Design Doc Podcast
1) Resolutions New and Old
As the year draws to a close we talk about New Year's resolutions. Hannah makes them every year, Evan does not. Hannah shares her elaborate system for setting goals of masteries, experiences, and skil...Show More
2) Convention Dids and Didn’ts
Conventions are an opportunity for us to get our games in front of a bigger audience, and PAX Unplugged is our biggest show. The stakes feel high, and we have to balance our ambitious goals with pract...Show More
3) Short Break Announcement
Just a quick announcement that we'll be skipping a release cycle for the Thanksgiving holiday. See you back in two weeks with a new episode! In the meantime you might consider: Joining the Turtlebun...Show More
4) Making Game Hacks That Stay Small
It's hard for us to make a hack that doesn't grow into a game of its own. In this episode, we talk about two playtests—one for a game variant, another for a new hack—and say what went well, what needs...Show More
5) You Can’t End the Game Until You Know What It Means
Endings are hard. The ending of a roleplaying game isn’t just the culmination of the story; it’s also when the themes and purpose of the game become clear. In this episode we talk about designing a co...Show More
6) Design Doc 101
Is Design Doc a game design podcast? A saga about the challenges of making art for a living? A never-ending field trip? In episode 101 we talk about how Design Doc began, what it became, and what we h...Show More
7) Bonus: Ernest Cline's Stinker (Part 2—the Movie!)
We conclude our discussion of Ready Player One with an updated review of the movie. In pondering this mid movie, we leave no stone unturned... and no critically-acclaimed director forgiven. Come for t...Show More
8) Bonus: Ernest Cline's Stinker (Part 1)
We’re pulling an unaired episode from the archives this week! We talk about Ready Player One, the dystopian virtual-world novel that took the world by storm over a decade ago. We each completed the bo...Show More
9) The Realest Place on Earth
Happy Design Doc episode 100! In this special episode, we take a field trip with our game Escape from Wonderland. Trapped in an amusement park with a half-finished game, we explore liminal spaces, shu...Show More
10) Game Design Grab Bag
In an impromptu recording, we decided to take turns setting a 6-minute timer and sharing whatever topics came to mind. The result was a series of compressed design conversations and a snapshot of our ...Show More