Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games
Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games
Candid conversations with game creators that dive deep into the art, craft, and process of making games.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 27, 2019 • 1h 22min
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
Sep 13, 2019 • 1h 39min
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
Aug 30, 2019 • 1h 49min
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
Aug 18, 2019 • 1h 25min
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
Aug 1, 2019 • 1h 22min
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
Jul 18, 2019 • 1h 42min
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
Jul 4, 2019 • 1h 29min
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
Jun 21, 2019 • 1h 8min
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
Jun 6, 2019 • 1h 34min
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
May 23, 2019 • 1h 16min
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 SoupDesktop Dungeons Fingered The Binding of Isaac: Antibirth Keyforge Overwatch Kingdom Death
