Dice Exploder

Thursday January 25th Dice Exploder is back with an all new crowdfunded-by-listeners season! The lineup includes John Harper, Alex Roberts, James Wallis, Idle Cartulary, Strega Wolf van den Berg, Emanoel Melo, Seb Pines and MORE - that's right, I'm over-delivering on the Kickstarter as a treat. Check back next week for the season premiere, and visit the blog's new home at diceexploder.com. Transcript

TranscriptHello and welcome to the Dice Exploder 2023 end of year bonanza! I love me a good ranked list of movies on an end of year movie podcast, but ranked lists are bad and this show’s about RPGs not movies, so you get this instead. It’s me, Aaron King of the RTFM podcast, Lady Tabletop of the Alone at the Table podcast, and Sharang Biswas of winning tons of Ennies this year and being a games academic, and the four of us (plus a half dozen other special guests) are here to tell you about a bunch of cool games shit we played, read, and listened to this year.Hope you had a great year in games! Come on down and listen to ours.Our picks:Aaron’s games* GREED by Gormengeist* Undertree Temple of the Elf Gods by Happy Chthonian* Crush Depth Apparition by Amanda Lee FranckAudrey’s games* Void 1680 AM by Ken Lowery* Wreck This Deck by Black Armada Games (Josh Fox and Becky Annison)* Extreme Meatpunks Forever by Sinister Beard GamesSharang’s games* Fight With Spirit by Story Brewers Roleplaying* The Silt Verses by Gabriel Robinson and Jason Cordova* The Broadcast by Jason Morningstar and Lizzie StarkSam’s games* Eating Oranges in the Shower by Hazel Anneke Dixon* Barkeep on the Borderlands by W. F. Smith* Exiles by em acostaGame adjacent things* Aaron: Grog the Frog by Alba BG* Audrey: Roleplaying Games Enter the World of Ballet in a Unique New Performance by Linda Codega* Sharang: The Dungeons & Dragons players of Death Row by Keri Blakinger* Sam: The Ink That Bleeds by Paul Czege (here’s an excerpt from the Indie Game Reading Club)Thing we’re proud of* Aaron: RTFM, Speedrune, and Aaron’s annual list of favorite books* Audrey: Behold: A Game* Sharang: Winning 3 Ennies: Judges choice for MOONLIGHT ON ROSEVILLE BEACH and Best Rules/Best Family Game for AVATAR* Sam: you’re lookin at itPicks from friends of the show:* Ray Chou: Decuma* Thomas Manuel: A.A. Voigt on Youtube, Daydreaming About Dragons podcast by Judd Karlman, the Indie Game Reading Club, and Aaron Marks at Cannibal Halfling.* Mikey Hamm: Picturepedia and other coffee table reference books* John Harper: Girl By Moonlight* Em Acosta: The Zone and Blades in ‘68* Nova / Idle Cartulary: mindfulness fantasy map drawing (see her Dungeons Regularly vols. 1 and 2)* Moe Poplar: the Dice Exploder podcastFurther reading:* Meakpunk manifesto by Heather “Flowers” Robertson* Sharang’s piece about Brindlewood Bay* Amanda Lee Franck’s Comradery* Alba BG’s Instagram* BALLETCOLLECTIVE presents THE MOMENT IS IMMINENT* RTFM patreon episode on VOID 1680 AM* LadyTabletop’s VOID 1680 AM broadcastSocialsAaron can be found on, like, just listen to RTFM, linked above.Audrey on Tumblr, and her podcast Alone at the Table about solo games.Sharang is on itch and Twitter and Bluesky.Sam is @sdunnewold on all socials and itch.Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

TranscriptToday I’ve got for you another between-season bonus episode. This time we’re breaking format to talk about i know the end, a module I published earlier this year about going back home after a long time away and all the horrors that entails. Because if you can’t occasionally publish something self-indulgent in your podcast feed, what’s even the point of having one?My cohost for this is my friend Nico MacDougall, the current organizer of The Awards, who edited i know the end and had almost as much to say about it as I did.For maximum understanding of this episode, you can pick up a free copy of the module here and follow along (or skim it in advance).Further reading:The original i know the end cover artThe “oops all PBTA moves” version of i know the endThree of my short filmsMy previous written designer commentaries on Space Train Space Heist and CouriersJohn Harper talking with Andrew Gillis about the origins of Blades in the DarkThe official designer commentary podcasts for Spire and HeartAaron Lim’s An Altogether Different River, which comes with a designer commentary versionCamera Lucida by Roland Barthes, a photography theory book that we talked about during recording but which I later cut because I remembered most of the details about it incorrectlyWhat Is Risograph Printing, another topic cut from the final recording because I got basically everything about it wrong while recording (the background texture of the module is a risograph printed texture)Before Sunrise by Richard LinklaterQuestionable Content by Jeph JacquesSocials:Nico’s carrd page, which includes links to their socials, editing rates, and The Awards.Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch.The Dice Exploder logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

TranscriptIt’s a bonus between-seasons Dice Exploder! Wowie!As promised back in my episode with Gem Room Games about Mork Borg, today I’m talking about accessibility in game design using Mork Borg’s graphic design as an example. My cohost is Marc Muszynski, a friend and screenwriter with low vision, and we talk in detail about his experience with Mork Borg. Is this game, with all its important and loud art, accessible to people who can’t see? Like with most accessibility questions, It’s Complicated™!Further reading:Mork BorgAccessibility in Gaming Resource Guide by Jennifer KretchmerTTRPG Accessibility Drive 2023 game jam on itchContrast checking tool for visual design.Color checking tool for colorblindness.Sylexiad, my favorite Dyslexia-friendly font:Fate Accessibility Toolkit by Evil HatTwo articles about “sanity” mechanics in RPGs (don’t put “sanity” mechanics in your games)Socials:Marc on imdb (lmao)Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch.Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

Guest Nychelle Schneider, moderator from the Blades in the Dark discord, talks about customizing games and homebrewing mechanics. They discuss fluidity in game design, creating custom content, collaborating with others, and unique game experiences. They also delve into the game Broken Spire and the importance of new settings and scenarios in RPGs.

