Design Thinking Games

Listen now (24 min) | Origins Game Fair concludes with George Beznik from Gen1400 Gaming talking about their worker placement game Hastilude, Rainbow Quest a nonprofit board game promoting LGBTQ+ diversity and history, and a fundraising program for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals called Extra Life. Read the transcript . Support the show on Patreon ! Follow us on TikTok @designthinkinggam...

Listen now (23 min) | The Origins Game Fair discussions continue with Christopher Chan volunteer for Unpub, Spencer Reichley with BudStuff Games, Tray Green of Hillary's Toy Box, and Chrys Sellers of Hectic Electron Games. Read the transcript . Support the show on Patreon ! Follow us on TikTok @designthinkinggames . Send us stuff, contact us, get merch, news, and more at https://designthinkin...

Listen now (21 min) | Season 5 continues the Origins Game Fair discussion with Matt Mundy of Sea Cow Games, Absurd Adventure Games, Jordan McLaughlin of Rookie Mage Games, and Matthew Ryan of Envy Born Games. Read the transcript . Support the show on Patreon ! Follow us on TikTok @designthinkinggames . Send us stuff, contact us, get merch, news, and more at https://designthinkinggames.com/

Listen now (19min) | Josh Rosing of Lone Colossus Games, Andrew Looney from Looney Labs, and True Dungeon volunteer Andrew Surber discuss gaming. Read the transcript . Support the show on Patreon ! Follow us on TikTok @designthinkinggames . Send us stuff, contact us, get merch, news, and more at https://designthinkinggames.com/

Listen now (19min) | Season five starts at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, OH with Branden Webb and Elliott Hedrick of Amtgard, the world-wide LARPing organization. Read the transcript . Support the show on Patreon ! Follow us on TikTok @designthinkinggames . Send us stuff, contact us, get merch, news, and more at https://designthinkinggames.com/

Listen now (26min) | In their fourth season finale, our heroes reflect on the complexities and achievements of their journey in game design. They discuss their experiences making 'Thirst,' and share their insights and aspirations. What happens next changes everything. Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: 00:15 - Reflecting on Our Game Design Journey 01:32 - Thirst Game Deve...

Listen now (42min) | Our heroes in the final interview of the season clamber before Isaac Vega of the Rose Gauntlet Foundation, who shares his 13-year journey in the board game industry, transitioning from a game designer to a publisher. The Rose Gauntlet Foundation's mission is to foster diversity and inclusivity within the gaming community. He offers insights into the financial and strategi...

Listen now (50min) | Our heroes encounter Sabrina Culyba, a seasoned game designer and founder of the studio Ludoliminal. Culyba shares her journey from designing digital games to creating board games, emphasizing her passion for experience design. She speaks about her first published game, Diatoms, and imparts a crucial lesson: the importance of crafting memorable experiences, whether digita...

Listen now (34 min) | John De Campos, founder of Terrible Games, shares his journey from a comic book-obsessed child to an independent board game publisher, designer, and illustrator. Our heroes glean insights on the comparisons between self-publishing and traditional publishing, and the creative collaborations involved, into building a brand, maintaining a small business, and the importance...

Listen now (31 min) | Midway on their journey, our heroes are reality-checked by Luis Alejandro Martinez Flores (LAMF Games), the creator of Fluffy Dragons. He recounts his pivot to a simpler, more accessible, easier-to-produce game after industry research. Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: 00:00 Introduction 00:07 The Birth of Fluffy Dragons 00:25 From Heavy to Light: G...

Listen now (35 min) | TIn this episode, our heroes embark on a creative odyssey, gleaning insights from Jack Malacat’s unconventional journey into game design. They unravel the tapestry of Malacat’s experiences, from hosting lively parties to crafting the darkly engaging ‘Serial Killer’ game, navigating the realms of business and imagination. Read the transcript . Things discussed on this epi...

Listen now (41 min) | This fork in the road takes our heroes before an aspiring professional gamer to understand the core element of the player experience: the player. Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: 00:00 - The Man, the Brand, the Gay Edgelord 01:10 - Baby Chad’s Exposure to Games 02:02 - Zelda Left the Right Impression 02:50 - The Physicality of Early Video Games 04:...

Listen now (34:50 min) | For Why Games' founder advises our heroes to endeavor to provide real value to one's community so that the community will turn out.  Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: 00:37 - Kervin discusses his journey into TikTok and board game design 01:31 - Inspiration for creating a Allow Me to Mansplain 04:52 - Why "For Why Games"? 06:21 - Marsh Hallow 09:...

