Emma and Gil welcome Jennifer Ellis and Keith Baker of Twogether Studios . We discuss their approach for integrating stories into their game, whether directly embedded in their game, letting them emerge from the players, or evoked from the look of the product. Show notes: 05m03s: Check out Keith and Jenn's games: Gloom Illimat Action Cats Phoenix: Dawn Command 17m04s: Keith and Jenn's forthcoming Adventure Zone game is based on the Adventure Zone D&D actual play series . 36m46: More info abo...
Mar 08, 2020•1 hr 2 min
Scott leads us through the history of Trivial Pursuit, from its conception from two Canadian journalists after trying to play a game of Scrabble with missing pieces, to a full-fledged global 80s fad, to a billion-dollar empire.
Mar 01, 2020•12 min
Professor Scott Rogers joins Gil and Emma once again! This time, we're discussing Scott's time as an Imagineer designing games and experiences for Disneyland, and his subsequent work designing VR attractions. It's a fascinating topic, with a surprising amount of overlap into any kind of game design! Show notes: 05m45s: More info about Disney Play here. 08m06s: Scott is right, sportscaster Al Michaels was indeed traded for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit . 18m16s: Ludology 189 - Missing Selinker , wherei...
Feb 23, 2020•1 hr 16 min
Geoff discusses Alpha Zero, a neural net that can play Go, Chess, and Shogi better than anyone in the world. It defeated the best AI in those respective games (each of whom had previously defeated the best humans in the world) with only a few hours of training. What does this spell for the future of AI, and the future of game design?
Feb 16, 2020•7 min
Emma and Gil welcome Geoff Engelstein and Isaac Shalev back to the show to discuss their new book Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design . This is a reference of board game mechanisms that any designer, new or experienced, can use to look up different tools they can use to solve problems in game design. Games and other things mentioned in this episode: 19m30s: Kraftwagen Glen More Francis Drake Egezia High Rise 19m39s: Opinionated Gamers article on time track vs. one-way track Patchwork Thebes ...
Feb 09, 2020•1 hr 8 min
Scott uncovers the history of the classic game Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, which has been delighting kids (and kids-at-heart) since 1964. He discusses the influences that converged in making the game, why the combatants are robots, and how it's influenced everything from video games to real-life combat robotics.
Feb 02, 2020•11 min
Legendary Interactive Fiction writer Andrew Plotkin joins Gil and Emma to talk about text-based stories that players can participate in. We explore the form's history and unique strengths, and discuss what good writing can bring to a game's experience. Interactive Fiction platforms mentioned in this episode: Inform Twine ChoiceScript Ink Check out some of Andrew's IF work: Shade Spider & Web Hadean Lands Other video games mentioned in this episode: Colossal Cave Adventure Zork Donut County 8...
Jan 26, 2020•1 hr 5 min
In this GameTek Classic, Geoff describes the idea of "path dependence," and discusses how human game players allow their past to affect their present. Should players care about how they got to a certain point in their game?
Jan 19, 2020•7 min
Ludology returns for 2020, with our annual tradition of bringing on board game industry veteran Stephen Buonocore from Stronghold Games/Indie Game Studios to discuss the state of the industry. 2020 will be an interesting year for board games. What challenges await us? Is it smooth sailing? Doom and gloom? Somewhere in-between?
Jan 12, 2020•1 hr 19 min
In this episode recorded at BGG.CON, Scott and Gil tell Emma all about Tabletop Network , a convention about the theory behind game design that happens right before BGG.CON. We gush about our favorite talks, and tell you what makes Tabletop Network so unique.
Dec 15, 2019•55 min
Scott gives us a history of the classic social deduction game Mafia, from its origins in a Russian high school classroom to its transformation beneath a full moon into Werewolf.
Dec 08, 2019•9 min
Escape rooms have been providing a new form of play for much of this decade. At the same time, immersive theater has been providing a new form of storytelling. What happens when the two get mixed? In this episode, Emma and Gil are joined by Haley E.R. Cooper and J. Cameron Cooper of Strange Bird Immersive , who run the hybrid escape room/immersive theater piece The Man From Beyond , and the Immersology blog. How can escape rooms use immersive theater to tell a story? And how can we learn from th...
Dec 01, 2019•1 hr 10 min
Back in Ludology 185, Geoff brought up a thought experiment. What if someone rethemed Incan Gold to a firefighting game? Would people play any differently? Dr. Stephen Blessing (@cognitive_gamer) of the University of Tampa took up the challenge, and with the help of research assistant Elena Sakosky, designed and ran the experiment that Geoff proposed. In this GameTek, Dr. Blessing and Sakosky join Geoff to discuss their findings. Did players take more risks if they felt, thematically, that lives...
Nov 24, 2019•34 min
Gil and Emma discuss narrative in games. How can narrative improve games? What is the difference between embedded and emergent narrative? And what the are common ways that prototypes of narrative games can fail?
