Ludology

Erica, Gil, and Sen discuss some of the tools and processes they use at the various phases of designing a game from their varying perspectives of an in-house designer, a publisher, and freelance designer/developer.  SHOW NOTES: 00:08:31 DDS is an acronym for Detailed Design Specification 00:11:38 LucidChart browser-based flowcharting and more www.lucidchart.com 00:18:43 Canva free online graphic design tool www.canva.com 00:19:13 Tabletop Simulator is a virtual tabletop (VTT) run on Steam www.tabletopsimulator.com  00:19:14 Tabletopia is a browser-based VTT www.tabletopia.com 00:21:26 Also known as an MVP - a “Minimum Viable Prototype” 00:21:45 Filemaker Pro is a relational database www.claris.com  00:21:57 Nandeck is cardmaking software www.nandeck.com  00:22:05 Component Studio is a full game design suite that is hooked up to the Game Crafter https://component.studio/ 00:26:06 Adobe Creative Suite is the industry standard for the industry in terms of graphic design www.adobe.com  00:27:54 Photopea is an o

In this classic Biography of a Board Game, Scott takes us through the history of the game Cluedo, better known to Americans as Clue.

Erica and Sen chat with game designer Mondo Davis about how to market yourself in the game industry.

Continuing the previous GameTek Classic, Geoff returns to the subject of AI in first-person shooters. Last time, we learned that researchers had engineered an FPS AI that could beat the best humans. This time, Geoff dives into the different strategies the AI tried, how it shifted over time to prefer distinct strategies, and what we can learn from this.

Gil and Sen meet up with James Hudson of Druid City Games to discuss the pleasure of games that are big, sprawling productions.

Scott takes us through the history of Kill Dr. Lucky, a game where, instead of trying to deduce the murder of a wealthy old man, you're trying to actually do the deed.

Erica and Sen talk with Dr. Tanya Pobuda about her groundbreaking research of representation in board games, the purpose of journalism, and her work in academia. SHOW NOTES 2m01s: Emma and Gil chatted with Dr. Mary Flanagan on Ludology 226 - Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo. 7m37s: Two seminal works in the theory behind fun and play are Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens and Roger Caillois' Man, Play, and Games. 27m05s: Analog Game Studies provides an academic, analytic look at non-digital games. 39m12s: Leonard Anetta's research paper The "I's" Have It: A Framework for Serious Educational Game Design. 43m34s: Elizabeth Sampat's book Empathy Engines: Design Games that are Personal, Political, and Profound.

In GameTek Classic 275.5 - MENACE, Geoff discussed a simple machine that anyone can build that can learn how to play tic-tac-toe competitively. Here, Geoff continues the conversation, this time with modern researchers using a neural network to teach a machine to play a first-person shooter video game, and the tweak they needed to make to see their AI become competitive with human players.

Erica and Gil discuss Erica's time so far working at Spinmaster, making mass-market games for kids and families. How is it different from making games for the hobby market? SHOW NOTES 0m43s: We recently chatted with Sydney Engelstein of Indie Boards & Cards in Ludology 274 - Indie 500, and with Carol Mertz of Exploding Kittens in Ludology 277 - Combustible Felines. 7m28s: The Rubiks brand of puzzles, toys, and games, centered around the world-famous Rubik's Cube. And the legendary brand of Gund plush toys. 19m04s: Kinetic Sand 33m39s: The marvelous game designer Maureen Hiron. 42m00s: Splendor, 7 Wonders, Sushi Go 56m10s: Busen Memo

In this classic GameTek, Scott tells us about the history of Agricola, which sparked new life in worker-placement games.

Sen and Gil have a talk with game reviewer and critic Daniel Thurot of the marvelous game review site Space-Biff! about his distinctive style of writing, the difference between review and criticism, and theming in games. SHOW NOTES 4m48s: The Settlers of Zarahemla 5m26s: Roger Ebert was a movie critic; Gil remains a big fan of his writing. Also: Tom Chick (whom Dan interviewed on his own podcast), Tom Francis 14m55s: Fort 29m35s: The recent film Men 31m56s: Sen and Jay's game MIND MGMT 34m37s: Sen may be referring to The Long View Podcast  35m40s: Mike Barnes, There Will Be Games 44m06s: Frontierland is indeed a part of Disneyland (California), as well as the Magic Kingdom in Disneyworld (Florida) 49m12s: Dan's review of Heading Forward. We had publisher Amabel Holland on Ludology 262 - This Guilty Podcast. 50m27s: Pope Alexander VI, Antipopes 52m37s: Charlie Theel, Matt Thrower, Thinker Themer 53m04s: That's about 1.2x1.2x0.9 meters.

