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 instruction manual, but a travel guide, with lots of unexpected stops along the way.
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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 instruction manual, but a travel guide, with lots of unexpected stops along the way.
You Can’t End the Game Until You Know What It Means
Design Doc
50 minutes
6 days ago
You Can’t End the Game Until You Know What It Means
Endings are hard. The ending of a roleplaying game isn’t just the culmination of the story; it’s also when the themes and purpose of the game become clear. In this episode we talk about designing a conclusion that comes at the right time, conveys the right message, and still leaves room for all the improvisation of roleplaying.
Episode mentions:
Ready Player One—but just a brief mention this time, promise!
Mother! (2017 film written & directed by Darren Aronofsky)
Other Design Doc episodes mentioned:
Epilogues in Games (May 2025)
Finding the Game's Emotional Core (March 2019)
Links:
Join the Turtlebun Discord: https://discord.gg/XD4WVDjvbz
Support our work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/turtlebun
Buy our games: https://turtlebun.com/
Credits:
Design Doc intro/outro theme by ipaghost: https://www.ipaghost.com/
Episode edited by Rob Abrazado: https://robabrazado.com/
Get in touch:
Designdocpod (at) gmail (dot) com
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Design Doc
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 instruction manual, but a travel guide, with lots of unexpected stops along the way.
