S9E6: Steven Medway, Creator of Blood on the Clocktower

Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive Games

" It's a quirky and complex puzzle."

 In the sleepy town of Ravenswood Bluff, on the stroke of midnight during a hellish thunderstorm, you hear a scream. You all rushed to the town square to find that your beloved storyteller has been murdered! This is the work of a nefarious demon... a demon that kills by night and takes on human form by day.

Blood on the Clocktower is a game of lies and truth, team building and betrayal, and a game of secret identities. It is also, in our opinion, the best social deduction game in the world. Steven Medway, the creator of Blood on the Clocktower, joins us to talk about fine-tuning the balance of the game, the role of dead players, how the game experience changes depending on which country you're playing in, and so much more.

What sets Blood on the Clocktower apart from other social deduction games is how well-balanced it feels as a player. Much of the information given and gathered by the "good team" works like a sort of logic puzzle, as the players piece together the truth in a variety of ways. However, the "evil team" is given many opportunities to spread misinformation, which really levels the playing field. There are also affordances made for "dead players" as well as people joining the game late or leaving early.

Steven shares insights about his design process when creating characters and mechanics for Blood on the Clocktower. He also answers questions from our listeners. I was particularly fascinated by the segment where he talks about how the gaming experience varies by country. Whether you're a game designer interested in balancing strategy games or just a fan of Blood on the Clocktower, I highly recommend checking out this interview.

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COGS by Clockwork Dog is an easy to use software/ hardware platform for running interactive events, including escape rooms, and other immersive experiences. They have plug & play hardware that seamlessly integrates with their software so you can create a show with lighting and sound cues without having to write a single line of code. Map all kinds of inputs to outputs by building up simple logic steps which determine what you want to happen and when.

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Production Credits

Hosted by David Spira & Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Steve Ewing

Music by Ryan Elder

Logo by Janine Pracht