Geoff tells us about big changes in store for Tabletop Network 2022, and why he's so excited for it! This is an amazing show for game designers, and you can easily stay for BGG.CON immediately afterwards. Please consider attending!

Sen and Gil chat with game designer Carol Mertz, senior game designer at Exploding Kittens. Carol has worked on many Exploding Kittens games, like Hand To Hand Wombat, Exploding Kittens: Recipe for Disaster, and Exploding Kittens: 2-Player Version. She's also known for her own designs, especially the wildly creative HELLCOUCH, the only couch co-op that uses an actual couch. SHOW NOTES 2m28s: We chatted with Sydney Engelstein of Indie Game Studios recently, on Ludology 274 - Indie 500.  17m28s: But Wait There's More, Bad Medicine 25m40s: We spoke with Mike Elliot in Ludology 256 - You're Big in Japan, and with Justin Gary in Ludology 207 - Card Advantage. 39m26s: Inhuman Conditions 45m08s: Pass the Buck: A Game of Corporate Responsibility Management 48m25s: The Pixel Pop festival. 57m02s: Hellcouch, and the customizable hardware board Arduino.

Scott rassles up the tangled history of the Western-themed social deduction game Bang!

Gil and Sen sit down with game designer and chronicler Aaron A. Reed to talk about his project 50 Years of Text Games, in which he covered one important game for each year between 1971 and 2020. The project will be made into a book. SHOW NOTES 2m21s: The Oregon Trail 3m13s: Gil mentions a bunch of games that Aaron wrote about: Adventure, Hunt the Wumpus, games made with Inform and Twine, 80 Days, Fallen London. 9m22s: Sen's childhood PET computer, Gil's childhood Panasonic computer 10m24s: The game Adventure, the company Infocom, and the rise of Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs). 14m16s: You can probably add board games like Gloomhaven to this list too! 17m28s: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game, with the infamous Babel Fish puzzle. Here is the text of the Infocom hint guide for that puzzle. Click "Next Answer" for the next step. Each step has spoilers, obviously! Also, Gil was wrong, it was "only" 30 steps. 18m33s: Myst 20m07s: Infocom's "feelies." Several fan sites have information on them; this is one. 20

Geoff tells us about MENACE; not Phantom or Dennis, but the Matchbox Educable Noughts and Crosses Engine, which Donald Michie designed in 1961 as a relatively simple AI that would allow anyone to see how a machine could be trained to get better at a task.

Erica and Gil chat with returning guest Banana Chan and our own Sen-Foong Lim about designing their game Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall. What's it like making a game about a specific demographic, and who is this game for? SHOW NOTES 0m54s: Banana was last on the show in Ludology 228 - The Roles We Play. 4m56s: More information about the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. 18m31s: James Mendez Hodes discussed cultural consultation with us in Ludology 247 - Orc-kay Computer. 31m25s: Jason Morningstar joined us on Ludology 161 - What's the Story, Morning Glory? 40m33s: "PBTA" refers to a game with the Apocalypse World game system, aka "Powered by the Apocalypse." 46m08s: Calvin Wong Tze Loon 黃子倫 joined us in Ludology 252 - Crazy Rich Storytelling. 53m15s: The Paranoia RPG.

Scott takes us through the history of the classic word game Scrabble.

Gil and Sen chat with game designer, developer, and polyhedral dice addict Sydney Engelstein of Indie Game Studios about how to pitch your game to a publisher, the process of designing and developing Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, coming up with new narrative for Aeon's End, and what kinds of theater would best be adapted into a board game. SHOW NOTES 8m28s: Obsession 19m07s: Race for the Galaxy 56m16s: Noises Off! 57m44s: Sen is making a reference to the game Thanos Rising: Avengers Infinity War. Then Sydney refers to the early Uwe Rosenberg game Mamma Mia. 58m46s: Gil is thinking that the game Sydney mentioned is Hamlet! 

Geoff chats with Mikael Le Bourhis of Asmodee Research and Game In Lab about the work they are doing studying the impact of tabletop gaming on society and life. You can find out more information from Game In Lab here.