Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Sep 5

We've made 100 episodes! Thank you to everyone who has listened.

Hannah Shaffer @hanbandit.bsky.social · Sep 4

We just celebrated a milestone—episode 100 of Design Doc! “The Realest Place on Earth” is a two-hour special chronicling our attempt to playtest a roleplaying game at Six Flags and all the ways it failed miserably, and some actually good game design it resulted in! open.spotify.com/episode/0nTC...

The Realest Place on Earth

open.spotify.com

Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Jul 25

We brought Wonderland to a real-life theme park! In the latest episode of Design Doc, we talked about how to take tabletop rules off the table. What needs to be simplified, what can be dropped, and what should we wear?

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Reposted by Turtlebun

Marx S— @phophos.bsky.social · Jul 22

my friend @nynphaiel.bsky.social has been taking in stray cats, but they're struggling to get the money together to care for, and feed them. as a recent immigrant they're not able to work, so this kind act is costing them dearly.

so, we've put together an @itch.io bundle. love cats? check it out.

Catpuccino Sanctuary Relief Bundle by Volvodja Press and 13 others

Catpuccino Sanctuary Relief Bundle: up to 22 items starting at $15.00

itch.io

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Reposted by Turtlebun

Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · Jul 20

Another good example of this is Enter the Orb by @turtlebun.com which has you all watch the trippy 1990s 3D animation video together and then play to create more. The shared context, as they say, is built in.

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Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Jul 25

Thank you! Sometimes a game is just an excuse to impose the context :)

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Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Jul 16

Thank you so much for this wonderful review! 🌟 And sorry to have missed it until now!

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Reposted by Turtlebun

Hannah Shaffer @hanbandit.bsky.social · Jul 16

New Design Doc out today! This one is about our attempt to plan a game of Escape from Wonderland at Six Flags, and whether it’s actually possible to LARP on a roller coaster. Probably one of my favorite recent episodes. 😄

episodes.fm/1298080097/e...

Roleplaying in the Park

Listen to Roleplaying in the Park from Design Doc wherever you get your podcasts!

episodes.fm

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Reposted by Turtlebun

Hannah Shaffer @hanbandit.bsky.social · Jun 4

New Design Doc today! In the episode @adrawnnovel.bsky.social and I talk about how even the ToC of a roleplaying game can help tell the game’s story and set the tone.

open.spotify.com/episode/3Sfs...

The Rules Tell a Story

Design Doc · Episode

open.spotify.com

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Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · May 28

We do our best to answer some of these questions for Escape from Wonderland, and discuss how we've addressed them in our previous games.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts! Or right on our website:

turtlebun.com/pages/design...

Design Doc Podcast

Hosted by the ONE SHOT Podcast Network, Design Doc is our monthly podcast about the process of designing Questlandia 2. We talk about all the little details of making a game, including the emotional p...

turtlebun.com

Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · May 28

The latest Design Doc is about epilogues!

How do you end a game on the best possible note, while also letting the players pick the tune?

Is it unbearable to introduce new rules at the end of a long session?

Why do games need to end, anyway??

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Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · May 14

The latest episode of Design Doc is about how mechanics can swing from one extreme to the other. Adjusting your rules *just enough* is an art form in itself!

You can find it here: pod.link/1298080097/e...

...or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Apr 30

It's the last day for our spring PDF sale! 11 more hours! 💟 itch.io/s/149803/tur...

Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Apr 14

All our games are on sale on itch through the end of the month! Grab a game individually for 20% off, or PDFs of every one of our games for $35 for the whole bundle.

Cheers, and happy Spring! 🌷🐢🐇
itch.io/s/149803/tur...

An illustration of a happy bunny and turtle floating on a star and flower background with text that reads "Turtlebun spring sale! 20% off our PDFs!"

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Reposted by Turtlebun

Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Apr 14

All our games are on sale on itch through the end of the month! Grab a game individually for 20% off, or PDFs of every one of our games for $35 for the whole bundle.

Cheers, and happy Spring! 🌷🐢🐇
itch.io/s/149803/tur...

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Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Apr 14

All our games are on sale on itch through the end of the month! Grab a game individually for 20% off, or PDFs of every one of our games for $35 for the whole bundle.

Cheers, and happy Spring! 🌷🐢🐇
itch.io/s/149803/tur...

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Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Apr 14

Awww! <3

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Reposted by Turtlebun

The QueerXP @thequeerxp.bsky.social · Apr 8

Did you know it's Rex Manning Day??
Did you know that @hanbandit.bsky.social wrote an amazing game based off of the movie Empire Records, where that originates?
AAAAAANND... did you know we did an AP of it?! With @mattbartlettvo.bsky.social @nicolemackie.bsky.social and @brentpoynter.bsky.social!!

Damn the Man, Save the Music! [Actual Play, part 1]

The QueerXP · Episode

open.spotify.com

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Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Mar 26

Design Doc should be available wherever you like to get podcasts.

You can find it on Apple:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/6UIwkMY...

Or our own website:
turtlebun.com/designdoc

Design Doc

Design Podcast · Updated Biweekly · Come along with Hannah and Evan in a living documentation of the game design process, from the first spark of an idea, to every disastrous surprise. It’s not an ins...

podcasts.apple.com

Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Mar 26

The latest Design Doc is out!

This one is about a troublesome playtest. We had an extra player, which complicated things—but was that the only culprit?

Listen wherever you get your podcasts! Or click one of the links below.

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Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Mar 21

The latest Design Doc is about pacing in TTRPGs! We talk about session counts, story arcs, and how to linger on the best moments.

You can listen to Design Doc wherever you download podcasts!

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Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Feb 27

Our latest episode of Design Doc is about rewarding players with information. When making rules for intangible rewards, it's tough to make sure they'll match the mood at the table. We discuss and do some designing on the fly!

Out now in all the podcast places 💡

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Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Feb 14

Our latest episode of Design Doc is about rewards and prizes! We talk about the difference between character and player-level rewards, and do a little live design for claw machine prizes!

Listen wherever you get podcasts! Or here, on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/4lFH...

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Reposted by Turtlebun

Hannah Shaffer @hanbandit.bsky.social · Feb 12

Good morning! It’s my birthday and we have a new Design Doc up about Rewards and Prizes in roleplaying games! 🎁 Your character can be getting absolutely walloped while you as a player are like Hell Yea. Give it a listen! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

Rewards and Prizes

Podcast Episode · Design Doc · 02/12/2025 · 45m

podcasts.apple.com

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Reposted by Turtlebun

Jacob Wolf Lefton @watermosaic.bsky.social · Feb 10

A great list! I'd recommend Design Doc from @turtlebun.com! Hannah and Evan are great, very experienced and have history - a deep library to choose from!

For myself, I'd gently like to promote my own actual play, @wederrakeep.bsky.social. It's accessible - episodes are mostly ~30 min (ep 1 is 40).

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Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Feb 2

Our latest episode of Design Doc is about perfection in art - what people expect of artists, and how we can define perfection for ourselves.

You can find it here on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3R8N...

Or listen wherever you get your podcasts 🎨

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Turtlebun @turtlebun.com · Jan 20

Thanks for reading and sharing! <3

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