[Dr. CKeymaster Rupees: 1,000 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

This week, you were asked to find and listen to any episode of The Game Design Roundtable podcast that struck you as especially interesting.

Before 11:59 pm on Friday, post a reflection of your listening experience here. Include (1) the episode you listened to, (2) why you selected it, (3) what you learned, (4) who you would recommend check out this particular episode.

Then, before 11:59 pm on Monday, Feb 6th, respond to at least two of your classmates. Remember to be conversational! (What did you find surprising or interesting about the podcast they listened to? Does it relate to your own interests? Does this mirror your strengths as a game designer, or does it tap into an area that is outside of your expertise?)

Spoiler alert: Next week, you’re going to be asked to listen to a podcast FROM THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE IN THIS FORUM. Keep that in mind as you review everyone’s reflections! And have fun!

[ErinParticipant Rupees: 1,235 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

From The Game Design Roundtable podcast I listened to Episode #214 Game Themes with Will Thompson. I chose this podcast based on the name of it and how it discusses themes so I was able to get better knowledge about the theme of a game which could help me with the final draft of my paper. In this episode it discusses the game “Scramble for Africa” where there is a discussion about the controversy of this game. The controversy includes how the game should have never been put out due to it being insensitive to the indigenous and native people from those regions. Along with Will Thompson, he discusses his own issues and how he is Cherokee but white passing and he would not want that done with his culture. I also learned and realized that there has been a large change in games and how games back in the day would simply not be able to survive today based on their foundation like “Scramble for Africa” and “Puerto Rico”. I found this a very interesting conversation and was pleasantly surprised what the episode was actually about. I would definitely recommend this episode to someone that finds the talk of race fascinating because the conversation is very enriching.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Erin.

[MeganParticipant Rupees: 965 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

Hi Erin – this sounds like a very interesting podcast to listen to! I think this is a great podcast to listen to as it aligns with what we are discussing in class, game themes. I also agree with you that there have been drastic changes in games, for the better also. I also think it is interesting how they tied political and racial aspects into the topic of games. Very nice!

[DestinyParticipant Rupees: 475 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hello Erin, I choose to listen to a podcast that dealt with similar conversations about sensitivity on certain topics and how they should be approached. I think that it was interesting to see how the game developer handled this situation so that anyone could play the game.

[JoeunParticipant Rupees: 1,090 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

Hi Erin!
I found how you described this podcast very interesting because of its discussion of controversy within games. Games are used for personal entertainment, but what if a game includes aspects that are unethical and immoral like “Scramble for Africa”? This causes a subconscious influence on the players. Should these types of offensive games exist, and who moderates the release to stop these types of games? In a way I feel this comes at the price of the freedom and ambiguity of games.

[ScottParticipant Rupees: 600 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hey Erin, based on your description of the podcast, this is definitely one that I’d like to watch. As someone who is a big fan of video games, I find controversial topics in gaming to be very interesting. When you put out a game title “scramble for Africa”, I’d say there are a multitude of things that can go wrong if you don’t carefully handle the topic in which you’re creating a game from. The fact that you mentioned how games have changed drastically as opposed to the past is nothing but true, as a game back in the 1980’s based off of this Africa premise would have most likely have faded in to obscurity.

[RobertParticipant Rupees: 300 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hey Erin,
I agree that the game should have never been put out due to insensitive material. Aside from this do you believe that games should limit sensitive material if it was true(I am not supporting anything this game stands for)? Just like. movies people tend to like when they are realistic and accurate. So should game designers limit themselves based on sensitive information? I personally believe games like call of duty benefit from accuracy in their stories although they can be graphic, it does enhance the gameplay. I guess it all depends on how far the developer takes it. Great post!

[MeganParticipant Rupees: 965 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

For The Game Design Round Table podcast, I listened to podcast #244: Round Table on Matching Player Expectations. I found the title to be interesting, as I think it can be difficult to find that balance between creating a game that is challenging, but also not impossible. It also made me think that perhaps it can be difficult for a player to switch roles from a players perspective to a designers perspective. One of the hosts states, “if you are building a game that is intended to last for many years, you need some level of complexity and depth.” This is something that we have discussed throughout this course, but I think it just goes to show how important it is, as it was stated in this podcast. They discuss how there are aspects of certain games that they would change from the players perspective. A lady brought up a good point, “you wouldn’t expect a painter to go back and repaint original,” so therefore, from the designers perspective, you can only make so many changes and updates to the game to ensure you are creating this game in which the player is content and their expectations are met, but perhaps now what the designer had in mind has now gotten lost. Another host discusses how one can ruin the experience of the players by adding a reward. I think this was an interesting point to bring up, because for some players, the ones who really are into video games, the reward is in the experience. I would recommend this podcast to really any player and any game designer, as I think it gives a very nice, detailed perspective from both points of view.

