Design Doc
Episodes
Resolutions New and Old
24 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As the year draws to a close we talk about New Year's resolutions. Hannah makes them every year, Evan does not. Hannah shares her elaborate system for...
Convention Dids and Didn’ts
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Conventions are an opportunity for us to get our games in front of a bigger audience, and PAX Unplugged is our biggest show. The stakes feel high, and...
Short Break Announcement
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Just a quick announcement that we'll be skipping a release cycle for the Thanksgiving holiday. See you back in two weeks with a new episode! In the m...
Making Game Hacks That Stay Small
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's hard for us to make a hack that doesn't grow into a game of its own. In this episode, we talk about two playtests—one for a game variant, anoth...
You Can’t End the Game Until You Know What It Means
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Endings are hard. The ending of a roleplaying game isn’t just the culmination of the story; it’s also when the themes and purpose of the game beco...
Design Doc 101
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is Design Doc a game design podcast? A saga about the challenges of making art for a living? A never-ending field trip? In episode 101 we talk about h...
Bonus: Ernest Cline's Stinker (Part 2—the Movie!)
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We conclude our discussion of Ready Player One with an updated review of the movie. In pondering this mid movie, we leave no stone unturned... and no ...
Bonus: Ernest Cline's Stinker (Part 1)
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’re pulling an unaired episode from the archives this week! We talk about Ready Player One, the dystopian virtual-world novel that took the world ...
The Realest Place on Earth
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Design Doc episode 100! In this special episode, we take a field trip with our game Escape from Wonderland. Trapped in an amusement park with a ...
Game Design Grab Bag
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In an impromptu recording, we decided to take turns setting a 6-minute timer and sharing whatever topics came to mind. The result was a series of comp...
Roleplaying in the Park
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're going back to the park and taking Wonderland with us! To get the game off the table and into the real world, there are a number of changes we'll...
Creative Disagreements
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Even after years of working together, there are times where we just can’t agree. The work grinds to a halt, and we end up frustrated and confused. W...
The Game Takes Shape
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the early stages of a game's design, it's hard to even know what questions to answer. We've hit a turning point with Escape from Wonderland where w...
The Rules Tell a Story
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After you’ve made the rules, you need to decide how you’re going to tell them. The right rule in the wrong order can make all the difference! In...
Epilogues in Games
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Story endings are hard! The epilogue of a game not only has to logically wrap up the story and tie up any loose ends—it’s also the moment to refle...
Balancing the Pendulum
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we talk about the unpredictable mechanical swings that can happen between different versions of a game. Small tweaks to mechanics can trigg...
Now You're the Bad Guy
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’re introducing a new dynamic to our latest roleplaying game! You all came to this amusement park as friends, but one of you started serving the p...
Don’t Stop Making Art! (Feat. Joshua A.C. Newman)
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah had to get a full time office job. Since then, finding the time and energy for creative work has been an uphill battle. In this episode, Hannah...
It’s My Playtest and I’ll Cry If I Want To
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah and Evan discuss Wonderland's first four-player playtest. When a playtest goes wrong, it can be tricky to diagnose the cause. How much is due t...
Pacing
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Slow and steady wins the race... but does it work in a one-session RPG? From what we've seen in Escape from Wonderland, not quite. In this episode, we...
Insights and Secrets
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes a secret is worth more than gold. But how do you make concrete rules for something intangible? Hannah and Evan talk about the secrets of Won...
Rewards and Prizes
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Even when things are going wrong for your characters, you as a player might feel rewarded by narrative twists and turns. In this episode, Hannah and E...
The Art of Perfect Art
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When people decide what art is worth looking at, they look for the very best. In a world that demands creative endeavors be perfect, how do we find th...
What Makes a Good Playtest?
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is playtesting more of a science, or more art? How prepared should you be for a playtest if you're testing rules that might change on the fly, never t...
