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.