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dotzip — Leisure
dotzip

A show about big games in small packages! Join AJ, Kim, Robin, and Chase every week to talk about short video games, indie tabletop games, and maybe other stuff!
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Visit us online at https://dotzip.online
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Art by Tara Crawford
Music by _amaranthine
Additional sounds by Boqeh
Produced and Edited by AJ Fillari

Copyright: © 2024 dotzip

Latest Episodes:

Meeting Sylvia (and Others) in Formless Star Apr 06, 2026

Show notes

Oh to be a little guy with a fan on your head talking to Sylvia.

Today we're talking about Formless Star by splendidland! A game about meeting 61 creatures and maybe a secret 62nd.

Get Formless Star on itch.io!!! Follow splendidland's work on their website!

Discussed in the episode:

Creativity in the Age of AI by Ariadne J. Markou for Michigan Sociological Review
30 Years of Tamagotchi Jam on itch.io

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Support us on Ko-fi!

Visit our website!

Follow us on YouTube!

Follow the show on Bluesky!

Check out The Worst Garbage Online!

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Art by Tara Crawford

Theme music by _amaranthine

Additional sounds by Boqeh

Produced and edited by AJ Fillari

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Timecodes:

(00:00) - dot.army
(01:40) - Another one for the girls
(02:55) - Studio pedigree
(04:17) - What is Formless Star
(05:35) - Finding all the little guys
(06:40) - The game is cute :)
(08:38) - The game is about curiosity
(10:22) - Getting out of our spaceship on spoiler planet
(10:40) - Sylvia's Song
(13:10) - Favorite animals
(20:42) - The 61st creature
(28:52) - The music!!!
(30:38) - Big Takeaways
(30:43) - Robin's Big Takeaway
(33:06) - Kim's Big Takeaway
(38:31) - Creativity is magic
(45:47) - Good game
(46:53) - Time for bed

★ Support this podcast ★

Audio of AJ talking about PAX East | RAM Apr 03, 2026

Show notes

Today AJ does ONE FINAL RECAP of their time at PAX East 2026. If you want to hear AJ's thoughts with worse audio and less forethought, you can listen to their dot.trip episodes on Kofi ~ https://ko-fi.com/dotzip ~. The rest of this month's eps will be member exclusives!

Discussed in the episode:

AJ on The Content Mill talking about PAX
Never Post's Team Chat: We Won't Make Video and You Can't Force Us (Paywalled)
Support Never Post!
AJ, Brendon, Gianni, and Phil streaming the Godzilla RPG with LanFest! on YouTube (audio is iffy at times)
Godzilla: The Roleplaying Game by IDW Games on Kickstarter is still taking late pledges!
Indie Press Revolution's website
Plus One EXP's website
Soothwardens by Navaar Jackson
Down We Go by Plus One Experience
The Prince of Hounds by Jay Dragon
Mythic Bastionland by Chris McDowall
Quinns Quest Reviews: Mythic Bastionland! on YouTube
Kala Mandala Playbook by Munkao and Centaur Games
No Small Games
Underplayed
Six One Indie
Crossplay Conversations and Left Behind Game Club: A Video Game Podcast
GianniDicrosta on Twitch
70% Complete (Phil Bothun)

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Support us on Ko-fi!

Visit our website!

Follow us on YouTube!

Follow the show on Bluesky!

Check out The Worst Garbage Online!

---

Art by Tara Crawford

Theme music by _amaranthine

Additional sounds by Boqeh

Produced and edited by AJ Fillari

---

Timecodes:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:07) - It's another podcast
(01:08) - Making stuff
(04:12) - Talking about PAX
(05:21) - It's TTRPG time baby
(05:44) - Godzilla the TTRPG
(10:33) - More TTRPGs
(10:49) - Indie Press Revolution
(11:16) - PlusOneEXP
(11:42) - Soothwardens by Navaar Jackson
(12:28) - Down We Go by Marcus Linderum and Plus One Experience
(15:25) - The Prince of Hounds by Jay Dragon
(16:29) - Mythic Bastionland by Chris McDowall
(17:52) - Kala Mandala by Munkao and Centaur Games
(19:41) - I love games!
(19:59) - I met so many folks!!!
(23:02) - That's the recap!

