"Design Doc" Backlog

57. Focusing on Focus

May 10th, 2023

Hannah and Evan discuss their personal experiences and struggles with focus. A new kind of work requires long stretches of sustained focus, disrupting old routines and demanding new strategies.


56. We’re Writing a Novel

March 29th, 2023

Hannah and Evan talk about what it’s like to tackle a very different type of creative work—writing a novel! We discuss the fun parts and the challenges of being two people trying to hone in on a single narrative voice. Mentioned in this episode: 3-Act Structure: Abbie Emmons on YouTube Passing mentions: Douglas Adams, Kurt … Read more


52. What to Do When You’re Sick of Your Game

November 11th, 2022

Hannah and Evan discuss how to repair their relationship with a game they’ve spent a year struggling to complete.


51. FLETs (Fiddly Little End Things)

October 10th, 2022

Hannah and Evan talk about the fiddly little end things that make a project go on, and on, and on much longer than you expected. Design Doc intro/outro theme: by Pat King


50. Dispatch from an on-time timeline

September 12th, 2022

Hannah and Evan salvage an episode about being on time with an upcoming game, and publish it in a world where they were not on time. Intro/outro theme: by Pat King. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like… Design Doc episode 10: Deadline Motivated.


47. Underdressed and over-diced

March 16th, 2022

What’s the right tone for the rules of a roleplaying game? Evan and Hannah talk about that weird dance between too casual and too formal. Also, what happens when you add too many dice?


46. Kudos Conundrum

January 25th, 2022

In this episode, Hannah and Evan talk about the self-consciousness that comes when you grow up and are told you must make things for serious reasons. How does one escape that self-doubt? Enter…bad comics! Enter…fanfic! Intro/outro theme: Pat King Design Doc on twitter: https://twitter.com/designdocpod Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun


45. Rekindling the Flame

January 3rd, 2022

How do you reignite the passion for an old project? Hannah and Evan talk about returning to Starship UltraLux and strain to apply a spaghetti metaphor.


44. A Cat in the Lap and Other Good Things

December 2nd, 2021

It’s easy to overlook the little things that are going well when there’s no big exciting game or runaway success to chase. Hannah and Evan talk about appreciating small victories, daily routines, and high gravity days. Some games: https://turtlebun.com/collections/all-products Some nano games: https://turtlebun.com/collections/all-products/products/nano-game-bundle Episode intro/outro music by Pat King