Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games
Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games
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Candid conversations with game creators that dive deep into the art, craft, and process of making games.
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117: Answering Your Questions without a Guest (June 2023 Edition)
Four of our hosts get a little loopy answering questions submitted by our listeners, from how we all met, to our favorite game controllers, to the importance of mechanics vs vibes. We plan to do more of these episides once in a while, so let us know what you think and send us your most burning, random questions!
Show Notes:
Andean Abyss
Zach's dreamy eyes
Game of Thrones board game
NeGcon
Gravis PC GamePad
PsychOdyssey
Dysforgiveness
Unify
XOXO Festival
Edgar Rice Soiree
Clusterf**k!
Every Game in This City
The AirBnB we were going to rent
findsatoshi.com
The Jejune Institute
Signal Tower speakeasy
Lost Cities
Planet of Lana
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Chrono Trigger
EarthBound
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May 19, 2023
116: Finding Hope in Loss with Red Hook Studios (Darkest Dungeon II)
We're joined by co-founders Tyler Sigman and Chris Bourassa to discuss Red Hook Studios' new roguelike road trip of the damned, Darkest Dungeon II. We explore heroism by contrast, the delicate stakes of making an unforgiving game more forgiving, and fostering the will to get back up again when the road gets tough.
Show Notes:
Red Hook Studios
Darkest Dungeon II
Tyler Sigman
Chris Bourassa
Fury (2014 movie)
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May 8, 2023
115: Doubling Down on Intuition with Kenny Sun (Mr. Sun's Hatbox)
We're joined by Kenny Sun (Twinfold) to chat about his slapstick, roguelite platformer Mr. Sun's Hatbox. We talk about the benefits of setting a prototype down for a while, what humor can let you get away with, and trusting your instincts.
Show Notes:
Kenny Sun
Mr. Sun's Hatbox
Kenny's concert photography
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Gabe Cuzzillo
Ape Out
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Apr 21, 2023
114: Loving Mondays with Cosmo D (Betrayal at Club Low)
We're joined by Greg “Cosmo D” Heffernan to discuss his IGF-winning, dice-fueled fever dream Betrayal at Club Low. We explore his fascinating journey from making music to making games, balancing for transparency, and letting your love of the process guide you.
Show Notes:
Cosmo D
Betrayal at Club Low
Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories
Boiler Room London live set
Despelote
Glasslands Gallery
Gloomhaven
The Brooklyn Strategist
Disco Elysium
Fate role-playing system
Charles Pratt
Desktop Dungeons
Wizardry
Vlaada Chvátil
Parasite
Infinity Engine
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Apr 9, 2023
113: On top of the Fires of Hell w/ Daniel Benmergui (Storyteller)
We're joined by Daniel Benmergui (I Wish I Were the Moon, Fidel Dungeon Rescue), creator of the narrative-weaving puzzle game Storyteller. We discuss the challenges of designing playful and snappy interaction, wrangling cause and effect, and managing expectations for a game 15 years in the making.
Daniel Benmergui
Storyteller
Cosmicomics
Petri Purho
I Wish I Were the Moon
Today I Die
Fidel Dungeon Rescue
Scribblenauts
Florence
worm club
Framed
Façade
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Mar 24, 2023
112: Playing in the Moment with Videogamo (DOBOTONE)
We're joined by Hernán Sáez of Videogamo (DOBOTONE, NAVE) to discuss his beautifully ephemeral party/arcade games, as well as Marie Foulston, a playful curator/creative director who commissioned Videogamo's latest work, GOL-E-GOL. We discuss site-specific experiences, and the slippage between hardware and software realms.
Show Notes:
Hernán Sáez
Marie Foulston
Videogamo
Máximo Balestrini
NAVE Arcade
DOBOTONE
Gol-E-Gol
Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt
Wild Rumpus
No Quarter Exhibition 2022
The Grannies
Australian Centre for the Moving Image
OUYA
B.U.T.T.O.N.
California Extreme
Slick Shot (pool arcade game)
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Mar 10, 2023
111: Finding Your Groove with John Johanas (Hi-Fi RUSH)
We're joined by John Johanas, Director of Tango Gameworks' pitch-perfect rhythm action game Hi-Fi RUSH. We discuss the many challenges of creating a world and systems that stay on beat, while John and Sarah discuss the creation of the character she plays in the game (!), Korsica.
Show Notes:
John Johanas
Hi-Fi RUSH
Tango Gameworks
Sekiro
Skate's text-based prototype
Everyday Shooter
Tormentor X Punisher
Patapon
PaRappa the Rapper
GuitarFreaks
Guitar Hero Live
Dyad
Thumper
Zwan - Honestly
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Feb 24, 2023
110: Making Friends with Madison Karrh (Birth)
We're joined by Madison Karrh, the solo dev behind Birth, a curious new adventure puzzle game about building a companion to quell your loneliness. We discuss the density and voyeurism of exploring city spaces, embracing the aesthetics of death, and making games that respect your time on earth.
Show Notes:
Madison Karrh
IndieCade: Canabalt's Adam Saltsman's Pursuit of the Infinite
Cole Imperi (Thanatologist)
Double Fine's PsychOdyssey
Everyone I Know Keeps Breaking Things
A Chat With the Creator of Birth - Eurogamer
Feral Earth
Solar Protocol
Weiwei Xu's Multiverse
Library of Babel
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Feb 10, 2023
109: Answering Your Questions without a Guest
No guest this week, so we chat about the motley selection of games we're playing, before hopping into some thoughtful listener questions. We talk reality shows, historical board games, our go-to podcasts, and the importance of making things for yourself.
Show Notes:
Betrayal at Club Low
Noita
Slice & Dice
Hi-Fi RUSH
Duolingo
I Imported EDF6, And Here's Why You Should Too
Boss Fight Books - Season 6 Kickstarter
OODA loop
Paolo Pedercini's Making Games in an F****d Up World
Greening the Games Industry
Homo Ludens Podcast
Playing at the World
Molly House
Dead Eyes
Rashomon
Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV
The Eleventh podcast
The Worst Idea of All Time
Guy Montgomory
Lolita Podcast
You Must Remember This
A More Civilized Age
Dr. Gameshow
Hey Riddle Riddle
Just Button
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Jan 27, 2023
108: Designing For Delight with Vectorpark (Windosill)
Patrick "Vectorpark" Smith joins us to discuss his curious and inspiring oeuvre, the lost art of Flash games and DVD menus, and the pros and cons of keeping your art to yourself.
Show Notes:
Vectorpark
Windosill
Patrick's paintings
Haunt the House
Dorling Kindersley's 1995 Encyclopedia of Nature
Daniel Clowes
Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan
Julie Doucet
Jim Woodring's Frank
"Playdate" by Chris Ware
Richard McGuire
TET
Playables
Hollow Ponds
Noby Noby Boy
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Jan 13, 2023
107: Welcoming Laura!
We welcome Laura E. Hall (they/she) as a permanent member of the cast! Fresh off a session of their online escape game The Traveler's Guide to Little Sodaburg, we dig into its web-savvy design, how the last few years have impacted the immersive games space, and the inspirations behind a rad career of experience design.
Show Notes:
Laura E. Hall
The Traveler's Guide to Little Sodaburg
The Pop Star's Room of Doom
Pursuit of the Assassin Artist
Palace Games
Sleep No More
Meow Wolf
I Love Bees
The Beast
Masquerade book
The 11th Hour book
Level99
The Silence in Room 1258
De Mol
A Game Designer's Analysis of QAnon
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Dec 30, 2022
106: Games of the Year 2022
Per tradition, we sit down with immersive puzzle designer Laura E. Hall - and bonus guest writer/developer Rob Dubbin - to count down our Top 5 games of 2022, alongside picks from previous show guests and our listeners. Happy New Year!
Our GOTY picks (SPOILERS):
Laura:
Pentiment
Bureau of Multiversal Arbitration
Immortality
The Case of the Golden Idol
The Emerald Flame
Rob:
Kubb
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
Fun City
Slice & Dice
Babble Royale
Andy:
Metroid Dread
Pentiment (... and Modern Warfare 2)
Neon White
Elden Ring (and Sekiro)
Root (and John Company, Oath, and Pax Pamir)
Sarah:
Horizon Forbidden West
Knotwords
Escape Academy
Subaltern
Music League (but actually kpop)
Zach:
(Three-way tie) Elden Ring / Robotron: 2084 / fetch
Super Mario Land DX (on the Analogue Pocket)
Need for Speed Unbound
(Tie) Isle of Arrows / Gargoyle’s Quest
Legend of Zelda Ancient Dungeon (Complete Conversion of NES Legend of Zelda)
Doug:
Top 5 TikTok Games
Apartment
Cl…
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Dec 16, 2022
105: Making History with Josh Sawyer (Pentiment)
Josh Sawyer (Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity) joins us to discuss Obsidian's historical, narrative-driven adventure game Pentiment. We chat about text boxes as game feel, creating hard player choices that don't feel bad, and putting yourself in your art.
Show Notes:
Josh Sawyer
Pentiment
The Name of the Rose
Pitching a 16th Century Murder Mystery - AIAS Game Maker's Notebook
Juice It or Lose It talk
Lettermatic
Night in the Woods
So where *is* Tassing, actually? (Tumblr post)
Darklands
Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio
Andrei Rublev
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Dec 7, 2022
104: Thanksgiving Leftovers
Our guest couldn't make it, so we gathered some listener questions and got weird! Join us for Thanksgiving recipes, our favorite recent game mechanics, and some "state of the industry" musings. Enjoy!
Show notes:
Vectorpark
Meathead's AmazingRibs.com
Manchego mashed potatoes
Kabocha Pie
Nick's pancake recipe
Paprika Recipe Manager
Sarah's Konsoll talk
Sarah as She-Venom
Marvel Snap
Caper: Europe
Air, Land & Sea
God of War: Ragnarok
Pax Pamir
John Company
Tango
Theory of Mind
Donkeyspace
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Nov 19, 2022
103: Day of the Devs Special
We (well, Nick) stops by the annual Day of the Devs event in San Francisco, and chats to a bunch of lovely developers about the games they're showing there, their biggest design challenges, and what it feels like making games in the cursed year of 2022.
Show notes:
Day of the Devs
Double Fine
iam8bit
Pietro Righi Riva
Saturnalia
Chandana Ekanayake
Thirsty Suitors
Jasper Oprel
Indiana Jonas
Surmount
Madison Karrh
Birth
Billy Basso
Animal Well
Xalavier Nelson Jr.
Sunshine Shuffle
Rachel Heleva
Astra Games
Doseone
Game Over by A7PHA
Brandon Sheffield
Demonschool
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Nov 4, 2022
102: Playing on Your Own Terms with Wayward Strand
Ghost Pattern's Jason Bakker and Georgia Symons join us to discuss their heartfelt interactive story Wayward Strand. We meander through its immersive theater inspirations, the origins of its airship, and the process of rethinking player agency in the attention economy.
Show Notes:
Jason Bakker
Georgia Symons
Ghost Pattern
Wayward Strand
Need 4e+9 Speed
The Last Express
Sleep No More
The Drowned Man
The Life Aquatic
VicScreen
Freeplay
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Oct 21, 2022
101: Working in a Vacuum with Heavenly Bodies
Alexander Perrin and Joshua Tatangelo join us to discuss their expressive, physics-driven space puzzler Heavenly Bodies. We chat about designing a challenging game that isn't antagonistic, a funny game whose comedy is inherent, and their inspirations (or lack thereof).