[ErinParticipant Rupees: 1,235 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

Hi Megan,

This is a great episode to choose based on what we are learning in class right now and how the game designer needs to think of the audience when creating the game. It is silly for people to keep adding different aspects to a game when there is already that reward aspect. I’ll definitely have to listen to this one as it pertains to this class especially!

[JoeunParticipant Rupees: 1,090 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

Megan! this podcast sounds interesting because of its complexity in the title. Matching expectations, in general, is hard, but in games, its another skill level as critics will always be present. I like the analogy they used of repainting an old painting, as it is true that just remaking a game with fixing the mechanics may not engage and meet player expectations. I enjoy this topic because the deeper thinking it goes into, where the meaning of the game designer may get lost as they keep trying to meet player expectations.

[ChristopherParticipant Rupees: 865 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Megan,
This seemed like a very insightful and interesting podcast. I found the connection between painting and game design really interesting and relatable. I feel like I have played a lot of games that just tried to do too much or change too much, to the point where the original formula that made it so enjoyable to play was lost.

[JasmineParticipant Rupees: 320 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Megan,

I enjoyed reading your reflection. I too find the point of reward ruining the players experience interesting and relatable. As we do know rewards are important to the game experience, but I do find that when you want to play a quick game to kill time or something of that sort, rewards popping up when your are eager to advance to the next level can be a tad frustrating.

[IzabellaParticipant Rupees: 400 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Megan! That episode you picked sounds super interesting! I agree that I can imagine it would be very difficult for game designers to find a perfect balance between difficulty and impossibility. This is why testing is such an important stage in game development because without it you may not realize a game is much more difficult than the average player can handle. Some gamers are catered towards difficulty and will be naturally difficult, but even then you still want the player base to have a good time and be able to really develop their skills. I liked the quote you added that discussed that a painter wouldn’t go back and repaint the original and it really made me think critically because I had not thought about it in that way. I think people get stuck in a loop of constant updates that they eventually realize the final product is nothing like what they intended, which I think is what the lady is trying to prevent. In addition, I think your final point about how adding a reward can ruin an experience was super intriguing. I think this can be true as most players who eventually finish a game did not do it all solely for the reward, but for the experience and the journey. I think focusing too much on the reward can ruin the experience as someone might not feel satisfied once they get it. Overall, I thought your response was super interesting and this definitely sounds like a podcast I would listen to!

[AlexisParticipant Rupees: 735 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Megan! I actually almost chose this podcast to listen to as I was also intrigued by the title. As technology and gaming itself is evolving and advancing everyday, we can assume it is very difficult for game writers to constantly meet these ever-evolving expectations and coming out with new and exciting games/ideas. What stood out to me from your post was your statement about the balance of making games challenging to a point where it’s still fun and not too difficult where players are not enjoying. I have thought about this often since the beginning of this course as there is a very fine line separating challenging from too challenging. I wonder what the process of game writers is when deciding how challenging to make a game and what data they use/research do they conduct to determine what is too challenging for a game versus what is just enough.

[JoeunParticipant Rupees: 1,090 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

For this assignment, I listened to Podcast #177: TOMER PERRY, ETHICS AND POLITICAL THEORY.
I first chose this podcast because of the word “ethics”. I have always been interested in topics that delve in philosophy. Specifically, I enjoy the discussion of morals, mortality, and metaphysics. I chose this episode in hopes of listening in on a discussion that partakes in these matters. However, this podcast talked about a professor who developed a new way to teach his course of ethics, utilizing games. The professor talks about the hardships of teaching his course, which is that many students come into the class believing they know ethics, which is true, but this causes stubbornness to learn some aspects of the course. Another issue is the ambiguity of wrong and right. Especially in ethics, it is hard to distinguish wrong and right as it may be a subjective matter. The professor explains that one of the main problems is that students need to experience the scenarios to gain the best understanding. In order to do so, the professor implements the use of game design within his teachings to create an experience for his students to learn course material.
What stood out to me the most was incorporating game design into teaching. The way the professor designed his course, to use point systems, where students were in control based on their endogenous value to pursue more points in the class,was very similar to this course. What I mainly took away was that perhaps games and learning should be more correlated as experiencing it, it does make the learning experience more enjoyable. I would recommend this episode to someone who enjoys the item shop, experience points, and rupee system of this class.

[ErinParticipant Rupees: 1,235 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

Hi Joeun!

This episode seems so interesting to me, as I want to be a teacher. Even when I first joined this class, I saw how different it is than Canvas but it grabs the students attention and makes the class more enjoyable and fun. In the future, in my classroom, I want to make it interesting and eye catching so that my students want to learn and realize how it is. I want to incorporate this reinforcement system but still teach that that rewards are not everything. Great post!

