Strategy Can Be Fun?

It has been an amazing ten years! Thank you to everyone who listened! This is a short episode where I just talk a little bit about where I'm at, and why I'm deciding to end the Clockwork Game Design Podcast. Thank you to all of the amazing guests – DOZENS of them – over the […]

Hi all! Today I have a fascinating conversation with the brilliant Austin Anderson, who is I think the last of the guests that I'll have on the show from the Alt-F4 conference (along with Dr. Rachel Kowert and Kathleen Morrissey). In this conversation we talk about a bunch of AAA games, such as Detroit Become […]

Hi everyone! I come to you with another great conversation, with another super cool person that I met at the Alt-F4: Rebooting Community After Gamergate conference: Kathleen Morrissey. Kathleen is working on a PhD in computational media over at Worchester Polytechnic Institute, she's done all kinds of awesome academic stuff on the subjects of games, […]

Hi all! today I have a wide ranging conversation with Dr. Rachel Kowert, a researcher who studies the effects of games and also discusses a wide range of other pop culture topics, through her youtube channel Psychgeist. She's written and contributed to a lot of books (including a Psychgeist series, spoken at numerous events including […]

Hi all! The Clockwork Game Design Podcast has re-taken-over its own podcast space from the Bannet Bulletin for a week, to share with you this exciting conversation I just had with my old pal Ryan Rigney. His first published game, Fast Fast Laser Laser, is actually a game that I did all of the artwork […]

Above is an early screenshot of our combat system in the prototype for Free Tiya Bannet, which is coming along smoothly. The incredible UI art was just freshly finished by our artist, Wizbane, and oh my god I love it! Anyway, today I'm talking about our Impulse System, which is the core of the FF13-inspired […]

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! Don't forget: you can support my work by going to www.patreon.com/keithburgun and becoming a patron!  

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 … Introducing: the Bannet Bulletin! Read More »

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 … The RPG Report, and the worst things in RPGs Read More »

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 … RPG Questions, and Trails in the Sky FC Read More »

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 … Clockwork Game Design Podcast – Episode #94 – 2022 wrap-up Read More »

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 … Clockwork Game Design Podcast – The Final Fantasy Episode Read More »

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, … Strategy Can Be Fun on our own DRAGON BRIDGE Read More »

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 … Strategy Can Be Fun – Soren Johnson on OLD WORLD Read More »

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!

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 … Strategy Can Be Fun – Strategic Evaluation in Pax Pamir Read More »

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 Be Fun – Through The Ages, Playfulness and The Four Horsemen of Work Read More »

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 More »

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 and game design discourse with Dan Felder Read More »

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 Radisic Read More »

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 the lifespan of games with Brett Lowey Read More »

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 Protocol Read More »

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. Short Read More »

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 ideal design theory Read More »

  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 quarterbacking in co-op games Read More »

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 on indie strategy game design and development Read More »

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 games, and game dev survival Read More »

Today's show has two main topics: how do we prioritize what to do as solo devs working on large projects? And secondly, we discuss Dark Souls and the other Fromsoft games. Today's guest is Peter “Nomorebirds” Siecienski, who some might know as the winner of our Push the Lane Fan Art Contest, or as a … CGD Podcast: Solo-dev priorities, and Dark Souls with Pete Siecienski Read More »

On today's show, we have an interview with designer and theorist Fabian Fischer. Fabian is the designer behind Crimson Company, which is now running its fourth Kickstarter, which is currently doing incredibly well—at the time of this writing, it has over $33,000 pledged (and they were only asking or $11,000)! On the show, we discuss … Kickstarters and Game Design Theory with Fabian Fischer Read More »

Hi everyone! Today's episode goes into some depth about emergent complexity: what is it, what isn't it, why would we want it, and how do we get more of it? We talk about specific examples in games like 4X strategy games, and most importantly (because I'm making one), squad tactics games. I want to say … CGD Podcast Episode 73 – Emergent Complexity Read More »

Hey everyone! Weird times. I've actually been a little sick myself (don't worry, I'm doing all of the things) and less productive over the past week or so than I'd like to have been. I originally wanted to have a new podcast episode ready for you guys today but sadly because of how weird everything … Richard Terrell on Smash Bros and more Read More »

Today's show features a conversation with Arnold Rauers, one of the world's most successful single-player strategy game designers. We talked about the business of indie games, how Arnold makes things work, some thoughts on his latest game, Maze-Machina, and a lot more. If you haven't checked out any of the TinyTouchTales' games, I strongly recommend … A conversation with Arnold Rauers of TiNYTOUCHTALES Read More »

“Points quantify something which should remain in the realm of qualitative measurement.” This is the most succinct way that I know to express my problem, not so much with “score systems” per se as described in Ella Hoeppner's recent blog post – which also spurred a bunch of conversations on my (now daily!) Twitch stream … CGD Podcast Episode #70: Actor removal, and thoughts on score systems Read More »

