The Secret Lives of Games

We're recapping the 2026 season of our favorite tv show, Flemish De Mol (Season 14). Laura, Jey, and Doug recap Episode 2. Who is the Mole, and should they receive an Oscar for their duplicitous performance? Join us on the Discord for tips on how to watch, chat about the episodes, and to play a Mol guessing game with us. Links: Four Wishes (independent Korean reality tv show) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLimMCLxaXz0Gj-2ueyEdshOaKK9mQzj_0 Every Game in this City podcast (S1, which includes Laura, Jey, Doug) https://soundcloud.com/idlethumbs/sets/every-game-in-this-city Ep 122: Finding Decency in Reality with Gilles De Coster (De Mol) https://secretlives.games/122-finding-decency-in-reality-with-gilles-de-coster-de-mol TSLOG Interview with Wouter Verstichel https://secretlives.games/eggplant-tv-plays-de-mol-2025-season-interview-with-wouter-verstichel TSLOG (formerly "Eggplant") De Mol 2024 recap series https://www.patreon.com/tslog https://secretlives.games https://discord.gg/tslog https://www.patreon.com/tslog

We chat with Tonda Ros (Dogubomb) one year after the release of his genre-blending room-drafting puzzlebox sensation, Blue Prince. Our discussion covers Tonda's year as the game's representative in the world; his inspirations across digital, analog, and tabletop works; cultivating player appreciation for virtual spaces; managing player hunches through playtesting; balancing lore with puzzle mechanics; comparing game development with filmmaking; and so! much! more! Kind of like the game itself, we just keep going. Audio edited by Dylan Shumway Discussed in this episode: Blue Prince https://www.blueprincegame.com/ Mythic Spoiler https://mythicspoiler.com/ My Perfect Console – Tonda Ros https://www.myperfectconsole.com/episode/129 realMyst https://cyan.com/realmyst/ Digital version of MAZE: Solve the World's Most Challenging Puzzle by Christopher Manson https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/1l9urle/website_version_of_christopher_mansons_1985/ "It Seems I Have Found Myself In Another Mysterious House" by Rob Dubbin https://roblemsolving.com/games/2025/04/25/mysterious-house.html The Castles of Mad King Ludwig https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/155426/castles-of-mad-king-ludwig Dominion https://www.riograndegames.com/games/dominion/ Ascension https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/69789/ascension-deckbuilding-game Blue Prince Soundtrack by Trigg and Gusset https://triggandgusset.bandcamp.com/album/blue-prince-the-original-soundtrack Jewels in the Attic https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/16608/jewels-in-the-attic Tales of the Crystals https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9755/tales-of-the-crystals The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029120/ The Graduate (1967) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061722/ MIO: Memories in Orbit https://store.steampowered.com/app/1672810/MIO_Memories_in_Orbit/ https://secretlives.games https://discord.gg/tslog https://www.patreon.com/tslog

We're recapping the 2026 season of our favorite tv show, Flemish De Mol (Season 14). Laura, Jey, and Doug tango with Episode 1 and share their Mole suspicions. Join us on the Discord for tips on how to watch, chat about the episodes, and to play a Mol guessing game with us. Links: Ep 122: Finding Decency in Reality with Gilles De Coster (De Mol) https://secretlives.games/122-finding-decency-in-reality-with-gilles-de-coster-de-mol TSLOG Interview with Wouter Verstichel https://secretlives.games/eggplant-tv-plays-de-mol-2025-season-interview-with-wouter-verstichel TSLOG (formerly "Eggplant") De Mol 2024 recap series https://www.patreon.com/tslog https://secretlives.games https://discord.gg/tslog https://www.patreon.com/tslog

We're joined by Chris Plante (Besties, Post Games), Hayden "Docky" Scott-Baron (Planet Coaster), and Rand Hall (voicemailer extraordinaire, Zaga-33 guide writer) for the fourth title in our year of All Systems Brough, a year-long exploration of the work of Michael Brough: Zaga-33. This episode: Zaga-33 Next Month: Corrypt (and Lost Levels) Audio edited by Dylan Shumway. Discussed in this episode: Zaga-33 https://mightyvision.blogspot.com/2012/04/zaga-33.html 868-BACK (Next Fest demo on February 23rd, 2026!) https://store.steampowered.com/app/3304110/868BACK/ Michael Brough's Website https://www.smestorp.com/ The Besties https://www.themcelroy.family/podcasts/besties/ Post Games https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/post-games/id1815131711 Rand's Zaga-33 Guide https://discord.com/channels/690388280767807518/1442555333091262566/1475568523018371295 Drop7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop7 Desert Golfing https://store.steampowered.com/app/757040/Desert_Golfing/ 7 Day Roguelike (7DRL) version of Zaga-33 https://mightyvision.blogspot.com/2012/03/7drl-zaga-33.html Assorted comments on Zaga-33 https://mightyvision.blogspot.com/2012/05/zaga-33-assorted-comments.html Blog about scoring in games https://mightyvision.blogspot.com/2012/05/score-comment-threads-dominant.html Brick101 Review of all 36 combo powers in Zaga-33 https://brick101.com/reviewing-all-36-combo-powers-in-zaga-33/ Blog about iOS sale numbers https://mightyvision.blogspot.com/2012/06/ios-sale-numbers.html Follow-up blog on iOS sales numbers https://mightyvision.blogspot.com/2012/06/because-we-may-results.html Blog on zaga, score, expressivity, and personality https://mightyvision.blogspot.com/2012/08/zaga-score-expressivity-personality.html Blog on creating advancement in roguelikes https://mightyvision.blogspot.com/2013/03/7drl-day-2.html 7 Day Roguelike website https://7drl.com/ PRACTICE 2013: Michael Brough https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4iswqa8r-Q https://secretlives.games/ https://discord.gg/tslog https://www.patreon.com/tslog https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow

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.