In episode 25 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Danielle Deley and Nathan Thornton about their game Medium, an improv-inspired party game that helps players sync minds and search for words that link together to score points. It’s a game that’s as fun to lose as it is to win. Listen to Danielle and Nathan’s interesting marketing idea and how playing games at work turned these two into game designers.

Featuring: 

Danielle Deley - Guest 

Nathan Thornton - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

Episode 24: Sleeping Gods

In episode 24 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Ryan Laukat, the designer and illustrator of Sleeping Gods, Above and Below, Near and Far, and more. Ryan is the co-owner of Red Raven Games as well as a triple threat of game designer, artist, and storyteller. In this episode, he discusses how art and media play a huge role in his game design. From inspiring him to giving him a visual road map of where an open-world game like Sleeping Gods might lie. Learn more about how to build a narrative-driven game from Ryan!

Featuring: 

Ryan Laukat - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

In episode 23 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we kick off season 2 talking with Kathleen Mercury, an educator, and board game designer. Her first published design Greece Lightning started with her decision to co-design with Mark Sellmeyer on his space-themed game about black holes. This game developed into a push-your-luck, roll-and-move race in an Ancient Greek regatta. She references the importance of playtesting and how one of her students helped solve a flaw in her design. Plus, her sister's assistance in adding the right amount of mythology to the game. This episode is filled with humor and insight so check it out!

Featuring: 

Kathleen Mercury - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

In episode 22 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication Danielle and Denice talk about some favorite moments and lessons learned thanks to season 1’s guest designers. As well as where they are in their current game design journeys. We say farewell to Denice from the show and about the show coming back in late Fall with a refresh for season 2! 

Featuring: 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

Denice - Host

In episode 21 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we speak with Vanessa Hoskins, our first RPG designer. The Know Direction Network’s own Vanessa talks about RPGs, Pathfinder, and writing part 2 of the Abomination Vaults. Her extensive credits and knowledge on RPGs will help listeners dip their toes into RPG design and gameplay! As well as learn how to get into the business. 

Featuring: 

Vanessa Hoskins - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

Denice - Host

Episode 20: Dinosaur Island

In episode 20 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Jonathan Gilmour, the designer behind Dead of Winter, Mental Blocks, Wasteland Express Delivery Service, Kids on Bikes, Dinosaur Island and so many other games and expansions! Jonathan is known for his ability to predict what themes or mechanics are going to be popular and become evergreens. Listen to him talk all things dinos and more!

Featuring: 

Jonathan Gilmour - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

Ben Moy - Host

In episode 19 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk about Bez Shahriari’s game Kittycataclysm. From trimming down the design to make a quicker playing game to interweaving cat puns into a mechanically solid design. We learn about deciding to balance versus leaning into the power of a card. As well as learning empathy for designers/publishers especially in relation to Kickstarter.  

Featuring: 

Bez Shahriari - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

Denice - Host

In episode 18 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Maxine Ekl, the designer of Think Ahead, High & Low Poker, Dual Value Playing Cards, and Stripes! Maxine is one of the co-organizers for Chicago's Protospiel and co-owner of Clever Playing Cards. She’s a large fan of designing card games and her game Stripes even got the Dice Tower’s Seal of Approval! Maxine found that her game designs only got better after discovering Protospiels and local game design meetups. Learn how she started her own Protopiel and how patience is a virtue when it comes to taking a game from inspiration to publication. 

Featuring: 

Maxine Ekl - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

Ben Moy - Host

Denice - Host

In episode 17 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Daryl Andrews designer of Sagrada, BOSK, 7 Summits, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Kodama 3D, Back to The Future Outatime and so many other games. Daryl shares his insights on going from hobbyist to designer thanks to an amazing local community of designers. Learn how he has worked with different design partners, themes, and mechanics becoming almost a swiss army knife of a designer. Daryl embodies the mentality of pay if forward and shows you how far you can go in the industry when you help support fellow designers.

Featuring: 

Daryl Andrews - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

Ben Moy - Host

In episode 16 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Ryan Costello the designer of Orphans & Ashes, LFG Storytime with Dick, and a writer for various RPGs. Ryan pitched, designed, and developed Orphans & Ashes for Blind Ferret Entertainment based on their webcomic series Looking for Group. He worked to capture the dark humor and quirkiness of the webcomic characters to build a game designed with the fans in mind. He learned many valuable lessons about manufacturing and creating realistic manufacturing timelines as well as how to curate a board game subscription box while working for Blind Ferret. Ryan has worked his way into the gaming industry starting with creating the Know Direction podcast that currently hosts this show to landing a job with Blind Ferret and now Laughing Dragon. Ryan is a hobbyist turned game designer you can learn a lot from. 

Featuring: 

Ryan Costello - Guest 

Danielle Reynolds - Host

Denice - Host