Welcome to the Unwritten Earths Symposium! In each episode, tabletop RPG designers Nathan D. Paoletta and Epidiah Ravachol try to trick each other into designing a game they wouldn't otherwise make.
We welcome friend and fellow Tracy Barnett (the Other Tracy) to the show! We discuss his games (Iron Edda, School Daze, and more), his trajectory as a game designer, changing practices for getting games out into the world, the many benefits of zines and low-fi creation, writing directly into layout, and more. Turns out, making things is good for the soul!
Find Tracy's games at theothertracy.itch.io (https://theothertracy.itch.io) and on rpgtrader (https://rpgtrader.com/creator/401/theothertracy). He's also on Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/theothertracy.bsky.social).
Show Notes:
Long Tail (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_tail)
Shoutout to John Harper (https://johnharper.itch.io)
MICE (https://www.micexpo.org) (Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo)
CZF (https://www.chicagozinefest.org) (Chicago Zine Fest)
MagCloud (https://www.magcloud.com)
Games Mentioned
School Daze (https://theothertracy.itch.io/school-daze-bundle)
Iron Edda (https://theothertracy.itch.io/iron-edda-war-of-metal-and-bone)
You are the Dungeon (https://theothertracy.itch.io/you-are-the-dungeon)
Fate Core, Fate Accelerated and Dresdan Files Accelerated ( (https://evilhat.com/fate-everything/)Evil Hat)
Dread (https://www.tiltingatwindmills.net/games/dread/)
RPG Design Zines (https://www.ndpdesign.com/publishing-help)
ndp Poster Games (https://www.ndpdesign.com/pwyw)
Wolfspell (https://www.worldswithoutmaster.com/bazaar/wolfspell-on-a-trifold-album-jacket)
And there's more:
Unwritten Earths Symposium (http://unwrittenearths.com)
Our Patreon (https://patreon.com/UnwrittenEarths)
Join the Discord (https://discord.gg/cgJa5hWcVq)
Nathan's games (https://www.ndpdesign.com)
Eppy's games (https://www.dig1000holes.com)
Music by Will Jobst (https://willjobst.carrd.co)
16 Sept 2026
The Gregor Hutton Episode
We welcome long-time friend and crackerjack game designer Gregor Hutton to the show! This far-ranging discussion includes his games (3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars, Remember Tomorrow), all the ways we work on games while not Working On A Game, keeping the joy alive, the evolving landscape for the kinds of games we make, maths and managing spotlight, and being a good actor in your local community, among so many other things.
Find Gregor's games (Best Friends, Remember Tomorrow, 3:16, Solipsist) at BoxNinja.com (http://www.gregorhutton.com/boxninja/) and GregorHutton.itch.io (https://gregorhutton.itch.io).
Show Notes
Ron Edward's Adept Play Happening (https://adeptplay.com/adept-play-happening-2026/) (Sweden)
2000 AD (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_AD_(comics)) (Comics)
Return of the escaped Japanese Snow Monkey (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp9e3x85yr1o) (BBC)
System Matters (https://www.system-matters.de) (German RPG Publisher)
The World at War (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_at_War)(1973-1974 British TV Series)
Trollen Wheel (https://www.instructables.com/Viking-Braids-Make-a-Trollen-Wheel/) (for making braided cords)
Two Games One Name (https://rpgchallenge.wordpress.com/category/two-games-one-name/)
Games Mentioned
Shatterzone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatterzone) (West End Games)
Hell 4 Leather (https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/92037/hell-4-leather) (Joe Prince)
A|State 2nd Ed (https://handiwork.games/games/astate)(Handiwork Games)
The Trouble Engine (https://handiwork.games/the-trouble-engine-srd-2) (SRD)
Big Mother F’n Crab Truckers (https://rpggeek.com/rpg/21847/big-mutherf-crab-truckers)
With Great Power: Master Edition (https://ipressgames.itch.io/with-great-power-master-edition) (Michael S. Miller)
Capes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capes_(role-playing_game))(Tony Lower-Basch)
Night Witches (https://bullypulpitgames.com/products/night-witches)(Bully Pulpit Games)
Monsterhearts 2 (https://buriedwithoutceremony.com/monsterhearts) (Buried Without Ceremony)
And there's more:
Unwritten Earths Symposium (http://unwrittenearths.com)
Our Patreon (https://patreon.com/UnwrittenEarths)
Join the Discord (https://discord.gg/cgJa5hWcVq)
Nathan's games (https://www.ndpdesign.com)
Eppy's games (https://www.dig1000holes.com)
Music by Will Jobst (https://willjobst.carrd.co)
26 Aug 2026
The Aesthetics Episode
In this episode we get fancy and talk about the aesthetics of truly-true game mechanics. The same probabilistic outcomes and mechanical functions can be served by many different styles of rule. We talk about different ways to appreciate the form of a game mechanic as well as think about how the expression or description of rules can be a fruitful design space.
Show Notes:
Balanced Ternary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_ternary)(a base 3 numeral system using -1, 0, 1)
Amadeus (1984) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadeus_(film))
Games Mentioned:
FUDGE/FUDGE Dice (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fudge_(role-playing_game_system))
FATE (https://evilhat.com/product/fate-core-system/) (Evil Hat Productions)
How We Came To Live Here (https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/76669/how-we-came-to-live-here) (Galileo Games)
The Time We Have (https://moreblueberries.shop/products/the-time-we-have) (moreblueberries)
Moonsailors (https://annamdejong.itch.io/moonsailors) (Annamyriah de Jong)
Bacchanal (https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/45031/bacchanal)(Half Meme Press)
Oh Fuck, The Killer! (https://that-house.itch.io/oh-fuck-the-killer)(That House)
Agon (http://agon-rpg.com) (Revised/PARAGON edition)
Usagi Yojimbo Role-Playing Game (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usagi_Yojimbo_Role-Playing_Game) (First Edition)
Burning Wheel (https://www.burningwheel.com/collections/burning-wheel) / Mouse Guard (https://www.mouseguard.net/rpg)
Violent Delights (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/backwater/violent-delights) (Kickstarter preview page)
HeroQuest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeroQuest_(role-playing_game)) / Hero Wars
Megadamage (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifts_(role-playing_game)#Damage_and_firepower) in Palladium/RIFTS
Dread (https://www.tiltingatwindmills.net/games/dread/)
Imp of the Perverse (https://www.ndpdesign.com/imp)
And there's more:
Unwritten Earths Symposium (http://unwrittenearths.com)
Our Patreon (https://patreon.com/UnwrittenEarths)
Join the Discord (https://discord.gg/cgJa5hWcVq)
Nathan's games (https://www.ndpdesign.com)
Eppy's games (https://www.dig1000holes.com)
Music by Will Jobst (https://willjobst.carrd.co)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
110
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 39 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
39
Social presence
0
YouTube
64
Engagement
32
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