Hey all. Today I wanted to talk about the SKILL GRID for my upcoming RPG, and talk about how it interacts with playable characters. I also give an update on some of the games I’m playing. Enjoy! The FFX “Sphere Grid”, an inspiration for our Skill Grid Don’t forget: you can support my work by going to www.patreon.com/keithburgun and becoming a patro…

Hello all and welcome to the first episode of the Bannet Bulletin! It’s still the Clockwork Game Design Podcast feed, but for awhile I’m going to do a series of shorter podcast episodes that talk about what is going on and what I’m thinking about with the RPG I’m making. This episode is an overview – what is this new game? What’s important? When ca…

Hey all! Today I have a new episode where I’m going to be talking about two things. First, I’m going to report on a bunch of RPGs that I’ve been playing or trying out, and give my takes. I say more about each game on the podcast, so make sure to check that out. Here are some quick bullet points, though! What I’ve been playing SCARLET NEXUS – Extrem…

Hi all! Today I have a nice podcast episode, all about RPGs and RPG design! I feel like I have a lot to say here, and I do dare say that I am slowly, slowly pursuing becoming some kind of crazy expert on the topic, so hopefully there’s some interesting stuff in here to think about. I’m also starting pre-pre-production on my very own RPG finally (!!…

Hey all! This is kind of a “bonus episode” of sorts, only 30 minutes long. Here’s some of the topics covered: A bit of navel gazing about my own theory and approach to games and how it has changed A short essay I wrote about “speaking the language” and how building off of existing designs means a higher floor and a higher ceiling Some stuff about 4…

Hi all! It’s been awhile since the last episode. This year I got married and went on my honeymoon, so things have been kind of crazy. But now, they’re sort of going back to normal. Over the last six months, I guess partially because I was doing a bit of traveling, but also partially because I got a Retroid handheld and a Steam Deck (both of which a…

Today Brett Lowey and I discuss DRAGON BRIDGE, my two player bumping card game. It’s a weird game for me, in a bunch of ways. For one thing, it was my first published tabletop game. But also, I produced it in a ridiculously short amount of time. That makes it even more… strange and interesting, how fun it is. Recently, Dragon Bridge has gotten a se…

Today I bring you one of the world’s more renowned strategy videogame designers – the designer of Civilization IV, one of the most beloved in the series (probably my favorite one still), and the founder of Mohawk Games, who created Offworld Trading Company, and most recently, Old World. Old World has been out for awhile on EGS, and is coming to Ste…

Good ol’ CoolCop. Wow, things certainly have changed a lot since 2004, huh? Brett and I took a journey into the strange Reiner Knizia card game, Blue Moon. It’s… a challenging game, that’s for sure. Enjoy the episode!توسط The Clockwork Game Design Podcast

Hello everyone! Welcome to our third episode of STRATEGY CAN BE FUN. Today, Brett Lowey and I discuss the Cole Wehrle game, Pax Pamir. I think this is maybe the first game where Brett and I’s positions on the game have diverged somewhat, although perhaps we have also pulled each other’s opinions together somewhat as well. We talk about many aspects…

Hello all! Thanks so much for checking out the second episode of our new podcast, STRATEGY CAN BE FUN? It’s up sooner than expected — when you have a new show, I think it’s good to get a few episodes out quickly if you can. Today Brett Lowey and I are so excited to present … Strategy Can Be Fun – Contextualized Choices in Puzzle Strike 2 Read More …

Surprise! New podcast! Introducing STRATEGY CAN BE FUN?, a new podcast with myself and Brett Lowey. Brett is a game designer and developer, creator behind BrainGoodGames, frequent guest on the Clockwork Game Design Podcast, and all-around awesome guy. We’ve decided to come up with a new show that we do as a collaborate project, one … Strategy Can B…

