In this episode, Soren Johnson interviews legendary game designer Sid Meier, best known for designing Pirates!, Railroad Tycoon, and Civilization. They discuss what game Sid wishes he designed, how to determine if a prototype should be turned into a game, and why we need a Zombie civilization.
Games discussed: Civilization Revolution, CivWorld, Ace Patrol, Starships, Tetris, SimCity, Seven Cities of Gold
https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/sid-meier-part-4
In this episode, Soren Johnson interviews legendary game designer Sid Meier, best known for designing Pirates!, Railroad Tycoon, and Civilization. They discuss why dinosaurs need to have ranged attacks, how deals go down on the SimGolf course, and if Civ games have an ideal length.
Games discussed: CPU Bach, Magic: The Gathering, Hearthstone, Gettysburg, Dinosaurs, SimGolf, Pirates!, Railroads!, Civilization Revolution
https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/sid-meier-part-3
In this episode, Soren Johnson interviews legendary game designer Sid Meier, best known for designing Pirates!, Railroad Tycoon, and Civilization. They discuss how Sid’s stealth fighter was more interesting than the real one, whether XCOM violates the Covert Action rule, and when the world was ready for hexes.
Games Discussed: Covert Action, Railroad Tycoon, SimCity, F-19 Stealth Fighter, Civilization, Empire
https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/sid-meier-part-2
In this episode, Soren Johnson interviews legendary game designer Sid Meier, best known for designing Pirates!, Railroad Tycoon, and Civilization. They discuss using the Ayatollah Khomeini as an enemy, how Strike Eagle differentiated itself from Flight Simulator, and why the torpedo doesn’t go where the player aims it in Silent Service.
Games discussed: Pong, Floyd of the Jungle, Strike Eagle, Silent Service, Seven Cities of Gold, Pirates!
https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/sid-meier-part-1
In this episode, Soren Johnson interviews veteran game designer Amy Hennig, best known for her work on the Legacy of Kain and Uncharted series. They discuss what elements from film can’t work in games, how many hours she averaged per week working on the Uncharted series, and how to capture great acting performance for video games.
Games Discussed: The Uncharted series, The Last of Us
https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/amy-hennig-part-2
In this episode, Soren Johnson interviews veteran game designer Amy Hennig, best known for her work on the Legacy of Kain and Uncharted series. They discuss what happened in 1977, how to make a platformer about Michael Jordan, and whether women are now being scared away from game development the way she was from the film industry. In true adventure game fashion, we end on a cliffhanger!
Games Discussed: ELIZA, Sea Wolf, Combat, Dungeons and Dragons, Zork, Electrocop, Bard’s Tale 4, Desert Strike, Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City, the Legacy of Kain series, Jak 3
https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/amy-hennig
In this episode, Adam Saltsman interviews independent game developer Liz Ryerson, known for experimental games like Problem Attic. They discuss whether we should ever make players uncomfortable, why horror games have more freedom to try unconventional design, and whether Twitter is a game.
Games discussed: the Civilization series, Overland, Problem Attic, Train, Papers Please, PRY
https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/liz-ryerson
In this episode, Soren interviews Westwood Studio co-founder Louis Castle. They discuss why early video game artists were also great at Etch-a-Sketch, why Dune 2 was not Dune 1, how Boom Blox was almost Angry Birds, and why narrative games can’t end on a negative.
Games discussed: Temple of Apshai, The Mars Saga, Command & Conquer, Monopoly, Dune 2, Eye of the Beholder, Blade Runner, Boom Blox, LMNO, The Battle for Middle-Earth
https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/louis-castle
In this episode, Bruce Geryk interviews Soren Johnson about his new economic RTS, Offworld Trading Company. They discuss how exploring a black map is one of gaming’s greatest hits, why the hardest part of designing Offworld was ending the game, and why Early Access games shouldn’t have QA. Also, listen to hear Soren correctly pronounce timbre!
Games Discussed: Offworld Trading Company, StarCraft, Age of Empires 2, Railroad Tycoon, M.U.L.E., Belter
https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/offworld-trading-company-1
In this episode, Soren interviews game designer Ananda Gupta, best known as the co-designer of Twilight Struggle and the lead designer of XCOM: Enemy Within. They discuss why DC has no fort in For the People, whether Labyrinth‘s neocon design is intentional, and should Twilight Struggle use dice to resolve conflicts. They also assume quite incorrectly that Command & Conquer: Generals was released before 9/11. Who knew?!?
Games Discussed: Lode Runner, Ancient Art of War, Diplomacy, Risk series, Paths of Glory, Twilight Struggle, History of the World, Labyrinth, A Distant Plain, Sept. 12th, Civ 3: Conquests, A Force More Powerful, X-COM, XCOM
https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/ananda-gupta