Game development process of designing the content and rules of a game
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In this podcast, I talk about the second set of the Shards of Alara block, Conflux.
In this podcast, I call the upkeep step the appendix of Magic. Why? Listen in as I talk all about the origin and history of upkeep.
SummaryIn this episode of Tabletop SportCast, James discusses his annual plan for 2026, themed around women's sports, and outlines the structure and goals for the podcast. He shares insights on project planning, including quarterly projects, tournament structures, and game design goals, emphasizing the importance of intentionality in gaming and community engagement.KeywordsTabletop Sports, Women's Sports, Podcast Planning, Game Design, Sports Board Games, Annual Plan, Project Management, Tournaments, Featured Table Fridays, Quarterly ProjectsTakeawaysThe theme for 2026 is the Year of Women's Sports.Podcast structure will include seasonal shows instead of quarterly reviews.Focus on spotlighting great games and community projects.Annual project planning includes various sports-themed projects.Quarterly projects will align with the sports calendar.Reduced tournament frequency allows for better pacing.Featured Table Fridays will highlight new games weekly.Game design goals include debuting a new horse racing game.Project planning will involve sprints for tangible progress.Community engagement is key for feedback and guest suggestions.TitlesThe Year of Women's Sports: A New FocusRevamping the Podcast Structure for Better FlowSound bites"I'm going to do four seasonal shows.""I want to bring new games to the table.""This is gonna be a better story arc for me."Chapters00:00 Embracing the Go-With-the-Flow Gamer00:27 The Year of Women's Sports03:23 Podcast Structure and Goals09:44 Annual Project Planning16:43 Quarterly Projects and Thematic Focus23:59 Tournaments and Retro Replays28:16 Filling the Gaps: Featured Table Fridays30:50 Game Design Goals and Future Plans35:05 NEWCHAPTER
Love & Deep Space celebrates its 2nd anniversary with a massive royal-themed update, CD Projekt sells GOG back to its co-founder, Meta acquires AI startup Manus, Com2uS urges studios to take bigger creative risks, and Gamebyte raises $1M for AI game creation tools.This week connects live-ops spectacle, founder-led platform resets, and Big Tech's AI consolidation into one clear story about where gaming is headed in 2026.What we cover• Love & Deep Space Version 5.0 anniversary• Why live-ops are becoming cultural events• CD Projekt selling GOG back to its founder• Meta acquiring Manus AI• Com2uS pushing cross-media IP• Gamebyte's AI game creation fundingGet our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricPodcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipgChapters00:00 — Love & Deep Space anniversary madness01:45 — Live-ops as global IP events03:10 — CD Projekt sells GOG back to founder04:40 — Why this GOG deal actually matters05:45 — Meta acquires Manus AI07:05 — Com2uS calls for creative risk07:10 — Gamebyte raises $1M for AI game tools---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
#399"Half trash compactor, half empty."Roundtable2025.07.24Ellen's back for a serendipitously in-sync pair of metacognition-rich roundtable topics. In this episode, Lydia shares a chapter from one of her favorite books and tries to explain ganache while Stephen laments how easy it is to duct tape on features instead of solving problems. Together they discover four brains are better than one when it comes to figuring out how to get out of your head. Composting0:09:56Lydia SymchychMisc.Writing Down the Bones - Natalie GoldbergBonbon - WikipediaThe Croissant Express diner mentioned in the book, formerly located on the corner of the Uptown Theater building.Overdesigning0:36:00Stephen McGregorGame DesignMuralMirovia. "Writing at Night: Lewis Carroll, John Milton, and Me" by Mike Mason. https://www.mikemasonbooks.com/writing-at-night-lewis-carroll-john-milton-and-me/
In this Game Radar episode, we revisit dozens of games reviewed in 2025 and check what actually happened to them. Most didn't fail; they decayed. A few refused to die. And one game completely broke the curve. This is a brutal, data-backed look at what survives in mobile gaming.What you'll learn• Why most games decay instead of dying• The difference between zombies and cockroaches• Why ad-only games hit revenue ceilings• How hybrid monetization keeps games alive• Why UA quality beats game design• How Tasty Travels took over the merge categoryGet our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop--------------------------------------PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.- Scale fast- Keep your shares- Drawdown only as needed- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors---------------------------------------For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.Our sponsor FastSpring:Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 yearsThey power top mobile publishers around the worldLaunch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricPodcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg00:00 — What Game Radar actually measures02:10 — The podcast curse explained05:00 — Zombies vs cockroaches08:40 — Why ad-only games cap out11:30 — Hybrid monetization survivors14:10 — UA quality beats game design17:20 — Tasty Travels breaks the radar21:00 — Merge category reality check25:00 — Elixirs of youth in mobile29:10 — What studios should copy32:10 — Final radar takeaways---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