Thomas Manuel, co-host of Yes Indie'd podcast and contributor to Indie RPG Newsletter, joins the podcast to discuss Secondary Missions in Band of Blades, a grim military fantasy game. They explore how this mechanic supports the genre and themes, presents tough choices, and stands out in comparison to other games. The conversation also touches on the challenging decision-making process, hard choices and the cost of war, the brutality of the game, and the cultural fantasy of glorifying war.

TranscriptThis week I’m joined by Tasha Robinson, film editor at Polygon, Games on Demand aficionado, Golden Cobra honorable mentionee, and author of this excellent piece about today’s game and mechanic: Fall of Magic and the five and a half foot long handprinted scroll at its heart.There’s a lot to say about such a unique physical object, and also a lot to cover about maps in RPGs at large. We get into all of it. Consider this the third part of the travel series this season opened with.Pack your bags. It’s a heck of a journey.Further reading:* Fall of Magic by Ross Cowman* Tasha’s article about Fall of Magic and City of Winter* Tasha’s article about larps about AI* Tasha’s archive on Polygon* Tasha’s Golden Cobra honorably mentioned larp The Regency Committee on Decorum and Punchbowl Poop Prevention* Rusalka by Nick Wedig* Wild Beyond the Witch Light* Doskvol Street Maps by Tim Denee* Blades in ‘68 on Twitter* Beak Feather and Bone, another mapmaking game from Possible Worlds Games* Dread by Epidiah RavacholSocials:Tasha on Bluesky and Twitter.Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch.Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey via Breaking Copyright.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

TranscriptIn the year of our lord two thousand and twenty, many things occurred. But one of those things was the cultural event known as Blaseball.Blaseball was, more or less, a simulated baseball league that ran one game an hour, one season a week, that players could bet on and then use their winnings to vote for global rules changes. It got... weirder from there. And bigger. And memeier. It became nothing less than a lifestyle.And then, this past summer of 2023, it ended.What made it such a phenomenon? What made its fans so passionate? Was Blaseball even a game? And what will we do with ourselves now that it’s gone?This week Sam is joined by Chris Greenbriar, former moderator of the team discord for the Core Mechanics (that’s one of the teams from Blaseball) to reminisce and celebrate Blaseball’s legacy and everything that made it beautiful.Further reading:Blaseball’s websiteThe Blaseball fan wikiThe Seattle Garages bandcamp and the Fourth Strike Records website.The Great Soul Train Robbery in both original two page and zine length.Empires of EVE: the EVE Online history book series17776, which we didn’t mention but which you should give a glanceSocials:Join the Dice Exploder Discord if you need to talk with Chris directly.Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch.Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.

TranscriptThis week Sam is joined by Jason Morningstar of Bully Pulpit Games, known for Fiasco, Night Witches, and many other excellent games.Jason brought on transparency, a concept originating in the Nordic larp community, which describes the separation of player knowledge from character knowledge (similar to dramatic irony. We go through a whole library of example games in this one as we talk through genre, safety tools, playing to lose, and the deployment of secrets. Jason’s enthusiasm for this topic is infectious - there’s so much to think about here! If you’re listening and a designer, I’m pumped to hear what shenanigans you find to get up to with transparency in your own games.Further reading:The Mixing Desk of LARPThe Golden Cobra Challenge, live now!The Fool’s JourneyFiasco second editionWelcome GuestsParanoiaBluebeard’s BrideMontsegur 1244Star CrossedSocials:Jason on Bluesky and dice.camp.Bully Pulpit Games and their Patreon.Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch.Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

TranscriptDouble the cohosts, double the mechanics, double the Kickstarters to back! This week, Sam talks with Kali Lawrie and Dan Phipps of Gem Room Games about Mork Borg by Pelle Nilsson and Johan Nohr: its graphic design and the Calendar of Nechrubel.Mork Borg is famous for the absolute assault on the eyes [complimentary] committed by its graphic design. In this season of the podcast about how mechanics can be more than just rules, I really wanted to cover it. And who better to do that with me than Gem Room Games, authors of Dukk Borg, the mashup of Mork Borg and DuckTales? We talk about the look, comedy, and sheer commitment of Mork Borg in this double-stuffed episode.Dukk Borg by Gem Room Games is on Kickstarter right now.Further reading:Mork Borg: https://morkborg.com/Sam’s other favorite Gem Room Games game Subway Runners: https://gemroomgames.itch.io/subwayrunnersSocials:Kali on Bluesky and Twitter.Dan on Bluesky and Twitter.Gem Room Games on Bluesky, Twitter, and itch.Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch.Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey via Breaking Copyright.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!