HeyJaredUnwritten Earths Symposium
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.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 5
- Latest publication
- Sep 16, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 15, 2026
Latest episodes
The Gregor Hutton Episode (opens the original)
Read excerpt
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
The Aesthetics Episode (opens the original)
Read excerpt
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 (a base 3 numeral system using -1, 0, 1) Amadeus (1984) Games Mentioned: FUDGE/FUDGE Dice FATE (Evil Hat Pro
The Fun Episode (opens the original)
Read excerpt
It's finally time for us to seriously address the elephant in the room for truly-true roleplaying games: fun. We talk about how hard it is to describe fun, what elements of gameplay (can) lead to or combine to create fun, and why "make it fun" isn't a very fruitful design goal. Look, we're game designers, we have to treat fun with the gravitas it deserves! Show Notes: Go Play NW Games Mentioned: No Thanks! Moonsailors And there's more: Unwritten Earths Symposium Our Patreon Join the Discord Nath
The Diction Episode (opens the original)
Read excerpt
In this episode, we carefully consider our words in order discuss the different purposes served by creating abstractions with your game rules, and how word choices can both result from and drive game design. Remember, 90% of game design is naming things! Games Mentioned: Swords Without Master Mortal Skein Imp of the Perverse World Wide Wrestling And there's more: Unwritten Earths Symposium Our Patreon Join the Discord Nathan's games Eppy's games Music by Will Jobst
The Small Changes Episode (opens the original)
Read excerpt
In this episode, we talk about being at the top of the truly-true Design Ziggurat where small changes have big effects. Specifically, one of the signs that a game is close to done is when enough of the design is settled that an insight that leads to a significant change is just a small thing that doesn't require significant playtesting or changing of anything else. It's not a departure, it's a product of the experience you have with the design. Games Mentioned: Swords Without Master Imp of the P
Publishing over time
Last 90 days. Choose a month to open its work.
Recurring subjects
Named in the text we hold. One piece can cover several.
Audience
No verified audience measurement yet.
About this data
Counts cover the work we have indexed. Tone needs enough text and a confident classification. Excerpts and episode notes are not full articles or transcripts.
Identity or attribution wrong? Suggest a correction.