Send us a textIf I have read it once in an online forum I have read it a thousand times.“I want to play game X but my players won't play anything but D&D”I always want to fire back with get new players, but that isn't necessarily realistic and besides it's not a good answer.Over the years I've played a ton of different games and game systems. I personally have never hard a difficult time convincing people to try something different, but maybe that's because I'm good at convincing people to try something different.Taking a step back I can see where someone might struggle with pitching a new game idea. Or have to overcome the inherent biases of their players who just want to keep doing the thing that they like instead of trying new stuff.So, for our last episode of Season 3 and 2025, Christina and I are going to talk about pitching a game idea to your players. We are going to give you some tips and tricks to help sell them on the idea, but first let's start with Christina.Christina, Pitch Mike and I a game idea to make us want to play.[Kick to Christina]It's only fair that I give it a shot. Here goes.[Steve's Pitch]
This episode covers one of the least sexy but most dangerous blind spots in mobile ad monetization:If you don't actively control what ads appear in your game,your retention is being taxed without you noticing.Felix breaks down how creative & category blocking really works across networks and why most publishers misunderstand it.Key truths from the episode:Blocking is mostly reactive, not proactiveMediation is not a global kill switch — you must block ads on every networkCategory blocking alone is never enoughSome networks give full control, others give almost noneAggressive end cards silently kill retentionRevenue loss from cleaner ads is much smaller than people fear (~12%)Having a centralized block list is a massive operational advantage“Parity” is the only language networks respect when negotiating ad formatsGet our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop--------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricPodcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg00:00 — Why ad quality quietly kills retention01:45 — Why blocking is mostly reactive03:30 — Category blocking: what it actually solves05:40 — Why category blocking is never enough07:20 — Mediation myth: why ads aren't blocked globally09:40 — Why you need a centralized block list12:00 — Network-by-network control differences14:40 — Aggressive end cards & hidden retention damage17:30 — Revenue trade-offs (the real numbers)18:45 — Final takeaway---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
In dieser Folge sprechen Christina und Florian über ihre diesjährigen Excel-Listen und ihre Spiele des Jahres 2025.
In episode 131 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with game designer Matt Leacock about his “infamous” game Pandemic. Matt explains how his path into game design was shaped by watching his artsy uncle create games as a hobby and by growing up surrounded by “bad” games from the 1970s that he couldn't help but try […]
Design and implementation of a turn based real estate game in twelve steps using MonoGame and C#.
We lay out our 2026 predictions for mobile gaming - from ad monetization ceilings and creative stealing to web-to-app onboarding, roguelite growth, and AI's real impact on UA. No hype. Just incentives.What we cover• $3M/day ad-monetized games• Why creative stealing will go mainstream• Which genres are about to be hijacked• Block Blast vs Free Fire DAU fight• Web → App onboarding for games• Playables as scaling templates• The next roguelite wave• Why AI hits marketing firstKey takeaway2026 won't reward originality - it will reward efficiency at scale.Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop--------------------------------------PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.- Scale fast- Keep your shares- Drawdown only as needed- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors---------------------------------------For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.Our sponsor FastSpring:Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 yearsThey power top mobile publishers around the worldLaunch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricPodcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg00:00 — Why predictions usually suck03:10 — $3M ad-revenue day prediction07:40 — Black Friday eCPMs explained10:30 — Creative stealing goes mainstream14:00 — Hijacking organic genres (Solitaire → Runners)18:40 — Block Blast vs Free Fire DAU war22:40 — Web → App onboarding for games28:30 — Playables as scaling templates33:30 — Roguelites as next growth genre38:10 — AI impact: marketing vs game design45:00 — Open-source AI & creative quality leap51:30 — Final reflections & 2026 outlook---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
OpenAI launches an app store inside ChatGPT, AI demand explodes RAM prices by 200%, Valve kills the cheapest Steam Deck, and Netflix keeps pushing deeper into gaming. This week's news shows how AI is now directly reshaping gaming platforms, hardware economics, and distribution.What we cover:• OpenAI's new GPT App Directory• Monetization and games inside ChatGPT• Why AI demand broke the RAM market• Why consoles and Steam Deck prices are rising• Micron exiting consumer memory• Netflix acquires Ready Player Me• Warner Bros deal still unresolved• Tencent vs Sony settlement• Game Awards viewership growth• Cozy PC hits inspiring mobile• League of Legends roadmap• EA acquisition moves forwardGet our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop--------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricPodcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipgChapters0:00 — OpenAI turns ChatGPT into a platform01:15 — Apps, monetization & why this matters for games02:40 — AI demand breaks the RAM market03:55 — Why gaming hardware pays the price05:05 — Steam Deck price jump explained06:10 — Netflix doubles down on gaming & avatars07:15 — Industry quick hits (Tencent, Game Awards, cozy games)08:30 — What this means for gaming in 202609:10 — Final takeaway---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
