Brain Trust

While you’re here, contribute to Black Lives Matter in whatever way you can: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/. Adam Vass and Will Jobst are two game designers making a podcast! If you're new, start here—we'll catch you up. Find Adam on Twitter at @wcgameco and Will at @will_jobst Music by Will Jobst, available at https://soundcloud.com/willjobst. Also, there’s a discord! We’d love for you to join! Find the link here: https://discordapp.com/invite/SgnU8ZB.

While you’re here, contribute to Black Lives Matter in whatever way you can: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/. We revisit A Guide to Casting Phantoms in the Revolution (https://worldchampgameco.itch.io/guide) and the results may shock you (we still love it). In this episode Adam dials it in, Will goes Mads, and we both talk about games that let you do mean things. With a return to setpiece gaming, we chat about experiencing big worlds as an amusement park. And Sid Meier’s big amusement park: the world. The Brain Trust is hosting a shared world Lancer RPG, if you’re reading this, come check it out in the discord! Find Adam on Twitter at @wcgameco and Will at @will_jobst Music by Will Jobst, available at https://soundcloud.com/willjobst. Also, there’s a discord! We’d love for you to join! Find the link here: https://discordapp.com/invite/SgnU8ZB.

We’re back, we’ve been back. While you’re here, contribute to Black Lives Matter in whatever way you can: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/. In this episode, we’re talking all about hexes, inspired by Adam’s hex jam (https://itch.io/jam/hexjam) and his hex pack (https://worldchampgameco.itch.io/world-champ-hex-kit)! Hexes are a type of gon. Gon is math for shapes. Different gons mean different things. We’re going to get pretty technical here, so buckle up. Will gets caught in a roll and Adam is in a plain old good mood. We talk about bees. We know we’re wrong. There’s nothing you can do. We don’t mention solitaire on this episode, but the rules are like this: see what you can do on a community level to support BIPOC LGBTQIA+ lives. In your town, city, or state, see what you can do and do it. Find Adam on Twitter at @wcgameco and Will at @will_jobst. Music by Will Jobst, available at https://soundcloud.com/willjobst. Also, there’s a discord! We’d love for you to join! Find the link here: https://discordapp.com/invite/SgnU8ZB.

Adam Vass and Will Jobst are a weird hand gesture. We are sundials on your walk. We are apples and milk, but worse. In this episode, we talk about layout, failure, and building a relationship with your work. Will might still be in an infinity library of their own design. Adam chats his new game, Aurora, available today at https://worldchampgameco.itch.io/aurora. What fruits do lizards like? We don’t talk about solitaire, but here’s how I’d describe it: the goal solitaire is to build a canon of saints. Cards are revealed and placed into mismatched columns, representing their mortal lives. When they are ascended into the four suites, describe their saintly works. What was the context of their lives? When you’ve filled heaven, stop playing. Here’s a list of graphic design resources to help you on your journey:  https://www.shillingtoneducation.com/blog/50-essential-free-resources-graphic-designers-2020-update/ Find Adam on Twitter at @wcgameco and Will at @will_jobst Music by Will Jobst, available at https://soundcloud.com/willjobst. Also, there’s a discord! We’d love for you to join! Find the link here: https://discordapp.com/invite/SgnU8ZB.

Adam Vass and Will Jobst are two big fangs. We’re Weezer now. Life’s going to be a little different, out here in the g’rage and Beverly Hills. Adam unveils 500 years of vegan secrets and outlines new editions of Babes in the Wood and Protest Singer. Will recounts a citrus meltdown and makes an enemy of Frank. We made a game on this episode that really asks: what that mouth do? This is our Green Album. This is our Vampire RPG. (㇏(•̀ᵥᵥ•́)ノ) Find Adam on Twitter at @wcgameco and Will at @will_jobst Music by Will Jobst, available at https://soundcloud.com/willjobst. Also, there’s a discord! We’d love for you to join! Find the link here: https://discordapp.com/invite/SgnU8ZB.

Season 2, Episode 10. On this season finale, Adam and Will talk about Brindlewood Bay and the concept of the quantum mystery. We get into stoner mysteries, the LA of it all, and what to do about ipods.  Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more! Find us at https://braintrust.rocks.

