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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

01:41:56

35: Games of the Year 2019 with Laura E. Hall

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2020/01/03

Immersive puzzle designer Laura E. Hall joins for our big GOTY show, as we each share our Top 5 games of 2019. We also hear many of YOUR picks (thanks!), and stick around until the end to hear picks from several of our 2019 guests. Happy New Year! Things we discussed: Laura E. Hall Katamari Damacy by Boss Fight Books Every Game in This City podcast Sleep No More Trolling as an Air Traffic Controller in Flight Sim X Our GOTY picks (SPOILERS) Laura: Heaven's Vault Elsinore Lianna Fled the Cranberry

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01:41:14

34: Getting Over Spelunky with Bennett Foddy

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/12/20

With the help of our friend Bennett Foddy (QWOP, Getting Over It) we consider Spelunky as the Game of the Decade - we discuss what influence it's had (or hasn't had) in and beyond its genre, its distinct connection to Dark Souls, and experiencing the external narrative of modern gaming. Things we discussed: Bennett Foddy's games Ape Out TIGSource Tim Rogers Presents The Games of the Decade Finishing a Game by Derek Yu Vagante Characteristics of Games Assassination of Lord British Reasons and

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01:26:34

33: Making Generous Games with Terry Cavanagh (Dicey...

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/12/07

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! Things we discussed: Terry's distractionware.com Dicey Dungeons VVVVVV Super Hexagon Tiny Heist Stephen Lavelle Dream Quest 7 Day Roguelike Naya’s Quest The Long Dark Super Hexagon playthrough at Fantastic Arcade Hearthstone Battlegrounds

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01:33:10

32: (Rerun) Into the Breach with Justin Ma

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/11/22

We're taking a much-needed week off, but please enjoy one of our favorite episodes from early on. We'll be back in two weeks with guest Terry Cavanagh to talk about his new roguelike deckbuilder (dicebuilder?) Dicey Dungeons - check it out and send us your questions! Anyways, on to our show: Justin Ma of Subset Games joins us to discuss the design of his excellent sci-fi strategy game Into the Breach, from its Spelunky-inspired high/low-level design, to how they cracked its time-driven gameplay, to

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01:24:09

31: Good Times With Bad Robots with Frank Lantz (Hey...

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/11/08

Frank Lantz (Drop7, Universal Paperclips) stops by to tell us about his new party game for smart speakers, Hey Robot. We discuss fun ways to engage with rigid AI - and the privacy issues inherent to doing so - before taking a wild detour into the taxonomy of paddle boats. Things we discussed: Frank Lantz Hey Robot Breakfast Spelunky Shiren the Wanderer ClemmyGames' Top 10 Best Underrated Roguelike/Roguelites NYU Game Center Pac Manhattan Drop7 Universal Paperclips Everybody House Games Antigrams

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01:27:22

30: Making Games is Hard

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/10/25

Free of guests or a "plan," our crew of intrepid hosts dives into a bounty of stimulating listener questions! We discuss our personal roads into game design, the challenge of procedural generation in AAA games, and the game design of reality shows. Things we discussed: Kirby703_'s World 23 correction Demon’s Souls IndieCade Game Design Deep Dive: The creative camaraderie behind Wilmot's Warehouse Kate Compton's 10,000 Bowls of Oatmeal Drop7 Noita Conan Death Stranding video Classic Tetris World

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01:19:31

29: Card of Darkness with Zach Gage

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/10/11

The gang’s all here to chat with our own Zach Gage (SpellTower, Tharsis) about his new Apple Arcade adventure game, Card of Darkness. We discuss distilling roguelikes, the role of randomness, and designing 52 cards in two days. Things we discussed: Card of Darkness Andy’s baby! World 23 Spelunky glitch The Grannies (Red Dead Redemption explorers) Zach’s collaborators Card of Darkness soundtrack Zach's games Hearthstone: Dungeon Run

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01:21:55

28: Surviving Overland with Adam Saltsman

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/09/27

Finji’s Adam Saltsman drops by for a deep dive on his new road trip survival game Overland. We discuss its surprisingly affecting narrative innovations, design epiphanies from its 6+ year development, and its understated influence from Legacy board games. Things we discussed: Overland New Spelunky duplication glitch Canabalt Finji Adam's blog X-COM: UFO Defense 868-HACK Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space Oasis Rebuild Underworld Play Dead Podcast with Adam

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01:38:32

27: Teamfight Tactics with Greg Borenstein

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/09/13

Riot Games’ Greg Borenstein joins us to chat about the design behind their red-hot autobattler Teamfight Tactics, as we discuss the benefits of embracing complexity, the rise of randomness, and what the game has in common with Sorry! You know, that Sorry! Things we discussed: Teamfight Tactics Mutazione Untitled Goose Game UFO 50 Riot Games controversy - timeline of events Riot Games controversy - one year later Dota Auto Chess Dota Underlords League of Legends Richard Garfield: Luck and Games

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01:48:53

26: The Nick and Andy Show

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/08/30

Our crew is stretched thin, but we soldier on with a wide-ranging, freeform 1-year anniversary episode! Nick and Andy chat about the recent glut of amazing game releases - and upcoming highlights (roguelights?) - while Andy reflects on the 10-year anniversary of his career-defining game Osmos, and we dive into a bounty of beautiful listener letters. Things we discussed: Mutazione Zach's game tease Noita Overland Osmos agar.io Telling Lies Eliza Control Dicey Dungeons RAD Plunge EarthNight Loren