I had the grand opportunity to cover the 50th Aniversary of the Toronto International Film Festival. With animation being one of my favourite topics in the world, I am grateful that I was able to join this epic conversation and now share it with you. :) DIALOGUES: Creative Visions in Animated Feature Films is a specific TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) event/panel where acclaimed directors like Domee Shi (Pixar's Elio), Mamoru Hosoda (Belle, Summer Wars), and Momoko Seto (Dandelion's Odyssey) discuss balancing artistic vision with studio realities, creative authorship, and the future of bold animation, showcasing diverse global perspectives. This dialogue offers insights into the challenges and triumphs of making visionary animated features, featuring both indie and major studio voices. From intimate, auteur-driven projects to collaborations with major studios, discover how directors Domee Shi (Elio), Momoko Seto (Dandelion's Odyssey), Mamoru Hosoda (Scarlet), and Kid Koala (Space Cadet) balance artistic integrity with industry realities, and what it takes to make animated films that captivate audiences and spark global imaginations. Join us for a candid conversation about creative authorship, industry pressures, and the evolving space for bold, visionary animation. Domee Shi began as a story intern at Pixar Animation Studios in 2011 and was soon hired as a story artist on the Academy Award–winning Inside Out. She went on to work on The Good Dinosaur, Incredibles 2, and Toy Story 4. In 2015, she was greenlit to write and direct Bao, which won the Oscar for Best Animated Short. She made her feature directorial debut with 2022's Oscar-nominated Turning Red and most recently co-directed Elio, released June 2025. Born in Chongqing, China, and raised in Toronto, Shi now lives in Oakland, California. Momoko Seto was born in Tokyo and lives in Paris. She studied at Le Fresnoy - National Studio of Contemporary Arts. Her short film series Planet includes Planet Z (11) and Planet Sigma (15). The winner of the FIPRESCI Award at Cannes Critics' Week, Dandelion's Odyssey (25) is her feature film debut. Mamoru Hosoda was born in Toyama, Japan. He has worked on numerous animated series and directed the features One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (05), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (06), Summer Wars (09), Wolf Children (12), The Boy and the Beast (15) which played at the Festival, Mirai (18), and Belle (21). Scarlet (25) is his latest film. Kid Koala (Eric San) is a Montreal-based DJ, composer, and graphic novelist. He directed Space Cadet, his first animated feature based on his graphic novel, which premiered at the Berlinale and will have its North American Premiere at TIFF 50. Known for genre-defying albums and live shows, he has also scored acclaimed films, series, and video games. Moderator Theresa Scandiffio is the Associate Dean of Animation and Game Design at Sheridan College. Prior to joining Sheridan, Scandiffio led archival and curatorial projects at museums, festivals, and universities in Toronto, Chicago, and Orlando. From 2010–2020, Scandiffio was a member of the programming team that launched the Toronto International Film Festival's year-round home, TIFF Lightbox, where she led the Learning, Heritage, and Community Outreach divisions. Scandiffio served as an Ontario delegate for the 2015 Governor General Canadian Leadership Conference and was a 2017 Civic Action DiverseCity Fellow. She received her PhD in Cinema and Media studies from the University of Chicago. Key Participants & Films Mentioned: Domee Shi: Elio (Pixar) Momoko Seto: Dandelion's Odyssey (Indie/Artistic) Mamoru Hosoda: Scarlet (Japan's Studio Chizu) Kid Koala: Space Cadet (Independent) Themes Explored: Creative Authorship vs. Industry: How directors maintain their unique style within large production environments. Industry Pressures: Navigating financial and commercial demands in animation. Evolving Landscape: The growing space for unique, visionary animation. Global Perspectives: Highlighting both auteur-driven projects and major studio collaborations. Stay connected with me here: https://www.instagram.com/shesallovertheplacepodcast
#375Digital Escape RoomsInterview2024.11.28All of your hosts are together in the Clubhouse for a special interview! Lydia Symchych is an impact game designer who has been working with Ellen over the last year. Today, she shares her experience of making an escape room that needed to be rendered in both "physical" and and digital environments. Also, sound effects and pillows.In the USA, November 28th is Thanksgiving Day, and November 29th is National Native American Heritage Day. Happy holidays, if you're in the USA—and if you're not, we hope you have something to be thankful for.
In today's episode we talk about Introducing New Players To Role Playing. What is the best way to introduce new players to role playing. How should you go about introducing new players to the hobby? What types of games work best? What can you do to be most successful in bringing new players into the hobby? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode.Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.comor Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGamingPlease leave us a review or a five star rating wherever you get your podcast.
