The Short Game

Now’s your chance to be a big shot! We‘re all caught up on Deltarune, and now we have to wait forever for the next chapter just like everyone else. Torture! The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Introduction (02:22) - Differences vs. Chapter 1 (07:43) - Character Development! (11:41) - Cyber World (15:43) - Deltarune is Persona (24:03) - Alternate Paths? (28:26) - Secret Boss (34:06) - Favorite Character Bits? (40:27) - Music (42:55) - Endings (51:33) - Chapter 7 When, Toby? (53:06) - A Too-Long Digression About Star Wars (54:58) - What's Making Us Happy This Week? (55:20) - Nate - Skilled Craftspeople (57:09) - Raygan - Miyoo Mini (01:02:59) - Laura - 50 Years of Text Games (01:08:12) - Outro

FRANKEN is a short, free RPG parody from solo indie developer splendidland, and at least to my taste it’s one of the funniest games I’ve ever played. You owe it to yourself to Jordan Starkweather from the excellent Pocketoid podcast joins us to talk about the game and how it lovingly comments on the RPG genre.  Laura is away this week due to an apartment move (congrats!) and Shane is out due to injury (ouch!) so thanks to Jordan for being a pinch hitter!  (See Nate, I can make sports metaphors too!) The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankNate Heininger – @natestlJordan Starkweather – @jackal27 (00:00) - FRANKEN (44:29) - What's Making Us Happy This Week? (44:53) - Jordan - Citizen Sleeper (50:21) - Raygan - F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch (54:31) - Nate - Jetski (57:27) - Wrap-up

Turnip Boy is an immediate contender for our dirtbag of the year award. This game packs a lot of jokes into its 2-ish hours, some of which are even funny! Check out the game on Nintendo Switch, Windows/Mac, iOS, Xbox One, and the Xbox Series S/X platforms, where it was recently added to Game Pass. The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (34:33) - What's Making Us Happy This Week? (35:05) - Nate - Ibb & Obb (37:58) - Raygan - Everdrives, Made In Ukraine! (41:56) - Shane - Knotwords (47:38) - Wrap Up

Since the 90s, Panic has been known as a creator of playful, functional software. Then, nearly two decades into their existence they took an unexpected swerve into video game publishing. During that time they also managed to somehow grow a weird idea for a corporate gift into a brand new handheld video game platform. The Playdate! The Playdate is a tiny handheld video game console, kind of like a quirky modern Game Boy, with a crank on the side. It feels like a strange merger of retro and modern, with a high resolution 1-bit black and white display, and a “Season” model for game distribution where every Playdate receives new games automatically over the internet, two a week for 12 weeks after you unbox it. It’s really neat. Short Game Bird Correspondent Mark Bramhill joins us for this episode. Mark interviewed the Panic team about the history of their MP3 player application Audion for his incredible Welcome to Macintosh podcast (it’s a great listen!) and talks about seeing prototype Playdate hardware all the way back in 2016! Welcome to Macintosh Episode 12: Don’t Panic! Panic’s Playdate Podcast Laura’s $6 Playdate Stand  The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash Mark Bramhill – @mcbramhill (00:00) - Intro (03:08) - Panic & Playdate History (15:19) - Hardware (28:27) - Reverse Fantasy Console (32:12) - Season Model (38:28) - Vibe Check (43:29) - Season 1 Games (44:40) - Whitewater Wipeout (51:18) - Casual Birder (57:28) - Crankin's Time Travel Adventure (01:03:49) - Boogie Loops (01:07:27) - Pick Pack Pup (01:12:28) - Lost Your Marbles (01:22:19) - Flipper Lifter (01:25:43) - Echoic Memory (01:28:25) - Sideloaded Games (01:40:45) - Wrap Up

Thank you to the listeners and patrons who kindly kept asking us when we were covering Deltarune. The answer is NOW! Thank you for your patience these last… checks watch… nearly four years! Deltarune is the sequel follow up (?) to Undertale, a game whose seismic impact is still being felt today. Developer Toby Fox took a different approach with Deltarune, breaking it up into chapters and releasing them over time, with the first chapter having been released in 2018 and the second chapter last year. We are covering Deltarune Chapter 1 this week, and will probably cover Chapter 2 in 2-3 weeks. The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - We're Finally Covering Deltarune (07:54) - Development and Release (19:12) - How is this related to Undertale? (29:23) - Mechanics (41:27) - Puzzles (43:50) - Pre-Spoiler Wrap-Up (48:15) - Spoiler Break

More than a re-release, The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is a massive expansion of the original game, with new endings, new jokes, and a bucket. This episode features light spoilers for the original Stanley Parable before the spoiler break, then new content and ending spoilers afterward. The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneNate Heininger – @natestl (00:00) - The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe (39:02) - Spoiler Break (01:22:52) - Outro

NORCO describes itself as a “Southern Gothic point & click narrative adventure that immerses the player in the sinking suburbs and verdant industrial swamps of a distorted South Louisiana.” It’s full of vivid characters, beautiful prose, and uncomfortable near-future sci-fi psychedelia.  The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Norco (49:43) - Whats Making Us Happy This Week? (49:49) - Laura - Heartstopper (54:11) - Raygan - Peglin (58:57) - Shane - The Goblin Emperor (01:08:00) - Outro

Raygan has had his hands on a Steam Deck for about a week, and so we decided to chat about the device and what it means for our corner of the gaming landscape. Turned out to be a longer and more interesting conversation than we expected! The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShane

This week we played several Game Boy homebrew games, all made using the free game making tool GB Studio. All these games can be played on the web, in a Game Boy emulator, or on actual Game Boy hardware, and all are short and interesting! We also had a lengthy and sometimes disturbing digression about opossums. 00:00:00: Intro to GB Studio00:12:40: Opossum Country by BenJelter00:19:28: Spoilers for Opossum Country00:25:10: Opossum Discourse00:33:18: Mud Warriors by Polyducks, Ryan Veeder, Lance Campbell00:45:57: Deadeus by -IZMA-00:55:09: Penalty Kick ‘91 – Kid Phoenix01:02:12: An Autumn with You by leafthief01:07:56: The Year After by Hadrian Lin01:14:26: Outro The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Intro to GB Studio (12:40) - Opossum Country by BenJelter (19:28) - Spoilers for Opossum Country (25:10) - Opossum Discourse (33:18) - Mud Warriors by Polyducks, Ryan Veeder, Lance Campbell (45:57) - Deadeus by -IZMA- (55:09) - Penalty Kick ‘91 - Kid Phoenix (01:02:12) - An Autumn with You by leafthief (01:07:56) - The Year After by Hadrian Lin (01:14:26) - Outro

A Memoir Blue is the latest release from publisher Annapurna, and first from developer Cloisters Interactive. The developer describes it as “interactive poem” in which an olympic swimmer reflects on her childhood and her relationship with her mother, told via dreamlike metaphorical scenes, contrasting 2D and 3D characters and scenes.  While not our absolute favorite thing, this game prompted a really interesting discussion! The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - A Memoir Blue (54:32) - What's Making Us Happy This Week? (54:40) - Shane - Shane’s Backpack (56:05) - Laura - Movie Recommendations (59:20) - Raygan - Romance Audiobook Confessions (01:05:30) - Nate - Birthquake by Thor Axe (01:08:26) - Outro