Sinopsis
Welcome to Design Doc, a podcast documenting the process of analog game design. Game designers guide you through their process from concept to product.
Episodios
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Focusing on Focus
10/05/2023 Duración: 45minHannah 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
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We're Writing a Novel
28/03/2023 Duración: 54minHannah 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
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Packed With Care (Part 2)
16/02/2023 Duración: 01h01minHannah 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
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Packed With Care (Part 1)
13/01/2023 Duración: 48minHannah 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
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Actually selling our games
23/12/2022 Duración: 52minWe 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
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What to do when you're sick of your game
10/11/2022 Duración: 49minHannah 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
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FLETs (Fiddly Little End Things)
05/10/2022 Duración: 52minHannah 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
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Dispatch from an on-time timeline
09/09/2022 Duración: 56minHannah 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.
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Imperfect Inspiration
21/07/2022 Duración: 55minPerfect 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
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Bad lo-fi game ideas to study or relax to
28/05/2022 Duración: 32minHannah reads you a game ideas to-do list for 30 minutes.
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Underdressed and over-diced
16/03/2022 Duración: 56minWhat'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.
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Kudos Conundrum
24/01/2022 Duración: 53minIn 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
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Rekindling the Flame
27/12/2021 Duración: 43minHow 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
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A Cat in the Lap and Other Good Things
02/12/2021 Duración: 43minIt'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
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Numbers Hide Everything
08/11/2021 Duración: 51minIn 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
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The Episode Before the Kickstarter
19/10/2021 Duración: 45minWe'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.
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Resist the Urge to Fill Negative Space
24/09/2021 Duración: 45minWe 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
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The Work of Games Is Not Just Making Games
31/08/2021 Duración: 56minWe 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
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Shootin the shoot
27/05/2021 Duración: 42minHannah and Evan shoot the shoot about games, being in the weird middle space of a project almost being done, and launching lucrative YouTube careers.
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How to Compare Roleplaying Games
06/04/2021 Duración: 45minHannah 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