Nerdlab | Nerd like a Boss

021 – Level up – Character Progression in Card Games

April 12, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 3 comments

In Episode 21 of the Nerdlab podcast, we will talk about level ups and progression systems in card games. We will talk about character progression by upgrading cards or adding new cards to a deck. We will talk about roguelikes, deck builders, deck construction games and adventure card games. All of these games have progression […]

020 – Designing Adventure Card Games with Mike Selinker

April 2, 2019 / by Marvin / Interview, Podcast / 4 comments

For Episode 20 of the Nerdlab, I have had the honor to interview Mike Selinker. A legend in the Game Design industry. He is the brain behind many of the games that inspired me to start my quest as a game designer. Just to mention a few: Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Apocrypha Betrayal at House […]

019 – Artificial Intelligence in Board Games – Part 2

March 26, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Game Review, Podcast / 0 comments

In episode 19 of the Nerdlab we will follow up on last weeks episode. So if you didn’t listen to episode 18 I strongly recommend listening to this episode first. Because I discussed a lot of basics about Artificial Intelligence. We talked about some design principles and different levels of AI in board games. Today […]

018 – Artificial Intelligence in Board Games – Part 1

March 15, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 1 comment

In Episode 18 of the Nerdlab we will talk about AI which stands for artificial intelligence. AI is a form of intelligent agent that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of successfully achieving a goal. While this is also a huge topic in computer science, we will only focus on AI […]

017 – Ending Games using Fatigue & Exhaustion Mechanics

March 3, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 0 comments

In Episode 17 of the Nerdlab we will talk about the topic “How to finish a game” and will especially deal with the situation when a game takes much longer than expected. To avoid this situation in our games, we will also look at some fatigue and exhaustion mechanics that can be used as secondary […]

016 – Preparing for Playtesting and Scattershot Testing

February 22, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 0 comments

In episode 16 of the Nerdlab, I am talking about how I approach an upcoming playtesting weekend. In particular, I am talking about Scattershot Testing, a method I use to test as many different mechanics as possible in a single playtesting session: Instead of hunting for the answers to the core problems of my game I want […]

015 – Aeons End & The Early Design Phase with Kevin Riley

February 14, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Interview, Podcast / 0 comments

In episode 15 of the Nerdlab, I have the honor to interview Kevin Riley designer of Aeons End, one of my favorite games. Kevin shares with us some incredible design principles that I’m definitely going to apply to my game design as well. And To be honest, I think every card game designer should follow these principles. […]

014 – Cardpocalypse and Legacy Elements in CCGs with Angelo Nikolaou

February 8, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 3 comments

In episode 14 of the Nerdlab, I’m very proud to talk with Angelo Nikolaou about the game Cardpocalypse and the specific design process of a single player CCG. We also discussed a lot about legacy elements in games and why we think they make a game more interesting through personalization. Angelo has a lot of practical advice […]

013 – Turn Order and Initiative in Cooperative Card and Board Games

February 1, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 0 comments

Hello fellow adventurers, In today’s episode, we are discussing Turn Order and Initiative in Cooperative Card and Board Games. My goal for this episode is to identify the different aspects of various turn order mechanics in order to enrich our game designer mindset. Hopefully, this will help all of us to create the best possible turn […]

012 – Co-Op Mechanics Part 2 – Fighting the Alpha Player Problem, Creating Team Decisions and Adding Tension

January 25, 2019 / by Marvin / Game Design, Podcast / 4 comments

Hello fellow adventurers, In today’s episode, we are discussing co-op game mechanics that can be used to: Fight the alpha player problem Foster team decision situations Add tension to the game What are the main goals of co-op mechanics: One problem in co-op games is the so-called quarterbacking. What it means is that one player makes […]

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