Ludology

In this classic Biography of a Board Game, Scott takes a look at how the horror game Betrayal at House on the Hill came to be.

Erica and Sen talk with Spenser Starke about his game, Alice is Missing, and it's jump to the big screen. They discuss how to design cinematic narrative structure into tabletop games, calibration tools, and more! Timestamp Note Link 00:01:05 Alice Is Missing https://www.huntersentertainment.com/alice-is-missing 00:01:17 Kids on Broom https://renegadegamestudios.com/kids-on-brooms/ 00:01:20 Icarus https://renegadegamestudios.com/icarus-a-storytelling-game-about-how-great-civilizations-fall/ 00:02:51 Dread https://dreadthegame.wordpress.com/about-dread-the-game/ 00:02:53 The Quiet Year https://buriedwithoutceremony.com/the-quiet-year 00:06:47 Life Is Strange https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/319630/ 00:06:49 Oxenfree https://store.steampowered.com/app/388880/Oxenfree/ 00:06:50 Firewatch https://store.steampowered.com/app/383870/Firewatch/ 00:08:25 Vox article https://www.vox.com/culture/21656220/alice-is-missing-rpg-text-message 00:10:19 Hollywood Reporter article https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/alice-is-missing-movie-1235173092/ 00:11:10 Papergirls Cancelled https://deadline.com/2022/09/paper-girls-canceled-prime-video-one-season-shopped-season-2legendary-television-1235113183/ 00:20:14 RPG Safety Toolkit https://t.co/gA6hV6VKqm 00:28:39 Chapman Film School https://www.chapman.edu/dodge/index.aspx 00:30:14 Three Act Structure https://www.arcstudiopro.com/blog/three-act-structure-in-screenwriting 00:35:51 Joseph Campell's Hero's Journey https://www.arcstudiopro.com/blog/the-heros-journey 00:35:59 Dan Harmon's Story Circle https://www.arcstudiopro.com/blog/dan-harmons-story-circle-screenplay 00:36:15 Save The Cat https://savethecat.com/ 00:36:44 Hamlet's Hit Points https://gameplaywright.net/books/hamlets-hit-points/ 00:40:25 L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/did-a-silent-film-about-a-train-really-cause-audiences-to-stampede 00:50:59 Ten Candles https://cavalrygames.com/ten-candles 00:53:09 Battleship https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/battleship 00:53:10 Clue rottentomatoes.com/m/clue 00:54:16 Image Comics https://imagecomics.com/ 00:56:01 Blades in the Dark TV Show Announced https://www.polygon.com/22652023/blades-in-the-dark-tv-show-announced 00:59:24 Game Night https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/game_night_2018 00:59:43 Dune Imperium https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/316554/dune-imperium 01:02:30 Cash Cab https://www.bravotv.com/cash-cab 01:03:30 Powered By The Apocalypse is the best way to get started with tabletop roleplaying games https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/22787981/powered-by-the-apocalypse-tabletop-rpg-explainer 01:04:26 Wingspan https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/266192/wingspan 01:04:30 Succulent https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/299372/succulent 01:04:33 Stardew Valley https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/332290/stardew-valley-board-game 01:04:59 Scythe https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/169786/scythe 01:05:18 Tales From The Loop https://www.loop-rpg.com/ 01:06:34 Cameron Cuffe https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1949036/ 01:06:50 Rupert Grint https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0342488/

Geoff takes us through the history of the color blue, namely how difficult it is to make as a dye, and considers if we should value it above all other player colors.

Discover the essential tools and processes in game design as Erica, Gil, and Sen share insights from their diverse roles. From pen-and-paper ideation to digital mockups with Canva and flowcharting in Lucidchart, they explore creative workflows. Learn about rapid prototyping techniques, the pros and cons of AI art, and low-cost graphic design alternatives. Plus, tips on pitching to publishers and the importance of flexible design to avoid sunk costs. It's a treasure trove of practical advice for aspiring game designers!

In this classic Biography of a Board Game, Scott takes us through the history of the game Cluedo, better known to Americans as Clue.

Erica and Sen chat with game designer Mondo Davis about how to market yourself in the game industry.

Continuing the previous GameTek Classic, Geoff returns to the subject of AI in first-person shooters. Last time, we learned that researchers had engineered an FPS AI that could beat the best humans. This time, Geoff dives into the different strategies the AI tried, how it shifted over time to prefer distinct strategies, and what we can learn from this.

Gil and Sen meet up with James Hudson of Druid City Games to discuss the pleasure of games that are big, sprawling productions.

Scott takes us through the history of Kill Dr. Lucky, a game where, instead of trying to deduce the murder of a wealthy old man, you're trying to actually do the deed.

Erica and Sen talk with Dr. Tanya Pobuda about her groundbreaking research of representation in board games, the purpose of journalism, and her work in academia. SHOW NOTES 2m01s: Emma and Gil chatted with Dr. Mary Flanagan on Ludology 226 - Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo. 7m37s: Two seminal works in the theory behind fun and play are Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens and Roger Caillois' Man, Play, and Games. 27m05s: Analog Game Studies provides an academic, analytic look at non-digital games. 39m12s: Leonard Anetta's research paper The "I's" Have It: A Framework for Serious Educational Game Design. 43m34s: Elizabeth Sampat's book Empathy Engines: Design Games that are Personal, Political, and Profound.