Show Notes:
Heavenly Bodies
2pt Interactive
Pogo Cat
Short Trip
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy
Meredith Hall
Untitled Goose Game
Simpsons space scene
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Oct 4, 2022
100: Just One (Hundred) with Friends of Eggplant
We're joined by dear friends of the show Laura E. Hall, Bennett Foddy, and Doseone for a Doug-masterminded, Eggplant-themed game of Just One. Stick around after the insanity for a reflection on the past four years of the show, how our lives have changed since, and what the show means to us (and you - thanks for the letters!).
Show notes:
Laura E. Hall
31 Days of Halloween newsletter
Find Satoshi
Bennett Foddy
Doseone
Demon Throttle
Immortality
Hyper Demon
Just One
Anthony Carboni
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Sep 16, 2022
99: Charting the Future with Sarah Northway (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist)
Sarah Northway (Northway Games) joins us to discuss her sprawling new narrative RPG I Was a Teenage Exocolonist. We discuss juggling a staggering script, deckbuilding as storytelling, and some of the wilder places that the game's time looping can go.
Show notes:
Northway Games
Sarah Northway
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
Museum of Other Realities
Princess Maker (series)
Groundhog Day
Signs of the Sojourner
Dragon Age (series)
Jogging House
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Sep 2, 2022
98: Escaping Your Fate with Coin Crew Games (Escape Academy)
Co-founders Wyatt Bushnell and Mike Salyh - and special guest co-host Laura E. Hall - join us to discuss Coin Crew's awesome new co-op escape room game Escape Academy. We discuss pandemic pivoting to the digital space, designing for arcades vs. living rooms, and the perils of playtesting in both mediums.
Show notes:
Coin Crew Games
Escape Academy
Laura E. Hall
Planning Your Escape
The Traveler's Guide to Little Sodaburg
Space Squad in Space
Two Bit Circus
Hot Wheels: King of the Road
999 (series)
The Room (series)
My Hero Academia
Mark Rosewater
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Aug 19, 2022
97: Hosting Online Reality Games (ORGs) w/ Ash Neleh
Ash Neleh, host of the ! Series of online reality games, joins Doug for a conversation about adapting reality TV competition games for online fan communities. We talk about the 18-year history of the ! Series, as well as some of the favorite twists he's designed.
Show notes:
! Series Wiki
! Series Discord
De Mol
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Aug 5, 2022
96: Eavesdropping for Inspiration with Grace Bruxner (Frog Detective)
Frog Detective creator Grace Bruxner joins us to discuss the inspirations and process behind her charming detective series, including the upcoming Frog Detective 3: Corruption at Cowboy County. We discuss sticking to scope (or not), making the most of adventure game tropes, and finding inspiration in the mundane.
Show notes:
Grace Bruxner
Frog Detective
ALIEN CASENO
Games Talks 2020: Grace Bruxner
Building Games Around Humor (GDC talk)
L.A. Noire
Frog Detective Twitter account
Freaky Ep 7 - Dummy
Round the Twist (full first season)
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Jul 22, 2022
95: (Rerun) Making Generous Games with Terry Cavanagh (Dicey Dungeons)
We're taking a small summer break, so please enjoy one of our favorite episodes from a few years ago. And check out the new mobile version of Dicey Dungeons, and the free DLC!
Terry Cavanagh (Super Hexagon, VVVVVV) joins us to talk about his fantastic roguelike deckbuilder, Dicey Dungeons. We discuss the thread of generosity in his game design, the challenges of working across genres, and what might be next for Terry!
Show notes:
Terry's distractionware.com
Dicey Dungeons
VVVVVV
Super Hexagon
Tiny Heist
Stephen Lavelle
Dream Quest
7 Day Roguelike
Naya’s Quest
The Long Dark
Super Hexagon playthrough at Fantastic Arcade
Hearthstone Battlegrounds
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Jul 8, 2022
94: Learning to Unclench with Ben Esposito (Neon White)
Ben Esposito (Donut County, What Remains of Edith Finch) joins us to talk about his heavenly new card-powered, speedrunning FPS Neon White. We discuss making tight designs by keeping things loose, what a "career" of indie games feels like, and making games u wish 2 see on the Dreamcast.
Show notes:
Ben Esposito
Neon White
Donut County
Arcane Kids
Glitch City
Super Meat Boy
Killer7
Cowboy Bebop
Trigun
Hunter x Hunter
GoldenEye 007
Lovely Planet
Machine Girl
Sonic Dreams Collection
Perfect Stride
CRAP! No One Loves Me
Room of 1000 Snakes
Arcane Kids manifesto
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Jun 24, 2022
93: Cheating Depth with Card Shark
Card Shark creators Arnaud De Bock of Nerial (Reigns) and Nicolai Troshinsky join us to discuss their innovative new adventure game about cheating. We discuss its filmic inspirations, the narrative progression of chaining tricks, and designing a game loop of teaching and testing.
Show notes:
Arnaud De Bock
Nicolai Troshinky
Nerial
Reigns
Pikuniku
UFO On Tape
Loop Raccord
Barry Lyndon
The Expert at the Card Table
Gambling Sleight of Hand - Steve Forte
The Magic Castle
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Jun 10, 2022
92: Untangling Language with Knotwords
Knotwords creators Jack Schlesinger and our own Zach Gage chat to us about their elegant new logic puzzle word game. We discuss "cracking" the game design they'd been chasing forever, and how they created the puzzle/word generator that makes it great.
Show notes:
Jack Schlesinger
Zach Gage
Knotwords
Nikoli puzzles
Alcazar
Two Not Touch puzzles
Good Sudoku
SpellTower+
Bit Pilot
Wordle
Calvin & Hobbes
This episode edited by Dylan Shumway, thanks Dylan!
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May 27, 2022
91: Finding Poetry in Geometry with Mahdi Bahrami (Tandis)
Mahdi Bahrami joins us to discuss his beautiful, mind-bending new puzzle game Tandis. We discuss teaching complex geometry concepts without any numbers, poetry as playtesting, and drawing a line through Mahdi's math-inspired oeuvre.
Show notes:
Mahdi Bahrami
Tandis
Engare
Farsh
ArsTechnica Tandis review
Waldorf Education
Mercator Projection
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May 13, 2022
90: Rethinking Reality with Tender Claws (The Under Presents)
Tender Claws' Samantha Gorman and Danny Cannizzazo join us - alongside guest co-host Star St. Germain - to discuss their singular immersive theater experience The Under, creating an enriching social space in VR, and gameplay as an act of rebellion.
Show notes:
Tender Claws
The Under
Virtual Virtual Reality
Star St. Germain
Tumball
Piehole
The Severance Theory: Welcome to Respite
Royal Shakespeare Company's Dream
Talk 'n Play
The Invention of Morel
Uncle Roy All Around You
Janet Cardiff
Mary Sweeney
Walkabout Mini Golf
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Apr 29, 2022
Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Bonus Episode!
Surprise! In the spirit of SMW's bonus worlds, we're back with a Special episode to cap off our deep-dive miniseries, as previous Into the Depths guests Stephanie Boluk and Patrick LeMieux take us on a tour of some of the coolest SMW ephemera yet!
Show notes:
Stephanie Boluk
Patrick LeMieux
Tons of links this week, so please check out this great syllabus that Patrick put together for us!
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Apr 15, 2022
Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Part 5
In the fifth - and final! - installment of our Super Mario World deep-dive miniseries, streamer/speedrunner Grand POOBear joins us to discuss the uncanny valley of SMW Remade From Memory, and the masterful Super 'Sonic Saves the World' World romhack by the mysterious 'Maddy, allegedly'.
Show Notes:
GrandPOOBear
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
DougDoug
SMW Remade From Memory
Super 'Sonic Saves the World' World
Grand Poo World 2
Invictus SMW romhack
Luminescent SMW romhack
Celeste.smc
Spelunky 2 randomizer
Celeste: Farewell
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Apr 1, 2022
Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Part 4
In the fourth installment of our Super Mario World deep-dive miniseries, Davey Wreden (The Stanley Parable) joins us to discuss the infamous Star and Special worlds, and walk us through the ever-evolving, often hilarious culture of Kaizo Mario.
Show notes:
Davey Wreden
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
The Beginner's Guide
Ivy Road
Elden Ring VICE article
The Japanese names for the Special courses
Asshole Mario Stage 1
Asshole Mario Stage 10
Asshole Mario 2 Stage 9
Claustrophobia Kaizo hack
Icing (game)
The Complete History of Kaizo Mario
Homework for next episode:
SMW Remade From Memory
Sonic Saves the World played by Grand POOBear
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Mar 18, 2022
Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Part 3
In the third installment of our Super Mario World deep-dive miniseries, David Hellman (Braid) joins us to discuss the aesthetics of SMW, touch on its recent widescreen mod, and suffer through the game's worst world and level (while savoring the interesting bits).
Show notes:
David Hellman
Braid: Anniversay Edition
Satoru Iwata tribute
The eyes on question mark blocks
Mario shades of red
SMW widescreen mod
SMW jazz fusion album
Homework for next episode:
Star World
Special World
Watch some Kaizo/Asshole Mario World
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Mar 11, 2022
89: Elden Ring roundtable with Jake Kazdal (17-Bit)
Our friend Jake Kazdal (17-Bit) joins us for a (spoiler-free!) roundtable discussion of Elden Ring, in which we compare our experiences in FromSoftware's latest monsterpiece, consider the inseparable nature of its community, and deliberate its bolder design decisions.
Show notes:
Jake Kazdal
17-BIt
Elden Ring
Souls (series)
Resident Evil 7
Nick's home invasion thread
Clint Hocking on the virtues of exploration
Lord of the Rings (films)
Assassin's Creed Odyssey: Discovery Tour
There's no such thing as an Elden Ring cheese
Halo Infinite
Bill Mudron on player summoning
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Feb 25, 2022
Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Part 2
In the second installment of our Super Mario World deep-dive miniseries, Mare Sheppard and Raigan Burns of Metanet Software (N++) join us to talk about the inertia that makes Mario feel like Mario, the beautiful strangeness of the cape, and just how deep SMW's control quirks go.
Show notes:
Metanet Software
N++
The Story of Super Mario World
Elasto Mania
Bernard Suits
MineRalph
Gish
Tumbledown Drive
Jiggly Zone
Making History with Summoning Salt
Kaizo Kindergarden
The Decade-Long Quest for Shadow of the Colossus' Last Secret
Retronauts on SMW
Reverse Design: SMW
Burned Mario and Luigi
SMW Widescreen
11 Years of N
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Feb 11, 2022
Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Part 1
In the first installment of our Super Mario World deep-dive miniseries, Derek Yu (Spelunky) and Maddy Thorson (Celeste) join us to talk about our personal histories with the game, its iconic world map and multi-layered secrets, and all sorts of Mario ephemera in-between.
Show notes:
Super Mario World
Derek Yu
Maddy Thorson
Ep. 75: Finding our Intersection Tastes
Kaizo Mario
SMW as an "athletic game"
Atheltic Theme
The Wizard (1989)
Mario death sprite
How to get 50+ lives in SMW
LOVE
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Jan 28, 2022
88: Welcoming Sarah!
We celebrate Sarah Elmaleh as a permanent new member of the cast! Yay Sarah! We also announce the next Into the Depths series, dive into some wildly different topics du jour, and answer your questions!
