Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication

GDU 062 - Deadly Dowagers

In episode 62 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Sarah Shipp the designer of Deadly Dowagers. This game started with a theme of generations of people trying to improve their positions in life that quickly became a theme about you playing as a middle-class Victorian woman who would kill to be a duchess. In Sarah’s card-drafting game you will marry, collect money, and murder to improve your status in life. The game beyond being very thematic also includes fun easter eggs! Listen to how Sarah’s first design changed through the development process.

 

Featuring: 

Sarah Shipp - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 061 - Lanterns: The Harvest Festival

In episode 61 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Chris Chung the designer of Lanterns: The Harvest Festival. What started out as a game jam design quickly became an evergreen game. With its simplistic rules, unique theme and beautiful artwork. Plus, a fun easter egg that Chris’s grandma was excited to spot in the artwork. Listen to how Chris grew as a designer and turned a nature themed game into Lanterns.

 

Featuring: 

Chris Chung - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 060 - Word Wipeout

In episode 60 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Joe Barron from Gray Matters Games about how he teamed up with graphic design students at the College of DuPage to create a word game during the Wordle craze. Through playtesting they not only improved the graphics of the game but realized that their electronic timer could be improved to help the hearing impaired by adding flashing lights. Check out this fun spelling game with a Scattergories twist! 

 

Featuring: 

Joe Barron - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 059 - Paint the Roses

In episode 59 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Ben Goldman the designer of Paint the Roses published by Northstar Games. He talks about designing co-op games and how adding the Alice and Wonderland theme to a previous quilting theme added to the design of the game. From the stacking of roses to grow the Queen’s height and speed to adding the white rabbit to help people understand how the Queen’s movement works. There were a lot of minor changes to the design to make this a challenging, yet fun co-op puzzle game with a nice rubber band effect. And for those of you who want some tips on how to beat this game check out this blog. 

 

Featuring: 

Ben Goldman - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 058 - Hues and Cues

In episode 58 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Scott Brady the designer of Hues and Cues published by the Op Games. Scott was able to use his connections as a reviewer to get in touch with publishers once his color swatch themed party game was ready to pitch. The game was inspired by his printing background that only got better through playtesting. Hear him talk about his unique scoring mechanic and how the game actually works for color blind folks in this episode.

 

Featuring: 

Scott Brady - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 057 - Mazes Fantasy Roleplaying

In episode 57 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Chris O'Neill about both his game Mazes and the RPG system he designed for the game called Polymorph. Chris spent years creating a new system based around each player playing as a specific single die. Each character will come with a die and an amount of stars. In the system stars allow players to forgo rolling to achieve what they want to do. The system was heavily inspired by the old days of D&D where most things were possible as long as it made sense. Chris worked to create a very accessible system that could be adapted into any storyline. He also talks about how 9th Level Games licensing the system works so other creatives can choose to expand on the RPGs 9th Level Games has already published. 

 

Featuring: 

Chris O'Neill - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 056 - Meeple Party

In episode 56 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Heather O'Neill about her first solo design Meeple Party. What started out as a logic puzzle for your brain quickly got themed around hosting a party with your fellow roommates. Meeples were given colors and stereotypes that tied into how they moved other party-goers around the modular board. In order to win you had to set up different scenarios and take pictures while avoiding adding stress to you and your roommates. As Heather’s first co-op game she learned a lot about coming up with a win condition that worked and a way to scale the difficulty of the game. Also, how adding the right art and humor added an extra level to the game’s design.

 

Featuring: 

Heather O'Neill - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 055 - Lost for Words

In episode 55 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Ami Baio about her first co-design Lost for Words that she worked on with her son. The initial inspiration for the game came from her love of languages and how different words carry different meanings that can invoke memories that are worth sharing. Learn some new words as well as the feelings that can be expressed through this unique party game. 

 

Featuring: 

Ami Baio - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 054 - Relics of Rajavihara

Episode 54: Relics of Rajavihara

 

In episode 54 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Joe Slack about his solo puzzle game Relics of Rajavihara. Starting from an enjoyment of puzzle video games of moving blocks Joe worked to create his almost legacy game themed in an Indiana Jones like world that was suggested by the Solo Board Game Facebook Groups. Joe learned through self-publishing how to develop the game to its best state with cutting down on components and thinking outside the box. 

 

Featuring: 

Joe Slack - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

GDU 053 - Batman: The Animated Series – Gotham City Under Siege

In episode 53 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Michael Guigliano about Batman: The Animated Series – Gotham City Under Siege. We speak about how he got into the gaming hobby through playing Twilight Imperium then met the designer Richard Launius who’d become his co-designer on the Batman game. The design started as a way to help kids learn simple math equations playing as the Avengers attempting to stop Ultron bots that warped into signing the game with IDW and adjusting all the characters to the Batman Universe.

 

Featuring: 

Michael Guigliano - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host