[JoeunParticipant Rupees: 1,090 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

Yes! Teachers whoo engage their students in new innovative ways are the most memorable teachers. I still remember my history teacher who made us do in-class simulations of historical events, even letting us stack desks on top of each other and throw paper balls at each other. I feel in a way it shows the teacher’s trust in the students to maintain their behavior and clean up after themselves while having fun, and the students reciprocate this through learning and managing themselves. I am happy you hope to implement this type of learning in the future.:)

[MeganParticipant Rupees: 965 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

Hello Joeun, this sounds like a very interesting podcast! I like it when a teacher teaches a topic and ties it into an activity or game, anything fun, to help the students to be more engaged and learn better. I also like the idea that students should experience something in order to gain the best understanding, I think that is so true! I think this podcast seems so interesting to me and I will have to look into it and listen for myself!

[ChristopherParticipant Rupees: 865 RupeesRank: White Sword]

I decided to listen to Episode 184: Narrative Designer Edwin Mcrae. I chose to listen to this episode because storytelling has always been an interest of mine, and one of the main aspects that I enjoy about games is the storyline. I was curious to learn about the process behind writing the story of the game, especially since, as Schell stated in one of his chapters, games are capable of being a more interactive and immersive experience than novels or movies. One idea that really stuck out to me during the podcast was Mcrae’s concept of story glyphs. Mcrae stated that he does not like using cutscenes, which I was surprised about, since they seem to be the main driving aspect of a video game’s story. Instead, Mcrae uses story glyphs, which are smaller details – dialogue, aesthetics, written text that you can discover in the game – to reveal the world and hint at the overall story. They are clues that the player can follow along and solve as the game progresses. I thought this was a really cool way to implement a story, since it really does allow for the game to be experienced in first person. I also thought it was interesting how they mentioned that the narrative designer is a role that is hard to define, which is probably because games don’t necessarily prioritize the story experience and, as they mention, “game players don’t want to read a novel.” While the narrative of the game does not have to be an actual story, it is still a very vital component to the experience.

[DestinyParticipant Rupees: 475 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hello Christopher, great post, I love a good storyline. Similar to the podcast I listened to I learned how important it is to have the right storyline that will appeal to users. Now I can argue that in some cases the storyline is just as important as the mechanics and above the element’s aesthetics and technology. I think that the storyline is the foundation. This is what ties other elements together.

[EthanParticipant Rupees: 885 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hello Christopher. I like how you chose a podcast that related to your creative writing minor. I also found your take on this podcast very interesting! I think it’s so cool how in games, they can deliver stories in so many ways that regular words can’t. The players get a chance to experience the story as either a spectator or be a part of it. The visual aspects and the journey along the way make stories in games so intricate and beautiful. Just like you said in your post, Mcrae uses reveals the story throughout with smaller details and delivers the story in a way that is exciting for the reader. I think writing the story is one thing, but implementing it for a game is a whole different challenge. Great post!

[RachelParticipant Rupees: 385 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Christopher – I really like the podcast episode that you choose, I’ll make sure to check it out later when I have time. I also personally really value and prioritize story in games. The majority of games that I play are single player games that have a good narrative for me to follow, rather than multiplayers. It’s really interesting how Mcrae prioritizes story glyphs. At first I didn’t know what a glyph was, but after reading your post, I realized that I actually see them everyday I play a game. It’s nice to know that someone else also values story within games!

[IzabellaParticipant Rupees: 400 RupeesRank: White Sword]

I decided to watch episode #277 called “Diving into Cards as a Crossroads” because I have always been interested in cards and card games because I find them super fun. I have always wanted to learn how to play more card-based games and I thought listening to this podcast can teach me more about card games in general as well as how they are used in games. I recently learned how to play poker and it took me a long time to get the hang of it and understand how everything worked. Isaac Vega discusses how cards have been part of almost every single project he has been a part of, which is super interesting to see how many different games can be made using cards. I thought that the game that Isaac Vega discusses that he helped develop called City of Remnants sounds super fun to play. He said that “Each card was represented by a character that they would have in their gang and utilizing every hand they can try to figure out how to conquer territory or gain other resources or build their deck” and I thought that was very interesting because it sounds that you can have many different cards that have their own strengths and that can impact how players play the game. I thought it was very interesting and I would love to check it out. One thing that Isaac discussed that I thought was important is the drawbacks of using cards. Isaac has used cards for most of his works, but he recognizes there are also drawbacks to using cards. For example, once a card is out of the deck it is out until it gets shuffled back in, and on top of that Isaac added that it is important that game designers know the intricacies of the cards when they use them, such as if they can reshuffle, why or why not, how many cards will be included and can cards get reused, and many more important questions. I think this is an important topic to discuss because you want to look at the advantages and disadvantages of cards or anything you decide to use before you actually implement it.
As the podcast goes on, Dirk and David ask Isaac Vega about his game called Ashes Reborn and the unique systems within it. One topic pointed out that I thought was awesome was the diversity in the game. They pointed out how diverse Ashes Reborn is and I think that is fantastic because representation is crucial in our everyday life. One piece of advice that I thought was good was what Isaac said at the end where it is important to finish your ideas or at least try to as much as you can because otherwise they are just ideas and they never become a reality. That hit me hard because I always start things, but if I can’t get it the way I want or if I think of something better, sometimes I just stop midway through or in the beginning, but even if it is not perfect I should still try to finish because then I will only continue to learn from that experience. In conclusion, the person I would recommend this podcast to is anyone who is interested in card games, how they work, and how systems can work around them. Much of the podcast is spent discussing specific games, but it also describes them so it is not hard to follow, but it is super interesting hearing the different systems and uses that cards have in games.

