In Think Like a Game Designer, award-winning designer and Stone Blade Entertainment CEO Justin Gary speaks with world-class game designers and creative experts from various industries. Each episode deconstructs the creative process, offering insights into the art of game design and the broader cultural, technological, and business influences shaping a myriad of creative mediums. Join us for actionable advice and unique perspectives that will enrich your understanding of what it means to be creative in and out of the gaming world.
Rodney Thompson has been designing games professionally for over 15 years. He has worked on some of the industry’s most significant properties, including Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, Lords of Waterdeep, Tyrants of the Underdark, and Dark Sun. He’s currently a designer for the Destiny franchise at Bungie and develops his personal projects at Scratchpad Publishing. This episode has a detailed deep dive into building worker placement games and roleplaying games. If you love these games, you’ll lo...
John Zinser is the CEO of Alderac Entertainment Group. His game design career started over 30 years ago, with Shadis Magazine and the CCG Legend of the Five Rings . In this episode, he tells one of the most entertaining and educational origin stories on the podcast. He’s a great storyteller and an even better teacher. Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/subscribe...
Monte Cook is a legend among roleplaying game designers. Monte has worked on hundreds of roleplaying products. He is probably best known for his work on the 3rd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, Planescape, Ptolus, and Arcana Evolved. In addition, his own games Numenera, the Cypher Systems, and Invisible Sun, have won numerous awards. In this episode, we’ll discuss Monte’s philosophies on developing roleplaying games, the importance of clear rules and good writing, and what it takes to bring new pe...
Rob Daviau pioneered the legacy game genre, starting with Risk: Legacy. In addition, he’s worked with a variety of beloved titles: Star Wars, Axis & Allies, Pandemic, Betrayal at House on The Hill, just to name a few. In this episode, we go into detail about Legacy Game development and how to successfully work with beloved properties. Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/subscribe...
Matt and I both started our careers as Magic Pro Players. Since then he’s garnered more experience in digital trading card games than anyone I know. Matt has worked for Wizards of the Coast, Dire Wolf, and Blizzard on games including Magic Online, Hearthstone, and Eternal. Matt is currently working on his own auto-battler game called Story Book Brawl. I’m excited to sit down with one of my oldest friends in the industry and talk about game design. Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at...
Michael Gnade is the founder and lead designer at Rock Manor Games. He started his career in games with Indie Game Magazine, writing and reporting about the newest games from independent creators. Inspired by Ascension, Michael developed Brass Empire, which he created on Kickstarter. Michael Gnade put together one of the more comprehensive looks at Kickstarter metrics out there; if you’re interested, you can check that out here. Otherwise, grab your notebook; there’s some awesome advice on this ...
Scott Gaeta has been in the game industry for over 20 years. He’s the founder of Renegade Game Studios. Scott started as a comics and game store owner before shifting into game design, cutting his teeth on popular products such as the Star Wars, Star Trek, and Lord of the Rings CCGs. He’s worked as the Senior Vice President of Decipher and Senior Director at Upper Deck (that’s where we first met!). At Upper Deck, Scott worked on Yu-Gi-Oh!, DC Comics, World of Warcraft, Marvel Comics, Hello Kitty...
Isaac Childres is the creator of Gloomhaven and Frosthaven. Gloomhaven is the #1 rated game on BoardGameGeek for three years, and Frosthaven, the highest funded game on Kickstarter. We’ll dig into what motivated Isaac to create these legendary games, and what he’s learned along the way. Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/subscribe
Eric Lang is a legendary game designer who has created more games that I’ve personally enjoyed than almost anyone. Just to name a few, Eric designed: The Game of Thrones Card Game, Quarriors, and Blood Rage. He’s launched several highly successful Kickstarters and has a lifetime's worth of wisdom in game design. There are a lot of lessons here. Grab your notebooks. Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/subscribe...
Tom Lehmann is a former economist, programmer, and game publisher turned full-time game designer. He created Race for the Galaxy and has created expansions for games like Pandemic and St. Petersburg. Today, we discuss everything from economics, expansions, and game reward systems. There’s a lot of wisdom here, so grab a notebook! Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/subscribe...
Keith Baker is a renowned game designer and storyteller. He was the creator of the D&D setting Ebberon and Gloom. He has traveled the world creating and running Story based games. If you’re into role-playing games like D&D or any other story-driven games there’s a lot to learn here. Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/subscribe
Satine Phoenix is the first non-game designer on our podcast, but she is an icon in the gaming industry. Satine is a professional Dungeon Master and storytelling coach who supports people in regards to writing games, RPG adventures, screenplays, and novels. What’s even wilder is that she travels the world playing role-playing games and bringing gaming communities together. I can’t wait to dig into this episode. Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/subscr...