In this Christmas Special episode, we review 136 AI-generated mobile game creatives and break down the real state of AI in UA. Fake people are now nearly indistinguishable from real UGC, art styles can be swapped instantly, and “good enough” quality is all that matters. This is not future talk — this is what's scaling right now.What you'll learn• Why fake UGC finally crossed the uncanny line• How to spot AI (and why players don't)• Why “good enough” beats perfect• How consistent AI characters are built• Why waifus are everywhere• How one prompt becomes 10+ creatives• Why creative laziness is increasing• Why King Shot remains the benchmark• Why AI creatives will dominate 2026Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop--------------------------------------PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.- Scale fast- Keep your shares- Drawdown only as needed- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors---------------------------------------For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.Our sponsor FastSpring:Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 yearsThey power top mobile publishers around the worldLaunch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricPodcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg00:00 — Christmas AI Creative Trends intro03:00 — “Good enough” AI and upscaling basics06:30 — Fake UGC: why players can't tell anymore10:00 — Spotting AI: physics, lighting, overlap14:00 — Consistent characters & real AI pipelines18:00 — King Shot's AI leap & “no ads” messaging23:00 — Waifu domination & style iteration29:30 — Volume, laziness & stitched creatives34:00 — 136 creatives later: what actually matters38:00 — Final takeaway & 2026 prediction---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
Send us a textWelcome to You Heard it Here Last, where we talk about news, you've already heard.https://www.enworld.org/threads/tolkien%E2%80%99s-writing-desk-on-auction-at-christies.716325/Christie's Action House is hosting a live auction in December, 2025 called Groundbreakers: Icons of our Time and in that auction, you will find a simple 19th Century Merton's College Desk that just happened to be owned by JRR Tolkien. The desk is going for a deal at somewhere between 50 and 80 thousand Pounds.ChristinaYou don't strike me as much of a collector? Do these things interest you?[Kick to Christina]Along with the desk they also have the Winchcombe Meteorite, the Kenbak-1 First Personal Computer, and the original cover artwork for the first edition of Warhammer. Definitely some cools stuff for the collector out there.Next up we have two of our favorite things; Netflix and D&D.Yep, I read that in my sarcasm voice.https://www.enworld.org/threads/shawn-levy-provides-update-on-netflix-d-d-show.716209/Shawn Levy the producer for the upcoming live action D&D Show title Forgotten Realms gave a brief update on what's been going on behind the scenes with the show and his answers are, well, Interesting. Levy said "I think that the reason it's taken so long and the reason why it is a challenging process is you're not adapting story IP, You're adapting a world and a lexicon and a spirit, but story needs to be invented largely from scratch. And it needs to be invented in a way that feels organic to everything that's great about DnD. So that one is in very active every day chipping-away-at-it development at Netflix."Let me translate that for you…This show is going to suck.Christina, what do you think?[Kick to Christina]And finally, from all of us to all of you. Whatever you believe in and however you believe it. Just be happy. And there you have it, all the news, you've already heard.
In this Steam Scanner episode, Jakub breaks down the most wishlisted games on Steam right now and explains why wishlist data is one of the strongest early indicators of future hits. From co-op horror and cozy games to chore sims and Survivor-style IP plays, this episode is about spotting demand before charts do.What you'll learn• Why Steam wishlists predict success• How Donut County inspired Hole.io• Why co-op horror keeps exploding• Which games are perfect for mobile translation• Why chore sims scale so well• Why cozy games never die• How art style impacts CPI• Which Steam hits should not go mobileKey takeawaySteam isn't just a PC platform; it's the best early warning system for future mobile hits.Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop--------------------------------------PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.- Scale fast- Keep your shares- Drawdown only as needed- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors---------------------------------------For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.Our sponsor FastSpring:Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 yearsThey power top mobile publishers around the worldLaunch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricJoin our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipgChapters00:00 — Why Steam wishlists matter02:10 — Donut County → Hole.io: why wishlists predict hits05:00 — Co-op horror wishlist explosion08:10 — Chore sims as perfect mobile candidates11:20 — Cozy games & long-tail demand14:10 — Art style, CPI & visual signals16:40 — Warhammer Survivors & IP leverage18:40 — What should (and shouldn't) go mobile20:20 — Final takeaways & predictions---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
