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Design Doc: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Hannah Shaffer and Evan Rowland
Come along with Hannah and Evan in a living documentation of the game design process, from the first spark of an idea, to every disastrous surprise. It’s not an instruction manual, but a travel guide, with lots of unexpected stops along the way.
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- 3 days ago42 min
Designing with the Seasons
Can you design a horror game in summer? Are worldbuilding games just for the spring? We settle a years-long debate about how much shorter days, cold fingers, sweaty July, and the invention of the electric lightbulb influence what games we make and when. Episode credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episodes edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Design Doc is hosted by the One Shot Podcast Network. Find and support other network shows here: https://oneshotpodcast.com/ Turtlebun links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun Website: https://turtlebun.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com
- 2 weeks ago53 min
Where the Rules Go
Game design isn’t just about making good rules—it’s about making them in the right place. In our latest dungeon-delving RPG, we’ve tried to keep the fighting simple and instead focus on the game’s main themes: envy, greed, and madness. To do that, the rules had to move. Episode mentions: Cairn TTRPG - Yochai Gal MÖRK BORG TTRPG - Pelle Nilsson and Johan Nohr Indiana Jones (1981 - Steven Spielberg) The Mummy (1999 - Stephen Sommers) The Witch / The VVitch (2015 - Robert Eggers) Episode credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episodes edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Design Doc is hosted by the One Shot Podcast Network. Find and support other network shows here: https://oneshotpodcast.com/ Turtlebun links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun Website: https://turtlebun.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com
- Oct 7, 202639 min
A Cozy Little Game Design Retreat
Hannah and Evan talk about balancing work and play during a creative retreat. Three days surrounded by trees and friends yielded a heap of proofreading, some reluctant game design, and, triumphantly, reading an actual book! Episode mentions: Martha Moody (novel, Susan Stinson) Episode credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episodes edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Design Doc is hosted by the One Shot Podcast Network. Find and support other network shows here: https://oneshotpodcast.com/ Turtlebun links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun Website: https://turtlebun.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com
- Sep 23, 202656 min
Imperfect Inspiration (Re-Air)
It would seem like creative inspiration should come from favorite films, classic works of art, and the world’s best novels. But sometimes, it can be hard to draw inspiration from perfect, untouchable things. In this episode, we take on the imperfect—bad movies from favorite directors, books that over-indulged in nostalgia, and video games with terrible final acts. Maybe the best inspiration comes from the things you most want to fix. This episode is a re-air of a fan favorite: Imperfect Inspiration, first aired in July 2022. Episode mentions: Hannibal (2013 TV show) The Princess Bride (1987 film) His Dark Materials (Book Trilogy by Philip Pullman) Ready Player One (Novel by Ernest Cline) First Kill (2022 TV show) (Also Euphoria, also Twilight) Neil Breen (Filmmaker) NuTrek (Star Trek: Discovery, Strange New Worlds) Flight (2012 film) Indigo Prophecy (2005 video game) The Prisoner (1967 TV show) Dead Petz (2015 album, Miley Cyrus in collaboration with The Flaming Lips) Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006 film) Crimes of the Future (2022 film) Honorable mention: Morbius Episode credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episodes edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Design Doc is hosted by the One Shot Podcast Network. Find and support other network shows here: https://oneshotpodcast.com/ Turtlebun links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun Website: https://turtlebun.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com
- Sep 9, 202656 min
The Tyranny of Dice
What do the sequences (3-4-5-6), (5-2-5-2), and (1-1-1-1) have in common? They’re all random dice rolls! Sometimes randomness seems random, but more often than you’d expect, it looks like an obvious pattern. When relying on dice or cards as randomizers, how do you account for the edge cases and anomalies that can lead to repetition, unfair player imbalances, or long waits to get the results you need? Episode Mentions: It Follows (2014 film by David Robert Mitchell) Design Doc ep. 112: Queuing for Canoeing Episode credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episodes edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Design Doc is hosted by the One Shot Podcast Network. Find and support other network shows here: https://oneshotpodcast.com/ Turtlebun links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun Website: https://turtlebun.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com
- Aug 26, 202648 min
How to Not Make a Sequel
Hannah and Evan tackle the question of reprinting versus redesigning an older game, Noirlandia. It’s a game that still sells well after all these years, but there are many tempting improvements to make. Where’s the line between editing a word here and there and getting drawn in by the siren song of a new edition? Episode credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episodes edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Design Doc is hosted by the One Shot Podcast Network. Find and support other network shows here: https://oneshotpodcast.com/ Turtlebun links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun Website: https://turtlebun.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com
- Aug 12, 202641 min
How to Beat a Beta
Hannah and Evan talk about the next steps involved in releasing a new draft of the Escape from Wonderland beta. The sprint to publish a public version of the rules involved a ton of time and effort, but the work isn’t done yet! The newest release includes incorporating changes based on playtester feedback, fancying up flavor text, and releasing online play tools for the first time. Good news—that version is out now! Find Escape from Wonderland 0.6 here. Episode credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episodes edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Design Doc is hosted by the One Shot Podcast Network. Find and support other network shows here: https://oneshotpodcast.com/ Turtlebun links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun Website: https://turtlebun.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com
- Jul 29, 20264 min
Announcement: Escape from Wonderland Public Beta
A quick announcement episode to let everyone know that the Escape from Wonderland beta rules are live. This is a draft of the game rules, publicly available for anyone to read and play. To share your thoughts, join us on Discord. Links below: Turtlebun discord: https://discord.gg/h6JsahwgH Link to the beta rules doc here: https://turtlebun.com/products/escape-from-wonderland Episode credits: Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/ Episodes edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/ Turtlebun links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun Website: https://turtlebun.com/ Get in touch: Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com Instagram: instagram.com/turtleandbun Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/turtlebun.com
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About Design Doc
Come along with Hannah and Evan in a living documentation of the game design process, from the first spark of an idea, to every disastrous surprise. It’s not an instruction manual, but a travel guide, with lots of unexpected stops along the way.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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It's a free AI-powered email that summarizes new episodes of Design Doc as soon as they're published. You get the key takeaways, notable quotes, and links & mentions — all in a quick read.
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How often does Design Doc release new episodes?
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What topics does Design Doc cover?
Design Doc covers topics including Leisure, Arts, Design, Games. Our AI identifies the specific themes in each episode and highlights what matters most to you.
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