Polytechnicast

By Rob Stenzinger

Art journal podcast by Rob Stenzinger, sharing thoughts on his various creative projects and adventures ranging from user experience design, creating comics, making video games, to interactive desi

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FAQs about Polytechnicast:

How many episodes does Polytechnicast have?

The podcast currently has 231 episodes available.

Polytechnicast episodes:

December 31, 2024Polytechnicast - Teaching Interactive Design and Word Turtle Island Arcade Machine
Sharing some work in progress and what led me to this point - getting back into teaching interactive design and how I've begun making a physical arcade machine for my game Word Turtle Island. In a nutshell I have a few months of ambitious work and this is my planning and thinking about it all.
Outline:
Starts with how I focused on making WTI for 2.5 years, summary of why and how that came about.
Learning from 6 months of further iteration, marketing, and being published as an early access game.
Big take away is: thankful for the time to learn enough to make enough to discover the strong version of WTI, wishing that space for other folks and projects.
Current situation:
improving the instant visual/story/promise of WTI via
feeling the urge to teach again
feeling my overall social connections are too small of a bubble both online and in person
inspired by projects like Springboard for the Arts' Rural Urban Solidarity
Then the ambitious plan: a combination of projects to grow my online and in person connections, teach interactive design with an advocacy focus, and increase sales of my games and teaching. In short: make games and teach interactive design. More specific:
WTI Arcade Machine + Regional touring show/tell this game and teaching indie game creating
Build WTI to full 1.0
Teach interactive design for free on TikTok and soon also YouTube
Publish new paid classes, starting with Paper Prototyping for Interactive Design
Know of any places and people to connect with who'd like a visit from me on my Word Turtle Island Indie Game Dev Tour? Send me a message!
Related Links and Resources
Jerzy's free workshops mentioned as inspiration but are currently happening - act fast since they're being offerred now until all sessions are taken
Teaching Interactive Design on TikTok
Word Turtle Island on Google Play
Word Turtle Island on Steam
Word Turtle Island on Itch (free demo available)
Ask Me Anything — Blog of an Interactive Storyteller
Sign up for my newsletter
Games and Classes Rob offers and Ways to Support What I Make
Buy or wishlist Word Turtle Island on Steam.
Take one of my classes about collaboration, creativity, and UX design: Skillshare
Get the game Guitar Fretter, an action puzzle that makes a game of memorizing the note positions on a guitar. Now with Lefty Flip in the full version and a free demo version with 9 levels. NOW ON STEAM
Join Skillshare via my referral link which gets you 1 month of Skillshare Premium for free.
You can buy me a coffee with an option to send a note along.
Subscribe to the Polytechnicast RSS feed in your podcast app
...more
34min
November 19, 2024Polytechnicast - How to work within the gaming industry - a question via my blog
A question from someone who knows someone who met me at 2D Con. Every person's path is their own but it's also fun to learn how olther folks got to where they are.
Related Links and Resources
Word Turtle Island on Google Play
Word Turtle Island on Steam
Word Turtle Island on Itch (free demo available)
Ask Me Anything — Blog of an Interactive Storyteller
Sign up for my newsletter
Games and Classes Rob offers and Ways to Support What I Make
Buy or wishlist Word Turtle Island on Steam.
Take one of my classes about collaboration, creativity, and UX design: Skillshare
Get the game Guitar Fretter, an action puzzle that makes a game of memorizing the note positions on a guitar. Now with Lefty Flip in the full version and a free demo version with 9 levels. NOW ON STEAM
Join Skillshare via my referral link which gets you 1 month of Skillshare Premium for free.
You can buy me a coffee with an option to send a note along.
Subscribe to the Polytechnicast RSS feed in your podcast app
...more
28min
July 25, 2024Polytechnicast Special - Growing Your Creative Business with Jerzy Drozd
Earlier this summer I visited Columbus Ohio to visit my friends Anne and Jerzy Drozd. Part of the plan for our visit was to make some creative experiments together, one of them is this very recording with Jerzy.
For the first time I can think of both he and I are launching products at the same time. Both projects took years of development. Both we made solo. His project is the book The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue and mine is the action + cozy game Word Turtle Island.
In this episode, a special crossover of Thunder Punch Daily + Polytechnicast, Jerzy and I navigate stories of why we made these projects and how we're facing the significant task of marketing to reach the people we know will enjoy what we made. It's a lot like an episode of the Lean Into Art cast which was special to revisit for me, hope it will be for you too.
Related Links and Resources
The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue - pre-order Jerzy's new book about a bear who catalogs and keeps safe powerful magic items, one day a wizard steals the most powerful artifact, now this academic homebody has to embark on a dangerous adventure and team up with allies to set things right
Jerzy Drozd - Teaching Artist and Cartoonist
Word Turtle Island - Details Plus Official Trailer - action + cozy game where you both battle with words as weapons and recover after by tending bookshelves.
Word Turtle Island - Press Kit
Word Turtle Island - Google Play
Word Turtle Island - Steam
Word Turtle Island - Itch.io
Ask Me Anything — Blog of an Interactive Storyteller
Sign up for my newsletter
Games and Classes Rob offers and Ways to Support What I Make
Wishlist Word Turtle Island on Steam.
Take one of my classes about collaboration, creativity, and UX design: Skillshare
Get the game Guitar Fretter, an action puzzle that makes a game of memorizing the note positions on a guitar. Now with Lefty Flip in the full version and a free demo version with 9 levels.
Join Skillshare via my referral link which gets you 1 month of Skillshare Premium for free.
You can buy me a coffee with an option to send a note along.
Subscribe to the Polytechnicast RSS feed in your podcast app
...more
1h 19min
June 18, 2024Polytechnicast - Word Turtle Island - Available Friday June 21
A new ask me anything form. Some example topics to ask me about like why I made a game for 2.5 years without publishing a whole lot about it publicly. And most important - it's official that Word Turtle Island is going to be available publicly as an early access game on Steam and Google Play June 21, 2024!
Related Links and Resources
Word Turtle Island - Details Plus Official Trailer
Word Turtle Island - Press Kit
Word Turtle Island on Google Play
Word Turtle Island on Steam
Ask Me Anything — Blog of an Interactive Storyteller
Sign up for my newsletter
Games and Classes Rob offers and Ways to Support What I Make
Wishlist Word Turtle Island on Steam.
Take one of my classes about collaboration, creativity, and UX design: Skillshare
Get the game Guitar Fretter, an action puzzle that makes a game of memorizing the note positions on a guitar. Now with Lefty Flip in the full version and a free demo version with 9 levels.
Join Skillshare via my referral link which gets you 1 month of Skillshare Premium for free.
You can buy me a coffee with an option to send a note along.
Subscribe to the Polytechnicast RSS feed in your podcast app
...more
30min
April 20, 2024Polytechnicast - Word Turtle Island Coming Soon to Early Access
Wort and Portia from Word Turtle Island