Show notes:
Sarah Elmaleh
Super Mario World
"King Me": A Defense of King-Making in Board Game Design
Shut Up & Sit Down Root review
Line Goes Up - The Problem with NFTs
Wordle
The Saturday Paper - Wordle
Wordles of the World
Lingo UK
Wordle as poetry generator
The Wreck
The Red Lantern
The Beatles: Get Back
Pokemon Red
Blinfolded Sekiro run
OODA loop
Games Done Quick
Hanabi
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Jan 14, 2022
87: Fighting Words with Everybody House Games (Babble Royale)
Frank and James Lantz of Everybody House Games join us to discuss their tactical word-slinging free-for-all, Babble Royale. We discuss the built-in texture of language, reconsidering elegance, and why not: we phone a few friends for some live rounds of Hey Robot.
Show notes:
Frank Lantz
James Lantz
Everybody House Games
Hey Robot
Babble Royale
Babble Royale beginner's guide
Babble Royale advanced guide
Chris Hecker
Scrabble
Wordle
Typeshift
Nethack
A Wizard of Earthsea
Wordnik
Starcraft: Brood War
Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
Wavelength
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Dec 31, 2021
86: Games of the Year 2021
Recurring GOTY guest / immersive puzzle designer Laura E. Hall joins Sarah Elmaleh and the rest of our crew to count down our Top 5 games of 2021, alongside picks from previous guests and our listeners. Happy New Year!
Show notes:
Laura E. Hall
Planning Your Escape
The Traveler's Guide to Little Sodaburg
Ynglet 101% Completion Guide
Find Satoshi
Laura's Animal Crossing: New Horizons Dream Code: DA-9271-2414-8564
Our GOTY picks (SPOILERS):
Zach:
Monster Hunter Rise
Death’s Door
Metroid Fusion
Wordle
Halo Infinite
Sarah:
Mass Effect (1) Legendary Edition
Wildermyth
The Maze on Planet 7 (streaming)
It Takes Two
Kentucky Route Zero
Nick:
Sea of Thieves
Elechead
It Takes Two
Guardians of the Galaxy
Inscryption
Doug:
Survivor, South Africa, Season 8
Ynglet
Learned League
Alien (folk game)
Factions (Discord game by Doug)
Andy:
Ynglet (Skee Mask - Pool)
Unpacking (Porter Robinson - Nurture)
Kentucky Route Zero (Low - HEY WHAT)
Inscryption (Squid - Bright Green Field)
Babble R…
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Dec 17, 2021
85: Thinking Outside the Box with Witch Beam (Unpacking)
Witch Beam's Wren Brier and Tim Dawson join us to discuss their cozy zen puzzle game, Unpacking. We chat about the origins of its subtle narrative, living life on the grid, and the generous details that make it feel like home.
Show notes:
Witch Beam
Assault Android Cactus
Unpacking
Wren Brier
Tim Dawson
Stugan
Aseprite
Making Generous Games with Terry Cavanagh
The UI Artist's Survival Kit
Cohesion is Key: Art Direction for Indies
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Dec 3, 2021
84: Digging the Rabbit Hole with Daniel Mullins (Inscryption)
Daniel Mullins (Pony Island, The Hex) joins us to discuss his inky black card-based odyssey, Inscryption. We discuss [redacted], [redacted], and [redacted]. Just go play it, then come back and listen. Thanks also to our guest co-host Star St. Germain!
Show notes:
Daniel Mullins Games
Inscryption
Pony Island
The Hex
Daniel's Itch Page
Star St. Germain
Magic: The Gathering Arena
Slay the Spire
Boss Fight Books - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Buddy Simulator 1984
Hidden my game by mom
Sam Barlow
ARG video with Daniel
Masquerade book
Borg vs McEnroe
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Nov 19, 2021
83: Getting Feedback with Derek Yu
Our old pal and Spelunky creator Derek Yu stops by to discuss his helpful blog post on how to think about feedback on your game. We discuss sympathetic vs unsympathetic feedback, thinking about feedback across your entire creative practice, and why feedback can be valuable beyond the content itself.
Show notes:
Derek Yu
Indie Game Dev: Getting Feedback
Osmos
Creativity, Inc.
One Night Ultimate Werewolf
Slay the Spire: Metrics Driven Design and Balance
Lil' Dozer
Playtesting: Avoiding Evil Data
Hannah Nicklin on Critical Response
r/DestoryMyGame
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Nov 5, 2021
82: Nurturing a Spark with NamaTakahashi (ElecHead)
ElecHead creator NamaTakahashi joins us to discuss his inventive puzzle-platformer, one of our favorites in years. We discuss the indie scene in Japan, making a game about secrets, and how to avoid players getting too "full" on your game. Big thanks to Chao from Asobu for translation help!
Show notes:
NamaTakahashi
Indie Brains podcast (Japanese language)
ElecHead (also on Steam)
Chao Zen
Makers Fund
Asobu
Branching Paths
Archipel
Enhance Experience
Celeste
VVVVVV
NamaTakahashi profile video
Downwell
Toki Tori 2
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Oct 22, 2021
81: Scaling and Scoping with Asher Vollmer (Beast Breaker)
We're joined by Asher Vollmer (Threes) to discuss the mouse-bouncing adventure Beast Breaker, the debut game from his studio Vodeo Games. We discuss the perils of overscoping, scaling up (and back down), and building a studio ethos.
Show notes:
Asher Vollmer
Vodeo Games
Threes
IndieCade Awards
Royals
holedown
Ballz
BBTan
Monster Hunter
The Witcher
A Playful Production Process
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Oct 8, 2021
80: Envisioning a Future with JETT: The Far Shore
Craig D. Adams (Superbrothers A/V) and Patrick McAllister (Pine Scented Software) join us as they embark on the release of their interstellar adventure JETT: The Far Shore. We cover its 10+ year development, telling a small piece of a big story, and assembling the right squad to help land it.
Show notes:
JETT: The Far Shore
Superbrothers A/V
Pine Scented Software
Fatal Inertia
Sworcery ARG?
Jim Guthrie
scntfc
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift
Monster Hunter
Fumito Ueda
Ralph McQuarrie
17-BIT
Getting Things Done
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Sep 24, 2021
79: Shifting Perspectives in Storytelling with Variable State (Last Stop)
Variable State co-founders Jonathan Burroughs, Terry Kenny, and Lyndon Holland pop by to chat about their supernatural anthology drama Last Stop. We discuss capturing London through its details, telling an interconnected story across multiple genres, and the importance of pacing.
Show notes:
Variable State
Virginia
Last Stop
Hannah Nicklin
Attack the Block
Fleabag
Firewatch
Thirty Flights of Loving
Primer timeline
Dunkirk
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Sep 10, 2021
78: Making Myths with Worldwalker Games (Wildermyth)
We're joined by Anne Austin and Nate Austin of Worldwalker Games to explore their charming myth-making tactical RPG, Wildermyth. We dig into the challenges of procedural storytelling, clever ways of handling time passage and death, and capturing a tabletop feel without the table.
Show notes:
Wildermyth
Worldwalker Games
AI-Driven Dynamic Dialog through Fuzzy Pattern Matching
The Thing (video game)
The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31 (board game)
Descent: Journeys in the Dark
XCOM
Spirit of the Century
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Aug 27, 2021
77: Learning to Let Go with GoodbyeWorld Games (Before Your Eyes)
Graham Parkes and Bela Messex of GoodbyeWorld Games join us to discuss their beautiful, blink-controlled adventure through the afterlife, Before Your Eyes. We discuss the benefits of disempowerment, working off faith in technology, and teaching players to let go.
Show notes:
Before Your Eyes
GoodbyeWorld Games
Graham Parkes
Bela Messex
Little Bug
Close Your
Blendo Games
Walter Murch's In the Blink of An Eye
Death of a Salesman
C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce
Where You Are short film
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Aug 13, 2021
76: Seeing For Yourself with Tali Faulkner (Umurangi Generation)
We chat to Umurangi Generation's Tali Faulkner about his (IGF grand prize-winning!) "first-person photography game in the sh*tty future." We discuss keeping scope small while having a lot to say, the role of respectful design and Indigenous knowledge, and positioning players to see for themselves.
Show notes:
Tali Faulkner
Umurangi Generation
Sarah Elmaleh
Shooting the Apocalypse by Jini Maxwell
Freeplay Parallels 2020 talk
Neon Genesis Evangelion
British nuclear tests at Maralinga
ThorHighHeels' OST
Umberto Eco's UR-FASCISM
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Jul 30, 2021
75: Finding Our Intersecting Tastes (75th episode special!)
For our 75th episode special, we endeavor to find which games lie at the intersection of our tastes, talking through our ranking algorithm and counting down our top 22 games. Thanks for all the support so far!
Show notes:
Sportsfriends
Knytt
StepMania
0SPACE
The Little Prince
Let's Mosey: A Slow Translation of Final Fantasy VII
Chrono Trigger by Michael P. Williams
Chrono Trigger Mixtape
Losing Your Grip: Futility and Dramatic Necessity in Shadow of the Colossus
Arcane Kids Manife$to
Kaizo Mario
TENNNES
TENORI-ON
Our Top 22 (SPOILERS):
10th place:
Super Puzzle Fighter
N++
Katamari Damacy
Dance Dance Revolution
9th place:
Samurai Gunn
8th place:
Everyday Shooter
7th place:
Kentucky Route Zero
Fez
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
6th place:
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario Galaxy
Portal
Final Fantasy VII
Doom
5th place:
Mario 64
Drop7
Desert Golfing
Chrono Trigger
4th place:
Shadow of the Colossus
3rd place:
Spelunky 2
2nd place:
S…
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Jul 16, 2021
74: Taking Our Time with Durational Games (Airplane Mode special #2)
The second special episode originally created in partnership with AMC Games for the in-flight entertainment of Airplane Mode, a very literal flight simulator. We chat about ritual in games, rethinking our relationship to time, and bringing it to bear on our own work and play.
Show notes:
Lifeline...
Shadow of the Colossus
Tharsis
Star Trek: Discovery
The Castles of Burgundy
Lost Cities
Desert Bus
Pippin Barr's Durations
Marina Abramović’s The Artist is Present
Zach’s Transit Meditation
San Andreas Deer Cam
Dishonored
Assassin's Creed Odyssey: Discovery Tour
Grand Theft Auto Pacifist
The Traveling Swordsman Problem
Nick's Thanksgiving Blade Triptych
Casey Reas’ Processing
How to do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
Delayed Response: The Art of Waiting From the Ancient to the Instant World
The Great British Bake Off
Apex Legends
VESPER.5
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP
Brandon Sanderson
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Jul 2, 2021
73: Constructing Your Dreams with HoloVista
Aconite founders Star St. Germain and Nadya Lev and lead designer Scott Jon Siegel join us to discuss their beautiful, mixed reality mind bender HoloVista. We chat about embracing hidden object game design, telling personal stories through a lens of social media, and subverting the selfie museum.
Show notes:
HoloVista
Star St. Germain
Nadya Lev
Scott Jon Sigel
Aconite
Coilhouse
The Fallen Cosmos
SFZero
Journey to the End of the Night
Ian Bogost
Jane McGonigal
Gardens of Time
How Return of the Obra Dinn Works
Mariode
Blake Kathryn
Nour: Play With Your Food
Andrew Morgan
Andi Hegedus
MTV Cribs
Meow Wolf
teamLab
Museum of Ice Cream
Strix
Cory O'Brien
LiveJournal
Sara Carr
Mesmer & Braid: The Alternate Reality Game
Steve Peters
Nick Tierce
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Jun 18, 2021
72: Expanding Your Universe with Jakub Wasilewski (Slipways)
Jakub Wasilewski of Beetlewing joins us to talk about his new grand-yet-bite-sized space strategy game, Slipways. We discuss game feel as inspiration, breaking your game for fun and profit, and limiting your universe to expand your audience.