Hello all! I have a special episode for you today, wherein we have a great big discussion on MAGIC: THE GATHERING – something I haven’t really dived into too deeply before on the show. For most of my life I was very, very skeptical of these games – I still think, for good reason. But … Let’s talk about Magic: The Gathering, with two experts Read Mo…

Hello everyone and welcome to the 91st episode of the CLOCKWORK GAME DESIGN PODCAST! Today’s guest is Dan Felder, a game designer who has worked at several studios, including EA, Blizzard, and Abrakam Games, where he worked on the popular CCG, Faeria. He also has written a bunch of game design articles on game balance, … Free-to-play, Gacha games a…

Alexander King, who teaches at the NYU Game Center and the Parsons School of Design, has been tweeting about math for game designers a bunch – you should definitely go check out his tweet thread on the topic here. It also got me interested to have him on the show – I don’t think we’ve … Math for Game Designers, with Alexander King Read More »…

Today’s guest is Dayan Radisic, the lead developer at Stygian Software, the team behind the indie CRPG UnderRail. I’ve personally only played a handful of hours of the game so far, but it’s definitely the kind of game that’s in the “RPG Project” territory – it’s quite clearly super inspired by games like the original … Talking RPGs with Dayan Radis…

Hello again! This here is probably the most nitty gritty strategy game design podcast episode I’ve had on the show yet, which is made possible because I have a shared language and understanding with today’s guest. This guest, by the way, is none other than Brett Lowey, who has been on the podcast several times … Skill Compensation, Randomness, and …

If you listened to my last episode all the way to the end, you might’ve heard Justin Ma mention a game that he’s been playing recently that he thought was cool. That game, which he recommended and I ended up playing, was Quantum Protocol. Quantum Protocol is a one-player digital card game that isn’t a … Interview with Jaron Kong, creator of Quantum…

I spoke with Justin Ma, co-founder of Subset Games, who are well known for their hit indie games FTL and Into the Breach. Our conversation touched on a pretty wide range of topics, from their creative process at Subset games, to the state of the industry, to Justin’s feelings on game design theory in general. … Conversation with Justin Ma Read More…

Today’s guest is Tanya X. Short, the co-founder of Kitfox Games, and the designer behind Moon Hunters and most recently, Boyfriend Dungeon. Tanya is also a contributor over at Gamasutra, where she writes about a bunch of game development and marketing stuff. I had wanted to get Tanya on the podcast for a long time, … RPGs and more, with Tanya X. Sh…

Hello all and welcome to another episode of the Clockwork Game Design Podcast! This is Raph’s second time on the podcast (the first time was Episode 37) but it’s always good to have him on the show. On this episode, Raph and I talk a lot about simulationist RPGs, some of his experience working on … A Conversation with Raph Koster Read More »…

Hi! I come bearing the latest episode of the Clockwork Game Design Podcast! This one features Brett Lowey of Braingoodgames, who has been on the show before! He’s a great person to talk to for me, because we have just enough agreement and disagreement to have good discussions. In this episode, we talk about his … Brett Lowey on win conditions and i…

Hey everyone! Thanks for listening to this, the 82nd episode of the Clockwork Game Design Podcast. This episode doesn’t have a guest, it’s all me, and I’m talking about a bunch of stuff I’m thinking of with turn based tactics combat systems. A lot of this stuff is still up in the air, at … Turn Based Tactics Combat Systems, and more on quarterbacki…

Kyle Kukshtel said he sees me as a bit like an “alternative universe version of” himself, because we’re both solo indie devs working on turn-based tactical wargames that do things differently. His game, Cantata, is looking really cool and different, and he’s been working on it for somewhere around six years! I’m really excited for … Kyle Kukshtel o…

Today I had a conversation with Adam Stewart of One Man Left, one of my favorite indie developers of all time. The company has downsized since its heyday of the early 2010’s, and after operating for about ten years, there is now literally just one man left carrying the torch. Adam is currently working on … Adam Stewart of One Man Left, on tactics g…