Where do games come from

This month we’re putting a team together. We talk about commissioning work, hiring artists, and what it’s like to be on either side of a freelance brief. There’s finding the right people, figuring out what to pay them, and deciding how much room to leave for their own ideas.

What does it take to crowdfund a game? In this episode, we talk about setting up a campaign, choosing a platform, building an audience, setting funding goals, and making promises you can keep.

What does it actually take to run a games business? We take a deep dive into accounting, taxes, regulations, contracts, invoices, bank accounts, paperwork, and all the other thrilling things nobody dreams about when they decide to make games for a living.

What does it actually take to manufacture a tabletop game? We talk about printers, paper stocks, proofs, production mistakes, and the countless decisions that stand between a finished design and a book or box (or vinyl!) on someone's shelf.

Making games is one thing. Moving them across the globe is another. In this episode, we talk about freight, mail services, warehouses, customs, shipping disasters, and the endless logistics of moving boxes from factory to players.

Every game starts somewhere. We talk about where ideas come from, how they evolve into actual projects, and why the earliest stages of design are often the most exciting, all while trying to figure out what this podcast wants to become.