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Mondays, 12pm – 2pm PT //

About the show

A Challenge show inspired by Iron Chef and sessions of Iron Game Designer run by Eric Zimmerman, Tracy Fullerton, and IndieCade at past physical festivals, Iron Game Design Challenge pits two teams of three game designers against one another to use simple free tools to create games over the course of the show based around the inspiration of a secret ingredient. Produced by Ryan Omega, hosted by Sam Roberts, and featuring a jury panel.

The challenge show happens every 7 weeks, and the six weeks between each episode will feature each one of the competing designers streaming a game and being interviewed.

Meet the host

Sam Roberts

I am a games curator, educator, designer and director with a passion for interdisciplinary creative collaboration and exploration. The trajectory of my career has been one of innovating the field of play through developing communities of thought and practice.

I began creating narrative worlds and playable experiences when I started playing games of Dungeons and Dragons at the age of 8. Dungeons and Dragons gave me an outlet for my imagination and a playground for social engagement. My drive to work in creative collaboration with artists of all stripes led me to a study of theater and creative direction, while my ongoing need to explore the collision of technology and expression drove me through that winding path to the field of games and play.

While my portfolio of creative work covers theater, film, video games and board games in roles as a designer, director, adaptor, and more, I am most widely known for my work founding and content directing IndieCade, the ‘Sundance of Games.’

I currently work at the USC Games, the #1 game design school in the world, where I oversee production, manage curriculum, and teach classes on tabletop roleplaying game design.

Meet the producer

Ryan Omega

Ryan Omega is a livestream host, show producer, game designer, and the force behind the Twitch channel and podcast “”Life. Action. RolePlay!””

Some of the games he created include Blank Slate, a Blackbox LARP on the Scabby Rooster Twitch channel, The Boardroom Armageddon series and Purgatory Cafe, original LARPs on the Lifeactionroleplay Twitch channel and Arcana High, a mini-series on the DnD Twitch channel. He is one of the hosts and producers of the ongoing podcast called “”Life. Action. RolePlay!”” (from which the channel is named) to discuss issues in roleplaying, LARP, and livestreaming with guests such as Jason Carl, Greg Tito, Satine Phoenix and Grant Imahara.

He was one of the narrative designers on the social game #RealityRP on #DnDLive2020 for Dungeons & Dragons, which was a mixture of a reality game show and LARP on Instagram. He was in charge of casting and directing the opening character videos.

In the past, he has produced the Labyrinth Masquerade for several years and the 20th anniversary of Evangelion concert and the Cowboy Bebop Jazz Concert, both at Anime Expo.

See our full line-up of Twitch shows

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