Soren Johnson

Soren Johnson is a legend in the gaming industry. He was one of the designers on Civilization III and the lead designer for Civilization IV at Firaxis Games. He co-founded his own company called Mohawk Games. As the studio's founder and lead designer, he aimed to create strategy games emphasizing player agency, complexity, and meaningful decision-making. We discuss 4x game design, player interaction, and how modding affects the digital gaming world. The two of us had so much fun discussing games that the episode needed to be broken into two parts. So, enjoy part two of Think Like A Game Designer with Soren Johnson!

Think Like a Game Designer #50: Soren Johnson (Part 2)

In this special episode, we dive into the upcoming game Shards of Infinity Saga Collection, which releases on Kickstarter on July 11th at 10am Pacific. We'll be emphasizing the techniques and principles used to design this fantastic game.The Saga Collection for Shards of Infinity is the perfect starting point for new players and an excellent upgrade for fans of the game. This comprehensive Kickstarter edition includes the core game, all the expansions, and a treasure trove of additional content. Immerse yourself in the ever-expanding universe of Shards of Infinity with thrilling new game modes, exciting cards, upgraded components, and a myriad of surprises waiting to be unlocked as we achieve our stretch goals. All of this comes elegantly packaged in a collector's box, providing the ultimate experience for both seasoned veterans and those new to the game. Join us now and be part of this epic adventure in one masterful package!

In this special episode, we dive into the upcoming game Shards of Infinity Saga Collection, which releases on Kickstarter on July 11th at 10am Pacific. We'll be emphasizing the techniques and principles used to design this fantastic game.<br><br>The Saga Collection for Shards of Infinity is the perfect starting point for new players and an excellent upgrade for fans of the game. This comprehensive Kickstarter edition includes the core game, all the expansions, and a treasure trove of additional content. <br><br>Immerse yourself in the ever-expanding universe of Shards of Infinity with thrilling new game modes, exciting cards, upgraded components, and a myriad of surprises waiting to be unlocked as we achieve our stretch goals. All of this comes elegantly packaged in a collector's box, providing the ultimate experience for both seasoned veterans and those new to the game. Join us now and be part of this epic adventure in one masterful package!

Think Like a Game Designer: Shards of Infinity Kickstarter Special

Soren Johnson is a legend in the gaming industry. He was one of the designers on Civilization III and the lead designer for Civilization IV at Firaxis Games. He co-founded his own company called Mohawk Games. As the studio's founder and lead designer, he aimed to create strategy games emphasizing player agency, complexity, and meaningful decision-making. We discuss 4x game design, player interaction, and how modding affects the digital gaming world. The two of us had so much fun discussing games that the episode needed to be broken into two parts. So, enjoy part one of Think Like A Game Designer with Soren Johnson!

Think Like a Game Designer #49: Soren Johnson (Part 1)

Jon Barry

Jon Barry is the founder of Forged Gaming, a renowned game accessories company. Jon has dedicated himself to creating a plethora of products that enhance the gaming experience, such as dice and game master screens. His pursuit of excellence and deep passion for gaming have driven him to push the boundaries of the industry, establishing Forged Games as a leader in the gaming accessory market. For those eager to learn about game accessory creation, this episode offers a wealth of invaluable lessons and insights.

Think Like a Game Designer #48: Jon Barry

Gary Arant

As a member of the Stone Blade team, I've had the pleasure of working alongside Gary Arant since the company's earliest days. Gary has played a crucial role in every game we've ever made, including Ascension, Ascension Tactics, Shards of Infinity, and SolForge Fusion. It was an honor for me to speak with Gary on an episode of Think Like A Game Designer. I couldn't be more grateful to have such a talented and dedicated colleague in the field. Gary's contributions have been instrumental in shaping the games we create at Stone Blade, and I can't wait to see what we'll accomplish together in the future.

Think Like a Game Designer #47: Gary Arant

Jamey Stegmaier

Jamey Stegmaier is the CEO of Stonemaier Games and the creator of games such as Scythe and Viticulture. He is a prolific content creator and thought leader in the Kickstarter and game design space, who’s spent years making videos and writing articles on nearly every aspect of running a game company. To be fair, Jamey probably interviews me just as much as I interview him, and we end up discussing everything from creating games to content generation to crowdfunding—so much knowledge is packed into this episode that it would be hard to list it all here! Enjoy!

Think Like a Game Designer #46: Jamey Stegmaier

Matt is easily the most punk rock game designer I’ve ever interviewed, and it’s no wonder because their professional life is rooted in collectivism, art, nerdery, social justice, and DIY punk rock. They are the Creative Director of Forever Stoked Creative, a studio they founded over a decade ago. Matt also owns a game shop/library in New Haven, Connecticut, called Elm City Games. They founded the New Haven Game Makers Guild, organize Fantasticon, and do consulting across the game industry as well as for corporate, NGO, and institutional clients like Netflix and Yale. In this episode, we discuss the world of indy games and have a fantastic time!

Think Like a Game Designer #45: Matt Fantastic

In this special episode, we dive into the upcoming game Ascension Tactics Inferno, which releases on Kickstarter on February 21, 2023. We'll be emphasizing the techniques and principles used to design the stand-alone sequel to Ascension Tactics.

