Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 16h

No problem Connor! Realized a bunch of cool people were launching on the same day so I figured why not shout out some people making great games?

Hope your funding goal is met soon with lots of time for extras!

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 23h

How could I miss this one! The Flatout crew + the incredibly handsome @rf-seattle.bsky.social have been such a fantastic teamup. Original Cascadia is such a pleasant game, and I bet @flatoutgames.bsky.social were firing on all cylinders for a followup!

Check this one out!

Joseph Z Chen 🔜 PAX Unplugged @fanfactories.bsky.social · 23h

Cascadia: Alpine Lakes!

I did development work for this one, and it's surprising how differently it plays from the original Cascadia.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/fla...

Cascadia: Alpine Lakes

A standalone puzzly tile-layering follow-up to the award-winning game Cascadia, with beautiful artwork by Beth Sobel!

www.kickstarter.com

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 23h

Did I miss any other standout crowdfunding campaigns that launched today? Let me know if I did - so many crop up I am sure to miss some!

Here's hoping these all get their funding and then some! 🤞

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 23h

And finally @travisdhill.bsky.social put out RITE on kickstarter today. While I haven't played many of Travis's RPGs I love what he is doing in that space - making small, experimental experiences with his own unique vibes.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/tra...

RITE: A Midwinter Sacrament RPG Zine

An RPG Zine for up to four players participating in four sacraments during the bleak midwinter.

www.kickstarter.com

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 23h

Next up is local friend Mike Trias. His first game was Upstaged, and now he is crowdfunding DJ Icon. The turntable mechanism has always been a highlight and players can use real vinyl to play the game!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/koa...

DJ Icon: A Game About Tactics, Timing and Turntables

DJ Icon is an easy-to-learn, tactical board game where 2-8 players battle to win the DJ Icon Series Championship.

www.kickstarter.com

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 23h

Some very cool games on crowdfunding launching today!

First up is @connor.alwaysawake.games's Club Spooky & That's the Spirit. Connor has a pleasant indie style that I absolutely love. Out of Sorts wowed a lot of people and I expect these to be great as well!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/alw...

Club Spooky & That's the Spirit

Assemble the coolest group of ghouls in Club Spooky and find the culprit of your accidental death in That's the Spirit

www.kickstarter.com

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 1d

I had to look at my calendar to make certain I wasn't drastically behind schedule. 😅😅😨

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 2d

Alright, I definitely have a game that fits some of these categories. I just need to punch it up to pitching standards by PAX U 😅🤞

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 2d

I will have to take a look and see if anything works for your style. Will reach out if I have anything!

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 3d

Looking good!

You gonna build the rest of the EW cast too? I have a MG Tallgeese Fluegel to eventually build myself 😅

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 4d

For what it's worth I love both elements in general, and I wonder if playing into them being somewhat inter-changeable might be a cool angle.

I noticed the divider in the center of both was the same icon which was another point of concern, but if you make them flexible that could be cool.

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 4d

1-3 I am kind of confident on, 4-6 I am less sure of.

I am iffy on having both the domino cards that live on your player board and having bi-modal action cards that live above your player board. Feels like it's asking to have them confused for each other.

But it's your game and you know it best!

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 4d

Looking at both images I guessed

1 - remove a hazard card
2 - use the top or bottom action on a card
3 - gain a domino-shaped tile & place it on your player board
4 - discard an dominoes in the X region maybe?
5 - slide all cards one space
6 - upgrade an action slot (the symbols on the wheel)

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 4d

Looking at only the first image I guessed

1 - Use a card's ability/explode a card
2 - Use a card's text?
3 - balance something or gain a domino-shaped tile
4 - discard/remove a tile
5 - discard a card
6 - upgrade a hex

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 5d

Are there any pick up & deliver trick takers?

Because I think I might be designing one 😅

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Reposted by Taylor Shuss

Chris Lawrence @chris.eternalstudios.com · 5d

I've had a drop in attendance for a couple playtesting groups I run, and I've been trying to figure out if it's part of a larger trend or just a natural rhythm (maybe the holiday season started early?).

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Reposted by Taylor Shuss

Connor Wake | Always Awake Games 🔜 PaxWest @connor.alwaysawake.games · 6d

Excited to announce that Club Spooky and That’s the Spirit are finally launching on Kickstarter next week, October 14th!

Assemble the coolest group of ghouls at Club Spooky and find the culprit of your accidental death in Thats the Spirit!

Preview page here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/alw...

A banner for the Ghost Party bundle ks with the launch date of October 14th. A copy of each game is standing upright with cards from the games splayed in front.

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 7d

A shame this happens to some of our best & brightest designers.

Starting the conversation and talking in the open is how we make steps towards fair solutions to these problems. Or at least that's the theory - in practice publishers need to play ball to make any of this stick.

Matthew Dunstan @matthewdunstan.bsky.social · 7d

Today's video was a hard one for me to make - I wanted to talk about my experiences going through burnout in the last year or so as a game designer, and aspects of the wider tabletop industry that contribute to that.

youtu.be/D2rC_8F10R8

🎲✂️

The reality of being a full time game designer

YouTube video by Matthew Dunstan

youtu.be

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 7d

I almost joked in my response that this is "a publisher problem" 🤣

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 7d

I do not know the difference between the two. Mostly use poker-sized card unless I require much smaller or much larger cards.

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 8d

yikes on bikes is such an adorable phrase Arwen! 🤣💖

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 8d

🙋

Reposted by Taylor Shuss

Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 8d

Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...

Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."

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Reposted by Taylor Shuss

Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 8d

Do you have a ritual for whenever you "finish" a game?

I know one designer that frame prints of their game's cover art. Maybe you make some copies for yourself on TGC or some other service? I know for Stonewall I hand-made some shirts for me and some cool cats I know.

What about you?

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Taylor Shuss @drawnonward.bsky.social · 8d

Everything about this picture is just perfect. The faces, the clothes (loving that Charlie shirt), the people - it's all so good!

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