Show notes:
Jakub Wasilewski
Beetlewing
Slipways
PICO-8
Indie Fund
Celeste
hearthstone
Pocket-Run Pool
Twilight Imperium
Teomachia (Jakub's board game)
Master of Orion
Magic: The Gathering
SpellTower
Slay the Spire
Tom Francis
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Jun 4, 2021
71: Surviving the Big Bang with Feral Cat Den (Genesis Noir)
Evan Anthony and Jeremy Abel of Feral Cat Den join us to discuss their inspired cosmic adventure game, Genesis Noir. We discuss the aesthetics of interaction, processing your game launch, and shooting for the stars with your ending.
Show notes:
Feral Cat Den
Evan Anthony
Jeremy Abel
Genesis Noir
Vectorpark
Hohokum
GNOG
Cosmicomics
Reaktor
Florence
Skillbard
Oikospiel
Inside
Busby Berkeley
Rez
Marcin Zeglinski
Interstellar
L.A. Noire
Wabi-sabi
Kintsukuroi
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May 21, 2021
70: Embracing Your Scars with Hannah Nicklin (Mutazione)
Die Gute Fabrik's Studio Lead Hannah Nicklin joins us to discuss her writing and narrative design work on their sublime mutant soap opera, Mutazione. We discuss working with time and an ensemble cast to create a story with "multiple middles," embracing the scars of a lengthy development cycle, and the best bikes in video games.
Show notes:
Hannah Nicklin
Die Gute Fabrik
Mutazione
Into the Depths: The Music of Mutazione - Part 1
Divised theater
Grey’s Anatomy
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Narrative Design Sliding Doors
Multiple Middles & Mutazione
Kentucky Route Zero
Critical Response
Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
N+1 a bike/game zine
Sokpop's Digital Bird Playground
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May 7, 2021
69: Building a Better Bridge with Ben Wilson
We sit down with Creative Producer Ben Wilson to discuss the thrilling cooperative trick-taking game The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine, and how the game builds on and subverts precedents like Spades and Bridge.
Show notes:
Ben Wilson
Wizard Jam
Spelunky Dare Challenge Bot
Trick-taking games
The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine
The Crew - A Card Game for Everyone
Skat
Hearts
Spades
Bridge
Zach's Grit
Bourre
Hanabi
The Perfect Game of Hanabi
Ha Ha Ha! game
Codenames
#remoteplay: Playing in a Pandemic, Part 2
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Apr 30, 2021
Into the Depths: Kentucky Route Zero - Part 6
In the final installment of our Kentucky Route Zero miniseries, we sit down with two of its creators - Jake Elliott and Ben Babbitt - to discuss the origins of their collaboration, drawing from influences beyond games, and the process of working on such a long-term project.
Show notes:
Kentucky Route Zero
Jake Elliott
Ben Babbitt
Stephanie Boluk
Patrick LeMieux
Sarah Elmaleh
A House in California
KRZ Kickstarter
Pillars and Tongues
Dog and Bone are Friends
Jon Cates
Critcal Artware
Demoscene
Ableton
.microsound
Magic Matrix Mixer Mountain
Sidequest
The Museum of Jurassic Technology
Jorge Luis Borges
Balloon Diaspora
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Apr 23, 2021
68: Bravely Replacing Randomness with Gloam Collective (Bravery Network Online)
Gloam Collective's Min-Taylor Bai-Woo and Damian Sommer join us to chat about their thrilling new turn-based fighter Bravery Network Online. We discuss the design of its Pokémon-inspired battles, the clever ways in which they replaced randomness, and making friends in the post-post-apocalypse.
Show notes:
Gloam Collective
Min-Taylor Bai-Woo
Damian Sommer
Bravery Network Online
Guillaume Singelin
OKAYKELLYK
Emily Carroll
Pokémon Showdown!
droqen
Good BNO example match w/ commentary
BNO first tournment playlist
Daigo Umehara
Star Wars: Destiny
Magic: The Gathering - Commander
Final Fantasy Tactics
Splatoon
Yomi
Umurangi Generation
PATH
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Apr 16, 2021
Into the Depths: Kentucky Route Zero - Part 5
In the fifth installment of our Kentucky Route Zero miniseries, we broadcast our thoughts on the Un Pueblo De Nada interlude, before prowling our way through Act V and our closing thoughts on the game.
Show notes:
Kentucky Route Zero
Stephanie Boluk
Patrick LeMieux
Sarah Elmaleh
Alice Munro - Dear Life
Clara Rockmore - The Art of the Theramin
Clara Rockmore - The Swan
Brian Rotman: Signifying Nothing - The Semiotics of Zero
Bob Moog
WEVP-TV transmedia videos
Sandin Analog Image Processor
Our Town
Jenny Odell - How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
How to unlock the bonus interlude
Noah Caldwell-Gervais - Notes From Along Kentucky Route Zero
Robert Frost - The Death of a Hired Man
Orthographic projection
Projective Geometry
Haruki Murakami - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Can't Tell Me Nothing with Zach Galifianakis HQ
Walt Whitman - Song of Myself, Verse 52
Nabokov and spirals
Jon Cates
Metal Gear Solid 3, I Love You With All My Heart
Jordan Young…
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Apr 9, 2021
67: Finding the Right Words with Dyala Kattan-Wright (Signs of the Sojourner)
Echodog Games' Dyala Kattan-Wright joins us to discuss their wildly unique and wonderful narrative card game Signs of the Sojourner. We chat about the process of developing the game's innovative dialogue system, its surprising effects on player experience, and why sometimes you just can't go home again.
Show notes:
Eggplant Patreon
Dyala Kattan-Wright
Echodog Games
Signs of the Sojourner
Slay the Spire
Ascension: A Case Study in Deckbuilding Games
Friday
Consentacle
Fog of Love
Hanabi
Hearthstone
Dream Quest
80 Days
Arkham Horror: The Card Game
Signs of the Sojourner Original Soundtrack
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Apr 2, 2021
Into the Depths: Kentucky Route Zero - Part 4
In the fourth installment of our Kentucky Route Zero miniseries, we dial in our thoughts on the Here and There Along the Echo interlude, before bringing our insight to bear on the brittle facts of Act IV.
With guest co-hosts Stephanie Boluk, Patrick LeMieux, and Sarah Elmaleh!
Show notes:
Kentucky Route Zero
Stephanie Boluk
Patrick LeMieux
Sarah Elmaleh
Limits and Demonstrations Little Berlin installation
Sarah's Part 3 Twitter thread
Karl Marx, Capital Vol. III
Karl Marx, The Fragment on Machines
Museum of Jurassic Technology
Lee Tusman
Richard Lemarchand, Attention Not Immersion
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy (Will Oldham), I See a Darkness
Kelly Reichardt, Old Joy
Martin Deny, Exotica
Audiogames.net
Kenji Eno, Real Sound: Kaze No Regret
Sound of Metal
Nomadland
Gabriel A. Radvansky et al., Walking Through Doorways Causes Forgetting
Andre Bazin, Ontology of the Photographic Image
Sigmund Freud, The Uncanny
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Mar 26, 2021
66: In-Flight Entertainment with Hosni Auji (Airplane Mode)
A special episode originally created in partnership with AMC Games for the in-flight entertainment of Airplane Mode, a very literal flight simulator. We chat with its creator Hosni Auji about the challenges and benefits of simulating the mundane, our strangely poignant experiences with the game, and our personal flight etiquette.
Show notes:
Airplane Mode
Hosni Auji
AMC Games
F.E.E.D.
Zero Age
NYU Game Center Incubator
Gone Home
The Twilight Zone - Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
BLAH airlines
Captain Bennet Foddy
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Mar 20, 2021
Into the Depths: Kentucky Route Zero - Part 3
In the third installment of our Kentucky Route Zero miniseries, we take a seat for The Entertainment interlude, before exploring the physical manifestation of debt in Act III. With recurring guest co-hosts Stephanie Boluk and Patrick LeMieux, and bonus guest Sarah Elmaleh!
Show notes:
Kentucky Route Zero
Stephanie Boluk
Patrick LeMieux
Sarah Elmaleh
Giving Games a Voice with Sarah Elmaleh
Resonance game
The Consolidated Power Company
The Entertainment paperback
Maxim Gorky, The Lower Depths
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Kubla Khan
Eugene O’Neill, The Iceman Cometh
The Last of Us
Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot
Julee Cruise, Rockin’ Back Inside My Heart on Twin Peaks
Colossal Cave Adventure
Junebug, Too Late to Love You
Vannevar Bush, As We May Think
Steve Russell et al., Space War!
Joseph Weizenbaum, Eliza/Doctor Eliza
Douglas Engelbart, The Mother All Demos
Ted Nelson, Computer Lib/Dream Machines
Roberta and Ken Williams, Mystery House
David Graeber…
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Mar 12, 2021
65: Making History with Summoning Salt
Game historian and documentarian Summoning Salt joins us to discuss the world of speedrunning, the process behind his deep-dive videos that unpack its most exciting moments, and the ineffable magic that makes some classic games so beautifully broken.
Show notes:
Summoning Salt
Home - We're Finally Landing
Breaking World Records with Kinnijup and ix
The Quest for 1 Million Subscribers
Games Done Quick
SS's speedrun.com records
The Quest to Beat Matt Turk
The History of Wii Sports Resort Golf World Records
Jon Bois
Tim Rogers' Action Button
Summoning Salt Patreon
The History of Contra World Records
Mario Kart 64: The Quest for World Record Perfection
Video Game History Foundation
World Record Progression: Half-Life 2
Andy's latest EP
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Mar 5, 2021
Into the Depths: Kentucky Route Zero - Part 2
In the second installment of our Kentucky Route Zero miniseries, we marinate in the Limits & Demonstrations interlude, before navigating the Zero to Act II to tackle bureaucracy, bears, and the recurring question: are we inside, or are we outside?
Show notes:
Kentucky Route Zero
Stephanie Boluk
Patrick LeMieux
Nam Jun Paik, Random Access
Edward Packard, UFO 54-40
Museum of Other Realities
KRZ Fulltext
Jack Burnham, Software Catalogue
Eddie Shanken, "The House that Jack Built"
Le Corbusier, "Five Points of Architecture"
The Jejune Institute
SCP Foundation
Robert Frost, "Two Tramps in Mud Time"
Robert Frost, "Death of the Hired Man"
Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves
Rene Magritte, The Blank Signature
Marie Foulston, Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt
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Feb 26, 2021
64: Giving Games a Voice with Sarah Elmaleh
Actor, advocate, and consultant Sarah Elmaleh (Afterparty, Anthem, Gone Home) joins us to discuss her craft across myriad game roles, the connections between voiceover and design, and using your voice to fight for equity and connectedness.
