Think Like A Game Designer Justin Gary

Jon Barry is the founder of Forged Gaming, a renowned game accessories company. Jon has dedicated himself to creating a plethora of products that enhance the gaming experience, such as dice and game master screens. His pursuit of excellence and deep passion for gaming have driven him to push the boundaries of the industry, establishing Forged Games as a leader in the gaming accessory market. For those eager to learn about game accessory creation, this episode offers a wealth of invaluable lessons and insights.

As a member of the Stone Blade team, I've had the pleasure of working alongside Gary Arant since the company's earliest days. Gary has played a crucial role in every game we've ever made, including Ascension, Ascension Tactics, Shards of Infinity, and SolForge Fusion. It was an honor for me to speak with Gary on an episode of Think Like A Game Designer. I couldn't be more grateful to have such a talented and dedicated colleague in the field. Gary's contributions have been instrumental in shaping the games we create at Stone Blade, and I can't wait to see what we'll accomplish together in the future.

Jamey Stegmaier is the CEO of Stonemaier Games and the creator of games such as Scythe and Viticulture. He is a prolific content creator and thought leader in the Kickstarter and game design space, who’s spent years making videos and writing articles on nearly every aspect of running a game company. To be fair, Jamey probably interviews me just as much as I interview him, and we end up discussing everything from creating games to content generation to crowdfunding—so much knowledge is packed into this episode that it would be hard to list it all here! Enjoy!

Matt is easily the most punk rock game designer I’ve ever interviewed, and it’s no wonder because their professional life is rooted in collectivism, art, nerdery, social justice, and DIY punk rock. They are the Creative Director of Forever Stoked Creative, a studio they founded over a decade ago. Matt also owns a game shop/library in New Haven, Connecticut, called Elm City Games. They founded the New Haven Game Makers Guild, organize Fantasticon, and do consulting across the game industry as well as for corporate, NGO, and institutional clients like Netflix and Yale. In this episode, we discuss the world of indy games and have a fantastic time!

In this special episode, we dive into the upcoming game Ascension Tactics Inferno, which releases on Kickstarter on February 21, 2023. We'll be emphasizing the techniques and principles used to design the stand-alone sequel to Ascension Tactics.

Isaac Vega has been designing board games for over a decade. Isaac has sold over 500,000 copies of his games worldwide and is an award-winning designer. He co-founded Rose Gauntlet Entertainment and is the designer of the hit game Dead of Winter. There are so many awesome lessons in this episode. Let’s get started!