[DestinyParticipant Rupees: 475 RupeesRank: White Sword]

I listened to podcast #274 with Damon Stone, where he talks about his new game that ties into the historic liberation of slavery in Haiti. Damon stone joins Dirk and David to discuss his game Liberation Haiti which follows the three years leading up to Haiti’s slavery revolution. The games mechanics involve acquiring cards by using the following actions, aggression, persuasion, and intimidation. Some of the cards have added value or “threat” that once obtained add to a threat meter, Stone states that once you meet a certain level of threat you must start a revolution. It is a single-player game that is 100% cooperative, an excellent point that stone mentions is that he made the game this way because he did not want to encourage anyone to want to play the game as a slave owner. This game is played from an enslaved person’s perspective and requires the user to prepare a lot of planning. This to me relates to Schells #8 lens the lens of problem-solving, what makes the game intriguing to some would be the historical fiction, and also the planning and preparation. What I learned is that when you make a game about such a sensitive topic like slavery, you need to be very strategic on what mechanics you will include in the game. You also need to make sure that the game is fun but also appropriate and do your best not to offend people. I selected it because I was curious by the title and thought “How could you make a slave rebellion into a game people would want to play?” I think this game is for people who are fascinated by history and like games with a story attached.

[ChristopherParticipant Rupees: 865 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Destiny,
This game sounds really interesting! I found it really interesting how the developer interwove history and games, and also considered perspective. The game seems like it has a lot of flavor, and gives the player not only a fun experience, but a meaningful one. It relates back to the themes of truth that Schell mentioned, and how these can provide an even stronger theme than one that is purely experience-based.

[JasmineParticipant Rupees: 320 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Destiny,

Great choice on podcast, I am sure it was very informative. I agree those fascinated with history would be moved toward this game. Being strategic when putting together a game involving sensitive history for a population of people. I too think this game evokes, planning and preparation for the players.

[RachelParticipant Rupees: 385 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Destiny – your post was really interesting to read! I’ve never heard about Liberation Haiti before, but after reading your post, I was able to get a general idea about the game. Although it was my first time hearing about this game, I’ve seen other games that incorporate elements of history into the game, and from Daman Stone’s point of view, I could tell that they spend a lot of time designing the game. A lot of time and effort goes in to these types of games that use real life historical elements, as they need to make sure that the game is ethical (similar to when Stone states that he didn’t want anyone to play as slave owners) and does not discriminate any group of people.

[ScottParticipant Rupees: 600 RupeesRank: White Sword]

I really enjoyed listening to the “Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design”. They describe that there is a need for a book with definitive tabletop game mechanics, and Geoff Engelsten and Issac Shalev were the people to do it. They wanted take a different approach to game design (tabletop design). Geoff taught a game design class at NYU had noticed that even the students that were familiar with modern games, when they were doing their own design, they would come back with questions about how to do certain things. With the vast mental catalog of the thousands of different games, he was able to give them reference games to look at. Over time, they were approached by CRC press to write a book about tabletop game design, and they felt that tabletop gaming was going to be a new frontier. There really hasn’t been a catalog of the hundreds of different mechanisms that we encounter in table top gaming. There are some chapters in the book that are relevant to all games, while some are not. Issac and Geoff wanted to be a part of the development and language of game design, and they discovered that we don’t really use our words precisely. Reading Schells’ chapters, this had already been made clear to me with words like “game” and “play”. They started by listing every tabletop mechanic they could think of to try to form one master list , and they also were able to work on grouping things. Some mechanics that were not really necessary were left out – this book is supposed to be a working document for designers. The authors drew inspiration from “patterns of object-oriented computer programming” – Issac was chosen because he had a lot of experience with pattern design, and Geoff thought he would be a great co-author because of this.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Scott.

[PragyaParticipant Rupees: 195 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

Hi Scott, this topic sounds really interesting! I think this is true of game design and also true of a lot of new fields in general. Especially in tabletop gaming, there are so many different types of games that not only does it seem like a daunting task to classify everything, but some people might not even want to. Since people think of it as a creative thing probably people don’t want to sit down and define it, since there’s an appeal to just doing whatever feels right or looks good, but as we’re learning the fact is that figuring out some sort of agreed upon design can help a lot. Another critique of this is that creating a template makes games more generic – which may be true in a “what sells in the market” sense, but I think people are always looking for something different, so as long as the marketers understand this as well it could work.