When Mechanics Don't Match
25 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our newest game, Escape from Wonderland, began as a hack of Questlandia. But what happens when the mechanics of an old game don't work with the story ...
Going Places! (or, Navigation Mechanics in Games)
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We often ask ourselves, "Do we need a mechanic for that?" In our newest game, Escape from Wonderland, we want to encourage players to travel across a ...
A Moment of Rest
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're taking a week off to recharge! We'll see you back in two weeks with a new episode of Design Doc. Rest easy. Sincerely, Hannah and Evan Links/Cre...
Finding Community Again
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We recently realized that we’ve drifted apart not just from our games community, but from our community at large. Now, in a world where the future f...
Levels of Doneness
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Kickstarter for Escape from Wonderland is LIVE! Support the game here! How do you know when a game is ready for Kickstarter? How far along should ...
Judging a Book by Its Cover
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The first conversation we've had about cover design in games! We discuss how book covers are often the first thing people see of our games, how a well...
The Ideas You'll Be Buried With
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of the hardest lessons in game design is coming to terms with the fact that many of our favorite ideas will remain unrealized. In this episode, we...
Designing a Spooky Game (Part 4): Finally, the Playtest
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Evan and Hannah try playing their new game with a very rough draft of the rules, in a cross between a playtest and design session. New ideas and new q...
The Pizza or the Basket? (Amusement Park Horror w/ Alanna Shaffer)
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're joined by public historian and musical improviser Alanna Shaffer to discuss real-world amusement park horror and Dippin' Dots scams at Dorney Pa...
Designing a Spooky Game (Part 3): Mr. Bones' Wild Ride
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our design of a creepy amusement park game, starting with the question, "What does bad behavior look like in an amusement park?" In this e...
Designing a Spooky Game (Part 2): The Setting
07 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How can you use simple rules to create a complex setting? In the second part of this live design series, Hannah and Evan take a swing at world and c...
Designing a Spooky Game (Part 1): The Brainstorm
25 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What makes a game hack manageable in scope and size? Hannah and Evan delve back into game design to create a creepy amusement park Questlandia hack on...
The Founder Olympics
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah and Evan face off in a battle of inspiration and ego to outdo each other's most founder ideas. Then, they set impostor syndrome aside and dilut...
Our Best Design Doc Ideas
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From Mood, Moments, Mechanics, Materials (MMMM) to "Be aware, be charming," our Design Doc conversations over the years have inspired some of our favo...
The Taste Talent Gap
03 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Public radio icon Ira Glass has a famous quote describing the gap between taste and talent in trying to hone your creative work. When you start out, y...
Adapting a Text
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah and Evan talk about how to transform a beloved movie, book, or show into a game, using their latest project as an example: An adaptation of a 1...
Working around a Job
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a perfect world, we'd make a living just making roleplaying games. But sometimes, duty calls, and you've got to work around another job. In this ep...
Obsessions
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What’s the difference between a “theme” and an “obsession?” Inspired by a classic writing book from the ‘80s, we share our respective obse...
Better Never Than Late?
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kickstarter stretch goals are notorious for getting project creators into trouble. Sometimes, they over promise content. Other times, they create fina...
Designing Alone, but Not Lonely
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Hannah talks about the art of doing creative work alone. As part of a game design duo that normally does all creative work together, ...
Design Session: What Makes a Good Solo RPG?
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We love making solo RPGs, but we don't always love playing them. In this episode we brainstorm ideas for a possible one-player version of Questlandia,...
Will We Ever Finish Questlandia 2?
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This month marks the sixth anniversary of Design Doc, a podcast that started as a "year-long" project documenting our progress redesigning our first r...
The Liminal Spaces of Six Flags
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah and Evan talk about the strange designs and abandoned places of Six Flags New England, the latest of a series of research trips. Join them on a...
"People Were Shorter Back Then" (Guest ep w/ historical interpreter Enzo!)
