The Secret Lives of Games

Nicole He, creative technologist behind The Crush House; Eddy Boxerman, creator of Osmos; and Noah Sasso, designer of Sportsfriends and Iron Galaxy projects, dive into Imbroglio. They explore its dense 4x4 grid, deck-building and board construction, meditative flow, leaderboards, Izu mode, tactile swiping, striking sound design, and the eccentric constraints that make Michael Brough’s roguelike endure.

We chat with Mark Essen (Nidhogg, Wheel World) about his "feverish bullet heaven platformer" Blood Dungeon. We discuss making a small game in the shadow of a bigger project, the constraints it takes to do it sanely, and building on the foundations of a nascent genre. Discussed in this episode: Messhof https://messhof.com Blood Dungeon https://messhof.com/blooddungeon exp. zine - Vampire Survivors https://expzine.com/2026/07/21/vampire-survivors-poncle-2022/ Death to the Self-Playing Game https://www.jank.cool/death-to-the-self-playing-game/?ref=aftermath.site Messhof Marchive https://messhof.com/freeware https://secretlives.games https://discord.gg/tslog https://www.patreon.com/tslog

Bennett Foddy, game designer and educator behind QWOP and Getting Over It. Izzy Kestrel, designer/engineer focused on touch controls and indie tooling. v buckenham, artist-developer and curator working on creative tools. They dive into Helix’s unique touchscreen circling controls, tactile input tricks, leaderboard culture, iOS preservation woes, pixel-texture aesthetics, and why touchscreen experiments faded from the mainstream.

Brooke Husic, crossword constructor and puzzles editor for Puzzmo (also publishes as Alexandra Ladee). She talks about stewarding Puzzmo’s daily crossword program, early platform choices like MIDI grid size, experimental indie puzzle design, editing with care to preserve voice, and creator-friendly policies and data tools that support community and craft.

Andi McClure, indie developer behind small experimental games. Patrick LeMieux, UC Davis game scholar and practitioner. Liz Ryerson, musician and visual artist who published work made with the tool. They dig into Become a Great Artist in Just 10 Seconds: its 10-second challenge, quirky keyboard brushes, web and exhibition builds, community practices, printing and modding, and how a tiny sketchpad sparked a lively creative scene.

Izzy Kestrel, game creator and collaborator (Funomena, No Goblin), and Alfredo Barraza, gameplay capture manager and trailer artist (Riot Games), join to talk about VESPER.5. They discuss its one-move-per-day durational mechanic, fleeting pictorial points of interest, community playthroughs and ghost stories. They also explore art, sound, obfuscation in UI, and imaginary VESPER.6 design ideas.

We're recapping the 2026 season of our favorite tv show, Flemish De Mol (Season 14). Laura, Jey, and Doug recap Episode 9 - the Reunion / Reveal! How did The Mole do it? Thanks for listening this season! Join us on the Discord for tips on how to watch, chat about the episodes, and more. Links: Thanks Robin for our Mol guessing game website! Tip him here: https://ko-fi.com/rbnvi Every Game in this City podcast (S1, which includes Laura, Jey, Doug) https://soundcloud.com/idlethumbs/sets/every-game-in-this-city Ep 122: Finding Decency in Reality with Gilles De Coster (De Mol) https://secretlives.games/122-finding-decency-in-reality-with-gilles-de-coster-de-mol TSLOG Interview with Wouter Verstichel https://secretlives.games/eggplant-tv-plays-de-mol-2025-season-interview-with-wouter-verstichel TSLOG (formerly "Eggplant") De Mol 2024 recap series https://www.patreon.com/tslog https://secretlives.games https://discord.gg/tslog https://www.patreon.com/tslog

Michael Brough, independent designer of compact, system-driven games like 868-HACK, talks about finishing 868-BACK while recovering from long COVID. He reflects on creative routines like walks and incubation, decisions around sequels, crafting a fake OS world, collaboration on music, and how pacing and self-care shape his work.

We're recapping the 2026 season of our favorite tv show, Flemish De Mol (Season 14). Laura, Jey, and Doug recap Episode 8 - the Finale! The Mole is finally unmasked. That's about it for tourist season in Portgual (though big wave season starts around November!) but we'll be back next week for the Ep 9 reunion in Belgium. Join us on the Discord for tips on how to watch, chat about the episodes, and to play a Mol guessing game with us. Links: Thanks Robin for our Mol guessing game website! Tip him here: https://ko-fi.com/rbnvi Ep 122: Finding Decency in Reality with Gilles De Coster (De Mol) https://secretlives.games/122-finding-decency-in-reality-with-gilles-de-coster-de-mol TSLOG Interview with Wouter Verstichel https://secretlives.games/eggplant-tv-plays-de-mol-2025-season-interview-with-wouter-verstichel TSLOG (formerly "Eggplant") De Mol 2024 recap series https://www.patreon.com/tslog https://secretlives.games https://discord.gg/tslog https://www.patreon.com/tslog

We're recapping the 2026 season of our favorite tv show, Flemish De Mol (Season 14). Laura, Jey, and Doug recap Episode 7. Who is the Mole, and how does this elimination echo last season's Final Four? Join us on the Discord for tips on how to watch, chat about the episodes, and to play a Mol guessing game with us. Links: Danny Hawk - Folk Games, Flash Communities and Tiktok https://newrules.website/2021/01/12/danny-hawk-folk-games-flash-communities-and-tiktok/ Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH3giaIzONA Ep 122: Finding Decency in Reality with Gilles De Coster (De Mol) https://secretlives.games/122-finding-decency-in-reality-with-gilles-de-coster-de-mol TSLOG Interview with Wouter Verstichel https://secretlives.games/eggplant-tv-plays-de-mol-2025-season-interview-with-wouter-verstichel TSLOG (formerly "Eggplant") De Mol 2024 recap series https://www.patreon.com/tslog https://secretlives.games https://discord.gg/tslog https://www.patreon.com/tslog