Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication

In episode 144 of Game Design Unboxed, we talk with freelance game designer and co-founder of Postmark Games, Matthew Dunstan. Matthew shares how his curiosity for understanding what happens behind the scenes led him from being a sports referee and umpire in Australia to moving to the UK, where a growing design community, weekly meetups, and a game design contest helped launch his full-time design...

In episode 143 of Game Design Unboxed, we talk with board game designer and founder of Pink Hawk Games, Emily Vincent. After a career in software and UX design, Emily caught the game design bug when she realized the games she wanted to play simply weren't on the table. She shares how her love of afternoon tea inspired Pirates of the High Teas, leading to a great discussion on thematic integration,...

In episode 142 of Game Design Unboxed, we talk with freelance game designer Rosco Schock about his first published game, Diplomacy: The Golden Blade, released by Renegade Game Studios. The conversation focuses on the challenge of translating the "feel" of a classic, beloved strategy game into a streamlined and more approachable card game experience. We also discuss the path from prototype to publi...

In episode 141 of Game Design Unboxed, we talk with librarian and game designer, Lewis Graye, whose game design journey began after relocating to Syracuse, becoming part of the local tabletop scene, and participating in a game design contest at a wedding.   They share the story of Lewis’ first published design, Inkwell, and its unexpected path to publication, which began as a playtest mechanic tha...

In episode 140 of Game Design Unboxed, we talk with Andrew Stiles, game designer and co-host of the podcast Tabletop Submarine, about how discovering GDU early in his design journey helped him better understand the tabletop space, and how a life reset during COVID (and a challenge to get a game signed in 6-months by his wife) sparked a career pivot into game design. We talk about his first game, W...

In episode 139 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with Jade Shames and Ben Bronstein, co-founders of Pillbox Games and co-designers of this episode’s spotlight game, Side Effects. They talk about how a mental illness–inspired card game idea (later titled Side Effects) sparked their collaboration and company, the power of bold visuals, why skeletons make perfect models, the balance between realism and...

In episode 138 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with Edwin D. Benton II, Founder and CEO of Doin’ the Most Games, about how his journey into game design stemmed from an addiction to app games like Words With Friends and a frustration with their limitations. This inspired him to build his own inclusive, slang-driven app where players could contribute words from around the world, a mindset that evolv...

In episode 137 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with freelance game designer and developer for Druid City Games, Michael Mihealsick who shares industry  insights from years of working for multiple companies, taking on freelance projects, and continually refining his game design craft.   We discuss the rise of cozy game design and what that means for different players, the niche book-collecting conc...

In episode 136 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with freelance game designer (and Danielle’s co-designer on Tricky Kids), Steven Ungaro, who shares his “zero-to-three-games-in-a-year-hero” design journey. They discuss how discovering hobby games led him down the research rabbit hole many aspiring designers fall into, and how resources like the long-running Ludology podcast have evolved over the yea...

In episode 135 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with freelance game designer Kristen Mott, whose game design journey began with creating games for her kids to play at home to supplement homeschooling. We talk about how kids are great built-in playtesters, how her children’s interests were her thematic inspiration for designs, what kids learn through play, and the wild thematic evolution of Stable T...

In episode 134 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with first-time game designer Reed Ambrose about his family-weight, tile-laying game Wispwood.   Reed shares how his journey began with BoardGameGeek (BGG) contests just for fun, and how collaborating with published designers pushed his craft forward and helped him take design seriously. We discuss why design contests like the ones on BGG are a great...

In episode 133 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with game designer and Creative Director Paul Salomon about his innovative worker placement and tile-laying game, Honey Buzz. The conversation covers the creative path that led him from math, music, and juggling into tabletop game design, the balance between aesthetics and mechanics, designing with math in mind, and why a strong elevator pitch that cl...

In episode 132 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication, Amanda Rivera returns from behind-the-scenes to behind-the-mic as a guest host to chat with Danielle about GDU's sixth season. They talk about how thematic season 6 was, recall insights about arguably one of the most common questions in game design (to pitch or self-publish), share how designers make games accessible and approachab...

In episode 131 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with game designer Matt Leacock about his “infamous” game Pandemic. Matt explains how his path into game design was shaped by watching his artsy uncle create games as a hobby and by growing up surrounded by "bad" games from the 1970s that he couldn’t help but try to improve. We discuss how overly competitive family game nights pushed him toward cooper...

In episode 130 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with game designer Joe Hout about his fairytale-themed trick-taking game, 3 Chapters, accessibility in gaming, and his design journey. Joe shares how his path into game design began by tweaking games he loved and then took off after completing a passion-project game he self-published via Kickstarter. We break apart 3 Chapters and how the creation of t...

In this festive episode 129 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with sister duo Anya and Irina Kagan - game designers and the founders of Gifts Galore - about their Hanukkah-themed party game, Gelt Galore.   They talk about how magical childhood traditions inspired them as adults to bring new energy to holiday gatherings and how a simple homemade game — originally crafted from post-its, stickers, and...

In episode 128 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with game designer (publisher, art director, illustrator, and more!) Ammon Anderson about Twinkle, Twinkle, a game born from his lifelong fascination with space.   We discuss the origin of the game’s gorgeous translucent acrylic tiles, its “out of this world” space themes and expansions, and the new scoring app Allplay is developing. Ammon shares how...

In episode 127 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication, we chat with game designer, publisher, and trauma psychotherapist Galen McCown about how getting involved with the Syracuse game design community helped him grow as both a creator and collaborator.   We also discuss his love for solo and two-player games, his fascination with post-apocalyptic themes, and how compact “mint tin” game...

In episode 126 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with John D. Clair about his journey from gamifying mazes to becoming a full-time tabletop designer. He shares how setting clear goals, focusing only on games he is excited about, and reworking mechanics from games that inspire him shaped his design approach.   John shares how he reimagines mechanics from games he loves, making luck-based designs more...

In episode 125 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with Roberto Panetta, designer of Gems of Iridescia and founder of Rock, Stone & Dice Games.   Roberto shares how his background in toy and game retail gave him the marketing and sales experience to start his own publishing company. He opens up about reigniting his creativity after feeling uninspired, collaborating with family to build the story a...

In episode 124 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with game designer Serena Fadlun about creating games that increase human happiness and how she literally dreamed her career into existence when a vision of her future son inspired her to start designing. Serena shares how she blended her work experience (from translating top-secret movie scripts to a career in psychology and mental health) into her g...

In episode 123 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with game designer Mitch Wallace about how a wide range of hobbies and a YouTube rabbit hole led him into game design. He shares how his curiosity sparked idea after idea, and how the original concept for Art Society evolved through rounds of feedback to find a balance that’s not too much or too little, but justtttt right. We explore the power of the...

In episode 122 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication, we talk with owner of MaKa Games and designer of License to Krill, Matthew Kambic, about how a pun inspired his debut game — and how he brought it to life with a custom plushie component. Matthew shares how his engineering background, early love of games, and deep dive into research (contrary to popular belief, he’s not a marine bi...

In episode 121 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication, J. Evan Raitt shares how an infamously frustrating game first sparked his interest in design, which eventually led to a make-your-own-game elective in college and most recently to the creation of Shifting Stones. We talk about the theme being inspired by his fascination with traditional Mayan glyphs, how other types of designers or...

In episode 120 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Pete Petrusha of Imagining Games about adapting the Eisner award-winning Image comic series, CHEW, into a Forged in the Dark foodie crime drama TTRPG!   They discuss several delicious topics including the concept of meeting needs and answering questions with your game designs (what’s something I can play in the hallway...