

Hey, Good Game
Nate Kadlac, Aaron Kardell, Joseph Rueter
Hey, Good Game explores the stories behind your favorite brainy games. Each week, we interview game creators and dig into what it takes to build a successful indie game, how to monetize, and how to get traction.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 21, 2024 • 49min
How Canuckle Became a Canadian Favourite
Mark and Jeff Rogers, creators of Canuckle and Canoku games, discuss their game development process, hiatus, collaborations, community engagement strategies, partnerships, future plans, AI use, philanthropy, and lessons learned. They share insights on Canuckle's genesis, competitive spirit, merchandising, and monetization strategies, and their plans for potential partnerships with entities like the New York Times' Wordle.

May 14, 2024 • 38min
Crafting Delight With Words
Devin Spikowski, the creator of WordPeaks, discusses the creative process, artistic aspects of game development, gaming influences, challenges, and future plans. The podcast explores the evolution of WordPeaks, leveraging feedback, building a community, monetization strategies, and keeping the game accessible. Spikowski also shares insights on game enhancements, player feedback, collaborations with other developers, and promoting the game through various social media platforms.

May 7, 2024 • 1h 7min
The Beauty of Games With Frank Lantz
Award-winning game designer Frank Lantz discusses the relationship between games, culture, and education. Topics include comedy in game design, addictive nature of games, narrative writing, societal impact of games, and the role of humor in game development. Lantz highlights the importance of well-written narratives and interactive systems in games.

Apr 30, 2024 • 44min
Sell or Scale? The Strategic Sale of Semantle
David Turner, creator of Semantle.com and game developer, shares insights on his game design process, challenges in user testing, creativity in game development, and effective marketing strategies. He discusses the journey from ideation to acquisition, upcoming projects like a graphical adventure game, and advice for aspiring game developers. Turner also explores the complexities of game difficulty, puzzle testing, monetization, and the decision to sell a game.

Apr 23, 2024 • 41min
Shaping Words with Grant Warman: The Story of Polygonle
Grant Warman, creator of Polygonle and Quadragonal word games, discusses the game mechanics, user feedback, collaboration with other games, and plans for future projects. Topics include competitive gaming, mechanics of Chess and Smash, evolution of Polygonle, collaboration in game development, monetization strategies, transitioning to game development, advice for aspiring developers, and the launch of new puzzle challenge Quadragonle.

9 snips
Apr 16, 2024 • 1h 9min
Waffle: How this game reached 500k daily players
Guest James Robinson, founder of Wafflegame.net, talks about Waffle's success with 500k daily players, game design, user feedback, human-centric approach, accidental success, future plans, engaging community, game crossovers, trademarks, monetization, and challenges in game development.

Apr 2, 2024 • 55min
“It's either Minesweeper or smoking, I can't write if I have to give up both.”
Join the Hey, Good Game podcast as they chat with Damian Moore, the visionary behind MinesweeperGame.com. They delve into the history, evolution, and cultural impact of Minesweeper, discussing its competitive scene, mathematical intricacies, and future directions. From its origins to Microsoft's strategic moves, this episode uncovers the beloved game's journey and community.

Mar 26, 2024 • 13min
GDC Unplugged: Our First Trip to the Game Developer Conference
Hosts Nate and Aaron share their first-time experience attending the GDC conference in San Francisco, discussing vibrant community, networking opportunities, niche interests, innovative game testing, highlights from show floor, and future plans for potential participation.

Mar 19, 2024 • 51min
From Crosswords to Squeezy: Jeff Chen's Creative Adventure
Jeff Chen, creator of Squeezy and puzzle maker, shares his creative journey, from crosswords to game development. He discusses iterating game design, implementing new features, unique solutions, and engaging community strategies. Chen also delves into transitioning from game design to writing, balancing projects, and offers advice for aspiring game creators.

Mar 12, 2024 • 54min
Will Sudoku ever be stopped?
Jeff Widderich, President of Syndicated Puzzles, discusses the importance of spatial thinking, the competitive nature of puzzles, and the potential for multi-solution puzzles in the puzzle industry. He emphasizes creativity in puzzle design, the struggle to break through in the game industry, and offers insights on the Sudoku industry. Widderich also expresses the need for new energy and innovation in the puzzle market.