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 Claim to Fame The Mo!e ORG (application form) Super "Sonic Saves the World" World Nick: God of War: Ragnarök Tinykin Spots Tunic FAR: Changing Tides Other picks mentioned by previous guests/listeners: Moon: Remix RPG Adventure Paradise Killer Dwarf Fortress TEAM3 Super Mario World romhack - The Getaway Poinpy Pigments Sylvie Lime Stunt Derby Cinco Paus Dome Keeper Game Boy Camera Outer WIlds: Echoes of the Eye Linelith Citizen Sleeper Skate Story trailer Dota 2 Final Fantasy VI Stardew Valley - anthropomorphic animals mod Wordle Bally's Fathom pinball machine Hyper Meteor PRODUCER 2021 The Crew: The Quest For Planet Nine Bespoke Counter Depth 4-Door Flex Refridgerator

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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