Episodes
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We recently realized that we’ve drifted apart not just from our games community, but from our community at large. Now, in a world where the future feels uncertain and dire, we're asking ourselves: how do we reconnect?
Escape from Wonderland has just one week left on Kickstarter. You can read more and back the project here.
Links/Credits:
Website: turtlebun.com
Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/
Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/
Support Design Doc on Patreon: Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Support Design Doc with a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/designdoc
Get in touch:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
instagram.com/turtleandbun -
The Kickstarter for Escape from Wonderland is LIVE! Support the game here!
How do you know when a game is ready for Kickstarter? How far along should it be before bringing it to the world? In this episode, we talk about the delicate balance of presentation—slick, but not *too* slick; done, but not *too* done. We explored how crowdfunding has changed for small creators now that big, well-resourced companies are bringing their games to Kickstarter too. When faced with a rising standard of "doneness," should we try to match them, or pave our own scrappy way?
Mentioned in this episode:
Yes, L'Oreal did do a Kickstarter (we're not linking to it).
Double Fine's adventure game Kickstarter (for the game that would eventually be called Broken Age).
Czech Dream documentary.
Links/Credits:
Website: turtlebun.com
Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/
Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/
Support Design Doc on Patreon: Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Support Design Doc with a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/designdoc
Get in touch:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
instagram.com/turtleandbun -
Missing episodes?
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The first conversation we've had about cover design in games! We discuss how book covers are often the first thing people see of our games, how a well-designed cover can stick in someone's memory, and how a great cover isn't just about first impressions—it can make you want to pick up a book again and again.
And a special thanks to our editor, Rob, for letting us know that yes, Scholastic Book Fairs do still exist. Link here: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com
Covers mentioned:
The Martian Chronicles (Link to cover, art by Michael Whelan)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Link)
The Golden Compass (Link to cover, art by Eric Rohmann)
Our covers mentioned, all by Evan Rowland:
Questlandia original edition
Questlandia second edition
Noirlandia
Mud: A Golem Memoir
Links/Credits:
Website: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/
Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/
Support Design Doc with a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/designdoc
Get in touch:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
instagram.com/turtleandbun -
One of the hardest lessons in game design is coming to terms with the fact that many of our favorite ideas will remain unrealized. In this episode, we explore the games we may never complete, our lingering dream of bringing them to life, and how accepting their incompleteness might help us face the reality of death.
Links/Credits:
Website: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/
Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/
Support Design Doc with a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/designdoc
Get in touch:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
instagram.com/turtleandbun -
Evan and Hannah try playing their new game with a very rough draft of the rules, in a cross between a playtest and design session. New ideas and new questions abound as they explore uncharted territory.
To follow along with the design, Questlandia character sheets and reference rules can be downloaded for free here:
https://turtlebun.com/pages/downloads
Questlandia can be purchased here:
https://turtlebun.itch.io/questlandia-second-edition
https://turtlebun.com/products/questlandia
Links/Credits:
Website: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/
Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/
Support Design Doc with a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/designdoc
Get in touch:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
instagram.com/turtleandbun -
We're joined by public historian and musical improviser Alanna Shaffer to discuss real-world amusement park horror and Dippin' Dots scams at Dorney Park.
Alanna shares thoughts about story vs plot, new character drives, and everyone's personal breaking point after a day with no water. To see Alanna and Thank You, Places in person, check out their monthly improvised musical every last Thursday of the month at Tavern on Camac!
Links/Credits:
Website: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/
Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/
Support Design Doc with a one-time tip: https://ko-fi.com/designdoc
Get in touch:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Turtlebun Discord (we chat about Design Doc here!): https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
instagram.com/turtleandbun -
We continue our design of a creepy amusement park game, starting with the question, "What does bad behavior look like in an amusement park?" In this episode, we begin with a lot of questions, and end with a roadmap to a first playtest that includes character weaknesses, theme park-related goals, and an unreliable park map filled with skulls and crossbones.
To follow along with the design, Questlandia character sheets and reference rules can be downloaded for free here:
https://turtlebun.com/pages/downloads
Questlandia can be purchased here:
https://turtlebun.itch.io/questlandia-second-edition
https://turtlebun.com/products/questlandia
Links/Credits:
Website: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/
Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/
Support Design Doc with a one-time tip: https://ko-fi.com/designdoc
Get in touch:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
instagram.com/turtleandbun -
How can you use simple rules to create a complex setting? In the second part of this live design series, Hannah and Evan take a swing at world and character mechanics. To create a spooky, surreal environment, they’re forced to come up with new ways to approach worldbuilding and character design.
Links/Credits:
Website: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Support Design Doc with a one-time tip: https://ko-fi.com/designdoc
Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/
Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/
Get in touch:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
instagram.com/turtleandbun -
What makes a game hack manageable in scope and size? Hannah and Evan delve back into game design to create a creepy amusement park Questlandia hack on the fly. They begin by brainstorming moods, moments, mechanics, and materials for a spoooooky game. From doppelgangers to malevolent crowds to corn dogs, they end with a wealth of ideas for the next design session.
Links/Credits:
Website: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/
Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/
Get in touch:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
instagram.com/turtleandbun -
Hannah and Evan face off in a battle of inspiration and ego to outdo each other's most founder ideas. Then, they set impostor syndrome aside and dilute those ideas down to something they'd both be willing to try.
Links/Credits:
Website: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King
Jingle news by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/460424/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Get in touch:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
instagram.com/turtleandbun
twitter.com/turtleandbun
twitter.com/designdocpod -
From Mood, Moments, Mechanics, Materials (MMMM) to "Be aware, be charming," our Design Doc conversations over the years have inspired some of our favorite game design ideas. We talk about the ideas that have had a lasting impact on our game design, and how we're incorporating each one into our most recent project.
