The Game Design Round Table

Soren Johnson is back to talk to Dirk and David about his new game, Offworld Trading Company. Offworld is the product of Soren’s own game development studio, Mohawk Games. He dives deep into the development process and the early access model and shares how the game has evolved over time.---------------------Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Soren Johnson - @sorenjohnson, designer-notes.com, offworldgame.com---------------------0:02:20 - The development process 0:16:48 - Tutorials and concepts 0:21:01 - The campaign 0:33:04 - The daily challenge 0:37:15 - Black markets and goon squads 0:45:25 - Refining the campaign 0:47:05 - Early access and launch 0:55:47 - “Lessons learned”

It’s a celebratory show as Dirk, David, and Rob talk about the latest releases from the crew. Rob’s Legacy game Seafall is finally ready for preorder after many years of hard work and Dirk is also pleased to share that his expansion for Tesla vs. Edison - Powering Up - is up on Kickstarter and exceeding his expectations. Our always-curious listeners have provided yet more questions for the panel, and they delve into a variety of topics on digital game implementations and why Rob wants to be a cardboard screen.---------------------Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com---------------------Episode Outline 0:00:32 - Seafall 0:06:30 - Tesla vs. Edison - Powering Up 0:14:39 - Games in both tabletop and digital format 0:20:19 - App first before Kickstarter? 0:34:13 - Turn length on apps and tabletop 0:39:42 - When are you truly a game designer? 0:45:06 - What physical game component do you most identify with? 0

Dirk and David are joined by designer and board game community member Chris Zinsli. Chris and his wife Suzanne are the founders of Cardboard Edison, a resource for designers of board games. Their blog and other media have helped countless designers get their ideas into production. They also co-design and publish a slew of their own games that touch on a wide variety of topics.---------------------Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Chris - @cardboardedison, www.cardboardedison.com---------------------Episode Outline 0:00:18 - Cardboard Edison 0:06:23 - The Process 0:09:58 - Cardboard Edison award-winner “Blood of an Englishman” 0:19:17 - Building the business and publishing 0:25:57 - Tessen 0:33:30 - Dubai 0:40:11 - Sultana 0:42:13 - Working with other publishers 0:45:43 - Co-designing with your spouse 0:49:27 - Pitching to publishers

Dirk, David, and Rob peek into the mailbag once again and answer your questions. After a brief celebration over the recent success of Pandemic Legacy, the trio talk about design-driven narrative and a few questions about the dirty details of rules.---------------------Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com-------------------------Episode Outline 0:04:41 - Tools for design-driven narrative 0:22:38 - Errata and updates for tabletop games 0:39:22 - Handling obscure or difficult rules 0:49:00 - Game design vocabulary

Dirk and David sit down this week with game designer Tim Fowers. A physics major gone rogue in the world of game design, Tim has experience in both board games and the digital space. His games Burgle Bros, Wok Star, and Paperback have allowed him to make the transition to full-time independent game designer.---------------------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Tim Fowers - @tfowers, www.fowers.net---------------------Episode Outline 0:00:18 - Tim’s background 0:03:42 - From indie to big game studio 0:11:02 - Simplicity: the route to success 0:19:22 - Full time and part time 0:25:02 - Burgle Bros 0:45:03 - Direct sales numbers 0:49:03 - Current and future projects

Description Dirk and Rob help David celebrate the launch of his company’s game: Star Trek Timelines. Timelines was a long time in the making and is an extremely ambitious game for the mobile platform. David reviews the development process and how the team is stretching the Unity engine to its limits. We also have several listener mail questions to answer.---------------------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com ------------------------- Episode Outline 0:01:25 - Star Trek Timelines 0:08:35 - Blending different crews 0:21:51 - Board game genres 0:32:27 - Rapid prototyping 0:50:55 - How to price mobile transactions 1:00:24 - Win condition terminology