[JasmineParticipant Rupees: 320 RupeesRank: White Sword]

I chose podcast #284 Fertessa Allyse Talk Book of Villainy. I selected this podcast because I found the game designer being interviewed inspirational. This being that she is an African American female game designer, and I am also a African American female. I learned when she started her game “Book of Villainy” she used familiar games such as monopoly to help guide her in her game design. She mentions, she had very hard time deciding how her pieces would move. The first version of “Book of Villains” actually looked like a monopoly board. Allyse shares advice that she got from other game designers,”start with a game you know and think of ways to improve it”, therefore she played many new games and imitate what she saw and incorporate it into her prototype. Fertessa also shares, she researched how other game designers solved their problems, to see if there was another she needed to approach her problems that arose in the process of game designing. I would recommend this podcast to other African American females with interest in game designing.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Jasmine.

[AlexisParticipant Rupees: 735 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Jasmine! This is actually really interesting to me as I have always wondered if game writers take inspiration from other games in order to write their own. I think it’s awesome that she took the game Monopoly and put her own spin on it as it is such a classic game so seeing someone make a game with their own take on it is so cool. I also appreciate that she created a board game as I feel as though electronic and video games are taking over in today’s day and there’s not many physical board games being produced so that is really fascinating to see her go against the norm.

[Aaliyah WitherspoonParticipant Rupees: 315 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Jasmine! This sounds like a great podcast, and I would definitely love to check it out. I loved that she looked at past board games and tried to figure out how she could make them better and even what aspects of the game she could implement in hers. I just looked up the game, and the design looked really cool. I might check it out some more; it looked fun to play.

[AniParticipant Rupees: 715 RupeesRank: White Sword]

I listened to episode 244, called, “Roundtable on Matching Player Expectations.” I selected this episode because as soon as I read the title I was automatically intrigued. I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the role designers have in trying to satisfy the needs of their audience. In the episode, they talked about what makes a game “richly thematic”. Designer, Molly Johnson says that a game that is richly thematic maintains alignment between the theme that is chosen and the mechanics in the game stay true to that theme. This reminds me of what Schell said about themes, that in order to strengthen the power of the gaming experience is to “use every means possible to reinforce the theme of your game” (Schell 59). Something else they talk about in this episode is the toxic behavior in board games and how it influences game design for the hosts. David defines toxicity as when people favor winning over having a true “uplifting experience”(TGDRT 19:53). He said that the toxic behavior that happens during games is inevitable with players and that no amount of game design can really prevent conflict from happening. I thought that this part of the episode was really insightful because it sheds light on some of the struggles game designers have when attempting to create a game with a meaningful experience. I recommend all of my classmates to listen to this episode! Especially those who want to learn more about the perspective of game designers and learn about the things that influence the decisions they make.

[ChristianaParticipant Rupees: 425 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Ani!

This podcast episode sounds really interesting, especially the part about toxic behavior. I never really thought about how the player plays a game would affect those who design it. Of course, after a game is released, it is sort of out the hands of the designers and up to the players to experience it and past their judgement. However, it must be frustrating to see someone play a game that one put so much time and effort in, and reduce it to something unpleasant for everyone. There are many games that people may find toxic, as they are full of like-minded competitive players, but are actually far from what the designers intended for people to experience, which is a bit sad in retrospect.

I think matching the players’ expectations will always be impossible because it is so hard to predict how people will perceive a game and there will always be someone who was disappointed. I guess this is one of the things a game designer just has to live with, and something that everyone, regardless if they are a game designer or not, will have to face, too.

[PragyaParticipant Rupees: 195 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

Hi Ani, that’s a really good connection about how the theme should relate to the game. I think it’s cool to see agreement across different sources on the topic. When you think about it it seems like it should be common sense, but then again sometimes it’s hard to summarize what the theme of a certain game is, so maybe it’s because the game designers didn’t emphasize the theme in every aspect of the game as recommended. And of course, someone’s game experience is affected by the environment they’re playing in, so if as the podcast describes there’s perceived toxicity someone might not care too much to think about the actual themes of the game. After all, you probably invest more time into games you enjoyed playing.

[Aaliyah WitherspoonParticipant Rupees: 315 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Ani! This is a really eye-catching title for the podcast; it makes me really want to listen to it. The point that you made about toxicity is interesting. I never thought about something like that, and even redefining the word toxicity as favoring winning over having an uplifting experience. Board games do tend to bring out competitive behavior, but honestly, I think that’s what makes a game more fun. Maybe it’s not always a bad thing.

[KangweiParticipant Rupees: 370 RupeesRank: White Sword]

This week, I listened to Episode#7 of The Game Design Round Table: EXPERIENCE & REPLAYABILITY WITH SCOTT LEWIS. I chose to listen to this episode because “player experience in game” has become a key topic in my recent learning of game design. Whether a game prioritizes “experience” or “replayability” will directly impact the player’s gaming experience, whether they will continue to play the game, and what kind of players will play the game. This is also why I recommend this episode to all game designers. Through this episode, I learned about the difference between the experience and replayability. Games that prioritize experience tend to have richer content and try to help player establish more memorable moments. On the other hand, games that prioritize replayability tend to have flatter content and are quickly forgotten by players. Additionally, the players of these two types of games are also different. Casual players typically play replayables games like Facebook games because they have less time invested in the game, and games like Facebook games can quickly bring them enjoyment. Hardcore players, on the other hand, spend more time in the game, so they tend to choose games that focus more on the in-game journey. Jon Shafer also mentioned Civilization 5 as a game that balances both replayability and experience. The random maps in Civilization 5 bring replayability to the game, and each random map also has unique wonders, which givers players a process of discovery, and this highlighting that Civilization 5 also prioritizes the player’s in-game journey.