Nov 17, 2019•54 min
In this special episode of Ludology, recorded live at GrandCon 2019, Gil and Geoff go back in time to recount their earliest game designs. Were they as embarrassing? Were they any good? What is Gil's infamous action mechanism, and was Geoff able to capture the essence of the Battle of Cannae for a school assignment? We also take some live listener questions at the end.
Nov 10, 2019•58 min
Emma and Gil welcome mass-market game and toy inventor Kim Vandenbrouke to the show. How is "inventing" a mass-market game different than "designing" a hobby game? Why is the toy/mass-market industry so much more secretive? And how does one deal with all the publisher rejection? You can read Kim's writings on the toy and mass-market game industry here: https://www.thegameaisle.com/kim-vandenbroucke/
Nov 03, 2019•1 hr 8 min
Geoff welcomes digital archaeoludologist Cameron Browne, principal investigator of the Digital Ludeme Project, to find out how we can use artificial intelligence and machine learning to try to derive the rules to ancient games like Senet by breaking games down into what Browne calles "ludemes." Find out more about the Digital Ludeme Project on Twitter (@archaeoludology) or the web: http://ludeme.eu/ You can play some games that Browne has constructed from ludemes here: https://ludii.games/...
Oct 27, 2019•23 min
In May 2012, Geoff and Ryan brought Michael Lee, owner of the relatively new company Panda Games Manufacturing, on the show to discuss the art and design of manufacturing games. Over 5 and a half years later, Gil and Emma are delighted to welcome Michael back! Panda Games Manufacturing has grown along with the industry, and Michael hasn't stopped focusing on the intersection of components and game design. What has changed in manufacturing since 2012? What kinds of components does Michael find mo...
Oct 20, 2019•56 min
Scott covers the lineage of games that began in 2004 with Wings of War: Famous Aces . The "Flight Path" system that appeared in this game spawned follow-up titles Wings of Glory , Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Card Game , Star Trek: Attack Wing , D&D: Attack Wing , and Battlestar Galactica: Starship Battles .
Oct 13, 2019•17 min
Gil and Emma are joined by game designer Jenn Sandercock to discuss her edible games. How do you design a game where the players eat the components? What design challenges does that bring up? And how do players react to being allowed to literally play with their food? Find out more about Jenn here: http://jennsand.com/ Find out more about Jenn's edible games here: https://ediblegames.com/
Oct 06, 2019•48 min
In this GameTek Classic, Geoff covers the history of dice, and the social stigma attached to them. Who were the first civilizations to play with dice, and how did they deal with the way their society frowned on them?
Sep 29, 2019•6 min
Emma, Gil, and Scott discuss a theory Scott is working on that describes 6 distinct physical zones when playing a board game. How does the physical dimensionality of a board game affect its gameplay? Read more about the 6 Zones of Play here: https://mrbossdesign.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-6-zones-of-play.html https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/94203/pleasure-arousal-dominance...
Sep 22, 2019•58 min
Scott takes a peek at the history of the frantic real-time co-op game Space Cadets, designed by our own Geoff Engelstein, his daughter Sydney Engelstein, and his son Brian Engelstein.
Sep 15, 2019•9 min
Emma and Gil welcome the multitalented Hawke Robinson, who discusses his experiences using role-playing games as therapy for at-risk youth and adults. How can games help people gain empathy and pull them into a positive mindset? And how has Hawke's 40+ years of RPG experience helped him form these programs? You can learn more about Hawke and his work here: http://www.hawkerobinson.com/ CONTENT WARNING: This episode touches on sensitive topics like suicide, homicide, violence against children, an...
Sep 08, 2019•1 hr 16 min
Geoff reviews the concept of "information" from a mathematical perspective, which might be different from the definition you're used to. What real-world implications did this concept lay the groundwork for?
Sep 01, 2019•7 min
Emma and Gil welcome Justin Gary, designer of Ascension and Shards of Infinity, to discuss card-based strategy games. What makes them so different than other games? How does one handle things like balance, plans for expansions, and in-game marriage proposals?
Aug 25, 2019•1 hr 4 min
Gil, Emma, and Geoff field listeners' questions in an episode recorded live at Gen Con 2019 in Indianapolis.
Aug 18, 2019•47 min
Emma and Gil welcome accomplished designer Tom Lehmann ( Race for the Galaxy , Res Arcana , and many others) to discuss game arcs versus story arcs and how an inflection point can help the arc of a longer game. We also get into how the plot of Romeo & Juliet compares to a cooperative game, and how game design could possibly connect to contra dancing.
Aug 11, 2019•1 hr
In this GameTek from August 2017, Geoff goes through three interesting bits of of game design-related research. Is there such a thing as momentum in sports? How does the brain react to the prospect of punishing others for violating social norms? And how does the Prisoner's Dilemma change if we alter its framing?
Aug 04, 2019•7 min
Scott did some research and came up with all the different ways a board game can end. In this super-sized episode, Scott, Emma, and Gil go through this list and share our thoughts on how a game experience concludes, and how we designers can affect our players based on the different ways we wrap up our games.
Jul 28, 2019•1 hr 26 min