Show notes:
Sarah Elmaleh
Eggplant Podcast Community Game Jam
Void Protocol
Babycastles
Behind the Voice
Dominic Armato
Afterparty
Anthem
Gears 5
Superbowl spot
Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy
A Play of Bodies
Hades
Disco Elysium
Johann Sebastian Joust
Lifeline
Earplay: Jurassic World Revealed
SAG-AFTRA Low Budget Agreement
Pyre
Star Wars Twitter thread
Gamedev.world
IndieCade 2020 Awards
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Feb 20, 2021
Into the Depths: Kentucky Route Zero - Part 1
In the first installment of our Kentucky Route Zero miniseries, we meet our guest co-hosts, with whom we put Act I's opening scene under a microscope, discuss the game's novel dialogue system, and dive deep into the first batch of its many intertextual references.
Show notes:
Stephanie Boluk
Patrick Lemieux
Kentucky Route Zero
Cardboard Computer
A House in California
Metagaming book
Mutazione
Designing for Mystery in KRZ GDC talk
Dear Esther
Fluxus
Grapefruit
Successful Reflective Choices in Interactive Narrative
Colossal Cave Adventure
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine
Recoding Gender: Women’s Changing Participation in Computing
Playing with Feelings: Video Games and Affect
Game of Life
Somewhere Nearby is Colossal Cave
One Hundred Years of Solitude
A Pedestal, A Table, A Love Letter: Archaeologies of Gender in Videogame History
Hundred Thousand Billion Poems
1976: Adventure
Mathematical Theory of Communication
New Media Reader
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Feb 12, 2021
63: Finding Your Own Path with Daniel Helbig (Lonely Mountains: Downhill)
Daniel Helbig of Megagon Industries (Lonely Mountains: Downhill) joins us to discuss the magic behind their pitch-perfect 2019 mountain biking game. We discuss the trials and techniques of their game-defining controls, physics, and camera work, and mastering multifaceted mountains (phew!).
Show notes:
Eggplant Game Jam
Daniel Helbig
Megagon Industries
Lonely Mountains: Downhill
Skiing Yeti Mountain
Ski Stunt Simulator
Game Feel book
Downhill Domination
Deep Rock Galactic
Ring of Pain
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Jan 29, 2021
62: Rethinking Difficulty with Maddy Thorson
Maddy Thorson (Celeste, TowerFall) joins us to discuss the evolution of their excellent catalog of platformers, how Celeste made them reconsider difficulty, and the benefits of working with a team you can trust.
Show notes:
Maddy Thorson
Celeste Classic 2
Celeste source code
Axiom Verge randomizer
Spelunky Dare Challenge Bot
Maddy's Mario Maker 2 courses
Maddy's Super Mario World Remix
Twilight Imperium
Detransition, Baby book
Dreamsnake book
Line Rider
Andy's first Spelunky 2 Cosmic Ocean run
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Jan 15, 2021
61: The Joy of Shipping with Xalavier Nelson Jr.
Narrative Director Xalavier Nelson Jr. joins us fresh from his announcement of Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator, the latest in his lengthy list of collaborations. We discuss the methodology behind his prolific oeuvre, the benefits of planning ahead, and how he approaches the unique narrative of a game like Hypnospace Outlaw.
Show notes:
Xalavier Nelson Jr.
Xalavier's Itch.io page
Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator
Hypnospace Outlaw
An Airport For Aliens Currently Run By Dogs
Guts of Glory
Up in the Air
Paper Mario: The Origami King
Oreskaband
Skatune Network
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Jan 8, 2021
Into the Depths: The Music of Mutazione - Part 4
The final installment of a special miniseries produced by developer Die Gute Fabrik, an examination of their wonderful 'mutant soap opera' told through the lens of its music. In this episode, they discuss the rest of the game's Story Mode music, and play some early sketches.
Show notes:
Die Gute Fabrik
Mutazione (Original Game Soundtrack)
Alessandro's Spotify playlist of music that influenced Mutazione
Nils' Spotify playlist of music that influenced Mutazione
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Dec 31, 2020
60: Games of the Year 2020 with Laura E. Hall
Immersive puzzle designer Laura E. Hall returns for another huge year-end show, as we each count down our Top 5 games of 2020, alongside picks from previous guests and our listeners. Happy New Year!
Show notes:
Laura E. Hall
Planning Your Escape: Strategy Secrets to Make You an Escape Room Superstar
Every Game in This City
Our GOTY picks (SPOILERS):
Laura:
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Box One Presented by Neil Patrick Harris
Holovista
The Room VR: A Dark Matter
The Truth About Edith / Cain's Jawbone
Zach:
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
Persona 5
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Hearthstone Battlegrounds
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Andy:
Spelunky 2
Death Stranding
Through the Ages
Disco Elysium
Outer Wilds
Doug:
De Mol 2020 season
Spelunky 2
Kentucky Route Zero
The Crew: The Quest For Planet Nine
PlayingCards
Nick:
Ghost of Tsushima
Spelunky 2
Astro's Playroom
A Short Hike / Lonely Mountains: Downhill
Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Guest picks:
Astro's Playr…
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Dec 25, 2020
Into the Depths: The Music of Mutazione - Part 3
The third installment of a special miniseries produced by developer Die Gute Fabrik, an examination of their wonderful 'mutant soap opera' told through the lens of its music.
In this episode, they discuss the creation and iteration of the game's main 'town' music.
Show notes:
Die Gute Fabrik
Mutazione (Original Game Soundtrack)
Knytt Stories
Sea & Cake
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Dec 18, 2020
59: Making Magic with Chevy Ray Johnston (Ikenfell)
Ikenfell creator Chevy Ray Johnston joins us to explore the inner workings of his tactical magic school RPG, from building a meaningful story with interpersonal stakes, to nailing the timing on a streamlined yet dynamic combat system.
Show notes:
Chevy Ray Johnston
Ikenfell
Ring Fit Adventure
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Carmilla YouTube series
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Ikenfell Original Game Soundtrack
A Shell in the Pit
Sammus
Rowan Atkinson bee comedy
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Dec 11, 2020
Into the Depths: The Music of Mutazione - Part 2
The second installment of a special miniseries produced by developer Die Gute Fabrik, an examination of their wonderful 'mutant soap opera' told through the lens of its music.
In this episode, they discuss the creation of the game's generative musical gardens.
Show notes:
Die Gute Fabrik
Mutazione (Original Game Soundtrack)
Gardens teaser video
Brian Eno - Music for Airports
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Dec 4, 2020
58: Easing into Hades with Supergiant Games
Greg Kasavin and Amir Rao of Supergiant Games join us for a deep design dive on their smash hit dungeon-crawler Hades, from how (and why) they tackled gameplay and narrative persistence in a roguelike, to creating dynamic systems and characters that always have something new to say.
Show notes:
Hades
Greg Kasavin
Amir Rao
Dead Cells
Slay the Spire
Noclip's Hades: Developing Hell series
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Nov 27, 2020
Into the Depths: The Music of Mutazione - Part 1
Introducing a special Into the Depths miniseries produced by developer Die Gute Fabrik, an examination of their wonderful 'mutant soap opera' told through the lens of its music. In this first installment, they discuss the origins of their collaboration, and the early direction and influences that informed the tone of both the game and its music.
Show notes:
Die Gute Fabrik
Mutazione (Original Game Soundtrack)
Rückblende
Alessandro's Spotify playlist of music that influenced Mutazione
Nils' Spotify playlist of music that influenced Mutazione
The Books - Lost and Safe (album)
Sifteo Cubes
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Nov 20, 2020
57: Small Games with Stuffed Wombat
Josh "Stuffed Wombat" Hollendonner joins us to discuss his inspiring oeuvre of Small Games, from creating the 10mg collection - and his entry Always Down - to exploring the tiny text adventures of Ord, and the sustainability and learnings of exploring the Small Games space.
Show notes:
Stuffed Wombat
10mg Collection
The Small Game manifesto
Gutwhale
How to delete your Twitter account
Ord.
Handulum+
qomp
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Nov 13, 2020
Into the Depths: Spelunky 2 - Part 5
In the final installment of our deep-dive Spelunky 2 miniseries, creator Derek Yu and lead programmer Micky Pascual regale us with stories of development, their approach to the post-launch changes, and how they tackled an ocean of secrets. First half is largely spoiler-free (until 1:14), second half is full spoilers!
Show notes:
Derek Yu
Micky Pascual
BlitWorks
Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone
Minus World
Spelunky book
Andy Baio's kid
Eirik Suhrke
UFO 50
Goats screaming like humans
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Nov 6, 2020
56: Sourcing Locally with Ngoc Vu (Necrobarista)
Necrobarista's lead artist Ngoc Vu sits down to tell us how her team created the singular aesthetic of their kinetic visual novel, and talks us through its inseparable Melbourne inspirations.
Show notes:
Ngoc Vu
Route 59 Games
Necrobarista
Long Live the Queen (the game Ngoc couldn't remember!)
Tumblr Cinegraphs
Rabbit Rush
Kotaku anime frustration article
Tachikoma
Bin chickens
Ned Kelly
Sidney Nolan
Understanding Comics
Tilt to Live
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Oct 30, 2020
Into the Depths: Spelunky 2 - Part 4
In the fourth installment of our deep-dive Spelunky 2 miniseries, we wade into the deepest secrets and SPOILERS of the game, covering the entire "chain" path and far beyond, giving our impressions, tips, and design musings along the way.
Show notes:
Mummy's voice meme
A breakdown of 2013's most fascinating video game moment
Ancient Egyptian sacrificial mythology
Nick's first trip to Duat
Our new voicemail number: 312-809-9680
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Oct 22, 2020
55: Maximizing Minimalism with Disc Room
The ENTIRE all-star Disc Room team - Kitty Calis, JW Nijman, Doseone, and Terri Vellmann - stop by for a rowdy disc-ussion on their new arcade sci-fi avoid-em-up. We chat about making the Margherita pizza of games, nailing the details to make a simple concept sing, and making the most of team collaborations.
Show notes:
Disc Room
Launch trailer
Kitty Calis
JW Nijman
Doseone
Terri Vellmann
Pizza Margherita
Disc Room Game Jam
VVVVVV
Chris Ware
Monolith
Bit Pilot
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Oct 16, 2020
Into the Depths: Spelunky 2 - Part 3
In the third installment of our deep-dive Spelunky 2 miniseries, we continue the discussion on its unique difficult curve, debate the latest changes to the game, and talk through the design of worlds 3-5.
Show notes:
Noita 1.0
Thanks for a Great Launch (Update)
JakeTreester's Reddit criticisms (big spoilers!)
Nick's Olmec whiff
Nick's Jiangshi whiff
Colin's Daily in a GIF
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Oct 10, 2020
54: Trusting Your Gut with Tj Hughes (Nour: Play With Your Food)
Tj Hughes (Terrifying Jellyfish) joins us to talk about his upcoming experimental food/art game Nour: Play With Your Food. We discuss games as toys, making things accessible by making them weird, and the most important element of both cooking and design (spoilers: it's love).
Show notes:
Tj Hughes
Nour: Play With Your Food
Feesh
Panoramical
Electroplankton
Tabor Robak on Video Games
Food in FFXV
Breakfast in Dreams
Hero of Time, Vegan of Hyrule
Toasted Ravioli
City Museum
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Oct 2, 2020
Into the Depths: Spelunky 2 - Part 2
In the second installment of our deep-dive Spelunky 2 miniseries, we discuss the game's radical approach to difficulty, break down and contrast the second worlds of the game, and compare results on the Daily challenge.
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Sep 25, 2020
53: Keeping it Short with Adam Robinson-Yu (A Short Hike)
A Short Hike creator Adam Robinson-Yu chills with us to chat about his cozy exploration game, from its Humble origins and inspirations, to balancing feature density with scope.