Today on the Clockwork Game Design Podcast I have an interview with game developer & designer Brett Lowey (AKA BrickRoadDX), the lead (and only!) developer at BrainGoodGames. Under this company he has made a number of cool, interesting and fun single player strategy games which you should definitely check out (here they all are on … “Easy” Games, with Brett Lowey Read More »

Hi everyone! Today is one of those “a bunch of stuff” episodes, featuring a bit of a dev journal on stuff like Uninstall Academy (a very tiny gag game I released last week), Gem Wizards Tactics (yes, that's the name again), and a bunch more. I also talk about a bunch of games I've been … CGD Podcast Episode 66 – Dev journal, recent games, and asymmetry Read More »

Today on the show I have a conversation with Jeremiah Reid, a software dev and indie Rogue-like game developer. Jeremiah first came on my radar when he wrote this article on the topic of the “Indie Game Apocalypse”, wherein he mentioned my work and its difficulty getting press and sales, despite the fact that I … Prospects for Indie Devs, with Jeremiah Reid Read More »

Today I spoke with Elizabeth Hargrave. After playing her game Wingspan and reading some interviews with her, I thought she'd be a great person to have on to talk about some of the stuff I've been exploring in terms of strategy games and their relationship to violence, both mechanically and thematically speaking. She had a … A conversation with Elizabeth Hargrave Read More »

Today's episode is not a theory-heavy episode at all. Instead, we have a lot of practical advice and other game development thoughts that may be helpful to anyone else who, like me, wants to make and try to sell their own games. On the docket for today: How to not hate marketing (partially by not … How to not-hate marketing, Kickstarter tips, and my next big game Read More »

I'm deep in the weeds of setting up the Dragon Bridge Kickstarter, which should hopefully launch next week or so. But I wanted to share this quick bonus episode with you: a conversation with Jenny Bee, who has a masters in visual storytelling, is a creator of games, films and other narrative work, and—full disclosure—is … BONUS: Humane Storytelling with Jenny Bee Read More »

This is one of our longer episodes, coming in at 1 hour 10 minutes, and it's chock full of both theory and practice! For the theory bit, check out my conversation with Hopenager, a game developer and frequent chatter over at the kbgames discord, wherein we talk about binary goals versus score goals. Hopenager believes … Binary Goals with Hopenager, and Kickstarting an 18 Card Game with Adam Wilk Read More »

Hello everyone! Today I come to you bringing yet another great board game designer: Rob Daviau, probably best known at this point for his Legacy series games, particularly Pandemic Legacy, which is indeed awesome, and which even inspired an article of mine. But he's an extremely prolific designer overall who has dozens and dozens of … Rob Daviau Read More »

I've been saying this a lot recently, but this is a big one! Clocking in at nearly an hour and twenty minutes, this is, I think, the longest Clockwork Game Design Podcast episode yet. Eric Zimmerman is a game design instructor at the NYU Game Center, where he works with other CGD guests Naomi Clark, … Episode 60 – Eric Zimmerman on game design theory (also, randomness with Brett Lowey) Read More »

I can't believe I went this long without interviewing one of my biggest game design theory heroes, Geoff Engelstein. Together with designer, game design writer and fellow game design podcaster Isaac Shalev, they've written a book that seems like it might be kind of a big deal in this field. To quote a bit of … Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design – interview with Geoff Engelstein and Isaac Shalev Read More »

Episode 58 is HERE, with the incredibly awesome and prolific board (and video) game designer Tim Fowers! This was, in many ways, a model episode of the Clockwork Game Design Podcast, because we hit so many different (but relevant) topics involving the process of game design. Yay! Here's a few key items: Conventions/conferences – which … Tim Fowers Read More »

Hi everyone! Here is episode 57 of the Clockwork Game Design Podcast, where I give a bunch of updates on the games I'm devvin'. I talk a bunch about progress on both my Gem Wizards games and many of the game design struggles, particularly with the card game, which I'm deep in the design-weeds and … CGD Episode 57: Smoothness in game design (and other topics) Read More »

Today I talked to Dan Cook about competitive games, social games, and our objectives behind making games in the first place. This was one of my favorite conversations with one of my favorite game design theorists out there. His blog, Lost Garden, was literally THE blog (along with maybe some stuff from Anna Anthropy) that … DanC on the reasons for making games Read More »

Hey everyone! Today I have an interview with Daniel Moore – a joint podcast episode with his podcast, This Podcast Could Take Forever. I didn't know about his show, but he was a listener and he reached out and mentioned that since we both have backgrounds in games and music theory, we should have this … Daniel Moore on music theory, formalism, and difficulty Read More »