[IzabellaParticipant Rupees: 400 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Kangwei! I think the podcast topic you discussed was super intriguing! I had never stopped to think about how the goal of the game designers can actually be an experience and replayability and how they both look in games. For example, I can imagine a game like Candy Crush prioritizing replayability as it is very easy to play and does not have much story or rules to follow, which is why it is vastly popular amongst people of all ages. One of my co-workers barely knows how to use their phone and consistently asks me to take their phone off silence, but they know how to play out so many levels of Candy Crush because it doesn’t involve much content. On the other hand, there are games such as Elden Ring that are rich in content and also take lots of time and skill to finish. Elden Ring would be an example of an experience game as it takes a long time to complete and has rich content. I think this podcast is definitely one that I would listen to because I am super interested in game design as well as the content behind stories. In addition, the experience of the player is definitely something we have been learning in the class and I always find it interesting to read or listen about! I think your reflection was great and you described the podcast very well.

[ShamarParticipant Rupees: 280 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hey Kangwei,
The podcast you listened to was fascinating, considering that we never stop thinking about the experience and replayability a game offers. I also have “a player’s experience in the game” as my key topic as well because it provides us with ways of how gamers can be drawn into playing a game; however, we never knew the difference between “experience” and “replayability.” With “replayability,” we tend to play minigames on our phones, such as candy crush, which involves no story other than completing each level within a limited time. Games that involve “experience” are games, such as God of War Ragnarok, that involves a long process of uncovering a story about Kratos and his son, Atreus, going on an adventure; in which it explores a particular theme of experience and intimacy between father and son.

[RobertParticipant Rupees: 300 RupeesRank: White Sword]

In summary, the podcast “Round Table on Matching Player Expectations” focuses on the challenge of creating a game that is challenging but not impossible, and balancing the perspectives of players and game designers. It covers the importance of complexity and depth in long-lasting games, the tension between making changes and preserving the original experience, and the impact of rewards on the player’s experience. Meanwhile, “Game Themes with Will Thompson” focuses on the discussion of game themes, with a specific focus on the controversy surrounding the game “Scramble for Africa”. The episode also touches on the changing landscape of games and the sensitivity towards cultural representation. The discussion is enriched with the personal experience of Will Thompson, who brings in the perspective of race. This podcast is recommended for those interested in the topic of race and the themes of games.

[EthanParticipant Rupees: 885 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Robert! I really like the topic of creating a game that is challenging enough to give a player a memorable experiencing, but keeping it simple enough for them to still have fun. As there are so many players with different skillsets, it is difficult to account for everyone. Some games overcome this obstacle by implementing various levels of difficulty such as easy, medium, hard, impossible. For games, that do not provide this aspect, I believe they must create a game where the challenge is not the main selling point of the game. Great post!

[RobertParticipant Rupees: 300 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hey, Ethan Thank you for replying to my post. I agree with your response to a certain extent. The only reason I might disagree is; some games are meant for better players. For example, Elden Ring is a game that is made for those more skillful players. However, it is a single-player game. Therefore, it does not really matter if there are different modes for their players because you do not play with anyone. However, multiplayer games should have some sort of mode so friends can enjoy them together.

[RobertParticipant Rupees: 300 RupeesRank: White Sword]

episode 214

[AlexisParticipant Rupees: 735 RupeesRank: White Sword]

From The Game Design Round Table podcast I chose to listen to episode #214 Game Themes with Will Thompson. I chose this episode because in Schell’s reading we learned that determining the theme of a game is a crucial part of the game writing/designing process as it lays the foundation of the game and all the other parts build off of the theme. Since we learned the importance of the theme in game writing I chose this to learn more about it in order to become more knowledgeable about game writing and theme choice/importance. The purpose of this episode on the topic of themes was due to a controversy over a game from GMT Games called “Scramble For Africa” in which the basis of the game is European powers entering Africa and dividing up the resources and basically anything of value to them. Obviously this game is seen as rightfully insulting and morally wrong to produce as it represents a time of colonialism in which the people of Africa were stripped of their belongings and land by force. GMT Games are known for making games that have historical themes which is why they put this theme and game into production without seeing the possible problems it will cause and how it can be seen as very insulting and politically incorrect. As for the gaming aspect of this specific game, the goal and action for players is essentially expansion and conquest, which is a very common game design for many other games, however with this theme choice the game took a negative turn which caused pushback from players. This shows how important theme choice is and how it should take a lot of time and consideration to come up with as it sets the tone for the entire game, and it can make or break its success, which in this case cost this particular game its success due to its offensive theme.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Alexis.

