Episode 129 - A Chat With Doug (from Small Rice Studios)

VR and tabletop game designer from Small Rice Studios, Doug joins Ben this week to talk about the recently released cozy card game ROAST, which he designed along with his brother Nick (who Ben had the pleasure of meeting at PAX West 2024). Ben had some questions about the design, development, and testing of ROAST—all of which Doug is more than happy to elaborate on and discuss. They also spend some time reminiscing about the board, card, arcade, and video games of their youth. And don’t forget to stay tuned after the interview for an outtake followed by Ben’s review of Rendering Ranger: R² [Rewind]!

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00:00:50 - Doug introduces himself and their first published game, and what is coming next
00:02:31 - Collaboration with a sibling, Doug’s love of games, and the times before UNO 

The UNO was originally developed in 1971 by professional barber Merle Robbins in Reading, Ohio. The Robbins’ family raised the money to have 5,000 copies of the game made, which he sold from his barbershop. Merle Robbins later sold the rights to UNO to a group of friends headed by Robert Tezak, a funeral parlor owner in Joliet, Illinois. Tezak formed International Games, Inc., to market Uno until company was purchased by Mattel in 1992.

00:05:04 - The ROAST design idea, living off the grid, connections, and roasting marshmallows
00:06:55 - Testing tabletop games, getting constructive feedback, and finding the best strategy
00:09:50 - Micromanaging your math, opinions of Balatro, and variety is the spice of something
00:12:15 - Remembering Magic the Gathering, from chess to golf, and more about frame-rates
00:18:23 - Pinball machine legality, real-time strategy games, and it’s more than a full-time job  
00:24:32 - Learning about game players, and the art of community building—online AND offline
00:26:18 - Becoming more comfortable, and donating sales to the National Park Foundation 
00:27:55 - Pets doing things with intent, reconnecting with others, and climates are changing 
00:32:26 - Being productive and constructive, Ben babbles, and cardboard costumes in SoCal
00:36:03 - Being a card, being odd, Democrats ruined weird, and Doug’s parting sales pitch
00:38:30 - Curated social spaces, break out the ban-hammer, THE Dug, and names as verbs 

BONUS material
00:41:09 - The Marshall Mathers outtake 
00:41:55 - Ben’s review of Rendering Ranger: R² [Rewind]

Ben’s FINAL VERDICT for Rendering Ranger: R² [Rewind]

DO BUY if…

• ...you want a health dose of smoothly animated, SuperNintendo nostalgia
• ...you want an incredibly challenging experience with excessively long levels

DON’T BUY if…

• you’re looking for a casual, arcade style experience

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Follow Small Rice Studios and Doug on…
On their website: https://www.roast-game.com
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallricestudios
On Discord: https://discord.com/invite/GSyxdBN2A7
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DougSmallRay
On YouTube: https://youtube.com/@smallricestudios
And their TREE o’ LINKS: https://linktr.ee/smallricestudios

Follow Two Vague on…
Our website: https://www.twovaguepodcast.com
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/two_vague_podcast
On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twovaguepodcast
On Substack: https://twovaguepodcast.substack.com/
On Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/twovaguepodcast.com

For show appearance and other inquiries, contact us at: twovaguepodcast@gmail.com
-AND- 
…for all of your PRI and 2VP merch check out the Partly Robot Industries store at TEEPUBLIC!
https://www.teepublic.com/user/partly-robot-industries

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References, Links, and Tags

For more information about the classic Super Famicom / SNES port of the Manfred Trenz designed game Rendering Ranger: R² [Rewind] from Ziggurat Interactive, follow the link below.
https://www.ziggurat.games/game/rendering-ranger-r2

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