Show notes:
A Short Hike
Adam Robinson-Yu
Pitfall Planet
Adam's Itch.io page
Fund: Futures
Crafting a Tiny Open World: A Short Hike Postmorterm
Building Games Around Humor: Lessons from The Haunted Island, A Frog Detective Game
Stugan
Breakwaters Kickstarter
doseone's new album
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Sep 18, 2020
Into the Depths: Spelunky 2 - Part 1
In the first installment of our deep-dive Spelunky 2 miniseries, we have a - spoiler-free! - discussion of the first world of the game, design changes big and small and their implications, and what this sequel does to recapture the essence of what make the series so special.
Show notes:
Spelunky 2
Noita
Surviving Spelunky 2: Tips for a Successful Expedition/Transition
Northway Games
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
Museum of Other Realities
Polygon Spelunky 2 review
Ojiro's Spelunky 2 death
Nick's Spelunky 2 shotgun forgetfulness
eggplant.show
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Sep 11, 2020
52: Barking Up the Right Tree with Lucy Morris (Best Friend Forever)
Lucy Morris (Starcolt) joins us to talk about her recently-released dating/pet care sim Best Friend Forever! We discuss running a studio in a small community, building three dimensional characters, and the emotional travails of launching a game.
Show notes:
Lucy Morris
Lovegames podcast
bffgame.dog
Launch Day: the emotional cost of releasing a game
Jared Rosen + Dream Daddy
Love Transcends All (Geographical) Boundaries
acrylic
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Aug 28, 2020
51: Good Sudoku with Zach Gage
We kick off a new era with a fully rebranded show! After navel-gazing about the changes, we talk to our own Zach Gage about making a Sudoku game that loves you.
Show notes:
eggplant.show
Good Sudoku
doseone
Richard Hogg
Northway Games
Sportsfriends
Osmos
The Worst Idea of All Time
Hot Tub Time Machine
Arcane Kids Manife$to
The Miracle Sudoku
The Berenst#in Bears problem
Put Your Name on Your Game GDC talk
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Aug 14, 2020
50: Spelunky 2 with Derek Yu and Eirik Suhrke
We close out this chapter of the podcast with some (spoiler-free!) impressions of the near-final Spelunky 2, with creators Derek Yu and Eirik Suhrke to guide us through their design process and answer your burning questions. The walls are shifting...
Some things we discussed:
Derek Yu
Eirik Suhrke
Spelunky 2 release date trailer
Super Mario World
Downwell
Faxanadu
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Jul 31, 2020
49: Fun with Hexes with Ricky Haggett, Jonathan Whiting, and Tim Schafer (Loot Rascals)
Loot Rascals co-designers Ricky Haggett and Jonathan Whiting join us to discuss their whimsical cosmic roguelike, as does superfan Tim Schafer to help us sing its praises! We discuss playing with hexes in the pub, the function of humor in games, and how Loot Rascals is the first "stranding" game.
Some things we discussed:
Loot Rascals
Hollow Ponds
Jonathan Whiting
Double Fine Productions
RAD
Davey Swatpaz
Archon: The Light and the Dark
Skylanders
HeroQuest
Good Sudoku
Nethack
Into the Breach
I Am Dead
Meowza
Jon Boam
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Jul 17, 2020
48: Making It Personal with Shawn Alexander Allen (Treachery in Beatdown City)
Shawn Alexander Allen joins us to talk about his tactical brawler, Treachery in Beatdown City. We discuss the roots and inspirations of this innovative mash-up, the action economy that makes it tick, and the process of translating life experience into your creative work.
Some things we discussed:
Shawn Alexander Allen
Treachery in Beatdown City
Hybrid Heaven
V.A.T.S. system
Put Your Glock Away, I've Got a Stronger Weapon For You (A Maze talk)
@writnelson's Blockbuster thread
Cory Arcangel's Super Mario Clouds
Being black in America
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Jul 3, 2020
47: Indie Dev as Engine Building with Theresa Duringer
Theresa Duringer (Temple Gates Games) joins us to discuss the process of bringing board games to digital platforms. We discuss tutorial and UI challenges, machine learning for AI, and how to find your niche as a small studio.
Show notes:
Theresa Duringer
Temple Gates Games
Roll of the Galaxy beta
Gen Con
Machine Learning for Boardgame AI in Race for the Galaxy
TD-Gammon
AlphaStar: Mastering the Real-Time Strategy Game StarCraft II
Keldon Jones' Race for the Galaxy AI
How to Run a Studio Without a Surprise Hit
Scythe: Digital Edition
Terraforming Mars
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Jun 20, 2020
46: Reconsidering Civilization with Soren Johnson (Old World)
Soren Johnson (Offworld Trading Company) joins us to discuss his new historical strategy game Old World, as we dive into playing by feel in a numbers-driven game, the problematic themes inherent to the 4X genre, and personalizing games through narrative scale.
Some things we discussed:
Soren Johnson
Mohawk Games
Civilization IV
Spore
Offworld Trading Company
Old World
4X genre
Designer Notes podcast
Heroes of Might and Magic
Guns versus butter
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Battle Line
Lost Cities
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May 29, 2020
Into the Depths: Noita - Part 5
In the final installment of our Noita miniseries, Nolla Games' Petri Purho and Olli Harjola join us for a deep dive Q&A on the game! We discuss the influence of magic on its design, its origins and early iterations, how they empower different play styles, and where the boundaries of the game might actually be.
Some things we discussed:
Kloonigames
Facepalm Games
Hempuli
Sisu
Knytt
The Magic Way
Frog Fractions
NetHack
Game Feel book
Stair Dismount
Liero
The Fight of the Sumo Hoppers
Pro Pilkki
My Summer Car
Nokia worm (Snake)
Wings
Soldat
Stephen’s Sausage Roll
Apex Legends Forge misdirect
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May 22, 2020
45: Andy's Sprawling Birthday Spectacular
It's Andy's big 5-0 and we're celebrating by diving into our mailbag of thoughtful listener questions! We discuss working within a team, how academic practice intersects development, framing your work across a career, the role of aesthetics in games, and the materiality of engines. Phew!
Some things we discussed:
The Last Dance
B.U.T.T.O.N.: On Self-Effacing Games and Unachievements
Characteristics of Games
Terry Cavanagh
Design Anarchy
Ansel Adams
Clusterf*ck
GMTK Game Jam
N
Designing with Physics: Bend the Physics Engine to Your Will
Super Pole Riders: How We Got Full Pole Control
Lost Cities
Lonely Mountains: Downhill
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May 15, 2020
Into the Depths: Noita - Part 4
In the fourth installment of our Noita miniseries, we discuss the intention of randomness, getting stuck in our play patterns, leaning into the game's weirdness, and some modifications we'd like to see.
Some things we discussed:
10,000 Bowls of Oatmeal Problem
Brogue
Teamfight Tactics
Balancing Multiplayer Games
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May 8, 2020
44: Quarantine Arcade with Derek Yu
Spelunky creator Derek Yu returns for an expansive discussion on the membrane between players/devs, the connection between design/process, and the understated influence of arcade games on his work - all through the lens of what we've been playing and thinking about in quarantine.
Some things we discussed:
Derek Yu
UFO 50
Noita
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
AC:NH QoL fan video
Marina Abramović
Streets of Rage 4
Metal Slug X
Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2
Web Liero
Scourgebringer
Bargain Basement Bathysphere
Gals' Fighters
boardgamearena.com
Can’t Stop
Acquire
Innovation
Sea Block Factorio mod
SnowRunner
Caveblazers
Miasmata
Escape From Tarkov
Gutwhale
Just One
Lost Cities
Azul
What Up With That?
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May 1, 2020
Into the Depths: Noita - Part 3
In the third installment of our miniseries, we discuss Noita's worldbuilding, secrets in game culture, games as toys, tutorialization (or lack thereof), and the conflicts of wandcrafting.
Some things we discussed:
Noita
Arcane Kids Manife$to
Magicians Trilogy
Rain World
Noita 101 - Tips for new players
Else Heart.Break()
My Summer Car - Early Access trailer
TIS-100
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Apr 24, 2020
43: A Window Into Narrative Systems with Tom Francis
Tom Francis (Gunpoint, Heat Signature) crashes in to discuss his upcoming small-scale strategy game Tactical Breach Wizards, how he finds and focuses on the cores of his games, and the narrative systems that make them sing.
Some things we discussed:
Tom Francis
Gunpoint
Heat Sig
Tactical Breach Wizards (new walkthrough)
RPS: What Works And Why
Morphblade
Imbroglio
GameMaker
Into the Breach
The GIPF Project
Dawn of War: Dark Crusade
Dishonored
Brick
Design Talk: Difficulty is Random
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Apr 17, 2020
Into the Depths: Noita - Part 2
In the second installment of our miniseries, we discuss our different play styles, wand customization, building games around online communities, and our experiences with - and the implementation of - Noita's Daily Challenge.
Some things we discussed:
Noita
Risk of Rain
Zach's badass barrel kick
Noita 101 - Tips for new players
Wand Stats - Noita Notes 4
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Apr 10, 2020
42: The Secrets of Simplicity with Martin Jonasson (holedown)
Martin Jonasson (holedown) joins us to extract the juiciness that powers his "delightful spectacle of bouncing," reveals the truth behind his rounded corners, and discusses the aesthetic and scope commitments that drove games like twofold inc. and rymdkapsel.
Some things we discussed:
grapefrukt games
holedown
twofold, inc.
rymdkapsel
jesus vs. dinosaurs
Juice it or lose it
Breakout: Pilgrim in the Microworld
experimental gameplay project
vectorpark
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Apr 3, 2020
Into the Depths: Noita - Part 1
In this first installment of our new miniseries focused on Noita (with guest co-host Bennett Foddy), we share our early stories and beginner tips, discuss the genealogy of the game, and contemplate how we feel about shooting being its primary verb.
Some things we discussed:
Noita
Bennett Foddy
Crayon Physics Deluxe
The Swapper
Baba Is You
Liero
Worms
Kuron and the Jelly Islands
Sisu
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Mar 27, 2020
41: Producing More Than You Consume with Tyriq Plummer (Catacomb Kids)
Tyriq Plummer (Catacomb Kids, UFO 50) joins us to discuss the guts and evolution of his long-term roguelike project, how he stays motivated, and making his minions matter. Plus a very special show announcement!
Some things we discussed:
Tyriq Plummer
Catacomb Kids
UFO 50
Our new Discord!
Noita
Made out of Meat: Health Systems in Video Games
Tyriq's dev streams
Pixelation.org
Aesop Rock
Sachin Teng
Basic Animation Aesthetics by David OReilly
The External World
The Amazing World of Gumball
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Mar 13, 2020
40: The Physics of Uncertainly with Andrea Roberts (Roundguard)
Andrea Roberts of Wonderbelly Games talks to us about her brand-new bouncy dungeon crawler Roundguard! We discuss physics as a system of uncertainty, combining Peggle with a roguelike formula, and using that formula to create player friendliness.
Things we discussed:
Roundguard
Spelunky 2 PS Blog post
Dunklords
Peggle
Fable
A Guide to Proc Gen Practitioners
That's the Way the Ball Bounces: Using Physics to Manifest Chance in Roundguard
Caves of Qud
Subterfuge
Disgaea
Cleromancy
Baby's First RPG
Electronic Rituals, Oracles and Fortune Telling
Cinco Paus
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Feb 28, 2020
39: The Tricks of the Toolkit with Mark Brown (Game Maker's Toolkit)
Mark Brown of Game Maker's Toolkit joins us to talk about the process behind his excellent series on game design. We discuss his recent video on randomness - diving deep on input/output randomness - as well as roguelike progression, and much more!