[AniParticipant Rupees: 715 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi! This episode seems super interesting! I plan to listen to this episode soon because I feel like it may give me some important insights into the themes in game design that I could incorporate into my analytical paper. I never realized that a game theme could come off as offensive or politically incorrect, but with the example you gave, I can see why it is so important to devise a theme only after making sure it is suitable for all audiences. Aside from being morally wrong, this would probably also have a negative selling vantage for the designers as they would be unlikely to benefit from word-of-mouth advertising and have now limited customers.

[EthanParticipant Rupees: 885 RupeesRank: White Sword]

This week, I decided to listen to episode #249, “The Game Design Round Table: Diving into MOBA Changes and Updates”. I decided to choose this episode because I personally play MOBAs myself like League of Legends for a considerable amount of time. During this time, I experienced many updates, bug fixes, reworks, and seasons that involved new champions, items, mechanics, visuals, and more. As I have been a consumer of MOBAs like League for a long time, I wanted to listen to the designer side of the game and gain more insight on the thought process between these precise changes throughout time. In this podcast, I learned a lot about the purpose behind MOBA changes. I liked how in the podcast, they stated that MOBA developers make changes in order to maintain a player base. Being that League of Legends has been relevant for over a decade, it was evident to me that the changes made have been successful and that these “random” changes are actually these developers listening to their audience. With so many characters in MOBAs, new characters released could make old characters better, ultimately changing the meta of the whole game and keeping the game fresh. This lets MOBA players enter each season or update with new mechanics to explore and coming back for more. In addition, more champions means more players learning those champions, and more team compositions that teams can try out. Going further than champions, items that change stats over the game can be changed over time, giving players chances to experiment with various item builds. With this many factors in play, it is very difficult to know whether an update will be successful or not. Even a developer is unable to predict what effects new updates will have with this many elements. For example, they describe in season 8 of League of Legends, that there were lots of issues that even made players threaten to quit as they implemented a change in the bottom lane that greatly changed the whole meta that the player base was used to for so long. One way in which MOBAs have adapted to this was to make playtest servers so that they can receive player opinions and maintain a larger majority of their audience. Overall, I thought this podcast was great as I could relate a lot to it from the consumer end of things. I would recommend this episode greatly to those who play MOBAs and especially those players who have played through many updates and meta changes.

[KangweiParticipant Rupees: 370 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Ethan:
I also noticed this episode when choosing the episode to listen since I am also a player of League of Legends. I really like the way you relate consumer end experience with designer end of things. I believe maintaining the number of players is crucial for any game. And the best way to maintaining a solid player base is to update the game content to make the game fresh. After reading your post, I also learned that one way League of Legend game designer communicates with players is building test servers.This test server enable players to test and provide feedback for the game contents that are going to be modified.
I really think this is an interesting episode and I am going to listen it this week.

[PragyaParticipant Rupees: 195 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

Include (1) the episode you listened to, (2) why you selected it, (3) what you learned, (4) who you would recommend check out this particular episode.
The episode I listened to was #238, “How Different Game Mediums Handle Edge Cases.” I selected this episode because I’m a computer science student and I’m interested in UI/UX design as a field. When you are trying to design an app or a website, you have to think a lot about what a typical user would want and how they’d act, but you also have to think about what people who have no idea what they’re doing will try to do, or what weird, unexpected things people might expect based on what you give them. That’s literally also called testing for edge cases, so I wanted to know how that worked out in game design as well. Funnily enough, one of the hosts was like “so I’m in UX design and we do the same thing…” so I guess I had the same thought process. What I learned was that it’s not just about how the game is designed as in, how will people try to bend the rules or add their own rules altogether (one thing I ran into with that recently was that people play Uno just, however they want! And since the game relies on instinct so much it’s hard to play by other peoples’ rules), but also in what atmosphere people want when they’re playing the game. This aspect makes sense, since sometimes some people are playing a game a lot more competitively than other people, or someone introducing a game to someone else might not get across right what the mood of the game is supposed to be. Also, I’m reminded of waaay back in the Fullerton reading when it talked about how an integral part of games is the weird game reality that everyone joins when they play a game together, where you do weird things like follow the rules of the game. So that game reality can be affected by the players themselves and what they are trying to do with the game. I guess at this point I have to recommend this episode to someone else who’s into UX design, since that would make us a crowd.

[Aaliyah WitherspoonParticipant Rupees: 315 RupeesRank: White Sword]

I listened to podcast #277 Diving into Cards as a Crossroads. I picked this because I was interested in learning more about card games in general. I’m always playing video games or games on the phone. Only on some occasions do I play card games so wanted to learn more about it. In this episode, the game designer, Isaac Vega, talks about how he incorporated cards in his board game. I learned that even with card games, there’s a lot of technicalities that goes into it. For example, he mentioned somewhere in the podcast there are certain standard sizing in cards, and how people, especially card players, don’t even want to see too much outside of that because they are used to it. It was pretty interesting. I would recommend this podcast to people who are really interested in card games or even board games.