About 2.5 years. That's how long I've been working on Word Turtle Island to get it ready to publish as an early access game. It's about the right time to be getting the word out and to get myself into practice with showing up social. Practicing being more present even if it's chaotic and inconsistent. Such as this 20 some minute audio podcast. Hi.
Related Links and Resources
Tell The Damn Story, 305: How To Dive into Game Writing, And Make Words A Positive Weapon - YouTube
Word Turtle Island on Steam
Word Turtle Island — Blog of an Interactive Storyteller
Sign up for my newsletter
Games and Classes Rob offers and Ways to Support What I Make
Wishlist Word Turtle Island on Steam.
Take one of my classes about collaboration, creativity, and UX design: Skillshare
Get the game Guitar Fretter, an action puzzle that makes a game of memorizing the note positions on a guitar. Now with Lefty Flip in the full version and a free demo version with 9 levels.
Join Skillshare via my referral link which gets you 1 month of Skillshare Premium for free.
You can buy me a coffee with an option to send a note along.
Subscribe to the Polytechnicast RSS feed in your podcast app
...more
29min
August 16, 2023Polytechnicast - A Place to Practice Spelling
This is Spell, the magical cat who hosts a save place to practice spelling words.

In the middle of working on my next big game Word Turtle Island, where you use words as weapons to battle creatures taking away the books of power, the idea for Spell's Spelling came to me. In this episode of the Polytechnicast I reflect on how this came about and how sometimes a project that takes time away from another project can be worthwhile.
Related Links and Resources
Spell's Spelling Practice
Interactive Storyteller blog
Sign up for my newsletter
Games and Classes Rob offers and Ways to Support the Polytechnicast
Take one of my classes about collaboration, creativity, and UX design: Skillshare
Get the game Guitar Fretter, an action puzzle that makes a game of memorizing the note positions on a guitar. Now with Lefty Flip in the full version and a free demo version with 9 levels.
Join Skillshare via my referral link which gets you 1 month of Skillshare Premium for free.
You can buy me a coffee with an option to send a note along.
Subscribe to the Polytechnicast RSS feed in your podcast app
...more
21min
April 20, 2023Polytechnicast - Minimum Viable and Minimum Lovable Product Strategy Question
In the overlapping circles of feasible, viable, desirable, what is the emphasis and culture practiced?

