Amusement Sparks

4 years ago today was the debut of our first episode 😍 This special episode is a little update on the show and a reflection on the show so far! We've also recently hit our 50 guest milestone!

Ben and Sarah from the Scream Scene podcast join the show! Together, we imagine an immersive Horror Theme Park. This is an all ages show, but in this episode, we definitely reference movies that are not for all ages. Happy Halloween!   Check out the Scream Scene Patreon if you like their show!   Music featured in this Halloween episode: 0:00 Amusement Sparks Original Theme. Andrew Spohn. 9:43 Cree...

Zack Sokol joins to design a Universal Monsters Theme Park!   Here are the songs featured on today's episode: 9:24 Toccata and Fugue in D Minor -- Johann Sebastian Bach 16:15 Imhotep -- Jerry Goldsmith 17:42 Swan Theme -- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 33:10 Vampire Hunters -- Wojciech Kilar 46:15  Bela’s Funeral -- Hans J. Salter & Frank Skinner 55:30 Two Hours to Live -- Hans J. Salter & Frank Skinner...

Jonathan Anslow from Geeks Like Us joins to celebrate one of the most iconic decades!    Featured Music: 10:10 Eurythmics--Sweet Dreams  12:33 Simple Minds--Don’t You Forget About Me  14:50 Bon Jovi--Livin’ On A Prayer  35:00 Audio Two--Top Billin’ 39:15 Whitney Houston--I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)   40:55 Survivor--Eye of the Tiger  47:15 Cyndi Lauper--Time After Time 51:05 Grandma...

The amazing and long-running time travel series gets the Amusement Sparks treatment! Gavin Verhey, Senior Designer of Magic: The Gathering, brings his passion and love for theme parks into this fantastic episode!

Berlin, the capital city of Germany inspires a podcast! This episode features Cody Swanson of the WeeklyEP Podcast. Hopefully you're into the German music featured in this episode! Music 14:27 RIN--DAS RENNEN 40:45 Mark Forster--Ubermorgen 54:02 Paul van Dyk--Duality 1:05:12 Joachim Kuhn--Crystal Ship 1:27:06 MAXIM--Automat 1:29:55 LEA--Okay

The Beatles inspire us to create a theme park! Thanks to Gary Lane (Instagram: @therealgarylane) for guesting on this episode!

Our most important episode is here! This is a thoughtful, optimistic, and wide ranging discussion about Black Lives Matter and our culture featuring Godswill Ugwa Jr. (Twitter) and Sam Wright (YouTube). Music in this episode: Keep it Real—KarpaBeats Wake Up Everybody—Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes I Can’t Breathe--H.E.R. A Change is Gonna Come—Sam Cooke Freedom—Beyonce   Follow Amusement Sparks on...

Stephen Dinehart IV returns to discuss how our current pandemic will impact the future of themed entertainment. It's a different type of episode, but it is definitely a time for a big change though the industry!    

Nathan K joins to design a Donkey Kong Theme Park! Check out his podcasts at Secret Room Multimedia!  

Briana Joy, frequent guest on Silph Radio, guests on Amusement Sparks! Frozen gets the full immersive theme park treatment!  

Stephen Dinehart and Andrew discuss Species & Gender in tabletop RPGs and GiantLands!

Sam Wright of Metal Gear Mondays (website, twitter) joins to design our Tactical Espionage Action Theme Park!

Jim Ward is a game designer, fantasy author, and design partner on GiantLands. He is also a really fun guy! On this episode, Jim and Andrew discuss Jim's early days at TSR and what he loves about GiantLands!

Dr. Anthony Bean joins Andrew to design a next generation, interactive, and immersive Legend of Zelda Theme Park!   Check out his: Twitter (https://twitter.com/VideoGameDoc) Website (https://anthonymbean.com/) Geek Therapy Training (https://www.geektherapytraining.com/)    

@cheapshot from the CheapBeats record label joins the podcast to design a Chiptune Theme Park! Join the process of turning this incredible music aesthetic into a visual world to explore. This episode features a lot of music, check the transcript for track titles. Oh yeah, we have transcripts now--on AmusementSparks.com! Check out James' record label: cheapbeats.net Transcript and other goodies: am...

High five! nic brings us another groundbreaking and pulse-pounding theme park concept. Always great having this guy on the show, and this episode is a ton of fun!

What if the Super Mario universe was turned into a theme park? One without the limitations of budget, functionality, or tradition? Strap into the rainbow road transit as we brainstorm our dream Super Mario Theme Park! Today's guest is Jeff Ryan, author of Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America and A Mouse Divided. Amusement Sparks is a member of the FancyBat Podcast Collective.

GiantLands Kickstarter Live Now! Ends 12/13/2019 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dinehart/giantlands-limited-edition-boxed-set On this episode, Stephen and Andrew discuss: Kickstarter Early Dungeons & Dragons Creative Portfolios Working with Legends Rapid Prototyping Making Videos Grognards vs. Creatives: Different Play Styles. The Transition from Wargaming to Role Playing

  Zack Hartzman from @heylistengames_ (heylistengames.org) joins to create a theme park based on Nickelodeon's Avatar series. This theme park has a very unique structure that represents the different cultures from the nations in the series.

Fate, free will, or physics? Rebirth. Social connections in gaming. Finite and Infinite Games.

The incredible action/adventure video game series serves as inspiration for this theme park. @johnathonoscar, codesigner of our Portal and Bioshock them parks, joins to create this super fun concept. Check out his YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNYEjr7GR70REmtQ82Kp_XQ) and Podcast (https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/anchor-podcasts/horns-wings-an-issuebyissue-saga-podcast) Enjoy!

Andrew Spohn and Stephen Dinehart begin a discussion on GiantLands, a new role-playing game (and upcoming park) created by Stephen and James M. Ward. Let us know what you think!

Dustin Staats of the Board Gaming with Education Podcast joins to design a theme park based on tabletop games including board, card, miniatures, and more!

Joe from Brave World Anime joins to help design a theme park that incorporates all of Kyoto Animation's works!