In this episode, we break down why modern mobile UA is no longer won by great ideas, but by systems that can ship hundreds or thousands of creatives every month. With real data, real examples, and hard truths, this is a deep dive into the creative arms race dominating mobile games.What you'll learn• Why creative velocity beats creative talent• Why “new creatives in last 30 days” predicts scale• How games produce 23,000 creatives per month• How Meta allocates traffic to new uploads• Why testing frameworks break at scale• Why CEOs underinvest in creative production• How one hit creative can change everything• Why UA financing matters more than everKey takeawayIf you can't ship fast, you can't win, no matter how good your ideas are.Improve your creatives: https://payhip.com/b/tu4nkGet our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop--------------------------------------PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.- Scale fast- Keep your shares- Drawdown only as needed- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors---------------------------------------For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.Our sponsor FastSpring:Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 yearsThey power top mobile publishers around the worldLaunch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricSpecial guest: Ridzki Syahputera/https://www.linkedin.com/in/ridzkisyahputera/Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg00:00 — Why creative talent no longer wins04:10 — The real bottleneck: creative velocity08:10 — Meta's algorithm & why new creatives get boosted12:40 — How games ship 23,000 creatives per month18:30 — Why testing frameworks fail at scale23:55 — Data proof: revenue vs creative volume29:45 — Why CEOs don't understand creative costs34:20 — The myth of Pareto creatives38:10 — Financing the creative arms race41:20 — Final takeaway---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
This week in mobile gaming and entertainment:Unity risks another developer revolt with a new Enterprise fee, Warner Bros rejects a $108B Paramount bid in favor of Netflix, and Sensor Tower data shows casino, 4X and Solitaire hybrids dominating both revenue and downloads.What we cover:• Unity's new Enterprise Minimum Commitment Program• Why developers are calling it “blackmail”• How much Unity may charge top studios ($250k–$2M/year)• Netflix vs Paramount: who controls Warner Bros• Why streaming platforms now dictate entertainment power• US vs Global IAP revenue differences• Why 4X dominates globally• Why Solitaire & hybrid mashups are exploding in downloads• DAU charts that reveal ad-monetization giantsGet our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop--------------------------------------PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.- Scale fast- Keep your shares- Drawdown only as needed- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors---------------------------------------For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.Our sponsor FastSpring:Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 yearsThey power top mobile publishers around the worldLaunch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricJoin our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipgChapters00:00 — Unity Enterprise fee backlash03:30 — Unity's broken incentives05:20 — Netflix vs Paramount for Warner Bros07:30 — US revenue weather09:00 — Global trends & DAU growth---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
This episode is a pure creative trend reality check for November 2025.The big truth that runs through the entire discussion:Players don't care. Platforms don't care. Only performance matters.Across dozens of examples, the episode shows how AI, trend theft, playable abuse, fake ads, and extreme creative volume have become the default winning strategy.Key themes:King Shot is no longer a game - it's a creative genreAI-generated creatives are now indistinguishable from real UGCCreative success = copying what's scaling right nowPlayables no longer need to match gameplay - they need to match trendsCentury Games-level volume is becoming the new minimum barEthics, originality, and “gameplay match” arguments are effectively deadThis episode is less about what's trending and more about why the rules changed.Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop--------------------------------------PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.- Scale fast- Keep your shares- Drawdown only as needed- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors---------------------------------------For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.Our sponsor FastSpring:Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 yearsThey power top mobile publishers around the worldLaunch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricPodcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg00:00 — Intro, Christmas chaos & why nobody cares04:00 — Golden Goblins & King Shot becoming a genre09:00 — AI creatives reach “can't tell anymore” level14:30 — JigSolitaire & Solitaire playables hijacking UA19:30 — Fake ads, gross hooks & emotional manipulation25:30 — Century Games creative volume insanity31:30 — The real meta: steal fast, iterate faster, ship more---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
Fancy setting us a gaming challenge? Get in touch here!In the final episode before Christmas we tackle a stealthy challenge that promises to redefine the stealth game genre.... but no one will ever know as it's so stealthy! Thanks for listening and please leave us a review and subscribe if you enjoyed it. It really helps us out. Also please get in touch with us at @gamingblendpod or thegamingblenderpod@gmail.com with your ideas for new games and challenges.Keep blending!
