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Design Doc
Design Doc
Hannah Shaffer and Evan Rowland

Come along with Hannah and Evan in a living documentation of the game design process, from the first spark of an idea,... more

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Episodes

Rewards and Prizes

Even when things are going wrong for your characters, you as a player might feel rewarded by narrative twists and... more

12 Feb 2025 · 44 minutes
The Art of Perfect Art

When people decide what art is worth looking at, they look for the very best. In a world that demands... more

29 Jan 2025 · 55 minutes
What Makes a Good Playtest?

Is playtesting more of a science, or more art? How prepared should you be for a playtest if you're testing... more

15 Jan 2025 · 53 minutes
When Mechanics Don't Match

Our newest game, Escape from Wonderland, began as a hack of Questlandia. But what happens when the mechanics of an... more

25 Dec 2024 · 44 minutes
Going Places! (or, Navigation Mechanics in Games)

We often ask ourselves, "Do we need a mechanic for that?" In our newest game, Escape from Wonderland, we want... more

11 Dec 2024 · 42 minutes
A Moment of Rest

We're taking a week off to recharge! We'll see you back in two weeks with a new episode of Design... more

27 Nov 2024 · 2 minutes
Finding Community Again

We recently realized that we’ve drifted apart not just from our games community, but from our community at large. Now,... more

13 Nov 2024 · 39 minutes
Levels of Doneness

The Kickstarter for Escape from Wonderland is LIVE! Support the game here! How do you know when a game is ready... more

29 Oct 2024 · 44 minutes
Judging a Book by Its Cover

The first conversation we've had about cover design in games! We discuss how book covers are often the first thing... more

16 Oct 2024 · 54 minutes
The Ideas You'll Be Buried With

One of the hardest lessons in game design is coming to terms with the fact that many of our favorite... more

02 Oct 2024 · 40 minutes
Designing a Spooky Game (Part 4): Finally, the Playtest

Evan and Hannah try playing their new game with a very rough draft of the rules, in a cross between... more

18 Sep 2024 · 58 minutes
The Pizza or the Basket? (Amusement Park Horror w/ Alanna Shaffer)

We're joined by public historian and musical improviser Alanna Shaffer to discuss real-world amusement park horror and Dippin' Dots scams... more

04 Sep 2024 · 58 minutes
Designing a Spooky Game (Part 3): Mr. Bones' Wild Ride

We continue our design of a creepy amusement park game, starting with the question, "What does bad behavior look like... more

21 Aug 2024 · 41 minutes
Designing a Spooky Game (Part 2): The Setting

How can you use simple rules to create a complex setting? In the second part of this live design series,... more

07 Aug 2024 · 47 minutes
Designing a Spooky Game (Part 1): The Brainstorm

What makes a game hack manageable in scope and size? Hannah and Evan delve back into game design to create... more

25 Jul 2024 · 48 minutes
The Founder Olympics

Hannah and Evan face off in a battle of inspiration and ego to outdo each other's most founder ideas. Then,... more

27 Jun 2024 · 1 hour, 5 minutes
Our Best Design Doc Ideas

From Mood, Moments, Mechanics, Materials (MMMM) to "Be aware, be charming," our Design Doc conversations over the years have inspired... more

03 Jun 2024 · 53 minutes
The Taste Talent Gap

Public radio icon Ira Glass has a famous quote describing the gap between taste and talent in trying to hone... more

03 May 2024 · 49 minutes
Adapting a Text

Hannah and Evan talk about how to transform a beloved movie, book, or show into a game, using their latest... more

11 Apr 2024 · 41 minutes
Working around a Job

In a perfect world, we'd make a living just making roleplaying games. But sometimes, duty calls, and you've got to... more

20 Mar 2024 · 44 minutes
Obsessions

What’s the difference between a “theme” and an “obsession?” Inspired by a classic writing book from the ‘80s, we share... more

21 Feb 2024 · 48 minutes
Better Never Than Late?

Kickstarter stretch goals are notorious for getting project creators into trouble. Sometimes, they over promise content. Other times, they create... more

11 Jan 2024 · 51 minutes
Designing Alone, but Not Lonely

In this episode, Hannah talks about the art of doing creative work alone. As part of a game design duo... more

18 Dec 2023 · 29 minutes
Design Session: What Makes a Good Solo RPG?

We love making solo RPGs, but we don't always love playing them. In this episode we brainstorm ideas for a... more

15 Nov 2023 · 43 minutes
Will We Ever Finish Questlandia 2?

This month marks the sixth anniversary of Design Doc, a podcast that started as a "year-long" project documenting our progress... more

24 Oct 2023 · 47 minutes
The Liminal Spaces of Six Flags

Hannah and Evan talk about the strange designs and abandoned places of Six Flags New England, the latest of a... more

26 Sep 2023 · 1 hour, 42 minutes
"People Were Shorter Back Then" (Guest ep w/ historical interpreter Enzo!)

Former historical interpreter Enzo joins us to talk about interpreting history! A few months ago we visited Old Sturbridge Village,... more

24 Aug 2023 · 1 hour, 6 minutes
Old Sturbridge Village

In this episode Hannah and Evan describe their recent trip to Sturbridge Village, an 1800s recreation historical town. They talk... more

28 Jul 2023 · 53 minutes
Founder Energy

We talk about bringing confidence to our own work, including our recent scent-inspired game ideas. We're working on bringing that... more

05 Jul 2023 · 47 minutes
Fish People

In a much-requested episode topic, Hannah and Evan talk about WORLDBUILDING. We narrow in on three worldbuilding faux pas we're... more

06 Jun 2023 · 48 minutes
Focusing on Focus

Hannah and Evan discuss their personal experiences and struggles with focus. A new kind of work requires long stretches of... more

10 May 2023 · 45 minutes
We're Writing a Novel

Hannah and Evan talk about what it's like to tackle a very different type of creative work—writing a novel! We... more

28 Mar 2023 · 54 minutes
Packed With Care (Part 2)

Hannah and Evan discuss the trials and tribulations of packing a "deluxe" edition of Questlandia and the ridiculous mishaps that... more

16 Feb 2023 · 1 hour, 1 minute
Packed With Care (Part 1)

Hannah and Evan talk about the increasingly complicated logistics of packing and shipping games as small creators. In this episode, we... more

13 Jan 2023 · 48 minutes
Actually selling our games

We made the games, now we have to sell them. Hannah and Evan talk about something they're good at: making... more

23 Dec 2022 · 52 minutes
What to do when you're sick of your game

Hannah and Evan discuss how to repair their relationship with a game they've spent a year struggling to complete. Design Doc... more

10 Nov 2022 · 49 minutes
FLETs (Fiddly Little End Things)

Hannah and Evan talk about the fiddly little end things that make a project go on, and on, and on... more

05 Oct 2022 · 52 minutes
Dispatch from an on-time timeline

Hannah and Evan salvage an episode about being on time with an upcoming game, and publish it in a world... more

09 Sep 2022 · 56 minutes
Imperfect Inspiration

Perfect media is untouchable. Hannah and Evan talk about looking to flawed, goofy, broken movies and books for creative inspiration,... more

21 Jul 2022 · 55 minutes
Bad lo-fi game ideas to study or relax to

Hannah reads you a game ideas to-do list for 30 minutes.

28 May 2022 · 32 minutes
Underdressed and over-diced

What's the right tone for the rules of a roleplaying game? Evan and Hannah talk about casual versus formal writing,... more

16 Mar 2022 · 56 minutes
Kudos Conundrum

In this episode, Hannah and Evan talk about the self-consciousness that comes when you grow up and are told you... more

24 Jan 2022 · 53 minutes
Rekindling the Flame

How do you reignite the passion for an old project? Hannah and Evan talk about returning to Starship UltraLux and... more

27 Dec 2021 · 43 minutes
A Cat in the Lap and Other Good Things

It's easy to overlook the little things that are going well when there's no big exciting game or runaway success... more

02 Dec 2021 · 43 minutes
Numbers Hide Everything

In this episode Hannah and Evan chat about their honest expectations and secret hopes for the latest Kickstarter campaign. What... more

08 Nov 2021 · 51 minutes
The Episode Before the Kickstarter

We've had seven years to think of a good pitch for our game. Now, we're Kickstarting Questlandia again, and we're... more

19 Oct 2021 · 45 minutes
Resist the Urge to Fill Negative Space

We haven't had a deadlined project in a minute. But now it's time for a deadlined project again... How do... more

24 Sep 2021 · 45 minutes
The Work of Games Is Not Just Making Games

We just finished a year-long project, and have a little time to plan our next steps! The work of what... more

31 Aug 2021 · 56 minutes
Shootin the shoot

Hannah and Evan shoot the shoot about games, being in the weird middle space of a project almost being done,... more

27 May 2021 · 42 minutes
How to Compare Roleplaying Games

Hannah and Evan talk about the quest to thrive in the shadows of the world's most popular RPGs. An episode... more

06 Apr 2021 · 45 minutes
Design Doc
The Work of Games Is Not Just Making GamesThe Work of Games Is Not Just Making GamesThe Work of Games Is Not Just Making GamesThe Work of Games Is Not Just Making Games
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Description

We just finished a year-long project, and have a little time to plan our next steps! The work of what happens in-between... more