I received a question via my Mastodon account about minimum lovable product vs minimum viable product.
@[email protected]: "So @robstenzinger I was just reading about “minimum Lovable product” vs “minimum Viable product” because you want to have enough features to maximize love of a core group of users - do you think this is a real strategy?"
Related Links and Resources
Audiences and Principles to Help Create Meaningful Products Instead of Bolt-On-UX — Blog of an Interactive Storyteller
More posts and extras like coaching sessions at my Buy Me a Coffee page (coaching sessions are all sold out again, stay tuned)
Interactive Storyteller blog
Sign up for my newsletter
Games and Classes Rob offers and Ways to Support the Polytechnicast
Take one of my classes about collaboration, creativity, and UX design: Skillshare
Get the game Guitar Fretter, an action puzzle that makes a game of memorizing the note positions on a guitar. Now with Lefty Flip in the full version and a free demo version with 9 levels.
Join Skillshare via my referral link which gets you 1 month of Skillshare Premium for free.
You can buy me a coffee with an option to send a note along.
Subscribe to the Polytechnicast RSS feed in your podcast app
...more
24min
March 31, 2023Polytechnicast - Video Game Delay Thoughts About Word Turtle Island
W-O-R-D up.

Reflecting on game development and how it feels affirming in a way that other video game projects meet delays. I thought I'd have Word Turtle Island ready for first or even early access by now yet I also feel good about how it's coming along.
Related Links and Resources
Why are so many video games delayed and cancelled? - Verdict
Why Video Games Are Delayed So Often
More posts and extras like coaching sessions at my Buy Me a Coffee page (coaching sessions are all sold out again, stay tuned)
Interactive Storyteller blog
Sign up for my newsletter
Games and Classes Rob offers and Ways to Support the Polytechnicast
Take one of my classes about collaboration, creativity, and UX design: Skillshare
Get the game Guitar Fretter, an action puzzle that makes a game of memorizing the note positions on a guitar. Now with Lefty Flip in the full version and a free demo version with 9 levels.
Join Skillshare via my referral link which gets you 1 month of Skillshare Premium for free.
You can buy me a coffee with an option to send a note along.
Subscribe to the Polytechnicast RSS feed in your podcast app
...more
34min
February 01, 2023Polytechnicast - Being Your Own Bad Boss and Products in Progress
Prototype cards for my creative warm up cards game Doodle Creatures Have Needs.

An update about Word Turtle Island and a few other projects I tried to finish this month.
Related Links and Resources
More posts and extras like coaching sessions at my Buy Me a Coffee page (coaching sessions are all sold out at the moment)
Interactive Storyteller blog
Sign up for my newsletter
Games and Classes Rob offers and Ways to Support the Polytechnicast
Take one of my classes about collaboration, creativity, and UX design: Skillshare
Get the game Guitar Fretter, an action puzzle that makes a game of memorizing the note positions on a guitar. Now with Lefty Flip in the full version and a free demo version with 9 levels.
Join Skillshare via my referral link which gets you 1 month of Skillshare Premium for free.
You can buy me a coffee with an option to send a note along.
Subscribe to the Polytechnicast RSS feed in your podcast app
...more
21min
December 31, 2022Polytechnicast - One Big Project and a New Self Discovery
In this episode I ask why I've posted so few things in 2022. It's a bit about what I'm currently working on and it's also something I've been trying to figure out for years.
Related Links and Resources
More posts and extras like coaching sessions at my Buy Me a Coffee page
Interactive Storyteller blog
Sign up for my newsletter
Games and Classes Rob offers and Ways to Support the Polytechnicast
Take one of my classes about collaboration, creativity, and UX design: Skillshare
Get the game Guitar Fretter, an action puzzle that makes a game of memorizing the note positions on a guitar. Now with Lefty Flip in the full version and a free demo version with 9 levels.
Join Skillshare via my referral link which gets you 1 month of Skillshare Premium for free.
You can buy me a coffee with an option to send a note along.
[Subscribe to the Polytechnicast RSS feed in your podcast app](
...more
20min

FAQs about Polytechnicast:

How many episodes does Polytechnicast have?

The podcast currently has 231 episodes available.