Category Archives: game design

Kodrek: Now in a Volume Near You

September 22, 2011 – 4:31 pm

I’m very pleased to say that all Kodrek sets have now been sent! Some folks may have already gotten them. I’m really looking forward to hearing about peoples’ games — video some and show me! — and how they house rule the game. It’s designed with some deliberate flexibility and commentary on what taking advantage [...]

By joshua | Also posted in Boardgames, community, Human Contact | Tagged | Comments (2)

Want to see how to play Kodrek?

August 31, 2011 – 10:16 pm

Hurricane Irene really set me back on finishing up Kodrek. But I managed to get a video of play up in time to get it into the Thousand Year game Challenge! Also excitingly, I’ll be printing up booklets and sending out games in the coming week!

By joshua | Also posted in art, Boardgames, Human Contact, playing games, publishing, science/fiction, shock:, visual design | Comments (1)

Kodrek rules, version 1.0

August 25, 2011 – 3:23 pm

The 1.0 rules of Kodrek are complete! I’ll be sending boards out to all the Kodrek-level Kickstarter backers just as soon as printing is complete. The timing means that I’ll also be entering the game in the 1000 Year Game Challenge. It’s got some stiff competition! Kodrek is a game with a funny background. It comes [...]

By joshua | Also posted in art, Boardgames, community, Human Contact, information and object design, making stuff, publishing, science/fiction, shock: | Comments (10)

Game Design Studio: Doors (forced) Open!

August 27, 2010 – 10:59 am

I forgot to open up the doors to the Game Design Studio, but young rowdies are already cramming in there, helping each other, so who am I to stop them? If you’ve got something to submit, read the How to Critique post, and join the rest of the class!

By joshua | Also posted in community, information and object design | Comments (0)

Kodrek, A Game of the Kotaht Archipelago

June 8, 2010 – 2:32 pm

During last night’s game of Human Contact, there was a scene in a rough ‘n’ tumble bar where there was a gambling game going on between a couple of background characters in the Kotaht Archipelago. There was some hustling going on, so we wound up describing the game a little bit. Vincent wanted there to [...]

By joshua | Also posted in art, Boardgames, Human Contact | Tagged | Comments (5)

Science Fiction Language

June 7, 2010 – 11:46 am

Over at io9, there’s an article about languages in science fiction, using as an example how much ours has changed since Shakespeare’s time. It’s neat, and timely, as I’m working on the language section of Shock:Human Contact next. If I do another Preview Edition, it’ll be about language and war. I’m also drawing on The [...]

By joshua | Also posted in Human Contact, science/fiction, shock: | Comments (4)

Academy Law

March 25, 2010 – 8:32 pm

There are several parts of Academy law that will be broadly applicable to the interstellar expeditions that will be the core of play in Human Contact. I’m interested to see how these are interpreted (and ignored) in the course of play — after all, it’ll be years, or maybe decades (or maybe never!) before contact [...]

By joshua | Also posted in Human Contact, science/fiction, shock: | Comments (6)

Episode 11: THE END OF THE WORLD!

February 18, 2010 – 3:37 am

40:30 long & 37.1 MB big In this episode, Robert Bohl (designer of Misspent Youth) and Joshua A. C. Newman (designer of shock: social science fiction) end it all. Just in time for your Dreamation 2010 drive/flight! – You can’t cut a piece off something living unless it wants you to, like one of those [...]

By Robert Bohl | Also posted in making stuff, news, olmag, publishing | Comments (0)

Human Contact

February 5, 2010 – 9:21 pm

Human Contact is a version of the Shock: system, focused for a far-future, spacefaring setting. Its science is as hard as I can make it while still having fairy dust things like “interstellar travel” work, while at its core, the setting is about culture clash and the moral challenges of being an explorer and being [...]

By joshua | Also posted in publishing, science/fiction, shock: | Tagged | Comments (2)

Choose Your Adventure! [Oo! Let's Make a Game!]

December 28, 2009 – 1:44 pm

51:04 long & 49 MB big In this episode, Robert Bohl (designer of Misspent Youth) and Joshua A. C. Newman (designer of shock: social science fiction) discuss major changes to the game, spend a lot of time with feedback, and discuss how Jewish someone has to be in England. We took some during-the-show notes. If [...]

By Robert Bohl | Also posted in community, making stuff, olmag, publishing | Comments (0)