Season 2, Episode 9. On this episode, Adam and Will talk about their perfect creative conditions, how long we’ll be making games, magic systems, epiphanies, changes in approaches over time, and more. Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more! Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

On this episode, Adam and Will talk about cons: working them, playing games at them, and running games at them, and all the feelings wrapped up therein. Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more! Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

On this episode, Adam and Will talk about finishing projects, Mortal Kombat, and Adam’s white whale project. Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more! Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

On this episode, Adam and Will recap and discuss this year’s ZineQuest, and explore a spiritual successor to a game they both love. Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more! Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Season 2, Episode 5: Brain Trust BabiesOn this episode, Will regales Adam with an anecdote about a recent game.Find Adam Vass’s Midnight Marathon here: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/7608ff96-13c1-4dd9-aa9b-c7a50f762b1e/landing?ref=bk-discover-user-profileFind Seb Pines’ Underneath here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spines/underneath-2Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more! Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

On this episode, we chat about what happens when we send games to print, and the eternal struggle of supporting systems with adventure releases. How do you build a play culture? Check out this link for a list of zine quest projects: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XGdtJVXGD5FD3XMcsS_FXdLN6OuRvmaYlm7Zfyo6zVs/edit?gid=0#gid=0Find Adam Vass’s Midnight Marathon here: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/7608ff96-13c1-4dd9-aa9b-c7a50f762b1e/landing?ref=bk-discover-user-profileFind Seb Pines’ Underneath here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spines/underneath-2Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more! Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Season 2, Episode 3 Part 3 of 3 on crowdfunding. In this episode, we talk about the existential aspects of crowdfunding, and answering questions from the Brain Trust Discord and Bluesky: How do you decide if a project is right for the green realm (or equivalent) as opposed to just doing a release on your own stores? How do we even think this is a good idea to build a business model on? How do we reach the middle class where we don’t need to run crowdfunding campaigns just to get print runs done At what point in the design process do you recommend launching your crowdfunding campaign? Especially for someone new to crowdfunding? When do you typically do it for yourselves? Find Adam Vass’s Midnight Marathon here: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/7608ff96-13c1-4dd9-aa9b-c7a50f762b1e/landing?ref=bk-discover-user-profile Find Seb Pines’ Underneath here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spines/underneath-2 Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more! Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Season 2, Episode 2: Crowdfunding is a Pencil Dive into a Pond.  Part 2 of 3 on crowdfunding. In this episode, we focus on the mental aspect of crowdfunding, and answer questions from our Discord and Bluesky: How do you crowdfund a second game? How to balance sustainability and environmental responsibility? Can crowdfunding be fun? Do we need to divorce our worth from our projects more? How do you stop thinking about the campaign when you need to do other tasks, like sleep? How do you disengage in a healthy way to prevent obsession with watching the meter go up? Find Adam Vass’s Midnight Marathon here: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/7608ff96-13c1-4dd9-aa9b-c7a50f762b1e/landing?ref=bk-discover-user-profile Find Seb Pines’ Underneath here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spines/underneath-2 Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!  Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Season 2, Episode 1: For Those About to Crowdfund, We Salute You Part 1 of 3 on crowdfunding. In this episode, we break down first principles of a crowdfunding campaign. What is it, why do we do it, and how do we stay sane while doing it.  Find Adam Vass’s Midnight Marathon here. Find Seb Pines’ Underneath here. Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more! Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Season 1, Episode 11: In this episode, we tackle a question from Ethan Yen about creating competitive TTRPGs.  Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!  Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Season 1, Episode 10: In this episode, we answer listener questions, specifically about monster design, art, and “quiet innovation”.  Appendix N:  https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/rock-paper-scissors---a-method-for-competitive-game-play-design Made Out Of Meat: Health Systems In Video Games Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!  Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Season 1, Episode 9: In this episode, we talk about how we communicate what our games even are, and how we can meld minds with people who run games via the page.  Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!  Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Season 1, Episode 8: We were both… ACTUALLY… at Gen Con. Here’s our report!  Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!  Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.

Season 1, Episode 7: In this episode we join our hosts mere minutes after the end of a successful Kickstarter.  Visit https://ko-fi.com/thebraintrust and throw us a few bucks a month to hear seasonal bonus episodes, get access to merch sales, and more!  Find us at https://braintrust.rocks/.