#32 - Marceline Leiman: A High Tide of Indie Designs

Designer Marceline Leiman joins the show for an episode that ebbs and flows in such an engaging way, much like the tides and other marvels in nature. Amongst many other games, Marceline recently designed High Tide, which was an extreme success at the Indie Games Night Market and serves as an anchor for much of this conversation. The game was handcrafted with so many unique considerations and stories that I was fortunate enough to hear, and you will be able to too now. In addition to this indie market release, there will be a subsequent production through Underdog Games!

I’m by no stretch an expert in the tides (or the ocean, or much of anything for that matter), but my cursory “research” shows that the biggest waves typically come in right before high tide. And a wave is an apt descriptor of how Marceline has been creating lately, with many things to look forward to from her. Grab yourself a tea (or coffee) and enjoy a wonderful episode.

Check out Marceline on Bluesky and BoardGameGeek

Intro and Character/Craft/Creation (0:00)

Tea

Seeing something and feeling the human creation that went into it

Thermostat boxes

“I [the tide] am inevitable.” (35:18)

After discussing a lot of the physicality and process of creating everything needed to play the game, Marceline dives into stories of how the game plays–how a main focus was the intentionality of having the game constantly moving forward.

“To Indie or Not to Indie?” (50:00)

This sub-header probably isn’t the most apt, but I liked it.

Anyway, Marceline reflects on researching games throughout history, the purposefulness of seeing those connections in modern games, and how that’s being worked into her designs.

Bluer Skies Ahead (1:12:50)

In addition to appreciating Marceline’s designs, I cannot overstate how thoughtful her social media presence is. The threads read like stories and touch on game design, social issues, the overlap between them, and a multitude of other things. Thank you, Marceline!

Wrap-up Questions (1:30:27)

A text on Marceline’s mine and future games to look out for.

***The cover image is currently a picture from Marceline, posted on BGG and elsewhere. As I like trying to personally make unique episode images, I have a plan for something here (just not the time, as I want this one to be really good/different; there are a couple others I want to go back and redo). Regardless, this is a gorgeous picture, and you get to see the awesome production of the game from it being the current image.***

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