Think Like a Game Designer: Ascension Tactics Inferno Special

Isaac Vega

Isaac Vega has been designing board games for over a decade. Isaac has sold over 500,000 copies of his games worldwide and is an award-winning designer. He co-founded Rose Gauntlet Entertainment and is the designer of the hit game Dead of Winter. There are so many awesome lessons in this episode. Let’s get started!

Think Like a Game Designer #44: Isaac Vega

Sean K. Reynolds is a prolific writer and game designer who’s worked on hundreds of supplements for various RPGs, including Dungeons &amp; Dragons and Pathfinder. Sean and I met years ago when we were both working for Upper Deck, where Sean was an IP developer. From there, he left to develop the Pathfinder RPG at Paizo. He currently works for Monte Cook Games, where he just finished the Kickstarter for the Planebreaker RPG alongside legendary RPG designers Bruce R. Cordell and Monte Cook. Sean is an awesome guest with lots to share—enjoy the show!

Think Like a Game Designer #43: Sean K. Reynolds

In Think Like a Game Designer, award-winning designer and Stone Blade Entertainment CEO Justin Gary speaks with world class game designers to deconstruct the step-by-step process for creating games and working in the gaming industry. In each episode, we distill the process of creativity into actionable advice that anyone can use all while giving listeners an opportunity to learn more about their favorite games and designers.

Ben Brode

Ben Brode worked for Blizzard for 15 years, working his way up from a low-level position to become one of the lead designers of the monstrously successful game Hearthstone. He is now the Chief Creative Officer at his own game studio called Second Dinner, which created the digital collectible card game for Marvel called Marvel Snap. This episode was super-fun to record, with some great stories and many great lessons about creating some of the biggest digital card games on the planet!

Think Like a Game Designer #42: Ben Brode

Alex Watkins

Alex Watkins is the head of organized play for SolForge Fusion, but before joining our team, he had years of experience running organized play for games like Keyforge and X-Wing. We're super excited to have him on the show today, discussing how organized play systems are developed, the relationship between organized play and game design, and what organized play will look like for SolForge Fusion.

Think Like a Game Designer #41: Alex Watkins

John D. Clair is the designer of Mystic Vale, which was awarded the ORIGINS Award and Gamer’s Choice award in 2017. His other titles include Downfall, Rumble Pie, Custom Heroes, Space Base, and Edge of Darkness. He is a fantastic designer with a lot of wisdom to share. In this episode, we discuss learning from mistakes made in previous designs, handling legal protections for new designs, and making the most of game components to make your games more fun and exciting.

Think Like a Game Designer #40: John D. Clair

Luke Peterschmidt

Luke has done a lot of incredible work as a game designer, working on indie games like Miskatonic School for Girls all the way up to massive games like Bakugan. He’s worked for a lot of awesome companies (Games Workshop, AEG, SpinMaster, Wizards of the Coast) in a variety of different positions and knows the industry from top to bottom. In today’s episode, we talk a lot about how the game design mindset applies to not just the game industry but also to business and life—Enjoy!

Think Like a Game Designer #39: Luke Peterschmidt

Phil has a great origin story because it is one that represents what it’s like for most designers to make it in the industry. His most popular game, Sushi Go!, has sold over a million copies and has been translated into 20 languages. Phil specializes in games that are easy to learn, and that can be played by people of all ages. In the Think Like A Game Designer course, I often use Phil's games, like Gizmos and Sushi Go!, as examples of elegant distillations of core principles. There are some amazing lessons in this episode—Enjoy!

Think Like a Game Designer #38: Phil Walker-Harding

In this short episode, instead of interviewing another brilliant designer, I'm going to share with you a few tips and tools I've used to level up my games, my company, and my life!

Think Like a Game Designer: Level Up!

Alan Phan

Alan Phan and his team recently launched a million-dollar Kickstarter for a trading card game called The Grand Archive. What’s even more impressive is that he and his friends had never made a trading card game before, so today, we will learn more about Alan and his story. Enjoy!

Think Like a Game Designer #37: Alan Phan

Richard Bartle

Richard Bartle is a legend among game designers. He has a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence and is the co-creator of the first virtual world ever to exist, a game called Multi-Use Dungeon or M.U.D. Richard authored the book Designing Virtual Worlds and his most recent book is How to be a god: A Guide for Would Be Deities, in which he examines the history, ethics, structure, and technology of MMOs. His research on player personalities and what’s called the Bartle Test had a significant impact on my designs, which is why I’m so excited to interview him today. This episode is a fascinating one, that focuses on virtual worlds: past, present, and future!

Think Like a Game Designer #36: Richard Bartle

Alan Gerding

Alan Gerding is responsible for one of the highlights of my game design career, which we discuss in the first part of the podcast. He is a psychology professor and game designer who co-owns Tuesday Knight Games with his best friend. He is the designer of the recently Kickstarted game Mothership: Sci-Fi Horror RPG which made over 1.4 million dollars. Alan is awesome and this episode was a blast to record, there are lots of laughs and lessons in this one! Enjoy!

