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PODCAST

The Secret Lives of Games

The Secret Lives of Games

Candid conversations with game creators that dive deep into the art, craft, and process of making games.

leisure video games

All Episodes

01:10:54

105: Making History with Josh Sawyer (Pentiment)

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/12/16

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

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01:45:57

104: Thanksgiving Leftovers

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/12/08

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

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01:29:36

103: Day of the Devs Special

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/11/20

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

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01:12:26

102: Playing on Your Own Terms with Wayward Strand

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/11/04

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

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01:11:23

101: Working in a Vacuum with Heavenly Bodies

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/10/21

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

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02:00:57

100: Just One (Hundred) with Friends of Eggplant

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/10/04

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

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01:22:32

99: Charting the Future with Sarah Northway (I Was a...

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/09/16

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

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01:19:01

98: Escaping Your Fate with Coin Crew Games (Escape...

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/09/02

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)

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01:24:21

97: Hosting Online Reality Games (ORGs) w/ Ash Neleh

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/08/19

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

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01:06:43

96: Eavesdropping for Inspiration with Grace Bruxner...

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/08/05

Frog Detective creator Grace Bruxner joins us to discuss the inspirations and process behind her charming detective series, including the upcoming Frog Detective 3: Corruption at Cowboy County. We discuss sticking to scope (or not), making the most of adventure game tropes, and finding inspiration in the mundane. Show notes: Grace Bruxner Frog Detective ALIEN CASENO Games Talks 2020: Grace Bruxner Building Games Around Humor (GDC talk) L.A. Noire Frog Detective Twitter account Freaky Ep 7 - Dummy

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01:27:58

95: (Rerun) Making Generous Games with Terry Cavanagh...

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/07/22

We're taking a small summer break, so please enjoy one of our favorite episodes from a few years ago. And check out the new mobile version of Dicey Dungeons, and the free DLC! Terry Cavanagh (Super Hexagon, VVVVVV) joins us to talk about his fantastic roguelike deckbuilder, Dicey Dungeons. We discuss the thread of generosity in his game design, the challenges of working across genres, and what might be next for Terry! Show notes: Terry's distractionware.com Dicey Dungeons VVVVVV Super Hexagon Tiny

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01:27:32

94: Learning to Unclench with Ben Esposito (Neon White)

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/07/08

Ben Esposito (Donut County, What Remains of Edith Finch) joins us to talk about his heavenly new card-powered, speedrunning FPS Neon White. We discuss making tight designs by keeping things loose, what a "career" of indie games feels like, and making games u wish 2 see on the Dreamcast. Show notes: Ben Esposito Neon White Donut County Arcane Kids Glitch City Super Meat Boy Killer7 Cowboy Bebop Trigun Hunter x Hunter GoldenEye 007 Lovely Planet Machine Girl Sonic Dreams Collection Perfect Stride

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01:20:35

93: Cheating Depth with Card Shark

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/06/24

Card Shark creators Arnaud De Bock of Nerial (Reigns) and Nicolai Troshinsky join us to discuss their innovative new adventure game about cheating. We discuss its filmic inspirations, the narrative progression of chaining tricks, and designing a game loop of teaching and testing. Show notes: Arnaud De Bock Nicolai Troshinky Nerial Reigns Pikuniku UFO On Tape Loop Raccord Barry Lyndon The Expert at the Card Table Gambling Sleight of Hand - Steve Forte The Magic Castle

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01:29:34

92: Untangling Language with Knotwords

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/06/10

Knotwords creators Jack Schlesinger and our own Zach Gage chat to us about their elegant new logic puzzle word game. We discuss "cracking" the game design they'd been chasing forever, and how they created the puzzle/word generator that makes it great. Show notes: Jack Schlesinger Zach Gage Knotwords Nikoli puzzles Alcazar Two Not Touch puzzles Good Sudoku SpellTower+ Bit Pilot Wordle Calvin & Hobbes This episode edited by Dylan Shumway, thanks Dylan!

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01:16:21

91: Finding Poetry in Geometry with Mahdi Bahrami...

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/05/27

Mahdi Bahrami joins us to discuss his beautiful, mind-bending new puzzle game Tandis. We discuss teaching complex geometry concepts without any numbers, poetry as playtesting, and drawing a line through Mahdi's math-inspired oeuvre. Show notes: Mahdi Bahrami Tandis Engare Farsh ArsTechnica Tandis review Waldorf Education Mercator Projection

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01:19:43

90: Rethinking Reality with Tender Claws (The Under...

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/05/13

Tender Claws' Samantha Gorman and Danny Cannizzazo join us - alongside guest co-host Star St. Germain - to discuss their singular immersive theater experience The Under, creating an enriching social space in VR, and gameplay as an act of rebellion. Show notes: Tender Claws The Under Virtual Virtual Reality Star St. Germain Tumball Piehole The Severance Theory: Welcome to Respite Royal Shakespeare Company's Dream Talk 'n Play The Invention of Morel Uncle Roy All Around You Janet Cardiff Mary Sweeney

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02:21:32

Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Bonus Episode!

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/04/29

Surprise! In the spirit of SMW's bonus worlds, we're back with a Special episode to cap off our deep-dive miniseries, as previous Into the Depths guests Stephanie Boluk and Patrick LeMieux take us on a tour of some of the coolest SMW ephemera yet! Show notes: Stephanie Boluk Patrick LeMieux Tons of links this week, so please check out this great syllabus that Patrick put together for us!

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02:06:35

Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Part 5

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/04/15

In the fifth - and final! - installment of our Super Mario World deep-dive miniseries, streamer/speedrunner Grand POOBear joins us to discuss the uncanny valley of SMW Remade From Memory, and the masterful Super 'Sonic Saves the World' World romhack by the mysterious 'Maddy, allegedly'. Show Notes: GrandPOOBear The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe DougDoug SMW Remade From Memory Super 'Sonic Saves the World' World Grand Poo World 2 Invictus SMW romhack Luminescent SMW romhack Celeste.smc Spelunky 2

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02:02:29

Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Part 4

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/04/01

In the fourth installment of our Super Mario World deep-dive miniseries, Davey Wreden (The Stanley Parable) joins us to discuss the infamous Star and Special worlds, and walk us through the ever-evolving, often hilarious culture of Kaizo Mario. Show notes: Davey Wreden The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe The Beginner's Guide Ivy Road Elden Ring VICE article The Japanese names for the Special courses Asshole Mario Stage 1 Asshole Mario Stage 10 Asshole Mario 2 Stage 9 Claustrophobia Kaizo hack Icing

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01:34:57

Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Part 3

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2022/03/18

In the third installment of our Super Mario World deep-dive miniseries, David Hellman (Braid) joins us to discuss the aesthetics of SMW, touch on its recent widescreen mod, and suffer through the game's worst world and level (while savoring the interesting bits). Show notes: David Hellman Braid: Anniversay Edition Satoru Iwata tribute The eyes on question mark blocks Mario shades of red SMW widescreen mod SMW jazz fusion album Homework for next episode: Star World Special World Watch some

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