This week Dirk and David are joined by Daniel Doan of Black Shell Media. Daniel’s career in games started with mods for the original Starcraft and grew into his breakout game, Sanctuary RPG. He then moved on to publishing and working with other designers on getting their games to market. Daniel offers advice on how to keep game designs focused and work with focus testing in order to deliver a final product that sells.---------------------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, dirk@artana.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Daniel Doan - @doandanial, www.blackshellmedia.com ------------------------- Episode Outline 0:00:16 - Daniel’s background 0:03:14 - Starcraft mods 0:04:55 - Sanctuary RPG 0:09:42 - Development and publishing 0:12:55 - Overture 0:20:47 - The rewards in company building 0:25:03 - Black Shell Media 0:31:53 - Influences 0:35:45 - Future platforms 0:40:10 - Future of BSM 0:46:14 - Board game design 0:49:32 - Focus testing

Dirk and David are joined by guest Justin Gary, accomplished game designer of many deckbuilding games. Justin’s career started as a professional, award-winning player of Magic: the Gathering and has continued with several successful designs. His creations include Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer, and Solforge. He and David talk shop this week about deckbuilding games, including communication to players and strategies for expansions.---------------------------------------------------------------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.CQGames.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Justin Gary - @justin_gary, www.justingary.com-------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:22 - Justin’s background 0:01:50 - Ascension 0:13:34 - Expansions and mechanics 0:19:14 - Influence of Magic: the Gathering 0:21:27 - Early projects 0:26:05 - Law school 0:29:27 - Current projects 0:32:56 - Kickstarter 0:37:07 - Deckbuilding mechanics 0:48:33 - Game design process 0:54:37 - Future goals

Return guest Harrison Pink stops by to catch up with Dirk and David and let us know what he’s been up to. Harrison recently moved to a new studio and is working as a world designer on the next Mafia game. He also had the opportunity to travel to China to talk at their GDC conference. He talks about designing for open world games, lessons he’s learned about what players want, and his international travels. Contact Info 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 - Harrison’s new digs 0:02:56 - World designing 0:08:10 - Team culture 0:14:47 - The Mafia series 0:27:42 - Lessons learned 0:30:20 - Other activities 0:36:51 - Talking at GDC China

Dirk, David, and Rob tackle more listener mail in this week’s episode. We had a lot of great questions come in from our listeners that cover royalty free assets, distribution for board games, and some more from Dirk on Tesla and Edison.---------------------------------------------------------------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com-------------------------Episode Outline 0:01:11 - How do you know when the mechanics are done? 0:10:53 - Not using regular distribution 0:22:25 - Using royalty free assets? 0:33:01 - Do you have any recommendations on finding royalty free assets? 0:41:37 - What are some clever design decisions that were used to cover up flaws? 0:45:50 - Can you comment some more on Tesla and Edison as people? 0:51:12 - Asymmetric design between two players 0:59:40 - Rules-based programming

We’re back! Dirk, David, and Rob are here again to talk about game design after a flurry of activity and travel. David is knee-deep in Star Trek Timelines and Rob is pleased with the success of Pandemic Legacy. Meanwhile, Dirk was invited to the laboratory of Thomas Edison thanks to the work he did with his game Tesla vs. Edison.---------------------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com-------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:34 - Star Trek Timelines 0:07:02 - Game pacing 0:17:49 - Risk Legacy and Pandemic Legacy 0:27:48 - Expertise, failure, and learning 0:35:53 - Edison Innovation Foundation 0:47:59 Chronicles 0:48:00 - Disruptor Beam

Dirk and Rob sit down with game designer Isaac Childres to talk about his self-published and Kickstarted game Gloomhaven. Rob seems to have found the game he’s been looking for all along and has plenty of questions for Isaac, who has published several games on his own and appears to be looking at a hit with Gloomhaven.--------------------------------------------------------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com Isaac Childres - @cephalofair, cephalofair.com--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:19 - Gloomhaven 0:06:43 - Retirement mechanic 0:14:06 - Inspirations for Gloomhaven 0:27:40 - Publishing 0:33:12 - Previous games 0:42:51 - Publishing lessons learned 0:50:23 - Upcoming games