Send us a textI remember being a young roleplayer diving into my first rpg's. Character creation was similar in most of the games on the market. Make a very basic character, adventure with them, kill monsters, find treasure, gain experience points, gain levels, get more skills, rinse, repeat. Back in the day we would memorize the XP charts so we would know when our characters would level up.Those old TTRPG's were bad enough, but when computer programmers took their favorite table top games and ported them into the computer world the character advancement concept of “leveling up” started to look like heroine dealers giving their junkie friends the first taste for free.Over the years character advancement has been closely tied to the leveling up concept, but I've noticed something interesting as I've become an older and more mature gamer.I don't care about leveling up.It's not the character advancement I'm looking for. I think I first became aware of the anti-leveling up faction when I first started playing Traveller all of those years ago. In Traveller you create a seasoned, experienced character. After character creation nothing really changes. And then there was Call of Cthulhu a game in which your character is more likely to get worse as you play and not better.Funny enough, those are my two favorite roleplaying games.In this episode Christina, and I are going to talk about character advancement. The traditional methods and why it was innovative and important at the time and the current ideas of character advancement and how they have changed over the years.First let's start with the Doc.Christina, what are you personal thoughts on character advancement, before we get into all the scientific nitty gritty?Kick to Christina
In this episode of Two & a Half Gamers, Felix, Jakub, Jim Payne and Dan Sack go deep on the future of mobile ad monetization. From MoPub to MAX to CloudX, this conversation explains why mediation is outdated, why publishers are trapped in black boxes, and how AI-driven supply-side tools can finally put control back in publishers' hands.What you'll learn• Why classic mobile mediation is a legacy workaround• How mobile ads differ fundamentally from desktop advertising• Why publishers can't see or trust most auctions today• What “monetization as code” actually means• How AI agents can automate pricing & floor optimization• Why fair, inspectable auctions matter• Why retention-focused publishers are underserved• Who CloudX is built for (and who it's not)https://www.cloudx.io/Special guests:Jim Payne https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpayne/Dan Sack https://www.linkedin.com/in/dansack/Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop--------------------------------------PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.- Scale fast- Keep your shares- Drawdown only as needed- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors---------------------------------------For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.Our sponsor FastSpring:Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 yearsThey power top mobile publishers around the worldLaunch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricPodcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipgChapters00:00 — Why mobile mediation is broken08:20 — Publisher-first philosophy16:55 — AI agents & monetization as code24:10 — Auction transparency & trust33:30 — Who wins in the next era---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
In episode 130 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with game designer Joe Hout about his fairytale-themed trick-taking game, 3 Chapters, accessibility in gaming, and his design journey. Joe shares how his path into game design began by tweaking games he loved and then took off after completing a passion-project game he self-published via Kickstarter. […]
JigSolitaire might be the most deceptive (and brilliant) ad-monetized puzzle game of 2025.Zero solitaire.Full jigsaw.11M downloads.2.3M DAU.$0 IAP.$130k–$150k/day in ads.We break down how Gaming Cat pulled it off.What you'll learn• Why this “Solitaire” game contains no solitaire• How the jigsaw core is polished enough to scale• Why auto-fuse, auto-switch & level pacing matter• How banners + interstitials = $100k/day• Why the game's UA is pure bait-and-switch genius• Why the lack of creatives is shocking• Why AppLovin upload-only is printing money• How this scales in 2025's ad econGet our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop--------------------------------------PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.- Scale fast- Keep your shares- Drawdown only as needed- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors---------------------------------------For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.Our sponsor FastSpring:Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 yearsThey power top mobile publishers around the worldLaunch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricPodcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-3bckldvr8-8PXvzciMWdheOzED9hq0SAChapters00:00 — JigSolitaire intro03:00 — Gameplay & fusing05:40 — Monetization09:40 — Daily challenge & albums15:00 — UA, creatives & scaling---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
There are a lot of costs you can pay other than mana. In this episode, I talk about different types of resources in Magic.
This is my fourth and final episode talking about 30 big design evolutions since I started working at Wizards of the Coast in October 1995. This is based on a three-part series I did in my Making Magic column.
This week's episode breaks down the biggest global entertainment + gaming business stories: Netflix vs Paramount fighting over Warner Bros, Disney investing $1B into OpenAI, Duolingo partnering with Genshin, Pokémon TCG's $1B year, Activision slowing CoD, Merge Mayor's real AI use cases, Rockstar layoffs, Meta abandoning the Metaverse, and Google bringing Gemini to ads.What you'll learn• Why Warner Bros could reshape streaming power• Why Paramount's hostile $108B bid might win• Why Netflix still has no gaming strategy• Why Disney opening 200 IPs to OpenAI is historic• Duolingo's shift from learning → gamified reward engine• Pokémon TCG's billion-dollar year• Why CoD is slowing down releases• How Merge Mayor actually uses AI the right way• Rockstar's union conflict• Meta's $70B metaverse collapse• Google Gemini for ads (2026)Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shopThis is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricPodcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipgChapters00:00 — WB bidding war04:20 — Disney × OpenAI08:10 — Duolingo + Pokémon TCG12:45 — Activision + AI17:30 — Rockstar layoffs, Meta cuts, Google ads---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
In today's episode we talk about Giving Magic a Flare. How can you make magic more meaningful in your game? What does the added description offer to your game? How can magical flare improve the narrative experience? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode.Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.comor Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGamingPlease leave us a review or a five star rating wherever you get your podcast.
