The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

The game hits Kickstarter on March 15th, so check it out if you are interested.

Another episode of Why Ska?! Why are you all so lucky? My friend from college, Jon, joins me to reminisce about a New Paltz local ska band we used to see in all sorts of venues: college cafeterias, other college campuses, on my final college radio show, etc. We were excited when we discovered this band because it was some local ska to connect with. I hope you enjoy our reminscing. Also, I try something new with this episode, which is to include shorts clips of the music we are discussing. Let's see how that goes.

In this second episode, I wanted to provide a bit of context for those who may not know how ska has been informing Who, What, Why for quite a while now. This is also a chance for me to give some public credit to the Mexican ska bands that have helped give me some kick ass intro and outro music.

Takashi Sawada, designer of Floating Floors, and Stella Jahja, co-founder of Guf Studios, both joined me to talk about this unique balancing strategy game live on Kickstarter right now. We discussed the game's origins, its development, and its life with Guf Studios. We also discussed Guf Studios game publishing ethos.

If you are interested in Floating Floors, please check out the Kickstarter now.

Conor McGoey, designer of Summit and owner of Inside Up Games, joined me to talk about Summit, Inside Up Games, so, so many other topics. It was a great conversation about all sorts of topics. Check this one out.

Inside Up Games 

Elli Amir, designer of Worldbreakers, joined me to talk about this interesting 2 player game set in a pre-colonial Western Asia (think Mongol Empire sort of era). We discussed the intricacies of designing 2 player card games, Elli's decision to set the game in an underrepresented era, and ways to keep the game's production nimble.

If you are interested in the game, please check out https://worldbreakersgame.com/

Check out Postmark Games if you're interested: Postmark Games website

This is a new sub-podcast to celebrate my other love: ska music. In this episode I explore my anti-ska phase in high school and some of the reasons behind that phase.

Jason and Kip, designers of Skull Canyon Ski Fest, joined me to talk about their game and its design. We gushed about skiing and how few skiing games are out. There is a lot to like about this game.

Christian Shelton, designer of Skate, joined me to talk about the design of his game. We discussed the way the game came about and how Christian focused on the essence of skating through the foot cards.

Check out the game on KS now.

Greg Loring-Albright, co-designer of Bloc by Bloc 3rd edition, joined me to talk about this game about social uprisings in a simulated oppressive state. We focused our conversation on the things that 3rd edition adds to the game and the way the game immerses the players in a social uprising.

You can look for the game on Gamefound on Feb. 15th.

@RandyReiman, designer of Skate Summer--on KS 1/18/22 from @pandasaurusgame, joined me to talk about Skate Summer. We discussed how the game changed, how virtual playtesting helped, and how Tony Hawk Pro Skater inspired this game. Check out the game on Kickstarter on 1/18/22 if you like the game.

Carol Mertz, senior game designer at Exploding Kittens, designer of games like Pass the Buck, and cool experiences like Hell Couch, joined me on the show to talk about multidisciplinary design. We explored her life as a designer and how her experiences in different disciplines help designers better understand their own discipline. 

Ken Spencer, partner at Frog God Games and writer of the Tome of Wondrous Items, joined me to talk about this new 5E supplemental on Kickstarter now. Our conversation focused on the guidelines that Ken and the team employ when creating items for an established system. He also shared a snapshot of the kinds of items that will appear and the rationale for their inclusion.

The Tome is up on Kickstarter now until later in December. If you are interested, then check it.

Totsuca Chuo, designer of Ostia, joined me to discuss his game that uses the mancala mechanism in a unique way. Totsuca sent his answers via email, and Quentin Hudspeth provides his voice. A big thank you goes out to Saigo, who helped Totsuca translate.

Ostia comes to Kickstarter soon from Uchibacoya Piece.

Quentin Hudspeth can be found at quentinhudspeth.com

Jeff Warrender, designer of Acts of the Evangelists, joins me and Jonny to talk about self-publishing and producing 100 copies of his game. We discuss a lot of details about the production of games like box sourcing, shipping considerations, and more.

If you'd like to learn more, visit Belltowergames.com.

Anya Combs, director of games at Kickstarter, joined me to talk about Kickstarter, her journey into the games industry, and her passion of music. This was an excellent chat with some great insights into the games industry and where it can be improved.

My friend Tam Myaing (@TamAtPlay), designer of Lair, joined me to talk about his game published with Game and a Curry. We talked about how Tam packed a big experience in a game that uses only cards and tokens.

You can check this game out here: clicky 

Marie and Pauline of Hot Banana Games joined me to talk about their game Steam Up. We focused on discussing the unique aspects of this game such as the components, theme, and pre-production. I believe I also learned where the name Hot Banana Games comes from.

Check out Steam Up on KS if you are interested: Clicky Linky