Seria Ludo

About Seria Ludo

Seria Ludo is a podcast about games, game design, games criticism, and the politics that underlie all of it. New episodes every week, each focusing on a specific topic of games and game design.

Publisher

Joel Kallstrom and Tim Raveling

Category

arts · leisure

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

22 Jun 2020

Latest episode

10 Apr 2025

Latest episodes

73 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   10 Apr 2025

   070: Arco and Anthology

   The team discusses anthology as an approach to game design and writing, deep dives on Arco as an excellent example of that, and talks over Godot as the highlight of our new Tool of the Month feature. Introduction 0:00: We introduce Justin Wilson, who will be joining the conversation, and taking over podcast production. 6:03: We discuss the direction of the podcast. Main Feature: Arco and Anthology 8:20: What is Arco? 18:20: Defining "anthology" in terms of both narrative and mechanics, and looking at why Arco is such a great example of that. 27:00: Arco's take on settler colonialism, revenge, and narrative 30:30: The innovative guilt mechanic. 37:08: The marriage of mechanical with narrative anthology and why both are important (especially together) 48:39: The combat system 51:47: Comparison with Weird West, which tried to do something similar to this, but didn't quite succeed Tool of the Month: Godot 57:21: What is Godot? 1:02:17: Signals and Godot's approach to game architecture 1:07:26: Integration with C++ via GDExtensions and performance benefits Wrapping it up 1:14:52: The dumpster fire world, and why games are still important. Action Item: RunForSomething.net 1:18:50: You can run for office (or support active progressive campaigns on the local, state, and national levels) by going to https://runforsomething.net/. Just take a look and see what you think. We need more actual, normal people (as opposed to the self-interested grifters that make up the majority of both parties currently) in office, and this is a great resource for figuring out if you personally might be one of those people. Conclusion 1:22:47: Social media and how to stay in touch with us.

2. 

   3 Sept 2024

   069: What Makes Games Replayable?

   In this episode, Tim and Joel talk about why certain games are so replayable, why that is, if and when it is important, and how designers can intentionally think about replayability in their own games. We frame this discussion in terms of intrinsic motivations (gameplay that is inherently pleasurable) and extrinsic motivations (e.g. working towards a goal, trying to find something out, pursuing a story, pursuing social goals like in an MMO). We also talk about games and designers can reduce friction in cases where that might prevent you from returning to a game. 00:00:00 - Introduction and definitions - Intrinsic vs Extrinsic motivations, and friction. Discovery and play as intrinsic motivation. 00:08:50 - The best games weave intrinsic and extrinsic motivations together -- Valheim is a good example of this. 00:18:20 - Counterexample: State of Decay 2 - failure of shared context in multiplayer makes for external counter-motivation -- players end up feeling like there's no point. 00:24:56 - What is a game's "Discovery Space", and why does it count toward intrinsic motivation? 00:49:50 - Juice -- satisfying UX design. A game that is inherently, tactilely satisfying to interact with. 00:58:00 - What are "Extrinsic motivations" and what are some examples? 01:29:30 - Friction: why do people feel like they don't want to come back? How can you design toward getting players back to your game. 01:42:48 - Making it personal: What games are we each most likely to go back to next? Games mentioned Truck Simulator, Disco Elysium, Ubisoft games, Valheim, Dead Cells, Mobile Games, One Hour One Life, No Man’s Sky, Dying Light, Minecraft, Elite Dangerous, Pentiment, Frostpunk, Workers and Resources, Going Home, Skyrim, Scum, Cyberpunk 2077, Sifu, Dwarf Fortress, Deathloop, Project Zomboid, Baldur’s Gate 3.

3. 

   9 Jul 2024

   068: Our Most Played Games (And Why)

   When most games, even some of our favorites, will occupy us for at most 40 or 50 hours, some manage to sink their hooks in for much (sometimes *much*) longer. Why is that? What is it about the designs of these games, the cadence, the core loops, that make us keep coming back again and again? What can game designers learn from the games have this kind of replayability, and how might we go about applying these lessons to our own games? Show Notes 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:10 - Joel #10: The Surge 2 00:09:50 - Tim #10: Truck Simulator 00:20:30 - Joel #9: Cyberpunk 2077 00:25:48 - Tim #9: X-COM 2 00:33:00 - Joel #8: Halo Infinite 00:37:27 - Tim #7: Baldur’s Gate 3 00:49:50 - Joel #6: Assassin’s Creed Origins / Odyssey / Valhalla 01:00:05 - Tim #6 / Joel #7: Call Of Duty / Warzone 01:05:44 - Joel #5: Fallout 4 01:18:28 - Tim #5: Microsoft Flight Simulator 01:23:00 - Joel #4: Jedi Survivor (with Sifu tangent) 01:35:00 - Tim #4: Civilization 5 01:42:07 - Tim #3: Valhelm 01:47.22 - Joel #2 / Tim #8: Red Dead Redemption 2 01:55:00 - Tim #2: Kerbal Space Program 02:01:06 - Tim + Joel #1: Hunt: Showdown 02:08:52 - Analysis and closing thoughts

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 49 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

86

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Contact Seria Ludo

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.