The Secret Lives of Games

Andy Schatz, indie designer behind Tooth and Tail and Monaco, talks GDC life and a long IGF history. He recalls career highs and setbacks, live awards antics, staging confetti gags, and why he returns to solo prototyping. Lively GDC atmosphere, debates on AI in art and code, tiny card-game shoutouts, and playful prototype ideas keep the conversation loose and surprising.

Anja Venter (Playtopia program director and researcher from Cape Town) and Ben Rausch (Playtopia program director and indie dev) share festival origins and the DIY, community-first approach. They talk about creating tactile arcade spaces, volunteer docents, Cape Town’s creative culture, funding choices, mentorship, and keeping a festival intimate while scaling. Short, lively conversations about building and sustaining local game scenes.

Jukio Kallio, composer (Fall Guys, Minit) who shaped Nuclear Throne’s soundtrack. Joonas Turner, composer/designer (Downwell, Noita) who added sound design and design perspective. Jan Willem Nijman, designer (Super Crate Box, Minit) known for kinetic, community‑driven arcade design. They discuss reopening a decade‑old game, community modding and maintenance, tactile audio/controls, design choices like no invincibility frames, and adding a big anniversary update.

Harry Lee Shang Lun, Richmond-based artist and designer behind immersive Earthrise One. Liz Ryerson, musician, writer, and experimental game curator. droqen, indie designer and commentator (Starseed Pilgrim). They reminisce about Kompendium’s nine real-time 1v1 keyboard games, the alien aesthetic and accessibility, local-multiplayer culture around 2011–2013, and how the collection reads like an album of compact, inventive pieces.

Bennett Foddy, maker of QWOP and Getting Over It, and Gabe Cuzzillo, creator of Ape Out and Despelote, discuss their open-world walking game Baby Steps. They talk about improvised in-house voice work, balancing deliberate awkward movement with humor, designing looping maps and false summits, handling nudity and masculinity themes, and hiding secrets for player discovery.

Tara Macalister, mathematician and composer, offers formal-analysis perspective. Darius Kazemi, artist and engineer, brings development history and playtest stories. droqen, designer of Starseed Pilgrim, shares player-focused anecdotes. They dig into Vertex Dispenser’s frenetic graph-traversal gameplay, color-charging mechanics, map geometry and strategy, multiplayer feel, and the game’s intense development and community moments.

The hosts dive into their favorite games of 2025, highlighting unique picks and community contributions. Zach revels in the design and nostalgia of Hollow Knight: Silksong, while Doug explores the political depth of Don't Rank Cuomo. Sarah shares the emotional impact of Consume Me, and Laura delves into the puzzle mechanics of The Root Trees Are Dead. The fun continues with discussions on family-friendly games, narrative ambitions in Death Stranding 2, and a heartfelt look at Caves of Qud as the overall favorite. It's a lively celebration of gaming's creativity!

Shawn Alexander Allen, an independent game developer and nonprofit organizer, joins board game designers Cole and Drew Wehrle to dive into 868-HACK. They explore its unique grid-based gameplay and escalating tension. Cole shares insights on how small integers shape player decisions, while Drew explains the emergent behaviors of enemies reminiscent of classic games. The guests discuss various victory paths and strategic player goals, highlighting how the minimalist aesthetics enhance focus. Secrets within the game are debated, emphasizing player discovery and long-term engagement.

In this engaging discussion, Kimmo Lahtinen, an independent game developer and the creative mind behind the twin-stick shooter Sektori, shares his insights on game design and the indie scene. He dives into the importance of crafting a replayable experience with numerous side modes and balancing minimal tutorials. Kimmo reflects on the competitive landscape of game development and how personal passion drives his work. He also explores the challenges of solo development and the creative freedom it brings, while reminiscing about his Finnish gaming roots.

We're proud to present the final installment of our over-a-year-long Into the Depths series on Caves of Qud, as well as our last episode with our recently retired Eggplant branding. Caves of Qud is a massive open-world roguelike RPG that has been in development since 2007 and Early Access since 2015, and we give it an appropriately epic sendoff with nearly four hours of deep discussion. Doug and Rob, joined by special guest host Star St. Germain, dive into the game's finale and overarching themes with narrative designer Caelyn Sandel and co-creators Jason Grinblat and Brian Bucklew. Be warned, major spoilers await: We discuss the aftermath of the Tomb of the Eaters, the Moon Stair, the [Redacted], Reclamation, We Are [Redacted], plus other juicy details about how this legendary game finally came to an end… and what's in store for it next. Audio edited by Dylan Shumway. Discussed in this episode: Brian's must-follow bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/unormal.bsky.social Warm static – Official Caves of Qud wiki https://wiki.cavesofqud.com/wiki/Warm_static Independent Games Summit: What Even is 1.0?: Indefinite Early Access and Live Development https://gdcvault.com/play/1035081/Independent-Games-Summit-What-Even End-to-End Procedural Generation in Caves of Qud https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV-DZqdKlnE Tile-Based Map Generation using Wave Function Collapse in 'Caves of Qud' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdCgi9E90jw Caves of Qud Discord https://discord.com/invite/cavesofqud Eris – Girsh Illustration https://www.reddit.com/r/cavesofqud/comments/1n449aw/girsh_qas_and_qon/ A Mythopoetic Interface Reading of Caves of Qud (Roguelike Celebration 2025) https://www.youtube.com/live/UQNfH9pKWd4?si=jFy9VTRZzLPJHn4W&t=1091 Sproggiwood https://store.steampowered.com/app/311720/Sproggiwood/ Slav Epic Paintings by Alphonse Mucha https://www.muchafoundation.org/en/gallery/themes/theme/slav-epic https://secretlives.games/ https://bsky.app/profile/secretlivesofgames.bsky.social https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow http://discord.gg/tslog https://www.patreon.com/tslog (full rebrand still in progress, lol)