★ Support this podcast ★

Diving Deep in In Other Waters Mar 30, 2026

Show notes

When you think about it the ocean is kind of like space.

Today we're talking about In Other Waters by Jump Over the Age! A game about the wonder and devastation of ecological science, and good menus.

Get In Other Waters on Steam, Humble, GoG, or Nintendo Switch!!! Follow Jump Over the Age's work on their website!

Discussed in the episode:

Listen to Leaving the Party!!!
In Other Waters is about exploring an alien ocean through an AI interface by Nicole Carpenter for Polygon
In Other Waters, ft. Gareth Damian Martin by Bad End: A Videogame Podcast
'Citizen Sleeper' dev on how players’ bodies shape the story by Robin<3 for inverse
How ecological adventure In Other Waters's planet-wide mystery gives players hope by Joel Couture for Game Developer

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Support us on Ko-fi!

Visit our website!

Follow us on YouTube!

Follow the show on Bluesky!

Check out The Worst Garbage Online!

---

Art by Tara Crawford

Theme music by _amaranthine

Additional sounds by Boqeh

Produced and edited by AJ Fillari

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Timecodes:

(00:00) - Day dreams (dreams you have that are what your day is going to be)
(01:26) - Chase NAILS the intro
(01:54) - What is In Other Waters
(04:17) - High level thoughts
(09:55) - Cheering at the UI
(15:36) - The line to Citizen Sleeper
(19:42) - Early game spoilers
(21:33) - Shoutout to Amos Roddy
(22:09) - Where to begin spoiling...
(24:03) - Diving deeper
(30:16) - Graphics are environmental metaphor actually
(39:00) - In the end
(50:01) - Big Takeaways
(50:05) - Robin's Big Takeaway
(54:18) - Chase's Big Takeaway
(56:45) - We win!
(57:10) - Thanks for finding the ending of the episode

★ Support this podcast ★

Being in Pain in Soul of Sovereignty Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

Just-- Wh-- Man....

Today we're talking about Soul of Sovereignty by GGDG! A game about needing to see the good in someone else and pretty flowers. This game was suggested by Amet! If you'd like to suggest a game head over to our website!

Get Soul of Sovereignty on itch!!! Follow GGDG's work on their website!

Discussed in the episode:

Cucumber Quest by GGDG
SoulSov Chapter 1-3 OSTs on Bandcamp

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Support us on Ko-fi!

Visit our website!

Follow us on YouTube!

Follow the show on Bluesky!

Check out The Worst Garbage Online!

---

Art by Tara Crawford

Theme music by _amaranthine

Additional sounds by Boqeh

Produced and edited by AJ Fillari

---

Timecodes:

(00:00) - We are friends!!!!!
(00:39) - Fri-day night
(01:30) - Thank you Amet for the suggestion!
(03:35) - What is Soul of Sovereignty
(06:45) - SPOILERS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT EVENTS IN THE BEGINNING
(11:47) - The intro is good and so is everything!!!
(14:17) - It's not done yet technically!
(15:51) - FINAL SPOILER WARNING
(16:12) - Welcome to spoilers
(16:35) - The turn
(18:52) - Selfish virtue and deadly kindness
(24:04) - The story is painful
(29:49) - Where does the story go from here?
(31:14) - Audience surrogate
(32:15) - It's time to talk about Them.
(37:32) - Flashback stuff
(38:56) - AJ and Kim bait
(45:22) - THE STORY IS PAINFUL!!!!!!!!
(47:31) - We haven't even talked about The Trials
(48:42) - There is just so much we haven't touched on
(53:53) - They're both hot
(54:48) - Whoops it's Big Takeaways
(55:09) - KAJ's Takeaway
(01:00:14) - Good
(01:01:01) - Thank you for listening :)

★ Support this podcast ★

Experiencing Womanhood in A Year of Springs Mar 16, 2026

Show notes

We’ve all had unrequited feelings for one of our best friends at the hot springs, right? Right????