24 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Former historical interpreter Enzo joins us to talk about interpreting history! A few months ago we visited Old Sturbridge Village, an 1830s rural New...
Old Sturbridge Village
28 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Hannah and Evan describe their recent trip to Sturbridge Village, an 1800s recreation historical town. They talk about the value of on...
Founder Energy
05 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about bringing confidence to our own work, including our recent scent-inspired game ideas. We're working on bringing that founder hustle witho...
Fish People
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In a much-requested episode topic, Hannah and Evan talk about WORLDBUILDING. We narrow in on three worldbuilding faux pas we're trying to be aware of ...
Focusing on Focus
10 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah and Evan discuss their personal experiences and struggles with focus. A new kind of work requires long stretches of sustained focus, disrupting...
We're Writing a Novel
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 challen...
Packed With Care (Part 2)
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah and Evan discuss the trials and tribulations of packing a "deluxe" edition of Questlandia and the ridiculous mishaps that ensued. They chat fan...
Packed With Care (Part 1)
13 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah and Evan talk about the increasingly complicated logistics of packing and shipping games as small creators. In this episode, we talk all about...
Actually selling our games
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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: con...
What to do when you're sick of your game
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
FLETs (Fiddly Little End Things)
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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/out...
Dispatch from an on-time timeline
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Imperfect Inspiration
21 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Perfect media is untouchable. Hannah and Evan talk about looking to flawed, goofy, broken movies and books for creative inspiration, instead of lookin...
Bad lo-fi game ideas to study or relax to
28 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah reads you a game ideas to-do list for 30 minutes.
Underdressed and over-diced
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What's the right tone for the rules of a roleplaying game? Evan and Hannah talk about casual versus formal writing, and how small word choices explode...
Kudos Conundrum
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Hannah and Evan talk about the self-consciousness that comes when you grow up and are told you must make things for serious reasons. ...
Rekindling the Flame
27 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do you reignite the passion for an old project? Hannah and Evan talk about returning to Starship UltraLux and strain to apply a spaghetti metaphor...
A Cat in the Lap and Other Good Things
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's easy to overlook the little things that are going well when there's no big exciting game or runaway success to chase. Hannah and Evan talk about ...
Numbers Hide Everything
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Hannah and Evan chat about their honest expectations and secret hopes for the latest Kickstarter campaign. What do the numbers mean an...
The Episode Before the Kickstarter
19 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We've had seven years to think of a good pitch for our game. Now, we're Kickstarting Questlandia again, and we're finally figuring out the pitch that ...
Resist the Urge to Fill Negative Space
24 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We haven't had a deadlined project in a minute. But now it's time for a deadlined project again... How do we incorporate that work without letting un-...
The Work of Games Is Not Just Making Games
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We just finished a year-long project, and have a little time to plan our next steps! The work of what happens in-between is just as important as the w...
Shootin the shoot
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah and Evan shoot the shoot about games, being in the weird middle space of a project almost being done, and launching lucrative YouTube careers.
How to Compare Roleplaying Games
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah and Evan talk about the quest to thrive in the shadows of the world's most popular RPGs. An episode about how to compare every roleplaying game...
Deluxe Edition
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah and Evan discuss the trials and tribulations of offering a "deluxe" version of a game on Kickstarter. How do you balance the quality, the compl...
Everything Old Is New Again
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We sold out of Questlandias, and have decided to revamp it for the next print run! We talk about returning to our first game with both appreciation fo...
Scopeful Optimism
12 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what makes a game's scope big or small, why Q2 has taken so long, and all the projects we've made in the meantime. Support Design Doc on...
Designing a Game Design Workday
28 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about how we've redesigned the structure of our workday, because boundaries around work are important even when—and ESPECIALLY when—it's w...
The Games You Want to Make, The Life You Want to Live
31 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We sit down for an unplanned recording of Design Doc when Evan says something sad. Note: This episode discusses the toll that work can take on physica...