Devin Low is an award-winning designer who’s worked on some of the most popular games in the world. He was the head developer of Magic: The Gathering , and the lead designer of Legendary: The Marvel Deck-Building Game and Plants vs. Zombies Heroes . Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/subscribe...
Wright Bagwell started his career by designing mods for Quake. He is the CEO and co-founder of Outpost Games. He was the design director of the Farmville franchise at Zynga. Prior to that, he worked on Dead Space as a creative director at Visceral Games and was the lead designer at Electronic Arts. In case that wasn’t awesome enough, he also has a Ph.D. in neuroscience. So… Yeah, this guy is pretty amazing and has a lot to offer. Enjoy! Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingary...
Justin Gary interviews Richard Garfield, creator of Magic: The Gathering, about game design, innovation, and building a community around games. They discuss the importance of balancing game design with business models, how to approach game balance for different player skill levels, and the role of culture in a game's success. Richard shares insights from his experiences designing Magic, Keyforge, and other influential games.
Ryan Sutherland is one of the top up-and-coming game designers in the industry and lucky for me, he works at Stone Blade. Ryan was one of the lead designers on the newest expansion to Shards of Infinity, called Shadow of Salvation. In this episode, we speak about his journey into game design, developing games at Stone Blade, and what it’s like to work on digital games versus physical games. Ryan has a lot of awesome insights that can help anyone who’s looking to develop their game design skills....
I’ve looked up to Jordan Weisman for years. He is a revolutionary story-teller, game designer, and Entrepreneur. He created the legendary worlds like Shadowrun and Battletech that have resonated with fans for over 30 years. He launched his first company, FASA, at twenty years old. He created one of the first Virtual Reality Simulation games with Battletech, and he went on to develop the revolutionary Mageknight and Heroclix games and continues to be on the cutting edge of the tabletop and video ...
Today I speak with Liz Spain from Lone Shark Games. Liz entered the game industry through the unusual path of fashion and costume design. Liz tells the remarkable story of designing, producing, and successfully Kickstarting her first game: Incredible Expeditions: Quest for Atlantis. She explains how she was able to raise money and awareness for her first game by attending events that worked thematically with her project's aesthetic. We also speak in-depth about the psychology of game design. Hap...
Tim Fowers is the punk rocker of game design. A purely independent tabletop and digital game developer, who distributes his games directly, rather than using big publishers and standard distribution channels. This allows Tim to stand out as a master of indy game design, who develop his games according to his artistic vision. There’s so much to learn in this episode – Enjoy! Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/subscribe...
Magic: the Gathering, Pokémon, Smash Up, Guillotine, and The Pathfinder Adventure Card Game are just a few of the games Paul Peterson had a hand in creating. In this episode, Paul talks about building a community and company that supports game design and creativity, from big studio work to boutique game design companies. His work in the field of game design has given him incredible insight into what it takes to design and produce awesome games. Enjoy! Get full access to Think Like A Game Designe...
Raph Koster has undoubtedly changed the world of gaming. He was the lead designer of the legendary Ultima Online and the creative director behind Star Wars Galaxies. In 2004, he wrote _A Theory of Fun for Game Design_ which highlights Edutainment as the driving force behind great games. He speaks all over the world on the subject of game design and I’m super excited to have him here with us to share his knowledge. Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/sub...
James Ernest is a man of many talents. He’s a screenwriter, poker player, juggler and game designer. He’s worked with Wizards of the Coast, Paizo Publishing, and even developed the game _Tak_ with legendary fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss. In this podcast, James talks about how he and his company, Cheapass Games, work to designs new games, develop rulesets, and manage the expectations of players. This episode is a treasure trove of game design knowledge. Check it out! Get full access to Think Li...
Jesse Schell wrote, The Art of Game Design, the number one book on the subject in the industry. He was a founding member of the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University and a former Disney Imagineer. He's also the founder of Schell Games, which has launched countless games including, I Expect You to Die and Domino World. Jesse is an amazing game designer and a fantastic teacher. Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/subscribe...
Mark Rosewater head designer of Magic: The Gathering. Mark is one of the most prolific writers on game design, including his long running column, “Making Magic.” We discuss what it’s like working on Magic, with its millions of fans and decades of content and how this can apply to building your own games with similar goals. Mark taught me more about game design than any other person and he has a lot to teach you too! Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/s...
In this first episode, I speak with Mike Selinker. Mike is CEO of LoneShark Games and a legend in the Gaming Industry. He has worked on huge properties like Marvel, Disney Animation, Harry Potter, and Dungeons and Dragons. Mike shares his insights and advice for aspiring game designers and veterans alike. Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/subscribe...