Things we discussed:
Game Maker's Toolkit
How (And Why) Spelunky Makes its Own Levels
The Two Types of Random
Michael Brough's Imbroglio "brog"
Characteristics of Games
Playing at the World
Sid Meier's Psychology of Game Design
Geoff Engelstein's "pink noise" talk
Roguelikes, Persistency, and Progression
Let's Game it Out YouTube channel
The Best Games from GMTK Game Jam 2019
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Feb 15, 2020
38: The Rhythms and Layers of Ryan Clark
Ryan Clark of Brace Yourself Games (Crypt of the Necrodancer, Cadence of Hyrule) sashays in to chat with us about how he hit on his rhythm roguelike formula, layering in depth to make his systems sing, and how he's found - and repeated - indie game success.
Some things we discussed:
Brace Yourself Games
Crypt of the Necrodancer
Industries of Titan
Phantom Brigade
Bard seeded speed world record
How to Consistently Make Profitable Indie Games
Dwarf Fortress
Meteorfall
Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated
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Jan 31, 2020
37: Designing Around Language with Zach Gage
We get cozy with our own Zach Gage to talk about his just-released SpellTower+, the follow-up to the puzzle game that put him on the map. We discuss making word searches interesting, the design of letter distribution, and making the Westworld of word games.
SpellTower+
zachgage.com
Kinnijup’s new eggplant run world record
Kinnijup's new low% hell run world record
Puzzlejuice
Letterpress
The history of Tetris randomizers
Typeshift
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Jan 17, 2020
36: Game Feel as Procrastination with Jan Willem Nijman
Jan Willem "JW" Nijman (Nuclear Throne, Minit) sits down with us to help us fix mini golf, before we dig into some of the design thinking behind Vlambeer's amazing catalog of action games, how he approaches prototyping, and being the self-proclaimed "Jamie Oliver of game feel."
Things we discussed:
Vlambeer
The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan
Ribbit King
JW's The Art of Screen Shake talk
Samurai Gunn
Monolith
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Jan 3, 2020
35: Games of the Year 2019 with Laura E. Hall
Immersive puzzle designer Laura E. Hall joins for our big GOTY show, as we each share our Top 5 games of 2019. We also hear many of YOUR picks (thanks!), and stick around until the end to hear picks from several of our 2019 guests. Happy New Year!
Things we discussed:
Laura E. Hall
Katamari Damacy by Boss Fight Books
Every Game in This City podcast
Sleep No More
Trolling as an Air Traffic Controller in Flight Sim X
Our GOTY picks (SPOILERS)
Laura:
Heaven's Vault
Elsinore
Lianna Fled the Cranberry Bog: A Story in Cootie Catchers
Shenmue III
Storyteller's Secret
Zach:
Call of Dury: Modern Warfare
Slay the Spire
The Pinball Wizard
Apex Legends
Vagante
Doug:
Slay the Spire
Disco Elysium
Return of the Obra Dinn
A Short Hike
Petscop
Andy:
Lonely Mountains: Downhill
A Short Hike
Sekiro
Song of Bloom
Auto Chess
Nick:
Ape Out
Painter Detective
Pilgrims
Remember Our Trip
Earth Defense Force 5
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Dec 20, 2019
34: Getting Over Spelunky with Bennett Foddy
With the help of our friend Bennett Foddy (QWOP, Getting Over It) we consider Spelunky as the Game of the Decade - we discuss what influence it's had (or hasn't had) in and beyond its genre, its distinct connection to Dark Souls, and experiencing the external narrative of modern gaming.
Things we discussed:
Bennett Foddy's games
Ape Out
TIGSource
Tim Rogers Presents The Games of the Decade
Finishing a Game by Derek Yu
Vagante
Characteristics of Games
Assassination of Lord British
Reasons and Persons book
Put Your Name on Your Game GDC talk
Song of Bloom
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Dec 6, 2019
33: Making Generous Games with Terry Cavanagh (Dicey Dungeons)
Terry Cavanagh (Super Hexagon, VVVVVV) joins us to talk about his fantastic roguelike deckbuilder, Dicey Dungeons. We discuss the thread of generosity in his game design, the challenges of working across genres, and what might be next for Terry!
Things we discussed:
Terry's distractionware.com
Dicey Dungeons
VVVVVV
Super Hexagon
Tiny Heist
Stephen Lavelle
Dream Quest
7 Day Roguelike
Naya’s Quest
The Long Dark
Super Hexagon playthrough at Fantastic Arcade
Hearthstone Battlegrounds
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Nov 22, 2019
32: (Rerun) Into the Breach with Justin Ma
We're taking a much-needed week off, but please enjoy one of our favorite episodes from early on. We'll be back in two weeks with guest Terry Cavanagh to talk about his new roguelike deckbuilder (dicebuilder?) Dicey Dungeons - check it out and send us your questions! Anyways, on to our show:
Justin Ma of Subset Games joins us to discuss the design of his excellent sci-fi strategy game Into the Breach, from its Spelunky-inspired high/low-level design, to how they cracked its time-driven gameplay, to why throwing away 80% of their work...worked.
Things we talked about:
Justin Ma
Subset Games
FTL
Into the Breach
Input / Output Randomness
'Into the Breach' Didn't Click Until I Played it Like an EMT
Into the Breach - Fantastic Arcade 2017 Developer Commentary
Stephen's Sausage Roll
Return of the Obra Dinn
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Nov 8, 2019
31: Good Times With Bad Robots with Frank Lantz (Hey Robot)
Frank Lantz (Drop7, Universal Paperclips) stops by to tell us about his new party game for smart speakers, Hey Robot. We discuss fun ways to engage with rigid AI - and the privacy issues inherent to doing so - before taking a wild detour into the taxonomy of paddle boats.
Things we discussed:
Frank Lantz
Hey Robot
Breakfast Spelunky
Shiren the Wanderer
ClemmyGames' Top 10 Best Underrated Roguelike/Roguelites
NYU Game Center
Pac Manhattan
Drop7
Universal Paperclips
Everybody House Games
Antigrams
SmileBot
Lodden Thinks
Paddle Boats
The history of Tetris randomizers
Frank's How to play Cinco Paus
Hanabi
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Oct 25, 2019
30: Making Games is Hard
Free of guests or a "plan," our crew of intrepid hosts dives into a bounty of stimulating listener questions! We discuss our personal roads into game design, the challenge of procedural generation in AAA games, and the game design of reality shows.
Things we discussed:
Kirby703_'s World 23 correction
Demon’s Souls
IndieCade
Game Design Deep Dive: The creative camaraderie behind Wilmot's Warehouse
Kate Compton's 10,000 Bowls of Oatmeal
Drop7
Noita
Conan Death Stranding video
Classic Tetris World Championship
Deadwood
Are You The One?
The Stormlight Archive
Pilgrims
Machinarium Remixed
Card of Darkness
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Oct 11, 2019
29: Card of Darkness with Zach Gage
The gang’s all here to chat with our own Zach Gage (SpellTower, Tharsis) about his new Apple Arcade adventure game, Card of Darkness. We discuss distilling roguelikes, the role of randomness, and designing 52 cards in two days.
Things we discussed:
Card of Darkness
Andy’s baby!
World 23 Spelunky glitch
The Grannies (Red Dead Redemption explorers)
Zach’s collaborators
Card of Darkness soundtrack
Zach's games
Hearthstone: Dungeon Run
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Sep 27, 2019
28: Surviving Overland with Adam Saltsman
Finji’s Adam Saltsman drops by for a deep dive on his new road trip survival game Overland. We discuss its surprisingly affecting narrative innovations, design epiphanies from its 6+ year development, and its understated influence from Legacy board games.
Things we discussed:
Overland
New Spelunky duplication glitch
Canabalt
Finji
Adam's blog
X-COM: UFO Defense
868-HACK
Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space
Oasis
Rebuild
Underworld
Play Dead Podcast with Adam
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Sep 13, 2019
27: Teamfight Tactics with Greg Borenstein
Riot Games’ Greg Borenstein joins us to chat about the design behind their red-hot autobattler Teamfight Tactics, as we discuss the benefits of embracing complexity, the rise of randomness, and what the game has in common with Sorry! You know, that Sorry!
Things we discussed:
Teamfight Tactics
Mutazione
Untitled Goose Game
UFO 50
Riot Games controversy - timeline of events
Riot Games controversy - one year later
Dota Auto Chess
Dota Underlords
League of Legends
Richard Garfield: Luck and Games
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Aug 30, 2019
26: The Nick and Andy Show
Our crew is stretched thin, but we soldier on with a wide-ranging, freeform 1-year anniversary episode! Nick and Andy chat about the recent glut of amazing game releases - and upcoming highlights (roguelights?) - while Andy reflects on the 10-year anniversary of his career-defining game Osmos, and we dive into a bounty of beautiful listener letters.
Things we discussed:
Mutazione
Zach's game tease
Noita
Overland
Osmos
agar.io
Telling Lies
Eliza
Control
Dicey Dungeons
RAD
Plunge
EarthNight
Loren Schmidt's Roguelike
Loot Rascals
Michael Brough
Kamibox
Cryptark
Teamfight Tactics
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Aug 17, 2019
25: Slay the Spire with Anthony Giovannetti
Megacrit’s Anthony Giovannetti sits down with us to dive deep into the iterative design process of his hit roguelike deckbuilder, Slay the Spire.
Things we discussed:
Slay the Spire
Stimhack
Android: Netrunner
Spelunky 2 delay
Magic: the Gathering
Dominion
Dream Quest
GDC talk - Slay the Spire: Metrics Drive Design and Balance
FTL
Desktop Dungeons
The Binding of Isaac
Brogue
Why Revealing All is the Secret of Slay the Spire's Success
How Slay the Spire's Original Interface Almost Killed the Game
Milling in MtG
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Aug 1, 2019
24: Going Rogue with Glenn Wichman (Rogue)
The co-creator of Rogue - yes, THAT Rogue - chats with us about the creation and legacy of his seminal 1980 game that birthed a genre! We discuss the origins of its key innovations of procedural generation and “consequence permanence,” its surprisingly Chesslike origins, and the secret metagame behind Quicken (shhh!).
Rogue
Hack
Nethack
Brogue
Curses programming library
Diablo
ADOM
Moria
Angband
Rogue's instruction manual
Glenn’s unused Rogue manual art
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Jul 18, 2019
23: Reinventing Basketball (and Spelunky) with Andy Hull (Dunk Lords)
Our full crew is reunited, and just in time for a very special guest! Spelunky HD programmer Andy Hull joins us to chat about his time as a toy designer, rebuilding Spelunky from the ground up, and nailing the jelly shader in his upcoming 2v2 basketball beat ‘em up, Dunk Lords.
Things we discussed:
Dunk Lords
Mossranking
Klik & Play
Sushi Slicing Play Set
Scoop & Stack Ice Cream Cone Play Set
Bake & Decorate Cupcake Set
What is Bothering Carl?