Sunday City looks like GTA… but it's actually one of the most brilliant social casino reveals of 2025.In this episode, we break down how Kefir built a perfect illusion onboarding, why the casino core is so polished, why the LiveOps/meta is shockingly advanced, and what the studio must fix (creatives!) to scale into the next Top Tycoon-level monster.What you'll learn• Why the GTA illusion onboarding is top-3 of the year• How Sunday City hides → reveals → embraces its casino core• Why this is Social Casino 3.0, not a clone• LiveOps structure: yoga, cruise ship, treasure digging, Wheel of Wonders• Why albums, star upgrades, and idle chips matter• What Kefir got right — and wrong — about creatives• Why they need 2× the creative output to compete with Chinese giants
Episode 362 where we talk with Returning Special Guest WilhelmShakespeare about Rockstar’s Union Firings, Mainframe Computers, AI slowing coders down, A revisit of the Nintendo Summoning Patent, and more! Join the conversation with us LIVE every Monday on twitch.tv/2nerdsinapod at 9pm CST. Viewer questions/business inquiries can be sent to 2nerdsinapodcast@gmail.com Follow us on twitter @2NerdsInAPod […]
Send us a textWelcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you've already heard.We have a little D&D announcement coming out of Wizards of the Coast that I'm actually kind of interested in.https://www.enworld.org/threads/wizards-of-the-coast-re-registers-dark-sun-with-uspto.716113/Wizards of the Coast recently filed an application to register Dark Sun in the US, a sign that D&D could be bringing back the campaign setting in the near future. That's the opening sentence to the article about the move on EN world. The article goes on to point out that the trademark on Dark Suns lapsed a year ago and that this might be basic paperwork, but I'm kinda holding out hope.Dark Sun was an original campaign world set on a post-apocalyptic desert planet and in my opinion the only interesting setting D&D has ever had. It was dark, gritty, and at the time of it's release in 1991 genre-bending. It was also a little controversial at the time and I think it would be even more so today. The setting had slavery, genocide, and leaned into racial themes such as the “muls” a half human half dwarf created for forced labor. I'm not sure those would fly today.Chirstina, this seems like a setting just dripping with ethical issues and your our ethical expert…thoughts?[Kick to Christina]Next on our list is a cultural mile marker. One of those things that can really tell you where you are at in the great timeline. If you doubted that roleplaying had become a common hobby then this is the final piece of information you have been waiting for to change your mind.https://www.enworld.org/threads/review-of-how-to-dungeon-master-parenting.716272/This new book, designed for expecting families breaks down parenting in a way that gamers will understand. Move over Dr. Spock, we have How to Dungeon Master Parenting. While I haven't read the book, the article on EN World is enough to sell me on it.Christina, from a cultural standpoint, how important is a book like this that mergers our favorite hobby with raising kids?[Kick to Christina]And there you have it, all the news that you've already heard.
Marketability tests don't work the way most studios think. CTR ≠ CPI. Clickers ≠ players.In this episode, Matej tears down the biggest misconceptions about testing ideas, shows why personas don't matter in 2025, and walks step-by-step through the exact CPI test setup he uses for real market validation.What you'll learn• Why CTR tests are misleading and often pointless• How CPI tests simulate the real user funnel• Why personas are outdated and concepts rule everything• When to use APK vs landing page• How to set up Meta campaigns correctly• Why estimated CPI is usually 1.5–2× off the real CPI• What to do when there's no clear winner• How to interpret CPI results properlyKey takeawayIf you're not running CPI tests, you're not testing. Everything else is noise.Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop--------------------------------------PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.- Scale fast- Keep your shares- Drawdown only as needed- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors---------------------------------------For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.Our sponsor FastSpring:Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 yearsThey power top mobile publishers around the worldLaunch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricPodcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipgChapters00:00 — Why marketability tests are dead03:40 — Personas vs concepts06:10 — CTR tests are misleading08:20 — CPI tests: real install flow15:50 — Live Meta setup---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
This episode, Keepers Dave and Bridgett interview Gregory Geiger to discuss accessibility in game design. Recent Gaming – Patreon Plug & Update If you would like to support the podcast and engage with other backers, please consider backing. So yes – please back us on Patreon! To back us you can click the button on the sidebar of our website, mu-podcast.com or head over to Patreon directly at www.patreon.com/mup! Thank you to everyone who backed us and contributed to our longevity. We're so thankful for all of you. Who we regularly see on… The Discord Plug Our MUP Discord and we are all there! We invite all of our listeners to come and enjoy the community of horror gaming and cute pet pics. Link in the show notes: MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D And thank you to our editor Nate for editing this episode. Bridgett's Pet Pick Shout Out The Pet Pic channel is a community onto itself. On this channel, we post our beloved pets, fosters, pets of family members, and even wildlife shouting “go pods.” These animals, these pets, are members of our collective community. So when we lose a member of this community, one of our precious pets, we often grieve as a community. I've seen the recent pet loss guys. I just want you, and everyone who has ever lost, and will someday lose a pet to know, we're here for you. We're here for each other. Main Topic Links and stuff GregoryGeiger.com TryingToDoBetter.com https://papress.com/products/extra-bold https://www.bispublishers.com/type-tricks-user-design.html https://www.uxdesigninstitute.com/blog/accessible_design-inclusive_design/
This is part three of a four-part series talking about 30 big design evolutions since I started working at Wizards of the Coast in October 1995. This is based on a three-part series I did in my Making Magic column.
