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In: Game Designer Workshop
With: 10 Comments

News: The Red Markets Kickstarter is live! If you want to see the fruits of Caleb’s labors, be sure to back the Kickstarter.

Synopsis: Structuring a Kickstarter is a difficult task. A game designer has to predict how much it will fund. Overshoot a goal and the Kickstarter will fail. Undershoot the goal may result in stretch goal hell, especially if the stretch goals aren’t planned properly. Caleb discusses his thoughts when he structured the Red Markets Kickstarter and what advice he got from other game designers. Remember that a wildly successful Kickstarter can bankrupt a company if it was not planned well enough. What has Caleb decided? Find out in this special episode!

If you enjoy this podcast, backing the Red Markets Kickstarter is a great way of showing support. Thanks to everyone who has already backed it!

Song: Zombies on my back by The Wild Zombies.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:34:23 — 32.6MB)

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On:
In: Interview
With: 9 Comments

ua-ksCaleb and I talked to Greg Stolze about his latest project, the third edition of Unknown Armies, a post-modern horror role playing game. Urban legends, obsessions, occult conspiracies, and the invisible clergy are all part of a compelling modern game. It is also a profoundly humanist game, where humanity is the center of the universe, not cosmic and unfeeling alien gods beyond our comprehension. Greg talks about changes to the setting, new mechanics for Unknown Armies and game design in general. If you are interested in checking out the game, I recommend backing the Kickstarter so you can read the latest draft of the game now.

Unfortunately, we did have some recording errors, so some of the questions will have an echo. I tried to fix it in post but there’s only so much you can do.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:08:16 — 31.4MB)

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On:
In: Panel discussion
With: 7 Comments

bite-red-markets

Fun is obviously a byproduct of games, but that’s where the usefulness of the term ends. This seminar presents the case against fun as a design goal, method of criticism, and aesthetic in gaming. Caleb Stokes (No Soul Left Behind/No Security) and Ross Payton (Base Raiders/ Zombies of the World) discuss the negative and positive uses of the word of fun in gaming, along with other critical frameworks by which the word can be understood (such as the 8 types of fun).

This panel was recorded at Gen Con 2015 and I forgot to post it until now! Better late than never, I guess.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:36 — 26.5MB)

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