History & Games Lab Podcast @ University of Edinburgh

In this episode, University of Edinburgh graduate Eric Wood joins host Eduard Gafton to talk about his game The Last Samurai Rebellion and how students can get started with the world of wargaming.

In this episode, award-winning game designer Brian Train joins host Eduard Gafton to talk about his game Brief Border Wars and using a card-driven system to model the chaotic, stop-and-start nature of impromptu wars.

In this episode, game designer and professor James Coltrain joins host Eduard Gafton to talk about his game, Blackhaven, and how it explores racism, slavery and America's past.

In this episode, award-winning game designer Volko Ruhnke joins host Eduard Gafton to talk about his game Labyrinth - The War on Terror and how it presents guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency.

In this episode, game creator Tomislav Čipčić joins host Eduard Gafton to talk about his game Brotherhood & Unity and how it portrays the Bosnian War.

In this episode, game creator Dave Beck joins host Eduard Gafton to talk about Distilled and how this upcoming spirited strategy game started with a sabbatical spent in Dalkeith.

In this episode, game designer Cole Wehrle joins host Eduard Gafton to talk Pax Pamir, John Company and Wehrlegig Games' mission to ‘strive to publish beautiful games with historical themes that treat their subjects and their players seriously.'

In this episode, game designer Erika Svanoe and illustrator Erik Evensen join hosts Eduard Gafton and Hannah Weaver to talk Marrying Mr. Darcy and the process of adapting Jane Austen's most beloved novel.

Interview with Roberta Taylor In this episode, veteran game designer Roberta Taylor (Octopus' Garden, Creature Comforts) joins host Eduard Gafton to discuss cozy and historical games alike, the role of history in making games and the compromises made between historical accuracy and game design. Time Stamps 00:00:00 – Start 00:01:25 – How does a game like Creature Comforts come to be? 00:03:53 – A game shaped around coziness 00:22:39 – How and why Roberta got into game design 00:28:30 – What is the role of history in making games 00:37:31 – Where do you compromise? Historical accuracy or fun? Mentioned in this Episode Creature Comforts' Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kidstablebg/creature-comforts-0 Learn more about Creature Comforts: https://www.kidstablebg.com/creature-comforts Learn more about Octopus' Garden: https://www.valleygames.ca/archive/our-games/octopus-garden/ Roberta's Website: https://robertataylor.ca/ Roberta's Twitter: https://twitter.com/infiniteroberta Find our Podcasts Elsewhere Too Podcasts are also now available on our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPoemU_CP8tkXVpyU240LpbiXlTnBS2Zf. We are also exploring ways to record video as well. Seminar and Events A recording of the seminar “All hail the Stormcloaks, the true sons and daughters of Skyrim”: White Nationalism in Neo-Medieval Tropes in Bethesda Games delivered by Thomas Lecaque from Grand View University on 26 March is available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPoemU_CP8tniXBy6Vj0uiwKHiH5_meqz Contact Us If you have any feedback or would like to get in touch for a potential podcast appearance, our DMs are open on Twitter @HandGLab or you can email us at handglabpodcast@gmail.com and/or at eduardgafton@gmail.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handglab/ Facebook: History and Games Lab: https://www.facebook.com/historygamesedinburgh Linktree: https://linktr.ee/HistoryandGamesLab Copyright Disclaimer Intro/Outro Music: Call to Adventure by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3470-call-to-adventure License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

In this episode, game designer and author Joshua Gillingham (Althingi, The Gatewatch) joins new podcast host and producer Eduard Gafton to discuss the making of Althingi, working with crowdfunding platform Kickstarter and share advice for game creators everywhere. Mentioned in this Episode Althingi's Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joshuagillingham/althingi-a-viking-game-of-strength-and-influence Althingi on Outland Entertainment: https://outlandentertainment.com/work/althingi-one-will-rise/ Joshua's website: https://www.joshuagillingham.ca Joshua's book, The Gatewatch: https://www.crowsnestbooks.com/product/the-gatewatch/ Dr Jackson Crawford's Youtube Channel, one of the lead historical consultants on Assassin's Creed Valhalla: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXCxNFxw6iq-Mh4uIjYvufg Seminar and Events Our next seminar: 26 February at 5pm British Time: Deus Vult Ex Machina: The Crusades in Strategy Computer Games by Robert Houghton from the University of Winchester: https://historyandgames.shca.ed.ac.uk/seminars-and-events/ Contact Us If you have any feedback or would like to get in touch for a potential podcast appearance, our DMs are open on Twitter @HandGLab or you can email us at historyandgamesstudentgroup@mlist.is.ed.ac.uk and/or at eduardgafton@gmail.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handglab/ Facebook: History and Games Lab: https://www.facebook.com/historygamesedinburgh Copyright Disclaimer Intro/Outro Music: Call to Adventure by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3470-call-to-adventure License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

In this episode, veteran game designer Lew Pulsipher (Britannia, Stalingrad Besieged, Dragon Rage and many more) joins James and Gianluca to discuss creating historical games, how gamers have changed over the decades, and how creating games is as much about what you leave out as what you include. Mentioned in this episode: Pulsipher Games website: http://pulsiphergames.com/ Lew's Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/LewGameDesign Britannia from PSC Games: http://www.pscgames.co.uk/portfolio-item/britannia-classic-and-new-duel-edition/ History and Games Lab Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/historygamesedinburgh

Wargaming has deep roots in history, but how does historical research inform wargames design? In this episode, host James Holloway talks to Giacomo Santopietro of Sir Chester Cobblepot Games and Gianluca Raccagni of the Edinburgh University History and Games Lab to talk about The Fall of the King (currently on Kickstarter), the first games project to come out of the History and Games Lab. Mentioned in this episode: The Fall of the King on Kickstarter: kickstarter.com/projects/tophatgames/the-fall-of-the-kingtm Gianluca Raccagni's blog posts about The Fall of the King: tophat.games/blog Cobblepot Games website: cobblepotgames.com Top Hat Games website: tophat.games History and Games Lab Facebook page: facebook.com/historygamesedinburgh

Although there are very few purely historical role-playing games, history still plays an important part in their design. In this episode, hosts James Holloway and Gianluca Raccagni spoke with Jon Hodgson of Handiwork Games and Davide Mana of Acheron Books about their work on upcoming historically-inspired role-playing projects: Handiwork's Beowulf: Age of Heroes and Acheron's Brancalonia: The Spaghetti Fantasy RPG. Both games are now successfully funded on Kickstarter. Mentioned in this episode: Brancalonia Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SpaghettiFantasyRPG/ Brancalonia Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/acherongames/brancalonia-the-spaghetti-fantasy-rpg Handiwork Games: https://handiwork.games Beowulf Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonhodgsonmaptiles2/beowulf-age-of-heroes This episode's music is "Iris Hence Away" from Semele by Handel, performed by the MIT Symphony Orchestra and used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.