Who, What, Why? S24.E02 :: Building Underrepresented Worlds

The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

Tom Knauss, designer of Tehautl from Frog God Games, joined me to talk about the process of building a world for a culture that isn't well-represented in RPGs. We discussed the ways in which Frog God ensured the world felt new and fresh without falling into stereotypes that often plagued RPGs in the past.

Who, What, Why? S24.E01 :: Age of Discovery, Japanese Style

The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

Takeo Yamada, designer of Amalfi, joined me to talk about his game, its influences, and his process for designing it. We explored the intricacies of the mechanisms and how they work together to create an unique take on a well-worn genre of games. Amalfi is a cool hybrid of a German-style game from a Japanese perspective.

Who, What, Why? S23.E10 :: The Zen of Art Direction and Fish

The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

Rory Muldoon, designer of Skora and graphic designer, joined me to talk about the game and its creation. We also talked about his self-imposed role as art director for his games and why it was important to him to be involved on the artwork side of his games.

Who, What, Why? S23.E09 :: Learning to Accept Criticism

The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

This episode is another broad topic discussion, this time featuring Jonny Pac, Ode, and Julian Steindorfer. We discuss feedback and criticism and how important it is to be able to take criticism as a designer. We explore our own journeys as designers who have had to become better at listening to feedback.

Who, What, Why? S23.E08 :: To the Hip, Hop, Ya Don't Stop

The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

Omari Akil, co-designer of Rap Godz and co-owner of Board Game Brothas, joined me to talk about Rap Godz. One tidbit on the origins of the game is how Omari helped Hamu take the game from something mass market to the hobby hit is has become today.

Who, What, Why? S23:E07 :: Sit, Cooper, Sit. Good Island.

The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

Ode, designer of Cooper Island and La Granja, joined me to talk about his games and his ideas about design. Ode detailed his beginnings in game design and his relationship with noted designer Uwe Rosenberg. One tidbit that really stuck with me was about how Ode used inspirations from other designers in his own games. There is also a cool little story about Cooper Island.

Who, What, Why? S23.E06 :: On the Count of Three, Draw!

The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

Eric Slauson, designer of party games Tattoo Stories and MonsDrawCity, joined me to talk about designing party games. We talked about the ways in which he approaches his designs and how he enhances the party game feel.

Who, What, Why? S23.E05 :: A Pdcst on Wrd Gms

The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

Cameron Art, designer of Vowl, joined me to talk about his game out now on Kickstarter. It is a word game that removes all the vowels. We also talk broadly about word games, which often get a bad wrap because of the barrier to entry, namely a large vocabulary.

Who What Why? Bonus #2: Why I Love Racing Games

The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

This is the second month with a bonus episode. Tonight I tackled my loved for racing games. I focused pretty heavily on a few titles (Formula D, Rallyman GT, Flamme Rouge, and Lewis & Clark) to illustrate what about this genre makes it something I wanted to talk about. Feel free to tell me why you like (or dislike) racing games on twitter (@whowhatwhycast).

Who, What, Why? S23.E04 :: Does What Happens in Game Stay in Game?

The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

Isaac Shalev and Greg Loring-Albright join me to talk about the Magic Circle, a concept originally mentioned by Huizinga in Homo Ludens and defined by Eric Zimmerman and Katie Salen. We try to break down what the concept means both academically and in practice. There are a lot of great resources in the show notes (blog post). Go to whowhatwhycast.tumblr.com.