Design Doc

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. They delve into the challenges and rewards of dodging distractions and shepherding wandering thoughts. Timestamps: 00:55 - Introduction. The need to transition from sprint focus to something more sustained. 10:10 - Our different styles of focus and how we work together: Switching off the role of cheerleader, having a plan and holding to routines; setting boundaries with friends, family, ourselves. 18:17 - Switching to long-form work. Ramping up, getting into a flow, building a slower momentum. 23:51 - External and internal distractions. When the work becomes its own distraction. 32:26 - The dynamic tension, the ongoing battle; eliminating distractions vs the resolve to ignore and power through. Self-esteem. 35:25 - How the switch to long-form focus has helped our work in games. 38:04 - Closing thoughts. What we’ve lear

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 Vonnegut, Robert A. Heinlein, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, Over the Garden Wall (Episode 5: Mad Love) Episode Links and Credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod Turtlebun Links Our other games: turtlebun.com Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

Hannah and Evan discuss the trials and tribulations of packing a "deluxe" edition of Questlandia and the ridiculous mishaps that ensued. They chat fancy boxes, missing fonts, and making creative use of a limited budget. Episode Links and Credits: Our Kickstarter for a poster print run of our one-page single-player RPG Public Guest 5 ends tonight, February 16th at 8pm EST. You can support the project here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/turtlebun/public-guest-five Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod Turtlebun Links Our other games: turtlebun.com Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

Hannah and Evan talk about the increasingly complicated logistics of packing and shipping games as small creators. In this episode, we talk all about packing and shipping. Where do you get bubble wrap when you need more than a roll, but less than a warehouse's-worth? What happens when a printer you've worked with for years really messes up, with no chance to fix it? All this and more in part 1, with part 2 to come. Episode Links and Credits The sticker makers we work with: https://stickerninja.com/ Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod Turtlebun links Questlandia 2nd Edition: turtlebun.com/products/questlandia Our other games: turtlebun.com Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

We made the games, now we have to sell them. Hannah and Evan talk about something they're good at: making new games. And something they're bad at: confidently sharing those games with an audience that might like them. Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod Turtlebun links Questlandia 2nd Edition: turtlebun.com/products/questlandia Our other games: turtlebun.com Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

Hannah and Evan discuss how to repair their relationship with a game they've spent a year struggling to complete. Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod Mentioned in this episode: Microscope RPG by Ben Robbins. Turtlebun links Our games: turtlebun.com Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

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 Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod Turtlebun links Our games: turtlebun.com Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

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.

Perfect media is untouchable. Hannah and Evan talk about looking to flawed, goofy, broken movies and books for creative inspiration, instead of looking to our favorites. Content:  Intro/outro theme: by Pat King

Hannah reads you a game ideas to-do list for 30 minutes.

What's the right tone for the rules of a roleplaying game? Evan and Hannah talk about casual versus formal writing, and how small word choices exploded into rewriting the mechanics of Questlandia.

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

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. Check out our 2021 retrospective on Patreon! Happy New Year! :) Intro/outro music: Pat King

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

In this episode Hannah and Evan chat about their honest expectations and secret hopes for the latest Kickstarter campaign. What do the numbers mean and why is it so hard to talk about money? Intro/Outro theme: by Pat King The Questlandia Kickstarter campaign ends November 18th. Link here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/turtlebun/questlandia-updated-and-expanded

We've had seven years to think of a good pitch for our game. Now, we're Kickstarting Questlandia again, and we're finally figuring out the pitch that feels right. In this episode we talk about the approaching Kickstarter for a new edition of Questlandia, and just how hard it is to find a genuine voice when speaking to an online void. The Questlandia updated and expanded edition Kickstarter launches October 20th. Sign up to be notified when the campaign goes live here.

We haven't had a deadlined project in a minute. But now it's time for a deadlined project again... How do we incorporate that work without letting un-deadlined projects slide? How does anyone not just fill the negative space? Intro/outro music: Pat King Join the Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/9umUykHVAQ Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun    

We just finished a year-long project, and have a little time to plan our next steps! The work of what happens in-between is just as important as the work of making a new game. We brainstorm about future projects, how to sell the books we've already made, and making a new company and new website. Design Doc Intro/Outro theme: Pat King Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

Hannah and Evan shoot the shoot about games, being in the weird middle space of a project almost being done, and launching lucrative YouTube careers.

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 every roleplaying game to the big ones, for the good. https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun Intro/Outro theme by Pat King Addtl music: New Ages 1 by Little Dog Big Ears