The Game Design Round Table

Dirk and David chat with Meguey Baker about her tabletop RPG Apocalypse World and writing in general. The discussion covers Apocalypse World’s approach to the post-apocalyptic theme and how the writing and mechanical design helps players feel like they are the movers and shakers with a vision to change their post-apocalyptic world.

Dirk speaks with David Dunham, the designer of Six Ages and its predecessor, King of Dragon Pass. These narrative strategy games, built from the Glorantha universe of Greg Stafford, use specific mechanics to invoke the theme of clans and struggling to survive and form a foothold in a mythical world. 

Dirk and David speak with former cohost and friend of the show Kathryn Hymes. Together, the three of them discuss important questions and lessons learned from the first four episodes in the Designing Thematic Games series.

Dirk and David discuss escape room design with Scott Nicholson, a game designer and professor who has studied escape rooms extensively. Scott talks about the predecessors to escape rooms, the thematic threat of ludonarrative dissonance, and the importance of asking “why?” with every component of a game’s design.

Dirk, David, and designer/artist Kynan Pearson discuss what goes into designing games for Nintendo’s popular themes. Kynan talks about his role on both the Metroid Prime series as well as Donkey Kong Country Returns, and he also touches on his work with the non-Nintendo property Halo and its differences from fellow sci-fi shooter Metroid Prime.

Dirk, David, and designer Elizabeth Hargrave discuss the hit game Wingspan: how she decided on the unique theme, why that theme might have been so successful, and when she had to choose fun or function over thematic fit.

Dirk, David, and designer Nikki Valens kick off the Designing Thematic Games series with a discussion about the highly thematic games Nikki worked on at Fantasy Flight Games: Eldritch Horror, Arkham Horror, and Mansions of Madness.

Dirk and David catch up with each other and what’s new in their game design careers. They talk about the new direction for the show and announce a new series for the podcast: “Designing Thematic Games.”

Dirk catches up with Cole Wehrle, designer of Root, and they discuss Cole’s latest game Pax Pamir: Second Edition. Cole also talks about starting Wehrlegig Games with his brother while continuing full time with Leder Games.

Dirk speaks with game designers Geoff Engelstein and Isaac Shalev about their co-authored book, Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: an Encyclopedia of Mechanisms.

Dirk speaks with former co-host and former Civilization designer Soren about his next game, 10 Crowns. This episode will be the first in a series with Soren that follows different steps in the game’s development.

Dirk speaks with Skye and Tony Tran about their experiences attending and starting local game design guilds and how those groups helped them progress as designers.

Dirk and David speak with TTRPG game designer and streamer Adam Koebel about how RPGs often influence one another and how to get your TTRPG in front of an audience.

Dirk talks with digital and tabletop game designer Will Thompson about game themes, including the recent controversy surrounding the game Scramble for Africa. 

What happens when a Kickstarter doesn't go as planned? Dirk speaks with Carla Kopp from Weird Giraffe games about publishing, Kickstarters, and the game Big Easy Busking.

Take a look back at previous TGDRT episodes with a focus on tabletop prototyping. Dirk, David, Kathryn, Harrison, and Isaac Shalev are all featured in this retrospective episode. 

David and Dirk are joined by Anthony Giovannetti, designer of the game Slay The Spire. Together they take a deep dive into the creation and game mechanics of the game.

Skye Larsen calls in from SaltCON to answer listener questions with Dirk and Cole about board and video games.

David and Dirk are joined by game designer, Kevin Kulp. They discuss his new game, Swords of the Serpentine and Timewatch. They also discuss how a beta test for a RPG works.

This week Dirk is joined by Jennifer Scheurle, a multi-award-winning, world-travelling Game Designer and public speaker. They discuss her work, her experience with NASA as well as some tips for game designers.