Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication

GDU 072 - Disney Sorcerer’s Arena: Epic Alliances

In episode 72 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Sean Fletcher the designer behind Disney Sorcerer’s Arena: Epic Alliances as well as so many other IP based games. He talks about how he took his love of Magic the Gathering and applied it to creating this Disney Battle game. From turning classic Disney characters into different archetypes to balancing their deck abilities and powers while keeping them thematic. Hear about how he turned one of the world’s favorite IPs into a board game.

Featuring:
Sean Fletcher - Guest
Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 071 - Not So Neighborly

In episode 71 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with sisters Alice and Jessica Hong of FamBam Games about their co-design Not So Neighborly. A light-weight card game of building and destroying a neighborhood. This project started with a need to have another game while stuck in their Covid bubble that turned into a family run company. Learn about things like UNPUB, the Horizon Fellowship and other things that helped them jump head first into this industry! 

 

Featuring: 

Alice Hong - Guest 

Jessica Hong - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 070 - Fossilis

In episode 70 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with David Diaz about his game Fossilis published by KTBG (Kids Table Board Games). The game was initially designed with his son in mind mixed with a personal love of dinosaurs. It quickly developed into a 3-D tile pushing archeology game with set-collecting different dinos and bones. The game started as a lighter kids game then once signed, it was developed into the game you see today at conventions!

 

Featuring: 

David Diaz - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 069 - Smug Owls

In episode 69 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Mike Belsole and Grace Kendall about their co-design Smug Owls published by Runaway Games. What started as a game made for a convention Christmas gift exchange turned into an owl themed game about generating riddles for players to solve. The last player to think of an answer will become the smug owl and judge the round’s answers. Listen to us play a round of the game! Also, hear about what you can add to your contract to make sure you get paid if a publisher gives you the rights to your game back!

 

Featuring: 

Mike Belsole - Guest 

Grace Kendall - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 068 - Mission Control: Critical Orbit

In episode 68 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Corey Andalora and Donnie Coleman about their asymmetric space themed co-op game Mission Control: Critical Orbit. What started as a game design challenge inspired by the initial parts of COVID grew into this unique real-time puzzle game you can play with your friends. Listen to how they decided what puzzles to make and how the publishers have marketed the game at Cons. 

 

Featuring: 

Corey Andalora - Guest 

Donnie Coleman - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 067 - BarBEARian Battlegrounds

In episode 67 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we kick off season 4 with Julie Ahern the designer of BarBEARian Battlegrounds: Tales of BarBEARia. The reason she chose this design in particular is because it was a sequel to a game designed by Walter Barber and Ian VanNest. These designers were tasked with creating a sequel to the game but weren’t able to make it happen so Julie had to approach the sensitive subject of her working on the game and receiving design credits for it. Learn from her how to approach subjects like credits in a game and working off another designer’s original IP in this episode. 

 

Featuring: 

Julie Ahern - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 066 - Season 3 Finale

In episode 66 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we recap the third season with guest host Beneeta Kaur. We talk about some fun games from the past season, heartfelt inspirations, interesting systems designed for RPGs and catch up on what’s been going on with Danielle’s career in the gaming industry outside the podcast. We also discuss what’s coming up for season 4 airing on Tuesday, July 11th! 

 

Featuring: 

Danielle Reynolds - Guest 

Beneeta Kaur - Host

GDU 065 - It’s Kind of a Fun Story

In episode 65 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Pophouse Collective's Josh Kemper and Robert Smith about their getting to know you party game It's Kind of a Fun Story. They talk about how the game was inspired by a Halloween Party game night with salaciously probing questions that they wanted to turn into an experience you could find in a brightly colored box. Through playtesting they moved to make the questions more mass market friendly while keeping to an adult audience. They also worked to create scoring mechanisms as well as different ways to interact with questions beyond just telling a story. Hear about their success as a first time publisher making their way to Target and about their Pride tour in the Month of June to celebrate being a Queer run company!

 

Featuring: 

Josh Kemper - Guest 

Robert Smith - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 064 - Stonewall Uprising

In episode 64 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Taylor Shuss about his asymmetric deck building game Stonewall Uprising inspired by LGBTQ+ History. The mechanics of the game came quickly to him. It was researching events and figureheads from our past that was more difficult. He found it a fun challenge to create a game where people are not only learning but have a visceral feeling from playing the role of “the Man”. Learn about this historically important game as we enter Pride Month!

 

Featuring: 

Taylor Shuss - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 063 - Star Realms

In episode 63 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with two Magic: The Gathering Hall of Famers Robert Dougherty and Darwin Kastle, the designers of Star Realms. They speak about how their love of trading card games and wanting to help Darwin find a job brought the deckbuilder known as Star Realms into reality. Their development process was fueled by wanting to beat each other until they balanced out the cards. Thanks to a friend they created an app for the game that has increased the game’s fan base over the years. Plus, they talk about their approach to expansions and spin-offs. Check out the special announcement at the end of the episode that you don’t want to miss!

 

Featuring: 

Robert Dougherty - Guest 

Darwin Kastle - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host