The Game Design Round Table
- Autor: Vários
- Narrador: Vários
- Editora: Podcast
- Duração: 310:00:32
- Mais informações
Informações:
Sinopse
Focusing on both digital and tabletop gaming, The Game Design Round Table provides a forum for conversation about critical issues to game design.
Episódios
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#247 Tabletop Game Development with Brenna Noonan
14/10/2020 Duração: 51minBrenna Noonan, a tabletop game developer, joins Dirk and David to discuss the role of game development in the board game industry. She explains the differences between a designer and developer, and she shares how developers can help improve a game’s balance, scope, and player experience. Dirk and David also ask her about her path into the industry and what skills should be honed for good game development.
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#246 Omari Akil Talks Rap Godz
29/09/2020 Duração: 50minBoard game designer Omari Akil joins Dirk and David to talk about Rap Godz, Hoop Godz, and the process of making games that connect both mechanically and emotionally with a specific theme. They discuss the hip hop theme of Rap Godz as well as the street basketball theme of the upcoming Hoop Godz. Additional topics include managing scope and IP issues with a hip hop game, staying true to theme even if it upsets other game design norms, and designing as a sibling team.
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#245 Listener Questions August 2020
18/08/2020 Duração: 01h05minKathryn joins Dirk and David to discuss the recent Rob Daviau episode as well as answer listener questions. In response to Daviau’s design axiom, the trio discusses the role of memory in the games they design and play. Then the hosts proceed to answer listeners’ questions. Those questions include: how to help characters avoid picking a playstyle they’ll hate later, whether the hosts plan to work in the VR space, what the exact process is for incorporating an established IP, and how IP affects the character rosters of MOBA games.
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#244 Round Table on Matching Player Expectations
04/08/2020 Duração: 55minKathryn joins Dirk and David to discuss some recent episodes. In response to the show with Ryan Scott, the trio talks game balance and the difficulty of meeting the expectations of different player types. Then they all discuss toxicity in board games and how it compares to the toxic culture of competitive online games like MOBAs. Finally, the three hosts chat about thematic games and what makes a game thematic for them. (A discussion on Rob Daviau’s design axiom was moved to the upcoming episode 245.)
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#243 Rob Daviau Minimizes Ongoing Negative Effects
21/07/2020 Duração: 58minRob Daviau returns to the show to talk with Dirk and David about his design axiom: minimize ongoing negative effects for players to remember. They discuss why party games and heavier games might get away with these ongoing negative effects while other games get bogged down by them. Rob mostly uses his own work as examples, discussing Mountains of Madness, Betrayal Legacy, and Seafall.
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#242 Molly Johnson Talks Point Salad
08/07/2020 Duração: 50minMolly Johnson of Flatout Games joins Dirk and David to talk about designing light thematic games. Molly goes over Point Salad, published by AEG, and how the name and game came together. Later, she discusses some other games she’s been involved with (including Public Market, Calico, Cascadia, and Dollars to Donuts) and how theme helped complete or even spark these puzzle-y games.
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#241 Diving into MOBA Perspectives and Problems
23/06/2020 Duração: 01h11minSkye joins Dirk and David again to continue their deep dive into the MOBA genre. This time, the episode hones in on a few key gameplay decisions of MOBAs, and examines what those choices mean for players.
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#240 Ryan Scott Aims for Balanceable, Not Balanced
09/06/2020 Duração: 52minRyan “Morello” Scott joins Dirk and David on the show to discuss his design axiom: balance isn’t important, but balanceable is critical. Ryan discusses why planning ahead for a balanceable piece of content is critical to avoid making balance feel chaotic for players and designers alike. With his experience working on League of Legends and Riot’s new FPS, Valorant, he shares specific examples of where balance went wrong and steps designers can take to make things right.
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#239 Listener Questions May 2020
27/05/2020 Duração: 01h13minAfter a brief discussion about how the coronavirus has impacted work in games, Kathryn helps Dirk and David answer a few questions from our listeners.
