Show Notes
Erica and Sen welcome Sarah Shipp, guest host of the Thinking Beyond Mechanisms segment, to discuss cognitive load and addressing the impact of it through intentional design.
Read Ludology co-founder Geoff Engelstein's article on the subject that Sarah refers to here:
More from Ludology
Recorded in Summer of 2026, Sen talks to Ethan Yen at a cafe in lovely Wortley Village in South London. They discuss design philosophies and Ethan's solo RPG "Fetch My Blade" (which happens to be on Kickstarter for a few more days - check it out!)
Erica and Sen talk amongst themselves and discuss the topic of complexity in games from multiple angles. Whether you're choosing what to play at game night or designing the next big hit, complexity is something that impacts tabletop gaming maybe more than you think!
Once again, Sen was in la belle province, recording at FLIM when he heard about *another* convention in Montreal! Ludicon offers open gaming, competitions, and merchandise in the heart of the city every November. Alain Fragman and Mario Haché brought Ludicon to life in 2024 and the 2026 edition will be on November 6-7-8 at Montreal's Palais des Congrès. They tell Sen all about the event and how it came into being in this installment of Pros and Cons. Check out www.ludicon.ca for more info.
This week, Erica and Sen speak with Dr. Marc Engfield and Shawn Roske about the game they co-designed to explore and address issues surrounding managing Chronic Pain. Using Sarah Lynne Bowman's theories of Transformational Play as the backbone, "The Pain Clinic" has pairs of players take on the roles of a patient who is experiencing chronic pain and the doctor who is treating them.
Sen and Erica talk with Steenz (www.oheysteenz.com), a St. Louis cartoonist and professor, about the graphic novel she illustrated, "Side Quest: A Visual History of Roleplaying Games". In the book, Steenz and co-creator Samuel Sattin take readers on a journey through time and space as they look at the historical roots of Roleplaying Games around the globe. Steenz talks about her own relationship with RPGs as well as what she found most fascinating while doing the research for the book.