All posts filed under “Looney Labs”

October 9, 2018

Episode 162: Sequels, Part 2

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This week the nerds spend a lot of time talking about sequels, reboots, and continuing adventures. Keith talks about Oceans 8, which leads to a big discussion about Deux ex machine, crabgrass, red herrings, Chehov’s gun, Hitchcock’s bomb, plot twists, and subverting viewer expectations. Moving on to game design, they discuss how newer versions of rules for games are more like updated versions of software than sequels, and the challenge of adding new features while also wanting to simplify and optimize game mechanics. Regarding media, Andy talks a little about the first episode of Manifest, then they bring down the spoiler curtain to discuss the final season of The Americans at length.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

October 2, 2018

Episode 161: Some Doofus Took a Cup

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This week the nerds follow up on last week’s discussion of robots with a lengthy discussion about Dragons. Why do they sleep on hordes of gold, anyway? Why are some really smart, and others unable to even speak? And why isn’t there a dragon in Fairy Tale Fluxx? Moving on from dragons, Keith talks about taxes and Action Pups! and Andy talks about getting a root canal. Then Andy explains his plan to get rid of his van and go buy a used truck instead. They talk a little about upcoming media, then Andy talks about the concept album by Jonathan Coulton called Solid State.

September 11, 2018

Episode 159: Druid Law

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Andy just got back from Burning Man so he spends a lot of this episode talking about his experiences there this year. He ran a lot of games at his camp, which hosts a game convention called RaiderCon, and had a great breakthrough while playtesting his new game, Are You a Robot?. Meanwhile, Keith just returned from DragonCon and interjects with stories from his weekend, where he played a lot of great games of Illimat and learned about Druid Law from Ken Hite. Andy describes a couple of the most intense Burning Man art projects he experienced, including a crazy stack of seven junked cars and a recreation of the Great Train Wreck. Other topics they discuss along the way include the works of Doug Michels, the future of Star Trek, Ed Harris in westerns and some spoilery theories about the next Avengers movie.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

September 5, 2018

Episode 158: What Does The Ambassador Say?

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First Keith talks about being in Ithaca again to help his mother, and Andy talks about the recent passing of his father. Then Andy talks about his plans for Burning Man, which leads to a discussion of robots. Andy reports on his progress with the design of ChronoTrek, and Keith talks about Action Pups! They discuss some media, including Humans, Making It, and Nailed It. Andy talks about Jenny Nicholson’s ideas for naming horses, the Renwick Gallery’s Burning Man exhibit, and gives more thoughtful answers to the favorite and least favorite aliens.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

August 28, 2018

Episode 157: It’s Something or Other, Charlie Brown!

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First Keith reports on a couple of D&D games in the middle of playing, which included a scene with a fancy dance involving daggers. Then Keith talks about several podcasts he listened to recently, and some of the issues discussed thereon. The guys then talk more about their experiences at GenCon. Andy talks about awarding Homeworlds medal #17, and describes new ideas he’s been playing around with for a variation of the game that has no combat and a different end condition. Keith talks about Potion Explosion, Root, Arkham Horror, and the how difficult it is to walk the enormous exhibit hall when you’re busy running a booth. They talk about the meaning of name Delos, and Andy talks about an RPG called TimeWatch. Keith talks about media he’s been catching up on, including Cloak & Dagger, Castle Rock, and Making It. Kristin interrupts to bring Andy the first samples from the factory of Fairy Tale Fluxx and Mary Engelbreit Loonacy, and talks about the progress he’s been making on the Star Trek version of Chrononauts he’s currently designing.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

August 21, 2018

Episode 156: Game Designers Sitting Still Eating Pizza

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This episode was recorded during Gen Con at a Giordano’s pizza place. First Andy shows Keith his prototype-in-progress for a new version of Chrononauts based on the historical events of the Star Trek universe. Keith talks about playing backgammon at a family reunion, then they get into discussing what they’ve been doing at Gen Con. Keith talks about why he had two booths, and describes the four Writer’s Symposium panels he was on. This leads to a discussion of their favorite, and least favorite, alien races. Andy talks about running his newest Parsely game, Ducks on a Plane, then they play a couple of rounds of Andy’s newest social deduction game, Are You a Robot?. Lastly, the pizza arrives, and the guys have to stop talking so they can eat!

July 31, 2018

Episode 155: Cane, Walker, Wheelchair

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First the guys talk about Gen Con and other travel plans. Then Keith talks about The Wayfinder’s Guide to Eberron, which he’s been working on for months and which was just released. Andy reports on his progress with the new game he’s developing called Are You A Robot, then tells of moving his aging father into the next level of care at his retirement home. Andy talks about installing a TV screen showing a looping video of a fireplace inside an old wood stove, and Keith talks about seeing a Rick & Morty episode he’d missed the first time around. Moving onto media, topics include Timeless, Travelers, Cloak & Dagger, and Ant Man. Things get spoilery when Andy starts talking at length about Future World, the 1976 sequel to Westworld and end with their views on the first season of The Crossing.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

July 24, 2018

Episode 154: Colonel Custard

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The show begins with a lengthy discussion of custard and other desserts. Keith talks about The Story George Told Me and How I Met Your Mother, which leads to another discussion about TV series finales. Andy steps away briefly to take some custards out of the oven, leaving Keith to talk about ice cream cake, and then they get into a big discussion about villains in the MCU. This leads to a discussion about long-term continuity in writing about famous characters, in particular the changes in direction in the recent Star Wars movies. (Beware of some slight Solo and Last Jedi spoilers towards the end.)

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

July 17, 2018

Episode 153: The Perfect Sky is Torn

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First the guys chat about the weather, and work stuff… Andy talks about some new design ideas he’s been having for Space Fluxx… but they spend the most of this show talking about Westworld, first discussing the original 1973 film, and later, the finale of season 2 of the series.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS