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A 27-post collection

episode

Designing for Narrative (Lucas JW Johnson)

This month we're joined by the brilliant Lucas J.W. Johnson as he gives us a crash course in narrative design! Join us as we learn about the importance of having a consistent theme, how to craft gameplay that makes sense within your story, and the different writing tools available to make sure that every kind of player is able to appreciate your game's narrative.

(Long-time listeners will notice that we already talked about Mysterium back in episode 8. Well... we talked about it again. Maybe we had some new thoughts this time? Hey, it's a free podcast, cut us some slack!)

Questions? Comments? Want to tell us a story of your own? Contact us on Twitter or email mailbox@pgipodcast.com. And if you liked the show, please review us on iTunes!

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Header image from Divinity: Original Sin by Larian Studios

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episode

Prototyping & Iterating

This month we cover one of the most important skills for a game designer: how to prototype and iterate on your game ideas! We discuss tips for getting something playable at fast as possible, how to run effective playtests, and why killing your darlings doesn't have to be painful, before capping things off by sharing some of the best tools for tracking your game's development.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions for new episode topics? Contact us on Twitter or email mailbox@pgipodcast.com. And if you liked the show, please review us on iTunes!

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Header image from an early prototype of Asterogue by Real Human Games

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episode

Voices of Game Design

We're doing something a little different this month! Instead of tackling a topic ourselves, we've invited ten of our favorite designers onto the podcast to share their personal game design processes and philosophies. Whether you're interested in mobile games, VR, tabletop games, narrative design, escape rooms, or just listening to talented people share their secrets, you're not going to want to miss this one!

Huge thanks to all of our guests for taking the time to share their thoughts. You can find them online at:

Jonathan Ying - Tabletop game designer (4:35)
Kyle Pulver - Retro-awesome action game designer (10:57)
Laura E Hall - Escape room and live experience designer (15:20)
Owen Harris - VR and experimental game designer (24:25)
Pat Kemp - Mobile and console game designer (28:20)
Alexei Othenin-Girard - Game designer and educator (32:25)
Jacob Burgess - Narrative designer and voice actor (38:50)
Sig Gunnarsson - Digital-tabletop hybrid game designer (43:00)

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Reading List 2: Everything Old is Good Again

This month we go back to the reading list as we analyze 3 recent releases that have managed to breathe new life into their long-running franchises. Did 2016's Doom revitalize the stale first-person shooter genre? How does Resident Evil 7's first-person perspective reflect the series' pre-rendered roots? Is Breath of the Wild the best Zelda game since the original? Will we actually answer these questions, or will we just rant about how much we love these games for an hour? You'll have to listen to find out!

Questions? Comments? Recommendations for other great entries in big series? Contact us on Twitter or email mailbox@pgipodcast.com. And if you liked the show, please review us on iTunes!

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Header image from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by Nintendo

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Designing for Different Players (Lily Dodge)

Different players want different things from their games. How do you make sure that your game caters to as many of them as possible, without losing sight of what makes your game unique? And how is this complicated when designing for a pre-determined set of players, such as at a live gaming event?

We're joined by Lily Dodge, former moderator of Goucher College's epic weeklong Humans vs Zombies games, to discuss these questions and more!

Questions? Comments? Want to share your Bartle type? Contact us on Twitter or email mailbox@pgipodcast.com. And if you liked the show, please review us on iTunes!

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Header image from The Sims 4 by Maxis

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