Today we're talking about A Year of Springs by npckc! A game about the endless complexity of being a woman and sending cute lil emojis.

Get A Year of Springs on Steam or itch!!! Follow npckc’s work on their website!

Discussed in the episode:

A YEAR OF SPRINGS soundtrack on Bandcamp

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Support us on Ko-fi!

Visit our website!

Follow us on YouTube!

Follow the show on Bluesky!

Check out The Worst Garbage Online!

---

Art by Tara Crawford

Theme music by _amaranthine

Additional sounds by Boqeh

Produced and edited by AJ Fillari

---

Timecodes:

(00:00) - Someone make a good way to take screenshots
(01:07) - Lifeguard Off-Duty
(02:07) - Who is npckc?
(03:16) - What is a Year of Springs
(05:21) - Hard to not spoil!
(08:23) - General subject matter
(12:18) - Beep boop
(12:25) - One Night, Hot Springs
(18:07) - Endings
(22:45) - The difference in perspectives
(25:36) - Last Day of Spring
(29:03) - Presents for transgender women
(30:56) - The texting is good!
(32:25) - Spring Leaves No Flower
(37:40) - An unexpected shift
(42:32) - Why is it so hard to be a woman!!!!!!
(44:14) - I guess I gotta talk to my boyfriend...
(45:22) - Endings
(46:47) - This one is for the girls
(51:07) - The Epilogue
(52:39) - Getting a new start
(55:46) - Big Takeaways
(55:56) - Kim's Big Takeaway
(59:26) - Robin's Big Takeaway
(01:04:17) - Good game!!!
(01:04:23) - Kim attempts the outro

★ Support this podcast ★

Living in Time Flies Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Today we're talking about Time Flies by Playables! A game about being a fly and then being another fly.

Get Time Flies on Playstation, Switch, Steam, Epic, or the App Store!!! Follow Playables work on their website!

Discussed in the episode:

EYEZMAZE
Robin's piece on Time Flies for Inverse
Allegheny Cemetery: The story behind the Egyptian mausoleum and sphinx by Joaquin Gonzalez for 90.5 WESA

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Support us on Ko-fi!

Visit our website!

Follow us on YouTube!

Follow the show on Bluesky!

Check out The Worst Garbage Online!

---

Art by Tara Crawford

Theme music by _amaranthine

Additional sounds by Boqeh

Produced and edited by AJ Fillari

---

Timecodes:

(00:00) - We needed this
(01:22) - A Kim approved intro
(02:18) - What is Time Flies
(09:00) - The sound design
(10:18) - The art
(12:18) - A not spoiler spoiler
(12:34) - How many secrets did we find?
(13:41) - Standout stuff
(23:55) - Min/Maxxing life expectancy
(30:08) - How are we feeling about death?
(41:14) - A quick mechanical thing
(42:39) - Big Takeaways
(42:45) - Kim's Big Takeaway
(44:58) - AJ's Big Takeaway
(47:15) - Robin's Big Takeaway
(49:31) - How do I live a life like the fly?
(52:35) - Check the show notes!
(53:17) - Thank you for listening!

★ Support this podcast ★

Help!!! It's February Next Fest!!! Mar 02, 2026

Show notes

Send help.

Today we're talking about the February 2026 Next Fest!

Discussed in the episode:

Games that will almost certainly be covered by dotzip

Unhomely - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2941990/Unhomely/

I’m Making a Monster - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4047160/Im_Making_a_Monster/

Brain goes burr

VHOLUME - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4131730/VHOLUME/

Tileweaver - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4006200/Tileweaver/

Cursed Words - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3856460/Cursed_Words/

Pachincro - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4200890/Pachincro/

The Loopler - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4150860/The_Loopler/

The Magus Circle - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2796640/The_Magus_Circle/

Runeomicon - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3160570/Runeomicon/

Modulus - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2779120/Modulus/

Raccoin - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3784030/RACCOIN_Coin_Pusher_Roguelike/

