grokludo is about understanding games. It's a snappy way to hear the latest research on game design, cognitive psychology, business in gaming, and policy & regulation.
We'll speak to everyone at the intersection of all those fields -- developers, academics, policymakers, and community enthusiasts -- anyone with a story or an idea that can deepen our understanding of play.
The Most Misunderstood Term in Gaming - Benjamin Horn | grokludo 30
Show me five gamers, and I'll show you five different definitions of the word "mechanic." Benjamin Horn from the University of Hong Kong released a paper with four other academics, investigating the usefulness of a term with no agreed-upon meaning, and they point out that even the original MDA framework gives two vague definitions that are perhaps even contradictory. We discuss how we got to this place, in which all sides of the industry rely so heavily on a word that means nothing, and whe...
18 Aug 2026
The Shanty Man: Crafting Songs for the Silicon Seas - Seán Dagher | grokludo 29
Seán Dagher is one of the main singers of sea shanties in games like Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, the indie hit Windrose, and more -- and is partly responsible for the wider modern resurgence in sea shanties. After curating and recording classic songs in some of the biggest pirate games, more recently he's composed original material for Black Flag Resynced, and started touring internationally, leading crowds in North America and Europe. Escapism, irreverence towards authority, seeking commu...
4 Aug 2026
Holding Court With Faeries, Fools, and Finite Jest - AP Thomson | grokludo 28
Titanium Court is an intentionally bizarre, unique, and hard to describe game. It's best to go in not knowing anything -- but AP Thomson is here to talk about some of its themes, philosophy, and behind-the-scenes stories without getting into spoilers. Timecodes: 00:00 - Intro 02:00 - Describing Titanium Court 10:00 - okay 12:20 - Deciding what to explain 19:03 - The Reverse Punchline 23:17 - Is the day you run out of creativity the day you die? 23:43 - Fan theories 24:17 - Indirect storytel...
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