June 24, 2026

The Origins 2026 Interviews Episode

2 hours 46 minutes

We went to Origins Game Fair! It was a great time, and we were lucky enough to catch up with old friends and chat with new ones for the show. This episode consists of 6 in-person interview/conversations with game designers, GMs and publishers about Origins, Games on Demand, boothing, and game design theory and practice. We felt extremely fortunate to have the chance to chat with all of these incredible folks, and hope you enjoy the conversations!

General Note: These were captured on a shared mic in shared spaces, so the audio quality is... informal. We think it's all listenable but you'll notice variations from interview to interview.

The Interviews:

Dr. Evan Torner - We talk about Games on Demand at Origins, and playtesting. Check out Analog Game Studies and Evan's work in LARP and tabletop

Jim Crocker - We talk about "the year of no hustle" and managing your relationship to the hobby as someone who also makes their living in it

"Indie Games Here!" Booth - We talk about boothing at Origins with Viditya Voleti (A Land Once Magic), Brian Flaherty and Elliot Davis (Many Sided Media, moreblueberries), and Nell and Ali of spilledcoffeecreatives

Gene Koo - We talk about The Bonsai Diary and cultivating communities of practice (like Designed in the DMV)

Vincent Baker - We talk about party games and the changing relationship with convention attendance and boothing

TheOtherTracy - We talk about friendship, what getting better at game design means, and talk about a bedrock member of the community that has since passed, Morgan Ellis. Rest in Power, Morgan!

And there's more:

Unwritten Earths Symposium

Our Patreon

Join the Discord

Nathan's games

Eppy's games

Music by Will Jobst

...more

View all episodes

By Unwritten Earths Symposium

44 ratings