Think Like a Game Designer #35: Alan Gerding

Mike Turian

Mike Turian is a Magic The Gathering Hall of Fame champion and is the current Product Architect for Magic The Gathering.  Mike has the unique experience of being on nearly every side of the success of Magic, from Pro Player, to marketing manager, to game developer, to digital product manager.  I’ve known Mike for many years from our days on the Pro Tour, and in addition to being brilliant, he is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever encountered.

Think Like a Game Designer #34: Mike Turian

Super professional and very insightful board and card game design discussion! Justin Gary is an expert in the area and very well spoken.

Top quality board game design

Justin Gary is a thought leader in the gaming world. Looking forward to some amazing conversations.

Amazing content

Think Like A Game Designer

Paul Peterson

Magic: the Gathering, Pokémon, Smash Up, Guillotine, and The Pathfinder Adventure Card Game are just a few of the games Paul Peterson had a hand in creating. In this episode, Paul talks about building a community and company that supports game design and creativity, from big studio work to boutique game design companies. His work in the field of game design has given him incredible insight into what it takes to design and produce awesome games. Enjoy!

Think Like a Game Designer #6: Paul Peterson

Jesse Schell

Jesse Schell wrote, The Art of Game Design, the number one book on the subject in the industry. He was a founding member of the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University and a former Disney Imagineer. He's also the founder of Schell Games, which has launched countless games including, I Expect You to Die and Domino World. Jesse is an amazing game designer and a fantastic teacher.

Think Like a Game Designer #3: Jesse Schell

James Ernest

James Ernest is a man of many talents. He’s a screenwriter, poker player, juggler and game designer. He’s worked with Wizards of the Coast, Paizo Publishing, and even developed the game _Tak_ with legendary fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss. In this podcast, James talks about how he and his company, Cheapass Games, work to designs new games, develop rulesets, and manage the expectations of players. This episode is a treasure trove of game design knowledge. Check it out!

Think Like a Game Designer #4: James Ernest

Tim Fowers

Tim Fowers is the punk rocker of game design. A purely independent tabletop and digital game developer, who distributes his games directly, rather than using big publishers and standard distribution channels. This allows Tim to stand out as a master of indy game design, who develop his games according to his artistic vision. There’s so much to learn in this episode – Enjoy!

Think Like a Game Designer #7: Tim Fowers

Ryan Sutherland

Ryan Sutherland is one of the top up-and-coming game designers in the industry and lucky for me, he works at Stone Blade. Ryan was one of the lead designers on the newest expansion to Shards of Infinity, called Shadow of Salvation. In this episode, we speak about his journey into game design, developing games at Stone Blade, and what it’s like to work on digital games versus physical games. Ryan has a lot of awesome insights that can help anyone who’s looking to develop their game design skills.

Think Like a Game Designer #10: Ryan Sutherland

Today I speak with Liz Spain from Lone Shark Games. Liz entered the game industry through the unusual path of fashion and costume design. Liz tells the remarkable story of designing, producing, and successfully Kickstarting her first game: Incredible Expeditions: Quest for Atlantis. She explains how she was able to raise money and awareness for her first game by attending events that worked thematically with her project's aesthetic. We also speak in-depth about the psychology of game design. Happy Gaming!

Think Like a Game Designer #8: Liz Spain

Jordan Weisman

I’ve looked up to Jordan Weisman for years. He is a revolutionary story-teller, game designer, and Entrepreneur. He created the legendary worlds like Shadowrun and Battletech that have resonated with fans for over 30 years. He launched his first company, FASA, at twenty years old. He created one of the first Virtual Reality Simulation games with Battletech, and he went on to develop the revolutionary Mageknight and Heroclix games and continues to be on the cutting edge of the tabletop and video game industry. He is continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible in technology, design, and business. Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing this game design legend.

Think Like a Game Designer #9: Jordan Weisman

Raph Koster

Raph Koster has undoubtedly changed the world of gaming. He was the lead designer of the legendary Ultima Online and the creative director behind Star Wars Galaxies. In 2004, he wrote _A Theory of Fun for Game Design_ which highlights Edutainment as the driving force behind great games. He speaks all over the world on the subject of game design and I’m super excited to have him here with us to share his knowledge.

Think Like a Game Designer #5: Raph Koster

Tom Lehmann

Tom Lehmann is a former economist, programmer, and game publisher turned full-time game designer. He’s the creator of Race for the Galaxy and has created expansions for games like Pandemic and St. Petersburg. Today we discuss everything from economics, expansions, and reward systems in games. There’s a lot of wisdom here, so grab a notebook!

Think Like a Game Designer #16: Tom Lehmann

Keith Baker

Keith Baker is a renowned game designer and storyteller.  He was the creator of the D&amp;D setting Ebberon and Gloom. He has traveled the world creating and running Story based games. If you’re into role-playing games like D&amp;D or any other story-driven games there’s a lot to learn here.

Think Like a Game Designer #15: Keith Baker

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The best philosophy podcast episodes. Asking questions about how to live a better life, what it means to be and do good, to the idea of God. This topic includes episodes that bring about important questions that everyone should be asking themselves. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!