Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games

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

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

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

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

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

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

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: Jay Ma of Subset Games joins us to discuss the design of her 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: Jay 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

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 

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

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