Listen now (38:36 min) | A clear path forward to funding begins to emerge, but it is a long road. Our heroes sit at the feet of the designers of X: Seekers of Fortune, Joel and Danny (Mega Moth Studios), who have been on this journey much longer, and have much to share. Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: 00:27 - Mega Moth Studios 01:58 - Navigating creative differences 04...

Listen now (33 min) | There is much for our heroes to learn, so first they must seek out Hannah Strack - the Supreme Design Queen, creator of Trash Cult - and pay homage. Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: 00:22 - Trash Cult 01:07 - Starting FoxHen Creatives 08:57 - Marketing a game 12:53 - Talking numbers around marketing and ad spend 17:53 - How to get in contact with F...

Listen now (21 min) | Thought surely dead, our heroes return from the Outer Rim to kick off a new season of game-design interviews. Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: 00:34 - Game of the Year 02:20 - Tim on Super Mario Brothers Wonder 03:56 - Michael on Baldur's Gate 3 04:26 - Our Tiktok algorithms 05:48 - What we've been playing 06:42 - Tim on Dave The Diver 08:50 - Thir...

Listen now (41 min) | After playing a game with the three-headed dragon, and dreaming that night of LARPing, our heroes wake to find an old man Matthew Visyak who says, "It's dangerous to go alone!" Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: 04:13 Final Fantasy 06:01 Breath of Fire 4 06:28 The Last Ninja 06:40 Simon's Quest 12:33 Dice Invasion 12:49 It's Kind of a Fun Story 13:39...

Listen now (19 min) | Design Thinking LARPing is a fully immersive, fully cast, tongue-in-cheek radio play about LARPers taking over a gaming convention. Join Tim, Michael, and Rapid Protobot on this adventure. Read the transcript . Support the show on Patreon ! Follow us on Twitter @DTGamesPodcast . Follow us on TikTok @designthinkinggames . Subscribe on Twitch at DesignThinkingGames . Tim B...

Listen now (61 min) | Heeding the warning from the space wizard, our heroes make camp for the night in a nearby cave. They soon discover that the cave is inhabited by a three-headed dragon named PopHaus, who just wants to play a new game called It's Kind of a Fun Story! Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: 02:44 Final Fantasy VII 03:30 Crash Bandicoot 04:06 Dream Phone 05:2...

Listen now (53 min) | After parting ways with their old friend, our heroes travel until they encounter Connor Wake, a tabletop game wizard from outer space! Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: The Mind Roads & Boats Scythe Framework Into the Breach Herbacious Support the show on Patreon ! Follow us on Twitter @DTGamesPodcast . Follow us on TikTok @designthinkinggames . Sub...

Listen now (62 min) | On their epic quest our heroes encounter an old friend, Aaron H., and they talk about his recent gaming conquests in Stillfleet. Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: Stillfleet The Rain Thieves Dune Float City Fun City Podcast Strings Roll 20 Malinger Robot Factory The Art of Game Design: Book of Lenses The Game Design Workshop Candyland Moats in the E...

Listen now (48 min) | Bidding the family of designers good morrow, our heroes find respite, a cozy moment to decompress with Scalisco Games founder Dan Scalise and talk about their new game: Corgi's Cozy Hike. Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: 00:59 Dog Gone Seattle. Lots: Corgis Cozy Hike 1:26 Candy Crush 02:53 Final Fantasy 03:11 Game of Thrones board game 03:11 Avalon...

Listen now (54 min) | As our heroes sneak their way past the battlefield, they encounter a small family of game designers. Laura Rodriguez and daughter Adriana Bailey discuss the making of their new game Dice Invasion. Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: 01:53 Theater LARP 07:18 Designing a LARP 10:13 Aspire SRD 11:00 Caltrop Core 16:24 Her Odyssey 19:35 Solo-Journaling RP...

Listen now (57 min) | With the Forest of Trees behind them, we stumble upon a battle - but a mysterious game designer on the periphery explains that it's just a Boffer LARP. S. Kaiya J. discusses game design, the Aspire SRD, Diversity Saves, and the complexity of LARP design. Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: 01:53 Theater LARP 07:18 Designing a LARP 10:13 Aspire SRD 11:...

Listen now (60 min) | As our heroes just set out on their new gaming quest, they encounter Nick Finck, "The Director of the Forest of Trees." Nick discusses being a UX professional, advisor, mentor, coach, speaker, and founding Craft & Rigor. Read the transcript . Things discussed on this episode: 15:25 Dungeons & Dragons: First Edition 19:37 Mazes and Monsters 21:02 The Real Housewives of D&...