Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication

GDU 091 - Buru

In episode 91 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Alex Flagg about Crafty Games’ latest release Buru. Learn how a publisher was able to inject more of the theme into a midweight euro-style game using a TTRPG background and cultural consultants. 

 

Featuring: 

Alex Flagg - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 090 - Catthulhu

In episode 90 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication Danielle talks with Joel Sparks about his cat based RPG titled Catthulhu. Joel moved away from a D20 system to try and create a more accessible game for players who haven’t played many RPGs by leaning into the story telling more than the math. Players take on the roles of cats in this one shot RPG. Listen to him discuss designing/publishing a book for the first printing of the game then the struggles he went through when he added extra things like dice into the manufacturing of the game in future printings.

 

Featuring: 

Joel Sparks - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 089 - Conquest Princess: Fashion is Power

In episode 89 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Seppy Yoon about his design Conquest Princess: Fashion is Power. This crisis management game was inspired by Sailor Moon and Star Trek. Seppy took his love for strong women like Wonder Woman and created a game that included characters that were trans, non-binary and female. As a queer/minority/vet owned company he found it very important to feature these playable characters but had to deal with hate groups during his Kickstarter campaign. Learn how he brought this game to life after 9 years of working on it and how he dealt with online trolls in this first episode of the fifth season!

 

Featuring: 

Seppy Yoon - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 088 - Season 4 Finale

In episode 88 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication Amanda Rivera takes over as the host as she helps recap the fourth season with Danielle. They talk about past guests and their games. Speaking about matching mechanics with IPs and how brands can be split between many different publishers. Danielle talks about her upcoming games Caution Signs and Secret Clue: Cuisines as well as her new job title of Project Director of Wacky Wizard Games and how she’s grown as a designer by starting to do inventor relations. Learning to kill off her designs faster by looking at them from that perspective has helped her grow over the past few months. Not to mention she was nominated for the Play Creators Rising Star Award this year! 

 

Featuring: 

Danielle Reynolds - Guest 

Amanda Rivera - Host

GDU 087 - Mind MGMT

In episode 87 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Sen-Foong Lim on his comic book IP game Mind MGMT. A game that grows with the players in strategy as well as difficulty. One player controls Mind MGMT and must scour the city for new recruits. They move around on a secret map, trying to visit locations that match one of their three randomly drawn feature cards. They can also use their four Immortals to protect locations from being exposed. Listen to Sen compare working with a creator’s IP versus a company like Viacom or Warner Brothers. He unboxes how they worked with the comic creator to expand the Mind MGMT world versus slapping the IP on a pre-existing design.

 

Featuring: 

Sen-Foong Lim - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 086 - Gartenbau

In episode 86 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with David Abelson about his Mensa award winning game Gartenbau published by 25th Century Games. Initially the game started as a color theory tile placement game but grew into a three-layer tile stacking game of beautifully arranged flowers that gain prestige using a rondel drafting mechanism. Learn how this design grew in development!

 

Featuring: 

David Abelson - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 085 - Mission to Planet Hexx

In episode 85 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Jim Fitzpatrick about his game Mission to Planet Hexx. Inspired by a love of SyFy he designed a hex tile game about exploring space with different abilities triggered by moving your ship around the tiles. He learned through playtesting how to create thematic ties between the flavor text and mechanics of the tiles as well as how to refine his design.

 

Featuring: 

Jim Fitzpatrick - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 084 - Mischief (Previously "Fickle")

In episode 84 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Glenn Cotter about his design Mischief, formerly Fickle. Learn how he got the game signed and printed first with Bard Games. Then what happened when he received the rights back and got the game re-signed with Smirk & Dagger as Mischief. Listen as he talks through the design changes made in between printings. How the initial bones of the game stayed the same while player count, fairy cards, illustrations and other pieces were tweaked through development. 

 

Featuring: 

Glenn Cotter - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 083 - Home

In episode 83 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Doug Levandowski and Yeonsoo Julian Kim about their co-design Home. Home is an RPG that focuses more on storytelling than dice rolling thanks to Tarot cards that help every player take turns as the “Director” of their scary story. With different modules in the RPG no game will be the same. The game started as Doug's attempt to make a game about his childhood home but with Julie’s help the game grew into what it is today. 

 

Featuring: 

Doug Levandowski - Guest 

Yeonsoo Julian Kim - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 082 - Mansplaining

In episode 82 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Fertessa Allyse and Mondo Davis about their party game Mansplaining. Learn not only what the term “mansplaining” means but also, learn how they designed a game made not to offend but allow players to feel what it is to have someone over-explain a subject in a humorous way. Learn how they dealt with assumptions made due to the title of the game and how they marketed to help with that problem.

 

Featuring: 

Fertessa Allyse - Guest 

Mondo Davis - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host