Show notes:
Okay, Let's Redesign Noirlandia, for Mood, Moments, Mechanics, Materials
Scopeful Optimism, for discussion of scope
FLETs, for fiddly little end things
Imperfect Inspiration
Kudos Conundrum
Numbers Hide Everything
Founder Energy
Fish People, for "Be aware, be charming"
High Life (2018 film)
Lincoln in the Bardo (2017 George Saunders novel)
Links/Credits:
Website: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King
Get in touch:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
instagram.com/turtleandbun
twitter.com/turtleandbun
twitter.com/designdocpod -
Public radio icon Ira Glass has a famous quote describing the gap between taste and talent in trying to hone your creative work. When you start out, your tastes are always bigger than your skill. It's a frustrating gap, and one that causes a lot of people to give up.
In this episode we talk about everything that plays a part in the taste-skill gap. From personal energy and health, to money, ability, mood, and your relationship to the project as a whole. We talk about how our changing tastes have made our recent work all the more challenging.
EPISODE MENTIONS:
Ira Glass on the taste-talent gap: https://youtu.be/91FQKciKfHI?si=2PxIFIGoOwWvM7ty
Chris Ware's Building Stories: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/books/review/building-stories-by-chris-ware.html
Design Doc episode 49, Imperfect Inspiration: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/imperfect-inspiration/id1298080097?i=1000570727332
LINKS/CREDIT
Website: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King
GET IN TOUCH:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Join the Turtlebun Discord! https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun
Turtlebun Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun
Design Doc on Twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod -
Hannah and Evan talk about how to transform a beloved movie, book, or show into a game, using their latest project as an example: An adaptation of a 1779 book of cosmetic chemistry, The Toilet of Flora.
EPISODE LINKS/CREDITS:
Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King
Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/
Toilet of Flora: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44276
OUR GAMES:
Website: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
GET IN TOUCH:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Join the Turtlebun Discord! https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun
Turtlebun Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun
Design Doc on Twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod -
In a perfect world, we'd make a living just making roleplaying games. But sometimes, duty calls, and you've got to work around another job. In this episode, we talk about rolling with the punches in a moment when the creative work is competing with a new and time-consuming reality—that of a day job.
FOLLOW/CREDITS:
Our games: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Join the Turtlebun Discord! https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
Get in touch! Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King
Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun
Turtlebun Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun
Design Doc on Twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod -
What’s the difference between a “theme” and an “obsession?” Inspired by a classic writing book from the ‘80s, we share our respective obsessions and talk about how they show up in our work, intentionally or otherwise.
EPISODE MENTIONS:
Learn how to play Go: https://online-go.com/learn-to-play-go
Learn how to smell things (Introduction to Perfumery Kit or Perfumery Notes Kit from Perfumer’s Apprentice): https://shop.perfumersapprentice.com/c-58-educational-kits.aspx
Writing Down the Bones (book by Natalie Goldberg)
Synecdoche, New York (film)
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity (book by Graeber and Wengrow)
A Pattern Language (architecture and urban design book by Alexander, Ishikawa, Silverstein)
Eating Raoul (film)
The Clock Crew (Newgrounds wiki link)
FOLLOW/CREDITS:
Our games: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Join the Turtlebun Discord! https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
Get in touch! Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King
Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun
Turtlebun Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun
Design Doc on Twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod -
Kickstarter stretch goals are notorious for getting project creators into trouble. Sometimes, they over promise content. Other times, they create financial strain. Often, it's all of the above. In this episode, we talk about Top Tracks, a stretch goal project we just completed that's so overdue... nobody even remembered it.
CW: This episode contains a discussion of sexual harassment.
EPISODE LINKS/CREDITS:
Top Tracks! https://turtlebun.itch.io/damntheman (under Download Demo)
Our games: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Join the Turtlebun Discord! https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
Get in touch! Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King
Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun
Turtlebun Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun
Design Doc on Twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod -
In this episode, Hannah talks about the art of doing creative work alone. As part of a game design duo that normally does all creative work together, what does it look like to self-motivate on game design solo? From setting small, manageable goals and little rewards in advance to finding companionship in the work itself.
MENTIONED IN EPISODE:
Scavengers Reign (animated mini series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21056886/
Health Minds App (available for free on the Apple app store and Google Play) - https://hminnovations.org/meditation-app
EPISODE LINKS/CREDITS:
Our games: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Join the Turtlebun Discord! https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
Get in touch! Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King
Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun
Turtlebun Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun
Design Doc on Twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod -
We love making solo RPGs, but we don't always love playing them. In this episode we brainstorm ideas for a possible one-player version of Questlandia, and what would make us excited to play it.
EPISODE LINKS/CREDITS:
Our games: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Join the Turtlebun Discord! https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
Get in touch! Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King
Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun
Turtlebun Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun
Design Doc on Twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod -
This month marks the sixth anniversary of Design Doc, a podcast that started as a "year-long" project documenting our progress redesigning our first roleplaying game. Six years later, we talk about the different directions we've taken, and what Questlandia 2 means to us today.
EPISODE LINKS/CREDITS:
Our games: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Turtlebun Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun
Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun
Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King
Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod -
Hannah and Evan talk about the strange designs and abandoned places of Six Flags New England, the latest of a series of research trips. Join them on a jeep ride in the Jurassic, through the ghost town of Crackaxle, and into secret corners filled with claw machines.
SUPPORT OUR VISIT BACK TO SIX FLAGS HERE:
https://ko-fi.com/designdoc
EPISODE LINKS/CREDITS:
Our games: turtlebun.com
Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun
Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun
Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun
Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King
Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod - Show more