[AniParticipant Rupees: 715 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi, I agree! I’m interested in learning more about the way game mechanics work in card games. I thought it was interesting when you said that most people don’t like playing outside of the standard-sizing of cards because they aren’t used to it. This just goes to show designers have to get really good at knowing their audience and keeping up with their likes and dislikes. Additionally, I feel like game designers of card games may have to work extra hard at player retention because they don’t have the advantage other designers have in capturing the players’ attention right away. I wonder what methods designers use to ensure players keep coming back for more. I will definitely listen to this episode!

[KangweiParticipant Rupees: 370 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Aaliyah!
I am really surprised on the point that there are a lot of technologies applied in card games. I never know that the cards in card game have standard sizing before I read your post. Thanks for letting me know it! When the cards’ size is changed, players might feel uncomfortable with it. I believe letting card players be used of the size of card is also one way of how game designers shape players’ in game experience.And yes, this is quite interesting!At the same time, I also think that this is a good way to consolidate your player base. When players are used to using your cards, they will be more likely to make repeat purchases and recommend it to others. This stickiness can help consolidate the player base and expand influence. At the same time, if the feel of your cards is good, players will have a good impression of your cards, which is also good for your brand image.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Kangwei.

[ShamarParticipant Rupees: 280 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hey Aaliyah,
This would’ve been the perfect podcast for me to listen to regarding the mechanics. Card games are rarely talked about and are overshadowed by video games because people pay more attention to video games rather than card games, and since video games are very popular with a lot of genres and systems to play the games on. There tends to be this misconception that card games are different from video games, where card games involve not only the design of the game but also the design of the mechanics and the design of the cards themselves. As you said, the production of the cards involves technology, which has something to do with the sizing of the card. This podcast would be worth listening to since we have limited knowledge of how card games are made and that video game has always been the topic of any conversation.

[ChristianaParticipant Rupees: 425 RupeesRank: White Sword]

I chose Episode 190: LISTENER QUESTIONS – CONS, KIDS, GAMES AND NAMES. I chose this episode because it was a Q&A-based episode and, consequently, addressed many topics that people who just got into game design, or are unfamiliar with it, like myself, are curious about it. In this episode, I learned about what goes into designing games for children. In the case of commercial games, children are not really involved at all inn the process.It is more about putting out a product that goes along with the brand. However, for educational games, children are involved from the beginning. The mechanics, gameplay, and such all revolve around how children interact and think about games and how to form your objective so as to best suit it.

I would recommend this episode who is interested in making a game directed at children, or just interested in children games in general. They also talk about branding in this episode, which I think is applicable to everyone regardless of their field in interest.

[ScottParticipant Rupees: 600 RupeesRank: White Sword]

This would’ve been a perfect episode for me to listen to, as the Question and Answer format of the podcast would have maybe addressed any questions that I might have been having about game design. This could have also helped me in writing my analytical paper. Children are such a huge target audience for game designers, and learning how to make a game more specificly tailored for kids could help a designer break into that target market easier. Branding is also an important subject discussed here, as like you stated, it can be pretty much applicable to everyone.

[ShamarParticipant Rupees: 280 RupeesRank: White Sword]

One podcast I listened to was episode #284, “Fertessa Allyse Talks Book of Villainy. I chose this podcast because I found Fertessa inspirational in building games that evoke emotions from the players and creating engagement for players exploring the world of living in the Book of Villainy. I also chose this podcast because black game designers are given the same spotlight as other non-black game designers, so I thought it would be interesting to explain the process of developing her game. During the podcast, she mentions how the difficulty in constructing her game involves a series of changes in ideas based on the critique she has been given by those who test her game. She also highlights the importance of the “Art of Critique” and the “Reception of Critique,” in which she expresses how the feedback she received from players has guided her in how she can improve her game and how the game can be enjoyable for all players. Critiquing also ties in with the game development process, in which she determines her game’s mechanism and layout.

[ChristianaParticipant Rupees: 425 RupeesRank: White Sword]

Hi Shamar!

I think it is interesting that the podcast episode you chose speaks on critique. I am curious as to how that works for games. I am familiar with it in the sense of writing, such as the peer reviews we have just done, but not in the terms of games. It is interesting to think one can receive criticism after fine-tuning and releasing a whole product, as opposed as through its progression. The game is already released so there is not much one can do, but I suppose it leaves areas that one can think and address in their next game. This is of interest to me as regardless of what game one creates, there will always be criticism, and it is important to take it and keep it in mind so as to make an even better game.

[PragyaParticipant Rupees: 195 RupeesRank: Magic Sword]

oh nooo I posted the week 4 response here by accident. this is so sad but i did get 5 rupees out of it

• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Pragya.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Pragya.

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