I love whatever is wrong you

Rewind 99 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3977290/Rewind_99/

Busbound - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2095420/Bus_Bound/

Nightfall Cafe - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3816920/Nightfall_Cafe/

All Will Rise - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3165340/All_Will_Rise/ (on Kickstarter: All Will Rise: a narrative courtroom deck-builder )

AtmosFar - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1798230/ATMOSFAR/

West - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4302000/West/

Shoutout to Newgrounds.com

Chipmatic - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3780950/Chipmatic/

Mining Merchant - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3744080/Mining_Merchant/

Maybe that zoloft didn't block ALL my emotions

Hozy - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3326230/Hozy/

Memento - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2474770/Momento/

inKONBINI - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2723430/inKONBINI_One_Store_Many_Stories/

A Study In Blue - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4280150/A_Study_in_Blue/

Deep Snow Delivery - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3281970/Deep_Snow_Delivery/

This one's on the computer

Lost Wiki: Kozlovka - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4018950/Lost_Wiki_Kozlovka/

Human.exe - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4016270/Humanexe/

MMO 98 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3907940/MMO_98/

Secrets of Suburbia - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3111050/Secrets_Of_Suburbia/

What the fuck (affectionate)

Panthalassa - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2955720/Panthalassa/

WOODROT - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3896040/WOODROT/

THREE VERSES³ - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3139120/THREE_VERSES/

Burden Street Station - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3126340/Burden_Street_Station/

Feast for the Eyes

Petrichor - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4168440/Petrichor/

Phonopolis - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1206070/Phonopolis/ (nocaps on YouTube: i played every game by Amanita Design)

Titanium Court - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2364580/Titanium_Court/

Helix: Descent N Ascent - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2736370/Helix_Descent_N_Ascent/

Pluto - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3057670/Pluto/

HYPNOS - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2861210/HYPNOS/

The dotzip award for the most questionable idle animations

Super Alloy Crush - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3092360/Super_Alloy_Crush/

Hot girl walks

Dreamcore: Rabbit Hole - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4149700/Dreamcore_Rabbit_Hole/

Plum Road Tea Dream - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3206340/Plum_Road_Tea_Dream/

Walk the Frog - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3336240/Walk_The_Frog/

nophenia - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3979330/nophenia/

Gloomveil - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3156020/Gloomveil/

Women su...

Trying to Make Sense of the World in Eclipsium Feb 23, 2026

Show notes

i ain't interpreting all that. i'm happy for you tho. or sorry that happened

Today we're talking about Eclipsium by Housefire! A game about walking around and unspeakable things happening to your hand.

Get Eclipsium on Steam!!! Follow Housefire's work on their website!

Discussed in the episode:

AJ on The Worst Community Report
AJ's 2025 Game of the Year video on YouTube
Eclipsium (Original Game Soundtrack) by Hudson Bikichky on Bandcamp
AJ's playthrough of the beginning of Eclipsium on YouTube
Finding Emilie by Radiolab

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Support us on Ko-fi!

Visit our website!

Follow us on YouTube!

Follow the show on Bluesky!

Check out The Worst Garbage Online!

---

Art by Tara Crawford

Theme music by _amaranthine and check out his new project Foster Hope!

Additional sounds by Boqeh

Produced and edited by AJ Fillari

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Timecodes:

(00:00) - Listen to AJ on The Worst Garbage Community Report :-)
(01:45) - Welcome to the game
(03:31) - What is Eclipsium?
(04:58) - What'd we think
(08:30) - Bugs?
(10:00) - The music!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The sound!!!!!!!!!!
(13:10) - The hand and the things done to the hand
(15:42) - Heading to spoilers
(16:11) - Chase wants to talk about the images
(20:01) - Kim wants to talk about judgment
(22:48) - Robin wants to talk about it literally
(25:16) - AJ wants to talk about the opting-in
(27:24) - What death means and religious imagery
(34:21) - Going to the panopticon
(47:27) - They can't ALL be PT!!!
(50:03) - An actually interesting series of hallways
(56:47) - Big Takeaways
(56:59) - AJ's Big Takeaway
(59:42) - Chase's Big Takeaway
(01:04:08) - Kim's Big Takeaway
(01:06:19) - Robin's Big Takeaway
(01:09:39) - The end of the game hot damn
(01:09:57) - Thanks for listening!

