The Amble Podcast Amble Studio

Dr. Alli Edwards is facilitator, researcher and teacher whose design practices challenge the false dichotomy between work and play to create different ways of being together, sharing learnings, and imagining in equitable and sustainable ways. In this episode, we discuss Alli's practice and experience with games, her PhD research, and how presenting facilitation tools as 'toys' changes the whole experience.

Randy Lubin is an applied game designer who has made a wide range of games that help individuals and groups gain insight into complex issues. Many of these games help players engage with possible futures, with a particular focus on how technology can influence elections. We dive deep into Randy's game design process, and important issues around player safety, the authenticity of game models, and democratising design. This fast-paced episode is chock full of insights from the leading edge.

Games and simulations have a lot in common. They both give players a low-risk, engaging way to develop a deeper understanding of a system. But they don’t always have to be immersive 3D experiences. We welcome our friend Sidney Icarus, a facilitator, game designer, and former air combat professional, to discuss the practical ins and outs of how simulations factor into learning and decision-making processes.

We welcome our first external guest, Dr. Emma Blomkamp, an expert in co-design and participatory engagement, with a focus on policy. Together with Emma, we go deep on definitions and disambiguation of the relevant terms, and some of the enablers of and barriers to meaningful and inclusive co-design. We also discuss how to develop capability in co-design, and how games and play might play might help with this.

In this episode, we take a deep dive into our design process, through the lens of our game Green Hollow. All five members of the Troupe come together for the first time, with the first appearance by Bec Dahl. We designed Green Hollow as an experience for teams to come together, and learn more about themselves as individuals and as a group. We cover a wide range of techniques, tools, and processes we used to get our desired player outcomes through the game. Get references and transcript at https://amble.studio/episode-8-inside-amble-studio-making-green-hollow/

We invite Amble troupe member Logan Timmins back to discuss his practice as a game designer, and his journey into becoming a facilitator and collaboration designer. Recruiting the gamers and game designers of the world into collaboration practice is core to Amble's mission, and Logan has been our bellwether as we learn about this. This episode is full of concrete insights into how the work gets done in both worlds, and how skills are developed along the way. Get references and transcript at http://amble.studio/episode-7-facilitation-as-game-design-with-logan-timmins