The Game Design Round Table

Dirk, David, and Rob get together to talk about the betrayal as a game mechanic. Betrayal can bring out the worst in people - yelling, table flipping, and even physical violence. So why does it still get into so many games, and what makes it a compelling mechanic?---------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com-----------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:28 - Betrayal! 0:04:41 - The mechanics 0:12:34 - Betrayal at House on the Hill 0:29:46 - Risk 0:36:36 - The most dastardly of betrayals 0:43:39 - Bang! and Werewolf 0:54:40 - Seafall

Friend and co-founder of The Game Design Roundtable Jon Shafer stops by to talk about the status of his game At the Gates. Learn about the importance of tribes, one of Jon’s new features that adds replayability and personality to the game. Dirk, David, and Jon talk about how far the game has come and what’s coming up in the future.----------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Jon Shafer - atthegatesgame.com, contact@conifergames.com, @jonshaferdesign--------Episode Outline 0:01:15 - Impressions of At the Gates 0:03:58 - Recent changes 0:17:16 - Player choice and game duration 0:21:16 - Clans 0:34:44 - Unit health and healing 0:43:01 - Personality 0:50:23 - Migration

Dirk, David, and Harrison Pink get together to reminisce about the games that they enjoyed in their youth. Check out the extensive list below - how many did you play?---------------------------------------------------------------------------Contact Information 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 - Monopoly 0:08:56 - The Game of Life 0:13:18 - Risk 0:23:11 - Crazy Eights 0:26:03 - Clue 0:30:14 - Scotland Yard 0:35:40 - Mastermind 0:39:25 - Mousetrap 0:41:50 - Fireball Island 0:47:27 - Dark Tower 0:48:54 - Trivial Pursuit 0:52:24 - King’s Quest 0:59:19 - Ultima Online

Dirk and David are joined by game designer Matt Leacock of Pandemic fame. Cooperative games are the topic of the day as Matt goes through his experiences building on the Pandemic franchise.------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Matt Leacock - www.leacock.com-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:32 - Matt’s Background 0:06:43 - Gaming with the family 0:11:43 - Pandemic as a brand 0:19:27 - The future of Pandemic 0:30:36 - Playing with power gamers 0:45:45 - Thunderbirds 0:51:19 - Going full time

Dirk, David, and Rob get together to talk about information. What are the advantages and disadvantages of perfect information games? How much is “enough” for each player to know? And how does Monopoly cause fist fights?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com-----------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:53 - Fog of war and limited information 0:05:31 - Information and scoring 0:14:23 - Game length 0:33:07 - Seafall 0:37:40 - Good examples of hidden information 0:45:50 - War Stories

Dirk and David take a brief respite from interviewing developers to talk about the games they’ve been playing. An extensive discussion on Europa Universalis IV eventually morphs into why people are fascinated by trains.----Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron---Episode Outline 0:01:01 - Europa Universalis IV 0:33:04 - Empire Builder 0:41:13 - Trains!

Dan Fabulich from Choice Of Games joins Dirk and David to talk about the interactive fiction genre and the process of choosing an adventure that may or may not be your own.--------------------------------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Dan Fabulich - @choiceofgames, dan@choiceofgames.com, www.choiceofgames.com-----Episode Outline 0:00:31 - Choice of Games 0:01:43 - Interactive Fiction 0:05:58 - UI 0:23:30 - Gender and Choice 0:31:37 - Best Practices 0:42:57 - Other IF Developers 0:46:26 - Branded Properties 0:54:20 - Making choices matter---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Choice of Games http://www.choiceofgames.com/ Inkle Games http://www.inklestudios.com/blog/ A Dark Room https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a-dark-room/id736683061?mt=8 Device 6 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/device-6/id680366065?mt=8 San Franciso Interactive Fiction Meetup http://www.meetup.com/sf-bay-area-interactive-fiction/

This week Dirk is joined by game designers Jay Cormier and Sen Foong Lim of Bamboozle Brothers. Jay and Sen describe what it’s like working with a partner long distance, getting picked up by a publisher, and their process to designing tabletop games.---------------------------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com Jay Cormier - @bamboozlebros, http://www.bamboozlebrothers.com/ourgames.html Sen Foong Lim - @senfoonglim--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Episode Outline 0:02:20 - Belfort Design Process 0:03:27 - Starting Small 0:14:27 - After getting picked up by a publisher 0:18:10 - Getting Started 0:23:37 - Teamwork and Collaboration 0:27:12 - Disagreements 0:35:04 - Game Artisans of Canada 0:56:13 - Starting with theme or mechanics

Dirk, David, and Rob talk about the the importance of marketing. How important is it and how do the numbers compare between tabletop and the digital realm? And what’s the Wil Wheaton factor?----------------------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Rob Daviau -@RobDaviauGamer, rob.daviau@ironwallgames.com-----------------------------Episode Outline 0:00:56 - Marketing at Hasbro 0:08:20 - Marketing and conferences 0:12:18 - The differences between tabletop and digital marketing 0:21:01 - Data 0:26:54 - Pricing 0:33:38 - Theme and marketing 0:41:25 - Copycats and “inspired by” 0:51:43 - Marketing as independence 0:54:52 - Wil Wheaton gets his own bullet point

Harrison Pink returns to the show to talk with Dirk and David about playing games. This episode is all about what games our panel has been playing and how they have reacted as both players and designers.-----------------------Contact Information Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer, www.artana.com, Dirk@Knemeyer.com David Heron - @DavidVHeron Harrison Pink - harrisonpink.com, @colonialpink, harrisonpink@gmail.com-----------------------Episode Outline 0:01:33 - Sir, You Are Being Hunted and stealth 0:09:12 - Splendor 0:28:26 - Diplomacy 0:39:56 - Neptune’s Pride 0:44:49 - Dune 1:01:16 - X-Wing Miniatures