★ Support this podcast ★

Gliding on the Wind in Toroa: Skycall Feb 16, 2026

Show notes

Guy whose only played Sayonara Wild Hearts: "I'm getting a lot of Sayonara Wild Hearts energy in this game."

Today we're talking about Toroa: Skycall by Atawhai Interactive! A game about gliding and just hangin' out.

Get Toroa: Skycall on Steam!!! Follow Atawhai Interactive's work on their website!

Discussed in the episode:

The sourdough shaping video that AJ talked about by Matthew James Duffy on YouTube Shorts(tm)
TWG Steam Curator Page
Making Kin with the Machines, Archer et al. from the Journal of Design and Science by MIT Press
Royal Albatross Centre

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Support us on Ko-fi!

Visit our website!

Follow us on YouTube!

Follow the show on Bluesky!

Check out The Worst Garbage Online!

---

Art by Tara Crawford

Theme music by _amaranthine

Additional sounds by Boqeh

Produced and edited by AJ Fillari

---

Timecodes:

(00:00) - The end of a 20 minute conversation
(02:31) - We're not fighting!!!
(03:43) - fort.nite ????
(05:52) - Oh right the podcast
(06:12) - What is Toroa: Skycall
(07:36) - This game feels AMAZING
(10:21) - The MUSIC
(11:38) - The game is steeped in culture
(13:46) - Talking to other animals
(17:02) - Songs of the sea have been dulled by the drums of progress
(21:48) - The game wants you to just hang out
(23:05) - Bird heaven????
(28:49) - Everything is connected
(33:57) - You get where you're going
(35:57) - Made with love
(36:31) - Everything is connected!!!
(37:15) - Big Takeaways
(37:17) - Kim's Big Takeaway
(42:31) - AJ's Big Takeaway
(47:09) - Help the Northern Royal Albatross!!!
(47:38) - Thank you for listening!

★ Support this podcast ★

Watching the World Cup in despelote with Matt Horton (Flow State, In Sequence) Feb 09, 2026

Show notes

This is a sports game! Well it's a game that centers around a sport... Er, it's a game that has a sport as a central narrative piece... uh...

Today we're talking about despelote by Julián Cordero and Sebastián Valbuena! A game about soccer and tuning out the adults in your life.

Get despelote on Steam, Switch, or Playstation!!! Follow Julian's work on his website! Follow Sebastián on his website!

Follow Matt on his YouTube channel, Flow State!

Discussed in the episode:

A Sportslike Manifesto by Grapefruit Games
Despelote review: miraculous slice-of-life soccer game pulls a hat trick by Moises Taveras for Digital Trends

Additional links:

Despelote with Moises Taveras by Tales from the Backlog on YouTube

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Support us on Ko-fi!

Visit our website!

Follow us on YouTube!

Follow the show on Bluesky!

Check out The Worst Garbage Online!

---

Art by Tara Crawford

Theme music by _amaranthine

Additional sounds by Boqeh

Produced and edited by AJ Fillari

---

Timecodes:

(00:00) - The sausage gets made
(00:19) - Babby's first intro
(01:34) - The Sports Corner
(04:20) - What is despelote?
(08:13) - Sportslike
(11:24) - Witholding the big stuff
(13:35) - Making it back to the bench
(14:36) - The first ten minutes
(18:39) - Standout moments
(26:07) - Being a child among adults
(31:24) - What happened...
(32:43) - Turn the game on!
(35:06) - Crossing narrative lines
(37:22) - The very end
(41:11) - Big Takeaways
(41:16) - Matt's Big Takeaway
(44:12) - Robin's Big Takeaway
(46:27) - Chase's Big Takeaway
(49:43) - Thank you Matt for coming on!
(49:53) - Chase attempts an outro

★ Support this podcast ★

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