Burnout
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we talk about completing a project that made us our own worst bosses and what it's like coming back from burnout. Link to re-launched ...
The Ski Bike
31 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Its purpose, the act of creation. Its destiny, unknowable. Today's episode is about a bike on skis. Design Doc intro theme by Pat King. Intermission...
Breaking up with Character Creation
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Character creation in Questlandia 1 lasted two hours. Character creation in Questlandia 2 is five minutes. What changed? Intro/Outro music: by Pat Kin...
When to Add Ghosts to Your Game
22 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The junk poets are changing again. This time, maybe in a spoooooky way. We talk again about the junk poets as GMing tools and making them less corpore...
When No One Is the GM, Everyone Is
23 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Questlandia 2 is a campaign game with no Game Master. Without a designated person in the GM role, that responsibility must be distributed among all pl...
The UltraLux Bait-and-Switch
24 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Questlandia 2 has been delayed. Now, we're releasing an entirely different RPG first. We talk about—and try not to apologize for—how timelines and...
Your Kickstarter Questions (Mostly) Answered
18 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We asked on Twitter what you wanted to know about running a roleplaying game Kickstarter. Now, we're answering your questions. From self-promotion to ...
Okay, Let's Redesign Noirlandia
21 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We try redesigning Noirlandia, one of our other roleplaying games, in one hour!
We Still Don't Know Who the Junk Poets Are
16 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Who are the Junk Poets and what do they add to Questlandia? We go over what we know, what's still missing, and how they could make a GMless game easie...
Finding the Game's Emotional Core
13 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We've finished the first two playtests of Questlandia and something is still missing. In this episode we talk about how to hone in on the emotional co...
Playtesting Progress Part 2: The Spinning Mountain
21 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After playtesting Questlandia's new kingdom and character creation, it's time to test some scenes! Bartholomew the anxious city planner and Quincy the...
Playtesting Progress Part 1: Knotty Business
31 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Kingdom Knot, where our people keep vigil over the void at the edge of the world. Something has emerged from that void—a creature for whi...
Make-Believe History
11 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Alanna Shaffer joins us to talk about how, even when telling made-up stories, we can be aware of biases in the way we talk about history. Whose storie...
Whoops, It's a Dystopia
12 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Why are our worlds turning out horrible? After playtesting at Metatopia, we talk about how the framing for worldbuilding can exaggerate societies to c...
It's Trans Awareness Week (Mini Bonus Ep)
19 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It's Trans Awareness Week. A short bonus episode about trans allyship, education, and creating better gaming spaces. Trans Awareness Week: https://ww...
Games Are Political
06 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about acknowledging—and embracing—the inherent politics of game design. Intro music credit. New Ages 1 from Little Big Dog Ears. http://...
Retreat Forward
04 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In September we met for a mini Questlandia retreat. We talked about how our intentions for the game have shifted in the current political landscape an...
Making Things in Hard Times
17 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How do you keep making things when life throws the unexpected your way? We're learning what that looks like now.
Social Dynamics at the Table
13 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A good GM can step up to manage social dynamics at the table. But in Questlandia 2, there is no GM, so the rules we write need to do that work. How ca...
You Can Kill a King, but You Can't Make a Marinara
18 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What happens if a player achieves their big character goal in the very first scene of the game? We found out.
Romancing the Wall
18 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
With no GM, players in Questlandia 2 are responsible for framing their own scene types. As a result they animate objects, make holy voyages, and befr...
The Worst Ideas We've Had so Far
23 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Good games are often built on an avalanche of bad ideas. We talk about the worst ideas we've had so far, and how to turn them into something useful.
Deadline Motivated
23 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about deadlines, and the whooshing noise they make as they go by.
Mosslickers
04 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The first playtest that takes us all the way through character creation. Meet beasts of burden, puppeteers, and the queens who inhabit Mosslicker Alle...