Dirk, David, and Rob get together to talk about what happens when the game has shipped and there’s still more to do. Post-launch support can come in the form of features that were originally left on the cutting room floor, expansions to existing content, or continuations of a line with new product. All three of our panelists have experience with expansion content across different industries and share their insights with the listeners.-----------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com-----------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:51 - Content at the end of the game design 0:08:03 - Business models and design 0:23:51 - Expansion design for tabletop 0:31:51 - Who’s doing expansions right? 0:38:27 - Map expansions

This week Dirk and David are joined by game designer Alex Kevern. Alex has followed the path from gamer to designer and brought several different games to market with a myriad of publishers. He offers his experiences dealing with different publishers as well as modifying themes for games and working on Kickstarter.-----------------------------------------------------------------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Alex Kevern -@alexwithideas--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:16 - Alex’s background 0:03:54 - Daxu 0:11:17 - Changing themes 0:16:05 - World’s Fair 0:24:50 - Kickstarter 0:27:45 - Expansions 0:34:01 - Gold West 0:39:46 - Working with publishers 0:46:12 - Future projects

Rob is back from vacation and it’s time for some more listener mail. Is it possible to play a game that is fun but not good? Should you share your ideas with people before publishing your game?-------------------------------------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com-----------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:36 - Pitching to publishers 0:16:52 - Fun games that aren’t good 0:25:44 - The goals of game design 0:32:18 - How much do you share an idea before publishing? 0:40:47 - How do you take on choices in design?

Dirk and David talk to game designer David Somerville about his game Trove and experiences publishing his first game. David shares his insights as far as community management, how to hand things over, and pitching your games. Other David shares that he really, really wants to be a cave.----Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron David Somerville - @thisistrove------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:18 - Dave’s background 0:02:31 - Trove: The Crystal Caverns 0:13:04 - Staying current while designing 0:15:21 - Getting set up with a publisher 0:26:20 - Earlier games 0:39:18 - Advice 0:51:28 - Pitching your game

We’re back! After a brief hiatus due to the craziness of Gen Con the crew is back to tell their stories and get caught up on all the new developments. Dirk, David, and Rob talk about Gen Con, the new collaboration between Dirk and David, and answer a little bit of listener mail.------------------------------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com-----------------------------Episode Outline 0:05:48 - Seafall update 0:09:16 - Chronicles 0:22:51 - Star Trek 0:30:26 - Gen Con 0:40:09 - Return on investment vs artistic statement

Dirk and Rob sit down with game designer Daniel Solis to talk about his background with card and microgames. Daniel’s games can be played all over the world and he shares his experiences with international publishers as well as crowdfunding and print-on-demand.---------------------------------------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com Daniel Solis - @DanielSolis, http://danielsolisblog.blogspot.com/------------------------------------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:26 - Daniel’s background 0:07:01 - Card counts 0:11:10 - Sharing ideas 0:15:27 - Playtesting 0:18:31 - Kigi 0:22:04 - Publishers in different regions 0:33:39 - International legal matters 0:39:49 - Royalties and crowdfunding 0:53:58 - Upcoming projects

Dirk, David, and Rob are back to answer more listener questions about budget, toolsets, and more.------------------------------------------------------------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com Episode Outline 0:02:12 - Budget for art and assets 0:06:29 - Marketing and Kickstarter 0:21:18 - Meaningful early game moves 0:40:17 - Toolsets for game development 0:49:13 - Feedback for feedback

This week, Dirk and David chat with Meg Jayanth to talk about her experiences as a writer in the games industry. Meg’s prose is probably most well known in the story-heavy gameplay of 80 Days on mobile devices and Sunless Sea on the PC. Meg shares her background, what it’s like to create oodles of content characters may never see, and the benefits of working in pajamas.-----------------------------------------------------------------------Contact Info Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Meg Jayanth -@betterthemask, www.megjayanth.com------------------------------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:18 - Meg’s background 0:08:17 - Samsara game 0:15:14 - Content that characters may or may not see 0:36:18 - Writing processes 0:42:41 - Working remotely 0:47:16 - Current projects