The Game Design Round Table Dirk Knemeyer & David V. Heron

Kathryn rejoins Dirk and David to answer several questions from listeners in our Discord channel. Former cohost Rob Daviau also records a bonus answer to a question about legacy games.

In another round table episode, Kathryn joins Dirk and David to discuss three previous episodes on the podcast. The first topic is a discussion on information presentation, specifically how much info to include on cards. The middle topic covers unique types of games that the hosts have always enjoyed and wished they could see more of. Finally, the trio talks at length about the tricky art of knowing when to ship a game and how to set a deadline.

Fertessa Allyse joins Dirk and David to talk about her path in the tabletop industry. She talks about the relatively quick progress she made by iterating over and over on her core idea for Book of Villainy. Then the group discusses her other design projects, Wicked and Wise as well as Mansplaining, before moving on to her current role at Funko Games. Fertessa talks at length about how Funko Games’ IP-focused designs are handled, and how her work as a producer has helped her become a better designer as well

Designer Nikki Valens joins Dirk and David once again to talk about a couple of Nikki’s projects since they were last on the show. The discussion focuses on Artisans of Splendent Vale, a co-op narrative and tactical game coming out this December. The trio also talk about Quirky Circuits, a co-op programming game that came out a few years ago. Other topics include the effect of the pandemic on design and development, as well as Nikki’s experience at Fantasy Flight.

Board game designer Julio Nazario joins Dirk and David to talk about his success in publishing a variety of distinct games in a relatively short amount of time. The trio talk about the vertical, 3D elements of Ctrl and Holi: Festival of Colors, and then the conversation turns to how layering mechanics makes Dulce a deeper game with a shorter playtime. Then a detailed discussion on pitching to publishers eventually leads to an explanation of Julio’s game Borikén: The Taíno Resistance. 

Aran Koning joins Dirk and David to talk about his digital card game, Stacklands. Discussions include an in-depth look at how the pack-buying mechanic ended up in a village building game, how progression works while keeping some things as surprises for the player, and why cards were ultimately chosen to drive the game’s simple mechanics. Finally Aran discusses his company Sokpop Collective and the business side of being an indie design team that focuses on small, more experimental games.