SUBSCRIBE TO CAMPAIGN ON iTUNES Join Hannah and Evan on a journey in analog game design as they set out to redesign their first roleplaying game, Questlandia. Are you a junk poet or a world weaver? Can you Kickstart a roleplaying game in a three-ring binder? It’s as close to live game design as it gets, and we’re inviting you along for the ride!
Hannah grew up on point-and-click adventures games and purple-aquamarine ‘90s tracksuits, and never really grew out of it. She designs games around themes of queerness, empathy, and optimistic nihilism. You can find more of her work at makebigthings.com, where she creates board and roleplaying games as part of the Make Big Things co-op.
Evan is an avid player and creator of both tabletop and coimputer games. He’s worked previously on Questlandia, 14 Days, Noirlandia, and is developing the upcoming video game Goblin Diplomat. His favorite game is Go. If you ask, he will definitely play Go with you.
38. How to Compare Roleplaying Games
Hannah and Evan talk about the quest to thrive in the shadows of the world’s most popular RPGs. An episode about how to compare your games to the big ones, for the good.
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37. Deluxe Edition
Hannah and Evan discuss the trials and tribulations of offering a “deluxe” version of a game on Kickstarter.
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36. Everything Old Is New Again
We sold out of Questlandias, and have decided to revamp it for the next print run! In this episode we talk about returning to our first game.
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35. Scopeful Optimism
We talk about what makes a game’s scope big or small, why Q2 has taken so long, and all the projects we’ve made in the meantime.
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34. Designing a Game Design Workday
We talk about how we’ve redesigned the structure of our workday, because boundaries around work are important even when—and ESPECIALLY when—it’s work you love.
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33. The Games You Want to Make, The Life You Want to Live
We sit down for an unplanned recording of Design Doc when Evan says something sad. Note: This episode discusses the toll that work can take on physical and mental health. End of episode donation notes: The Okra Project – https://www.theokraproject.com/ Black Mental Health Alliance – https://blackmentalhealth.com/ Bail Fund List – https://bailfunds.github.io/ Music: Design Doc Intro/Outro...
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32. Burnout
In this episode we talk about completing a project that made us our own worst bosses and what it’s like coming back from burnout.
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31. The Ski Bike
Its purpose, the act of creation. Its destiny, unknowable. Today’s episode is about a bike on skis. Design Doc intro theme by Pat King. Intermission and outro music, New Ages I by Little Dog Big Ears.
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30. Breaking up With Character Creation
Character creation in Questlandia 1 lasted two hours. Character creation in Questlandia 2 is five minutes. What changed?
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29. When to Add Ghosts to Your Game
We talk again about the junk poets as GMing tools. We’re making them less corporeal, but more present than ever!
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