In this episode, I talk about how the color pie has evolved over the last three decades.
Send us a textIn 2023 I was already neck deep into my Kickstarter obsession when I saw an advertisement for a brand new OSR style roleplaying game called Shadowdark. It was the creation of Kelsey Dionne and it looked very cool. The book was large and black with silver script and silver artwork of what I thought was a beholder.I immediately backed it. But to be fair I was immediately backing a lot of things back then. When I turned on my YouTubes I got blasted with a social media blitz unlike any I had seen before. All of the TTRPG sites that covered anything even remotely different than D&D were all over this game. The superlatives seemed to match the online excitement and soon it had garnered 1.4 million dollars on Kickstarter.I couldn't wait to get the book. But while I was reading the .pdf and waiting for the hardback to arrive I had the chance to watch Kelsey Dionne herself walk backers through her creation process of the ranger class. I also got to see a number of interviews with her regarding the product. Again, I just kept getting more and more excited.When the book finally came it sat on my bookshelf. Now don't be sad for the game, that's what tends to happen to most of the stuff I grab off of Kickstarter. But, it was on a short list of games to be played.Finally, my Masks of Nyrlethotep came to a shuddering, bumbling halt and I wanted something fast, easy, and different as a palette cleanser. Enter Shadowdark. I quickly brushed up on the rules and set the date for my group. This was about the same time that the Glass Cannon Podcast announced they were going to be using Shadowdark as the rules for their next big live play. Yep, stoked again.We dove head first into Shadowdark.And it was … Ok … I guess.Not the resounding plug you thought I was going to give.If you are fans of the game, stick around because we are diving deeper than that. There are some really good things about this game. Some really bad things about this game. And a lot of mehh things about this game. In this episode Mike, Christina, and I are going to walk you through all of that and give you our honest review of the game.
In this festive episode 129 of Game Design Unboxed, we chat with sister duo Anya and Irina Kagan – game designers and the founders of Gifts Galore – about their Hanukkah-themed party game, Gelt Galore. They talk about how magical childhood traditions inspired them as adults to bring new energy to holiday gatherings and how a […]
This podcast is part two of a four-part series talking about the 30 big design evolutions since I started working at Wizards of the Coast in October 1995. This is based on a three-part series I did in my Making Magic column.
In this podcast, I sit down with Melissa DeTora, the leader of the Casual Play Design team, to talk about Commander design.
Fancy setting us a gaming challenge? Get in touch here!This week we're back with a metroidvania style hitman mashup game. A nice and fun one particularly if you're into cowboys! Thanks for listening and please leave us a review and subscribe if you enjoyed it. It really helps us out. Also please get in touch with us at @gamingblendpod or thegamingblenderpod@gmail.com with your ideas for new games and challenges.Keep blending!
Concerns about Roblox, screentime, and gaming habits. In this episode of The Secure Family Podcast, Andy discusses the crucial topic of online safety for families, focusing on the vulnerabilities presented by modern video games. Guest Scott Novis, founder of GameTruck and veteran video game developer, shares his insights into the evolution of gaming, the risks of free-to-play models, and strategies for managing screen time effectively. Scott emphasizes the psychology behind game design, the importance of purchasing games, and the need to play offline to ensure kids' safety. He also covers how to choose appropriate games for children based on their developmental stages and the dangers posed by platforms like Roblox. For more from Scot Novis: https://www.gametruckparty.com/ Take control of your data with DeleteMe. Because they sponsor the podcast you can get 20% off a privacy plan from DeleteMe with promo code: DAD. Connect
Loren Weng is one of the sharpest minds in modern rogue-like design, known for redefining how systems, mechanics, and progression shape a player's experience. From leading the spellcasting and combat systems in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite to pushing new boundaries in game design, Loren brings a master-level perspective on what it takes to evolve an entire genre. This episode is a deep dive into how the best designers think, innovate, and stay ahead of the curve.Learn more about usJoin the next episode of the Indie Game Lunch Hour LIVE every Wednesday at 12pm EST on our Discord channel to answer your own burning questions and be immortalized in the recordings.
In this podcast, I talk all about the design of the fourth set in the Lorwyn-Shadowmoor block, Eventide.
This podcast is part one of a four-part series talking about the 30 biggest design evolutions since I started working at Wizards of the Coast in October 1995. This is based on a three-part series I did in my Making Magic column.
In this podcast, I talk about the design of every card with Mox or Lotus in the name designed as a spiritual successor to Limited Edition (Alpha)'s Moxen and Black Lotus.
In this podcast, I sit down with Lead Set Designer Chris Mooney to talk about the design of Magic: The Gathering® | Avatar: The Last Airbender™.
This episode talks about why it's good for R&D to design around a format you play.
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