The Zachtronics Podcast

In episode #10 of the Zachtronics podcast I'm joined by Keith again, this time to interview Tom Braunlich, one of the designers of the Star Trek and Star Wars collectible card games from the 90s. We talk about designing games for licensed IP, creating mechanics that deeply evoke your theme and setting, a fair amount of sci-fi nostalgia, and the tragic downfall of Decipher. I seem to have conflated Scratchees (the product) with Dr. Scratchov (the product's mascot). They are remarkably difficult to search for online but I managed to find some pictures on BoardGameGeek. The Fajo Collection, on the other hand, is much more searchable. Here's the full list of cards and here's somewhere that you can buy one, still sealed, for a mere $35. I have to admit, I seriously considered buying one while I was editing this episode... The otaku book I was referencing is called Otaku: Japan's Database Animals. I can't say how "true" it is, but Matthew lent it to me and it definitely changed the way I think about modern media consumption. Here's the bluffs card I mentioned, and here are the bluff rules it references. I think this is the only card in the game that uses these rules! While we're at it, here's a full set of rules, along with supplementary rules sheets released with each expansion. When you look at these as a whole it really starts to look more like a roleplaying game. And here's the list of easter eggs that Tom mentioned. I like how the light side "binary droid" has the copyright date written in binary. It can be a little spotty getting images to load for old pages on the Wayback Machine but this seems to be a decent snapshot of the Decipher website. At a minimum you can see their kick-ass raytraced virtual "lobby". If you're interested in playing these games, check out the Star Trek Continuing Committee or the Star Wars Players Committee. Download The Zachtronics Podcast: Episode #10 (71.6 MB, duration: 1:33:02)

In episode #9 of the Zachtronics podcast I'm joined by Keith to interview Chris Crawford, the creator of a bunch of historically notable games, including the first commercial computer wargame. We talk about how he started making games, his time at Atari, and his post-Atari career as an "indie game developer" starting in the 1980s. We also talk about the design and philosophy of wargames, and a surprising amount about Arthurian legend... We mention a bunch of books in this episode, so here are some of them: Chris Crawford on Game Design, by Chris Crawford Simulating War, by Philip Sabin How to Make War, by James Dunnigan De re metallica, by Georgius Agricola De Re Atari, by Chris Crawford et al. Interface, by Neal Stephenson LINK: Chris's KIM-1 System (Closed, Open, Main Board, Tiny Terminals, Early "IDE", Tanktics Map) LINK: Chris Crawford's Kingdom (1984) Download The Zachtronics Podcast: Episode #9 (74.9 MB, duration: 1:39:36)

In episode #8 of the Zachtronics podcast I interview Jeff Schader of The Skins Factory, the graphic design studio responsible for most of the Windows Media Player skins of the early 2000s. Although you might think this has nothing to do with games, it turns out there's a surprising amount of overlap; topics covered include skeuomorphic interfaces, the rise and fall of media player skins, taste versus talent, and much, much more! LINK: Zach's Gallery of Windows Media Player Skins LINK: The Skins Factory's Website Download The Zachtronics Podcast: Episode #8 (33.9 MB, duration: 45:18)

In episode #7 of the Zachtronics podcast I don't interview anyone! Instead, I talk with Keith and Jared (two other members of Zachtronics) about our attempt to play Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, how the game design compares to modern Dungeons and Dragons, and some of the things that make it so spectacularly weird. Download The Zachtronics Podcast: Episode #7 (52.9 MB, duration: 1:03:16)

In episode #6 of the Zachtronics podcast I interview David Galindo of Vertigo Gaming, the creator of Cook, Serve, Delicious! and Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!. Topics covered include cooking shows, unsolicited feedback, save file formats, yet another version control lecture, and much, much more! NOTE: In this episode I mention a link to an article that Keith read about the Minecraft file format. We were unable to find the article, and now we're not sure if it ever existed. Download The Zachtronics Podcast: Episode #6 (76.7 MB, duration: 1:36:58)

In episode #5 of the Zachtronics podcast I interview Jason McGann, one of the creators of Zoop, an action-puzzle game released in 1995. Topics covered include English game development, 90’s graphic design, why I love Zoop, and much, much more! ATTACHMENT: Zoop Advertisement Download The Zachtronics Podcast: Episode #5 (53.1 MB, duration: 1:17:26)

In episode #4 of the Zachtronics podcast I interview Dan Dixon of Giant Army, the creator of Universe Sandbox. Topics covered include Universe Sandbox, Visual Basic, broken promises, planetary-level extinction events, and much, much more! Download The Zachtronics Podcast: Episode #4 (47.2 MB, duration: 1:08:52)

In episode #3 of the Zachtronics podcast I interview Tim Saxon of Final Form Games, the creators of Jamestown and Jamestown Plus. Topics covered include Jamestown, Lua-based game engines, and much, much more! ATTACHMENT: Tim’s Example Lua Code Download The Zachtronics Podcast: Episode #3 (43.0 MB, duration: 55:33)

In episode #2 of the Zachtronics podcast I interview Brendon Chung of Blendo Games, the creator of the upcoming Quadrilateral Cowboy (in addition to many other games). Topics covered include level design, narrative in games, Brendon’s lifelong love of first-person shooters, and much, much more! Download The Zachtronics Podcast: Episode #2 (46.8 MB, duration: 1:08:10)

In episode #1 of the Zachtronics podcast I interview Zack Johnson and Kevin Simmons of Asymmetric Publications, the studio behind the long-running Kingdom of Loathing. Topics covered include the history of Kingdom of Loathing, the ups and downs of running an independent game studio, the merits of version control, making money despite our best efforts, colossal screw-ups, and much, much more! Download The Zachtronics Podcast: Episode #1 (46.3 MB, duration: 1:07:33)