The Mind Behind ”The End”: Part 1 of Our Interview with Joe Donka | The Goblins and Growlers Podcast

The Goblins and Growlers Podcast

The Mind Behind 'The End': Part 1 of Our Interview with Joe Donka | The Goblins and Growlers Podcast

Episode Introduction

We’re joined today by Joe Donka, creator of "The End," a roleplaying game set in the Christian Apocalypse. After spending hours scouring the internet for alternate ways to contact Joe, Brandon and I came up with a game plan for if we didn’t hear from him, then we both got busy with life as we often do. In the meantime, Joe reached back out to Brandon and agreed to an interview! The excitement is palpable. Get ready as we interview the mind behind "The End," getting context, and having some of our wild speculation corrected!

About Joe: Joe is a semi-retired (maybe?) game designer. The primary mind behind Scapegoat Games, half of Tyranny Games, and the principal creator of "The End," a post-apocalyptic game about the people left behind after the devout are whisked off to heaven, and the evil whisked off to hell. “The meek shall inherit the Earth” wasn’t a promise, it was a warning.

Topics

• Introduction (0:23)

• Mrs. Donka’s amusement at the whole situation (1:36)

• How we came to review The End in the first place (2:35)

• Joe’s first collaborator Shane (3:56)

• “Special Thanks to Denny’s” (4:56)

• Wanting to be an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances (7:08)

• Joe’s early life, how it influenced The End (10:22)

• Joe sets the record straight on his age (12:49)

• The gestation period of The End from concept to publishing (15:20)

• Scapegoat Games staff (20:02)

• Harry Liebowitz and Brandon the Optimist (21:12)

• The End is the Dark Souls of TTRPGs (23:39)

• Joe’s favorite philosophers (26:07)

• Back to God, WA (29:22)

• Joe’s love for post-apocalypse media (30:46)

• Joe’s (at the time) plans for Scapegoat Games (33:13)

• The Fall of Scapegoat (34:15)

• Naming the company Scapegoat Games (43:29)

• Getting banned from Gen Con (44:10)

• “If he’s working this hard, it’s going to be successful.” (50:44)

• Outro (52:12)

Additional Resources

• GGP Reviews The End: https://goblinsandgrowlers.podbean.com/e/the-end-a-tabletop-rpg-about-the-christian-apocalypse/
• The End: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/778/The-End-Lost-Souls-Edition

• Of Gods and Men: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/840/Of-Gods-and-Men

• Joe Donka Games: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/25/Tyranny-Games

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The Goblins and Growlers Podcast is produced by Goblins and Growlers, a Richmond, Virginia-based tabletop-roleplaying-game content and events company dedicated to inclusivity through TTRPGs.