Andy talks about his recent trip to Vegas for the GAMA Trade Show, and other topics include the enormous power of expectations, ideas for future editions of Chrononauts, and the fun of pretending to be a time traveler. Keith & Andy also spend a lot of time discussing media, including the movies Hail Caesar and The Intern, and the shows 11.22.63, Outlander, and The Americans.
Spoiler Alert: Beware of the spoilers!
First, Andy & Keith talk about how Kickstarter has re-shaped the world of independent game publishing, how much harder it is to implement ideas than it is to come up with them, and how novice inventors are prone to the Dunning-Kruger Effect. Then they spend a lot of time reminiscing about the early days of Icehouse, including Andy’s creation of the very first set of pyramids using lead fishing weights. But the biggest topic is that Keith finally tells the story of how he and his fellow Bates Discordians took over the Fourth International Icehouse Tournament back in 1992.
Keith talks at length about Project B, which he’s now calling Project 12, and Andy talks his recent redesign of Lunar Invaders, one of the games in Pyramid Arcade. They also talk about the fun of having a snappy response to the common question, “What’s your deal?” Regarding media, they talk about the first couple of episodes of 11.22.63 which is a wee-bit spoilery, despite their attempts to discuss it without revealing too much.
Spoiler Warning: Spoilers inside.
Andy & Keith just got back from JoCo Cruise 6 so that’s the big topic this week, including Keith’s story of almost being left behind on St. Maarten. They both did a lot of playtesting on the boat: Andy was showing off all the games in Pyramid Arcade, and Keith was testing out his secret “Project B” game. Other topics include one of the shows Keith most enjoyed, Imogen Heap’s performance, Andy talks about visiting the Kennedy Space Center with other “sea monkeys” when the cruise ended, and they both share stories about hanging out with geeky celebs including other game designers, in particular James Ernest and Mike Selinker. Non-cruise topics include Keith’s next version of Gloom, the differences between their roles as a Free-lance designer vs. being on staff, and Andy’s experiences with wearing a giant mascot costume of an Uglydoll character at Toy Fair.
Andy & Keith talk about the titular “Fair Enough” contest, the upcoming JoCo cruise, and plans for the first ever Looney Labs fan convention, in July. But mostly they talk about TV shows, including Jessica Jones, the new X Files, and Legends of Tomorrow. They also discuss the X-Men movie, Days of Future Past, and how the ability to create impossible technology is basically just another super-power.
Andy & Keith get into some really interesting game design conversations this week, discussing possibilities for Time Travel Gloom and Science Fiction Gloom, and talking about the classic RPG module, The Tomb of Horrors, recently called the Worst Adventure of All Time by John Wick. Media topics include the return of the X-Files, the appearance of the Turtle on the Flash, the Booth at the End, and Death Note. The guys lament how story-tellers can undo the magic they’ve created when they try too hard to provide explanations for matters that are best left mysterious.
Andy & Keith talk about production milestones, specifically the point at which you receive proofs from the printer and [hopefully don’t] find problems that need to be fixed before printing. Keith talks about ideas for new Glooms he’s been pondering, including Time Travel Gloom. Andy talks about the newest employee at Looney Labs, his nephew Eric, who’s been hired to make videos. They also discusses the Looney Labs interview process, and the expression “No Whammies.” Media topics include the movie Primer, the show Sherlock, and of course, Star Trek and Star Wars.
Andy and Keith spend this whole episode talking about Star Wars without actually talking about the new movie, which Andy hasn’t seen yet but Keith has seen twice. Even so, they find plenty to discuss on the subject, having both just watched the “Anti-Cheese” editions of the prequel trilogy.
This week Andy tells Keith about his adventures at Geekonomicon, including creating a design for Convention Fluxx at a panel called Improv Fluxx Design. Keith talks about his new card game-in-progress, which he’s calling Project B, and Andy describes a new 3-player variation of Hearts he recently played. They talk about shooting the moon, which Andy relentlessly tries to do when playing Hearts. They also continue their pre-Episode 7 geeking out, with discussions about droid deities and the “Anti-Cheese” re-edits of the prequels. Somewhere in there they also have a spoiler-y discussion about the final episode of Minority Report.
Andy spends most of this episode telling Keith about his adventures at Burning Man. Among other things he compares Burners to Boy Scouts. Also discussed is the Penn & Teller show, Fool Us.