What started as one gamer wanting to talk about his love of a game grew into a podcast network. Ryan founded what would become the Know Direction Podcast network with Jason "Jay" Dubsky, his friend and fellow 3.5 enthusiast. They and their game group moved on to Pathfinder, and the Know Direction podcast network was born.
Now married and a father, Ryan continues to serve the network as the director of logistics and co-host of Upshift podcast, dedicated to the Essence20 RPG system he writes for and helped design.
You can find out more about Ryan and the history of the network in this episode of Presenting: http://knowdirectionpodcast.com/2021/01/presenting-ryan-costello/
Just to be honest up front, if you are a big Ultraman fan, you might be disappointed in this entry. I know less about Ultraman than any other subject I’ve covered for Essential Builds (the blog that turns popular...
In episode 106 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Jason Slingerland about his co-design Tír na nÓg. When Jason started designing in 2012 there weren’t many resources for designers so he started the Building the...
In episode 105 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Bernie Lin and Brendan Kendrick about their first design Omicron Protocol, a skirmish miniatures game designed to help bring more people to the love of miniatures....
Transformers historian and super fan Jim Sorenson tells Ryan about joining the Essence20 writing team on Enigma of Combination and Technorganic Secrets. Listen Now! (mp3) Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and...
In episode 104 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Mads Fløe about their co-design Shake that City. The draw of the game was a device that randomized how to drop out 9 different cubes in...
Hey, look! A Dungeons & Dragons build! Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that turns popular culture icons into Essence20 characters, even if they’re characters from another RPG. I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system...
In episode 103 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Nick Bentley on how he redesigned Underdog Game’s Trekking the World and why they decided to call it a second edition versus a new name. Learn...
In episode 102 of Game Design Unboxed: Inspiration to Publication we talk with Mike Danovich about his RPG system created to partner with different events and businesses in the Chicago area including Revolution Brewery. In that partnership he got...