The Secret Lives of Games

Guests Daria Radu, Ben Wilson, and Douglas Wilson discuss the trick-taking card game Spoils and its development process. Topics include drawing inspiration from worldbuilding, trick-taking as a mechanic, the programming of AI systems, and the unique aspects of Spoils like point values and hoarding.

Creators of Tux and Fanny, Albert Birney and Gabriel Koenig, discuss their hilarious adventure game, collaboration as improv comedy, working with people outside of games, creating a Saturday morning cartoon from another world, and design inspirations from Animal Crossing.

Creative director Hannah Nicklin and writer Harry Josephine Giles join the podcast to discuss Die Gute Fabrik's Saltsea Chronicles. They explore world-building, the writer's room process, and designing a narrative for multiple middles and multiple heroes. They also touch on the importance of commas in narrative, building the natural world in the game, UI design and accessibility features, and creating a game that aims to reduce harm within the structure of capitalism.

Game designer Zach Gage, creator of Puzzmo, discusses building a platform for newspaper games, unique scoring systems and leaderboards, the dictionary and challenge feature, onboarding users through puzzles, and the fun aspects of the game character Puzmo.

This podcast discusses the open world physics simulation game, Mars First Logistics. They talk about the game's visual style, the procedurally generated landscape, the humor of the gameplay, and more.

Join game designer Patrick Traynor, creator of the acclaimed recursive puzzle game Patrick's Parabox. He dives into the journey of developing recursive mechanics and the decision-making behind commercializing the game after college. Traynor shares insights on fostering approachability in puzzle design, the importance of playtesting, and the influence of the Sokoban community. With a focus on elegance over excessive difficulty, he emphasizes making puzzles satisfying and accessible for a wider audience, all while highlighting artistic collaboration and iterative design.

We're taking a small summer break, so please enjoy one of our favorite episodes from 2020 with a new introduction from Doug! The ENTIRE all-star Disc Room team - Kitty Calis, JW Nijman, Doseone, and Terri Vellmann - stop by for a rowdy disc-ussion on their new arcade sci-fi avoid-em-up. We chat about making the Margherita pizza of games, nailing the details to make a simple concept sing, and making the most of team collaborations. Show notes: Disc Room Launch trailer Kitty Calis JW Nijman Doseone Terri Vellmann Pizza Margherita Disc Room Game Jam VVVVVV Chris Ware Monolith Bit Pilot

We're honored to be joined by Gilles De Coster, host of our favorite Belgian reality TV game show - De Mol - to talk about the process, inspirations, and execution of the sublime game design behind its thrilling, subversive challenges. We spend the first hour giving all the context you'll need to follow along, before diving into the interview. This is a special one for us, check it out! Show Notes: De Mol (SPOILERS) The Mole (inferior American version) Wie is de Mol? (Dutch version) The Amazing Race Every Game in This City Bestemming X

We're joined by Abhi to discuss Venba - Visai Games' short narrative cooking game about family, love, and loss. We discuss uniting narrative and gameplay, making a very personal game in a commercial industry, and creating a cooking experience with its own distinct flavor. Show Notes: Abhi Venba Papers, Please Assemble with Care Idli Exit/Corners Wholesome Games Laundry Bear Games Alpha Something - Venba soundtrack Keel Haul Abhi's picks: Favorite cooking videos: Layered Biriyani Kerala Style Fried Chicken Chicken Ghee roast Great Tamil movies to get started with: Merku Thodarchi Malai Kaaka Muttai Kaithi A playlist of songs that inspired Venba's soundtrack

We're joined by Color Gray Games' Andrejs Kļaviņš to discuss their deeply rewarding detective game The Case of the Golden Idol. We discuss building on the game's cross-media inspirations, finding the 'aha!' moments in playtesting, and trusting yourself to trust your players. Show Notes: The Case of the Golden Idol Color Gray Games Andrejs Kļaviņš Resonance Return of the Obra Dinn gamedeveloper.com interview GMTK - What Makes a Good Detective Game? Understanding Comics William Hogarth Her Story Outer Wilds Dark Souls Foucault's Pendulum PostCurious episode Godot Engine Mark Brown episode SpiderHeck Hercule Poirot Poker Face show Under a Killing Moon