The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

My friend and game designer, Isaac Shalev, joined me to talk in depth about Hanabi. When I thought about who to invite on for this game, I knew I had to talk to Isaac because I know of his love for it. I was more like a passenger on this episode because Isaac said a lot of really smart things about Hanabi's design and why it is such an incredibly good game.

Check out Isaac at @kindfortress

In the last couple of years, I've been looking to interview more designers of games that have something to say about history and through history about the world we currently live in. Tory Brown, designer of Votes for Women, joined me on the podcast to talk about the design of her new game from Fort Circle Games. I think there is a lot of learn from this conversation about designing games that tackle much deeper issues than your standard board game content. I've felt the same way about the forthcoming Stonewall Uprising, Bloc by Bloc, and Cross Bronx Expressway. Let's make more games about real world issues that can help us demystify these kinds of issues in our modern day or even provide more context for them.

Tory Brown had a ton to say about the real life issue of women's rights and the way she incorporated that history into this game. I probably could have talked to her for another hour or two.

Check out Fort Circle Games here: Link

This episode is a departure from my normal gaming guests. I invited two guys I know from my backyard wrestling federation on to talk about a tv pilot they are self-funding called The Last Temptation of Slice. This episode is about the creative process, which has parallels no matter what you are creating. We discussed the inspiration for the show and the challenges Matt and AJ faced in getting to this point. Matt and AJ have a lot of interesting things to say about their journey so far.

Below is the concept art for the two puppet characters that will be featured in this show. If you have any interest in supporting Matt and AJ, who are using Kickstarter the way it was intended in its outset, click on the link or Google "The Last Temptation of Slice."

Ben Nielson (@BanditCampGames), designer of Wicked Ones RPG and head of Bandit Camp publishing, joined me to discuss his game with its latest Kickstarter for both a full print run and an expansion called Undead Awakening. This game puts you in control of the monsters of the dungeon rather than the heroes. We discussed a number of topics such as how Ben, who lives in Japan, has funded his RPG work so far, how a designer builds on other RPG systems such as Powered By the Apocalypse and Forged in the Dark, and how story games put the players in the driver's seat (and why that's important).

***I don't remember why the audio for this one came down... so now it's back.

A recurring guest comes back to the show to talk about his new game studio and publisher, The Game Builders. Ode (@AndreasOdendahl) joins me to talk about making the leap into publishing and how his deep connection to famed designer Uwe Rosenberg will help jumpstart this company. We also discuss emo music, punk music and how Ode's DIY roots helped him tackle this new phase in his life.

If you can't tell, I really like having Ode on the show.

Michael Addison, designer of Rebels of the Outlaw Waste, joined the show to talk about his role-playing game due out later in the Fall. We covered a lot of topics ranging from the inspirations that Michael drew upon for this game to the way this game brings new life to a genre that might feel a bit tired at this time.

Matthew Dunstan (@wisegoldfish), full-time designer of many games such as the Kosmos Adventure game series and the Ravensburger Echoes series, joined me to talk about some of the nitty gritty of what it was like to be a game designer. We discussed contracts, payments, and more.

Anyone who likes what they hear from Matthew can support him by going to Postmark Games to check out his and Rory Muldoon's print at home games.

This episode is 2 weeks late because my side of the audio needed to be rebuilt, but it is finally here!

Taylor Shuss, designer of Stonewall Uprising, joined me to talk about this game. It was an interesting discussion exploring the ways in which the game's theme really shines through some incredibly smart design decisions by Taylor. 

The game is currently on Kickstarter.

Crystal Mazur, freelance RPG writer and more, joined me on the show to delve more deeply into what it is like to be a freelance writer for RPGs. We discussed a lot here. Crystal knows an incredible amount about the process of writing and preparing RPGs for publishing. We discussed compensation, duties of a writer, and red flags to watch out for.

If you'd like to know more about Crystal, check out her work at The Geeky Panda

Re-Released! I've re-released this episode with a file that takes up less of my monthly allotment. Enjoy (again).

Welcome to another case study episode. This time me, Jonny, and Jeff tackle the game often called misery farm... Agricola. We discuss a where the game hits and misses for us. I find myself at odds with my guests since I like Agricola. To each their own.

If you'd like to suggest a game for a cast study episode, feel free to drop me a line at whowhatwhycast(at)gmail.com

Jonny can be found @jpaccantin and Jeff at @belltowergames

Dan Thurot, game critic extraordinaire, joined me to delve into a difficult topic: representing history through games. We focused on ways that history is represented poorly and ways that it is represented successfully and thoughtfully in games. This is a big topic, and one I will likely explore in future episodes. For now, enjoy my time with Dan Thurot. He's very thoughtful, too.

I am starting a new series of episodes called "A Case Study in..." Each episode will feature me and some designers discussing a particular game that none of us designed. The games we will focus on will have made an impact on the hobby.

My first episode of this series is on Dominion featuring Jeff and Jonny. We discussed the impact Dominion made on the hobby and how it spawned a brand new genre of games. We ultimately concluded with a design lesson that each of us will take away from Dominion.

Listening to music on your discman or Zune might seem like the pinacle experience, but nothing beats being at a live show. In this episode, I talk about some of my favorite venues that I've been to over the years. What are some of your favorite venues to see your favorite bands? Tweet at me to share. @whowhatwhycast

To learn more about Massive Black, visit their website at Massive Black.com.

David Malki, director of product development at Cut.com and Cut Games, joined me to talk about developing games that connect with the kind of content Cut.com creates. Cut is a media company that puts people in situations to connect with others and maybe even learn something about themselves in the process. We discussed how the game wing aimed to recreate the feelings in their videos while adapting to a different medium.

Check out Cut.games for more.

The third episode in my short series with Joe Slack is here! We discuss the do's and don'ts of crowdfunding campaigns based on Joe Slack's experience as a successful crowdfunder and my experience as a successful crowdfundee. I think we came up with some excellent tips and tricks.

Check out Joe's work at: The Board Game Design Course

Check out Brutal Orchestra on Steam if you are so interested. Also, check out Bosch, the painter, if you'd like. His work is like a fucked up Highlights for Kids magazine.

Douglas Zeilsdorf, the organized play administrator for Frog God Games, joined me to talk about what is organized play and what administrating it entails doing. We also discussed the Splinters of Faith Kickstarter (live now) and what this world is bringing to the RPG world of Frog God Games.

Bez stopped by the show to talk about her Bezzy Bargain Bags. There is currently a Kickstarter campaign running for A Game About Quickly Grabbing Creatures That Are Totally Different and Counting Your Beetroots. Say that 5 times fast! We discuss Bez's bargain bag model for producing games and how she can use that to create interesting games and use this system to gauge interest without having to take as big of a risk, which as a small, independent publisher is a good way to stay afloat.

Check out the Kickstarter if you wish!

The second episode in my short mini-series with Joe Slack is here! This time we discuss how to design innovative games. We break down innovation into some smaller components like theme, mechanics, and presentation in order to dispel the idea that innovation must only be found in one of those places.

If you'd like to learn more about Joe Slack, please visit his website at The Board Game Design Course