Design Doc

Hannah and Evan discuss their personal experiences and struggles with focus. A new kind of work requires long stretches of sustained focus, disrupting old routines and demanding new strategies. They delve into the challenges and rewards of dodging distractions and shepherding wandering thoughts.

00:55 - Introduction. The need to transition from sprint focus to something more sustained.

10:10 - Our different styles of focus and how we work together: Switching off the role of cheerleader, having a plan and holding to routines; setting boundaries with friends, family, ourselves.

18:17 - Switching to long-form work. Ramping up, getting into a flow, building a slower momentum.

23:51 - External and internal distractions. When the work becomes its own distraction.

32:26 - The dynamic tension, the ongoing battle; eliminating distractions vs the resolve to ignore and power through. Self-esteem.

35:25 - How the switch to long-form focus has helped our work in games.

38:04 - Closing thoughts. What we’ve learned, the ritual of it.

Deep Work by Cal Newport (We feel "meh" about this one)

Stolen Focus by Johann Hari (We liked this one)

Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King

Design Doc twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod

Our games: turtlebun.com

Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun

Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun

Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun

Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

Hannah and Evan talk about what it's like to tackle a very different type of creative work—writing a novel! We discuss the fun parts and the challenges of being two people trying to hone in on a single narrative voice.

Mentioned in this episode:

3-Act Structure: Abbie Emmons on YouTube

Passing mentions: Douglas Adams, Kurt Vonnegut, Robert A. Heinlein, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, Over the Garden Wall (Episode 5: Mad Love)

Episode Links and Credits:

Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King

Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod

Turtlebun Links

Our other games: turtlebun.com

Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun

Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

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

They chat fancy boxes, missing fonts, and making creative use of a limited budget.

Episode Links and Credits:

Our Kickstarter for a poster print run of our one-page single-player RPG Public Guest 5 ends tonight, February 16th at 8pm EST. You can support the project here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/turtlebun/public-guest-five

Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King

Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod

Turtlebun Links

Our other games: turtlebun.com

Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun

Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

Hannah and Evan talk about the increasingly complicated logistics of packing and shipping games as small creators.

In this episode, we talk all about packing and shipping. Where do you get bubble wrap when you need more than a roll, but less than a warehouse's-worth? What happens when a printer you've worked with for years really messes up, with no chance to fix it? All this and more in part 1, with part 2 to come.

The sticker makers we work with: https://stickerninja.com/

Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King

Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod

Questlandia 2nd Edition: turtlebun.com/products/questlandia

Our other games: turtlebun.com

Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun

Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun

Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun

Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

We made the games, now we have to sell them. Hannah and Evan talk about something they're good at: making new games. And something they're bad at: confidently sharing those games with an audience that might like them.

Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King

Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod

Questlandia 2nd Edition: turtlebun.com/products/questlandia

Our other games: turtlebun.com

Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun

Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun

Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun

Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

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

Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King

Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod

Microscope RPG by Ben Robbins.

Our games: turtlebun.com

Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun

Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun

Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun

Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

Hannah and Evan talk about the fiddly little end things that make a project go on, and on, and on much longer than you expected.

Design Doc intro/outro theme by Pat King

Design Doc on twitter: twitter.com/designdocpod

Our games: turtlebun.com

Patreon: patreon.com/turtlebun

Twitter: twitter.com/turtleandbun

Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun

Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz

Hannah and Evan salvage an episode about being on time with an upcoming game, and publish it in a world where they were not on time.

Intro/outro theme by Pat King.

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

Content: 

Intro/outro theme: by Pat King

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