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#238 Round Table on How Different Game Mediums Handle Edge Cases
12/05/2020 Duração: 56minKathryn once again rejoins Dirk and David to discuss the last few episodes of the podcast. The trio talks about the differences in edge cases between TTRPGs, board games, and video games. Then they move on to discuss the merits of the axiom: if the player doesn’t see it, it might not exist. The group rounds out the discussion chatting about their familiarity with the 4x genre as well as MOBAs and why Kathryn, Dirk, and David all enjoy watching esports.
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#237 Old World: Utilizing Playtesters Effectively
28/04/2020 Duração: 01h04minSoren rejoins Dirk and David to discuss what’s new with his 4X game Old World—including a new name! The trio talks about publisher changes, how playtesting has incrementally improved the game, and some of the unique mechanics that Old World brings to the 4X table.
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#236 Tanya X. Short Makes Game Systems Obvious
15/04/2020 Duração: 48minTanya X. Short talks with Dirk and David about her design axiom: if the player doesn’t see it, it might not exist. They discuss both some of the games Tanya has worked on, as well as other games that contradict or reinforce this rule. One key point of the discussion is how complex (and costly) systems created by the designers might go completely unnoticed by players if the user interface or the game’s objectives don’t align well with the system.
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#235 Diving Into MOBA Foundations
31/03/2020 Duração: 01h06minDirk and David team up with show producer Skye to dive into the MOBA genre, a first in a series meant to explore the design of this popular genre. They discuss the genre’s roots in real-time strategy game mods and give an overview of the most popular MOBAs on the market. Additionally, the trio talks about tabletop and mobile MOBAs, and why they haven’t taken off (at least in North America, that is).
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#234 Sen-Foong Lim Designs Edge Cases Out of the Game
17/03/2020 Duração: 56minSen-Foong Lim rejoins the show to chat with Dirk and David about his design axiom: design edge cases out of the game. The definition of an edge case is explored at length, and the importance of context when discussing edge cases is emphasized. Sen talks about what types of games can afford to include edge cases, and why he usually opts to either remove them or turn them into features of the game.
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#233 Round Table on the Challenges of Pleasing Customers
04/03/2020 Duração: 01h08minKathryn returns to the show to chat with Dirk and David about the last three episodes of the Designing Thematic Games series. The group chats about hybrid games, designing additional content for games, and handling criticism. They also answer some listener questions about remote work and art contracts. Overall, a great deal of this episode focuses on the customer level and the difficulties (and joys) of designing with customers in mind.
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#232 Chris Bourassa Talks Darkest Dungeon
18/02/2020 Duração: 56minChris Bourassa joins Dirk and David to discuss his work on the indie hit Darkest Dungeon. They talk about the inspiration for some of Darkest Dungeon’s characters, enemies, and mechanical systems. They also cover the game’s difficulty and learning from some of the public outcry during the game’s early access stage.
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#231 Tim Fowers Talks Burgle Bros 2
28/01/2020 Duração: 54minTim Fowers, a guest on the show in 2016, returns to talk with Dirk and David about designing heist games. He discusses the thematic and mechanical design decisions made in both the original game as well as his upcoming sequel. Other topics include hybrid games, sequels versus expansions or new editions, and the burgeoning Tabletop Network Conference.
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#230 Rob Daviau Talks Return to Dark Tower
14/01/2020 Duração: 53minFormer host Rob Daviau returns to the show to catch up with Dirk and David and talk about Restoration Games and their next big project: Return to Dark Tower. He discusses the decisions made when updating the 1981 game to capture the same eye-catching experience in 2020.
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#229 Round Table on the Essence of a Theme
24/12/2019 Duração: 01h11minKathryn rejoins Dirk and David to talk discuss the past few episodes in the Designing Thematic Games series. The trio talks art budgets, terminology, and thematic mismatches. They also answer listener questions about designing around themes. Much of the discussion explores the distinction between an essence of a theme and the broader theme itself.
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#228 Shawn Main Talks Legends of Runeterra
11/12/2019 Duração: 57minDirk and David discuss the card game Legends of Runeterra with designer Shawn Main. This upcoming game will be Riot’s follow up to the wildly popular League of Legends. They chat about capturing some of League of Legends’ thematic and gameplay beats despite the completely different game genre, and Shawn finishes up with a brief discussion of his time working on Magic the Gathering.