Spelunky book
Aquaria
Braid
Ridiculous Fishing
Corridor Crew
Spelunky render dupe
Solo Eggplant Run
Indie Tech Talk #17: Andy Hull
Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy
Ape Out
NBA Jam
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Jul 4, 2019
22: Making the post-post-apocalypse RAD with Double Fine’s Lee Petty
Lee Petty of Double Fine (Psychonauts, Brütal Legend, Stacking) drops by to talk to us about their upcoming post-post-apocalyptic roguelike, RAD! We discuss the emergent origins of its procedural design, capturing ‘80s nuclear angst, and Tim Schafer’s love/hate relationship with farts.
Things we discussed:
leepetty.com
Tharsis (iPad)
Brutal Legend
Broken Age
Stacking
Headlander
RAD
Amnesia Fortnight
Psychonauts 2
Grim Fandango Remastered
Brothers Quay
Hitman
Autonomous
Chromehounds
Risk of Rain
Inside Out
The Return of Heracles
Gamma World
Moebius
Talisman
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Jun 21, 2019
21: Keeping Spelunky Alive with MossRanking
MossRanking creator Mathieu “saturnin55” Legaré and advisor/speedrunner Kevin “meowmixmix” Hyer join us to talk about the history and design behind Spelunky’s incredible community hub.
Things we discussed:
MossRanking
mewomixmix's GDQx2018 run
Playing the Spelunky 2 demo at TwitchCon
speedrun.com
Bananasaurus Rex's infamous solo eggplant run
Crypt of the Necrodancer
Nick’s Daily Death
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Jun 6, 2019
20: Going Into the Void (Bastards) with Cara Ellison and Farbs
Sci-fi strategy-shooter Void Bastards is tearing up the charts, and we’ve got two of its creators on the show! We discuss worldbuilding via British bureaucracy, telling stories in a world of roguelite progression, and yelling at yourself in your own game...as a pirate.
Things we discussed:
Void Bastards
Embed with Games: A Year on the Couch with Game Developers
System Shock
Dishonored 2
Captain Forever
Card Hunter
Brazil
Red Dwarf
The Stanley Parable
Choose Your Own Anna Anthropy interview
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May 23, 2019
19: The Organized Chaos of Edmund McMillen
The creator of The Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy joins us for a career-spanning discussion of his design ethos, and the organized chaos that drove the creation of the most successful roguelite ever.
Things we discussed:
Super Meat Boy
The Binding of Isaac
The End is Nigh
The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls
Gish
Aether
Closure
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup
Desktop Dungeons
Fingered
The Binding of Isaac: Antibirth
Keyforge
Overwatch
Kingdom Death
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May 10, 2019
18: Exploring Brogue with Brian Walker
Brogue creator Brian “Pender” Walker joins us to chat about the elegant design behind his sublime roguelike dungeon-crawler, from the lessons he took from Rogue (and those he didn’t), to creating a rich world of interactions while keeping things simple.
Things we discussed:
Brogue
Zach's instructional Brogue stream
Brogue w/ Daily Challenge
Brogue w/ Daily Challenge + Potion change
Rogue
Angband
Nethack
Derek Yu on Brogue
Roguelike Celebration talk: Procedural level design in Brogue and beyond
Hearthstone's Dungeon Run
David Sirlin on balancing multiplayer games
Slay the Spire
Andrew Doull's Ascii Dreams
Unangband
Brian's lessons From the original Rogue post
Brian's Roguelike Radio interview
Brogue's Jellymancer build
Into the Breach
Caves of Qud
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup
Braid
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Apr 26, 2019
17: Climbing Gloves in the Jungle
The crew makes the most of being paired off: Andy and Zach talk climbing documentaries, persistence, and design back home, while Nick and Doug play and discuss some Spelunky co-op on the road in New Zealand. Plus a quick interview with Mini Metro’s Robert Curry, one of the biggest Spelunky fans we know!
Things we discussed:
Free Solo
The Dawn Wall
PRACTICE 2016 Talk - Mastering Movement
Notes on the Synthesis of Form
Grow21
Typeshift
Mini Metro
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Apr 11, 2019
16: The Spelunky Book Club
We delve deep into the pages of Derek Yu’s excellent Spelunky book, from its thoughtful musings on creativity, to its inspiring lessons in game design. A must-read on how our favorite game came to be! Plus some record-breaking Spelunky news, the Weekly Challenge, and more.
Things we discussed:
Now Play This
Low% Hell World Record
d_tea's back-to-back World Records
Co-op All Journal Entries run
Spelunky book
Boss Fight Books Humble Bundle
TIG source
Derek Yu's Twitter thread on difficulty
Mutazione announcement trailer
Shopstorm, A Spelunky Story
Spelunky Generator Lessons
A Breakdown of 2013's Most Fascinating Video Game Moment
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Mar 28, 2019
15: GDC Special - Derek Yu and Slay the Spire
We return home from the Game Developers Conference with hands-on impressions of the new Spelunky 2 demo, while the muse himself Derek Yu gives us a Spelunky 2 development update. Plus Slay the Spire’s Casey Yano talks about the design of their hit roguelike deckbuilder!
Things we talked about:
GDC
Day of the Devs
Slay the Spire
Dream Quest
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Cyber Shadow
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Mar 14, 2019
14: Diversifying Play with Greg Johnson (ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove)
ToeJam & Earl creator Greg Johnson gets funky with us, as we deconstruct his latest entry in the series - Back in the Groove - and discuss his approach to playfulness and accessibility in roguelikes, the lack of cultural diversity in games, and much more.
Things we talked about:
New Spelunky WR run
Dwarf Fortress remaster
ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove
HumaNature Studios
Doki Doki Universe
Brogue
A Few Provocative Thoughts by Greg Johnson
ToeJam & Earl launch party
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Feb 28, 2019
13: Procedural Storytelling with Tanya X Short
Tanya X. Short of Kitfox Games drops by to discuss her co-edited essay collections Procedural Storytelling / Generation in Game Design, as well as her own approach and challenges to procedural narrative in Moon Hunters, and the upcoming Boyfriend Dungeon.
Things we talked about:
Kitfox Games
Procedural Generation in Game Design
Procedural Storytelling in Game Design
Dwarf Fortress
Spelunky Udjet Eye run
Moon Hunters
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Age of Conan
Boyfriend Dungeon
The Shrouded Isle
ESC
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Feb 14, 2019
12: Into the Breach with Justin Ma
Justin Ma of Subset Games joins us to discuss the design of his excellent sci-fi strategy game Into the Breach, from its Spelunky-inspired high/low-level design, to how they cracked its time-driven gameplay, to why throwing away 80% of their work...worked.
Things we talked about:
FTL
Into the Breach
Input / Output Randomness
'Into the Breach' Didn't Click Until I Played it Like an EMT
Into the Breach - Fantastic Arcade 2017 Developer Commentary
Stephen's Sausage Roll
Return of the Obra Dinn
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Jan 31, 2019
11: Taking Back Roguelikes with Raigan Burns
Raigan Burns of Metanet Software (N, N+, N++) stops by for a spirited debate on the term “roguelike,” as we discuss the tenets of the genre, why (and if) they’re important, and how Spelunky fits into it all.
Things we talked about:
N++
GMTK: Roguelikes, Persistency, and Progression
Wandering Towards Interactive Narrative
Notes on the Synthesis of Form
DoomRL
probability 0
Downwell
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Jan 17, 2019
10: Keyforge with Richard Garfield
The creator of Magic: the Gathering, Netrunner, King of Tokyo, and so much of the modern gaming culture we love joins us to talk about finding cohesion in the beautiful randomness of his latest design: the world’s first Unique Deck Game, Keyforge.
Things we mentioned in the interview:
Keyforge!
The Art of Warcast: A Keyforge Special
Richard Garfield - Game Boy Geek interview
Richard Garfield on Luck vs. Skill
Characteristics of Games
Rest of the show:
Blindfolded Final Fantasy IX menu
Everspace
Noita
Mutant Year Zero
How I Built This podcast
Dev Game Club podcast
Reply All podcast
In 2019, We Need to Learn How to Break a Perpetually Tied Game
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Dec 31, 2018
09: Games of the Year 2018
We sit down to talk about our favorite games that we played in 2018 - from videogames, to board games, to escape rooms, to Malaysian schoolyard games. Join us for the most diverse GOTY list you’ll hear! We’ll see you - and Spelunky 2 - in 2019!
...
Our GOTY picks (SPOILERS)
Zach:
Dr. Meep
Mega Man 11
Noita
Pokémon Go
Hollow Knight
Andy:
Wind the Film
Into the Breach
Azul
Cinco Paus
Magic: the Gathering Arena
Doug:
Holedown
Arkham Horror: The Card Game - The Path to Carcosa
Classroom Murder Unsolved: Part 2
The Best Thing
Children's Malaysian folk game
Nick:
Celeste
The Mind
Florence
Here Comes the Dog
Bacon/Supertype/See/Saw
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Dec 20, 2018
08: Designing Tharsis with Zach Gage
We chat to our own Zach Gage about his 2016 spacefaring strategy game Tharsis, from its roguelike and tabletop influences, to promoting player narrative, to the psychology of randomness. Plus first impressions of Twinfold and Below!
Some things we mentioned:
The Systems Design of Tharsis
Let's Get Physical: Lessons From the Real World
How to win Tharsis
Twinfold
Below
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Dec 6, 2018
07: Death in Roguelikes with Kawa
Roguelike expert and advocate Kawa (@KawaiiDragoness) stops by to talk Death in Roguelikes, and the power and potential of the post-death "morgue" experience. We also dig into our relationship to dying in Spelunky, and recount our best deaths!
Links from the interview with Kawa:
Nethack fanfic dramatic reading
Original fic
A Trip to the Morgue
Roguelike Radio
Twitter: @kawaiidragoness
Discord - Kawa#7680
Our best Spelunky deaths:
Nick
Andy
@toythatkills
@aaronkearsley
@aaronkearsley2
d_tea
@tictacfoe
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Nov 15, 2018
06: Making Spelunky 2 with Derek Yu
Spelunky creator Derek Yu joins us for a wide-ranging discussion on his design philosophies for approaching a sequel, embracing chaos in design, and so much more. This is a special one, so brew some tea, grab a pug, and get comfortable!
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Nov 1, 2018
05: The Design of Spelunky
We dive deep into the core design of Spelunky - what exactly fuels its procedural perfection, and why is its world still so compelling? And what design touches do our listeners love, and which would they send to Hell? Plus some new Spelunky 2 tidbits!
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Oct 18, 2018
04: Making the Spelunky 2 trailer with Derek Lieu
Master trailer craftsman Derek Lieu stops by to go deep on the making of the awesome Spelunky 2 trailer! We talk through his process, the unique challenges of working with a procedural game, and even unearth a few new Spelunky 2 tidbits along the way.
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Oct 4, 2018
03: Breaking world records with Kinnijup and ix
We welcome world-record speedrunners and all-around Spelunky experts Jamie “Kinnijup” White and Aaron “ix” Kearsley to the show! We talk about the culture of competitive Spelunky, recent record-breaking runs, and why speedrunning feels like skateboarding.
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Sep 20, 2018
02: The Spelunky Beginner's Guide
The Spelunky Beginner’s Guide! For anyone who ever hit a wall, we’re here to help. We dive into both the practical and philosophical approach to upping your Spelunky game, and share some great tips submitted by listeners. Plus the first Weekly Challenge!
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Sep 5, 2018
01: First Spelunky 2 impressions!
Hands-on Spelunky 2 demo impressions! Nick is fresh off the PAX plane, and Andy, Zach, and Doug are here to grill him on the details, while the whole crew breaks down the first gameplay trailer, chat about the new art, branching paths, mounts, and more.
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