7 Wonders and the design flaws that prevent Dirk and David from enjoying them. At the end of the episode Jon teases a big announcement that will be made next week.

A “high-energy” episode this week as Jon and Dirk are joined by Telltale Games designers (and Idle Thumbs hosts) Sean Vanaman and Jake Rodkin. The guests share their experiences developing story-based games, with a particular focus on The Walking Dead. Many of the design challenges they face contrast heavily with what Jon and Dirk are used to with more abstract, non-story titles. And yet, the crew also discovers that many of the nuts and bolts that go into game development are the same regardless of what type of project you’re working on.Oh, and a spoiler warning for those of you who haven’t yet finished Season 1 of The Walking Dead. Jake and Sean discuss important plot points a couple times, so listener beware!

An intimate show this week where Jon and Dirk cover a variety of topics ranging from the new Battle of the Bulge iOS game to Jon’s recent article contrasting turn-based and real-time games. Dirk also provides an update on the progress of his current game, ‘Tomorrow’, and our hosts even spend a few minute discussing another project on Kickstarter that they’re not exactly enamored with.

This week Jon and Dirk are joined by Jesse Howard, an academic turned part-time tabletop designer - at age 40. They delve into Jesse’s ongoing journey to develop ‘Ploy’, a promising and innovative abstract card game. The design of Ploy is a very interesting case, as Jesse began with mechanics and only later added theming, which is the opposite approach of our hosts. Along the way, the group explores what they believe to be THE key to game development success.

In the final episode of 2012, Jon and Dirk hand out the first annual TGDRT Game Design Awards. Our hosts highlight some favorites from past episodes but also share their thoughts on a few newcomers - their Games of the Year might come as a bit of a surprise!Happy New Year everyone, and thanks for being a part of the TGDRT community!

This week Jon and Dirk are joined by Firaxis designer and programmer Scott Lewis. He comes on the show to jump into a discussion about “experience” games, which target the player’s first experience, and replayable games, which are designed to hold up over the long haul. Along the way there’s plenty of talk about roguelikes and Spelunky in particular, one of Scott and Jon’s favorites. Unfortunately, the quality of Scott’s audio is a bit suspect, so we apologize for that.

This week Dirk and Jon are joined by Uwe Eickert, founder of Academy Games and designer of several acclaimed board games. They discuss a few of Uwe’s projects including Conflict of Heroes and 1775. Also covered is how and why he got into the business, the challenges of running a tabletop games company and more!

An intimate show this week in which our co-hosts “go commando,” as Dirk puts it. We compare and contrast tabletop and digital game design, and dig into the process Dirk went through when creating Tomorrow. The crew dives deep into the “nuts and bolts” of development in this episode - so if you enjoy that sort of peek behind the industry’s curtain then you’re really in for a treat!

Henrik Fahraeus and Chris King from the Paradox Interactive design crew join Jon and Dirk to talk about storytelling in games.

Bill Abner from Conquistador Games joins Jon and Dirk to talk about trends in digital and tabletop games, as well as his experiences transitioning from gaming media into game development.

Risk: Legacy designer and newly-minted indie game design company owner Rob Daviau joins Dirk and Jon to talk about a wide-range of topics including memory and persistence in games, innovation, and starting your own game company. Spelunky, Stone Age, Lords of Waterdeep, Civilization and other games are discussed.

The Game Design Round Table launches with hosts Dirk Knemeyer and Jon Shafer talking about their background in gaming and design.