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01:25:16

25: Slay the Spire with Anthony Giovannetti

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/08/18

Megacrit’s Anthony Giovannetti sits down with us to dive deep into the iterative design process of his hit roguelike deckbuilder, Slay the Spire. Things we discussed: Slay the Spire Stimhack Android: Netrunner Spelunky 2 delay Magic: the Gathering Dominion Dream Quest GDC talk - Slay the Spire: Metrics Drive Design and Balance FTL Desktop Dungeons The Binding of Isaac Brogue Why Revealing All is the Secret of Slay the Spire's Success How Slay the Spire's Original Interface Almost Killed the

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01:22:04

24: Going Rogue with Glenn Wichman (Rogue)

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/08/01

The co-creator of Rogue - yes, THAT Rogue - chats with us about the creation and legacy of his seminal 1980 game that birthed a genre! We discuss the origins of its key innovations of procedural generation and “consequence permanence,” its surprisingly Chesslike origins, and the secret metagame behind Quicken (shhh!). Rogue Hack Nethack Brogue Curses programming library Diablo ADOM Moria Angband Rogue's instruction manual Glenn’s unused Rogue manual art

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01:42:05

23: Reinventing Basketball (and Spelunky) with Andy...

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/07/18

Our full crew is reunited, and just in time for a very special guest! Spelunky HD programmer Andy Hull joins us to chat about his time as a toy designer, rebuilding Spelunky from the ground up, and nailing the jelly shader in his upcoming 2v2 basketball beat ‘em up, Dunk Lords. Things we discussed: Dunk Lords Mossranking Klik & Play Sushi Slicing Play Set Scoop & Stack Ice Cream Cone Play Set Bake & Decorate Cupcake Set What is Bothering Carl? Spelunky book Aquaria Braid Ridiculous Fishing

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01:28:51

22: Making the post-post-apocalypse RAD with Double...

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/07/04

Lee Petty of Double Fine (Psychonauts, Brütal Legend, Stacking) drops by to talk to us about their upcoming post-post-apocalyptic roguelike, RAD! We discuss the emergent origins of its procedural design, capturing ‘80s nuclear angst, and Tim Schafer’s love/hate relationship with farts. Things we discussed: leepetty.com Tharsis (iPad) Brutal Legend Broken Age Stacking Headlander RAD Amnesia Fortnight Psychonauts 2 Grim Fandango Remastered Brothers Quay Hitman Autonomous Chromehounds Risk of Rain

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01:07:41

21: Keeping Spelunky Alive with MossRanking

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/06/21

MossRanking creator Mathieu “saturnin55” Legaré and advisor/speedrunner Kevin “meowmixmix” Hyer join us to talk about the history and design behind Spelunky’s incredible community hub. Things we discussed: MossRanking mewomixmix's GDQx2018 run Playing the Spelunky 2 demo at TwitchCon speedrun.com Bananasaurus Rex's infamous solo eggplant run Crypt of the Necrodancer Nick’s Daily Death

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01:33:36

20: Going Into the Void (Bastards) with Cara Ellison...

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/06/06

Sci-fi strategy-shooter Void Bastards is tearing up the charts, and we’ve got two of its creators on the show! We discuss worldbuilding via British bureaucracy, telling stories in a world of roguelite progression, and yelling at yourself in your own game...as a pirate. Things we discussed: Void Bastards Embed with Games: A Year on the Couch with Game Developers System Shock Dishonored 2 Captain Forever Card Hunter Brazil Red Dwarf The Stanley Parable Choose Your Own Anna Anthropy interview

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01:15:51

19: The Organized Chaos of Edmund McMillen

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/05/23

The creator of The Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy joins us for a career-spanning discussion of his design ethos, and the organized chaos that drove the creation of the most successful roguelite ever. Things we discussed: Super Meat Boy The Binding of Isaac The End is Nigh The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Gish Aether Closure Dungeon Crawl Stone SoupDesktop Dungeons Fingered The Binding of Isaac: Antibirth Keyforge Overwatch Kingdom Death

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01:30:41

18: Exploring Brogue with Brian Walker

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/05/10

Brogue creator Brian “Pender” Walker joins us to chat about the elegant design behind his sublime roguelike dungeon-crawler, from the lessons he took from Rogue (and those he didn’t), to creating a rich world of interactions while keeping things simple. Things we discussed: Brogue Zach's instructional Brogue stream Brogue w/ Daily Challenge Brogue w/ Daily Challenge + Potion change Rogue Angband Nethack Derek Yu on Brogue Roguelike Celebration talk: Procedural level design in Brogue and beyond

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01:22:28

17: Climbing Gloves in the Jungle

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/04/26

The crew makes the most of being paired off: Andy and Zach talk climbing documentaries, persistence, and design back home, while Nick and Doug play and discuss some Spelunky co-op on the road in New Zealand. Plus a quick interview with Mini Metro’s Robert Curry, one of the biggest Spelunky fans we know! Things we discussed: Free Solo The Dawn Wall PRACTICE 2016 Talk - Mastering Movement Notes on the Synthesis of Form Grow21 Typeshift Mini Metro

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01:27:32

16: The Spelunky Book Club

The Secret Lives of Games ·

2019/04/11

We delve deep into the pages of Derek Yu’s excellent Spelunky book, from its thoughtful musings on creativity, to its inspiring lessons in game design. A must-read on how our favorite game came to be! Plus some record-breaking Spelunky news, the Weekly Challenge, and more. Things we discussed: Now Play This Low% Hell World Record d_tea's back-to-back World Records Co-op All Journal Entries run Spelunky book Boss Fight Books Humble Bundle TIG source Derek Yu's Twitter thread on difficulty

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