Game Dev Podcast | Coffee with Butterscotch

Latest Episodes:

[Ep331] Level 15 Dungeons Oct 06, 2021

Show notes

Salutations, Shenanites! This week, we talk about 3n+1 sequences, perverse incentives, and competence tiers. You can’t build a healthy team when someone is making it all about them. Long-term success requires thinking collectively. But don’t let the failures of collective action prevent you from taking individual action. Your choices have impact. They still matter.

Questions answered: None! We got caught up in our convo, so we’ll hit some questions next week!

Things mentioned:

Wayton Pilkin: “Platinum is the worst rank in Rocket League, and Here's Why” (https://youtu.be/RqSqhJbBXEs)
Squid Game on Netflix
wren.co

To stay up to date with all of our buttery goodness subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcasts (apple.co/1LxNEnk) or wherever you get your audio goodness. If you want to get more involved in the Butterscotch community, hop into our DISCORD server at discord.gg/bscotch and say hello! Submit questions at https://www.bscotch.net/podcast, disclose all of your secrets to podcast@bscotch.net, and send letters, gifts, and tasty treats to https://bit.ly/bscotchmailbox. Finally, if you’d like to support the show and buy some coffee FOR Butterscotch, head over to https://moneygrab.bscotch.net.

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[Ep330] Boston Pizza Party Sep 29, 2021

Show notes

Good day, Shenanites! In this episode, we discuss hipsavers, pattern recognition, and what problems are actually interesting. Plus, we revisit our old standby “Design By Chaos” and examine whether or not it still holds up! People place a lot of value on the idea of hard work, but sometimes hard work is just hard. If it can be made easier, why not do it? There are infinite problems out there to solve. Leave the details to robots and books.

Questions answered (abbreviated):

Mopait Flatunk: Does the studio do group functions for fun?
Mopait Flatunk: Does your studio partake in any Team Building Exercises, and if so, what kind?
cprice: Thoughts on github copilot? How long until all the programmers are replaced by AI that's figured out how to copy paste stack overflow answers until the tests pass?
Mimmabip Gourkee: Which parts of your "Design by Chaos" presentation do you now disagree with?

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[Ep329] Pumpkin Spice Season Passes Sep 22, 2021

Show notes

Heya, Shenanites! This week, we talk about Air Bud situations, M&M revenue, and negative feedback loops. Work-life balance isn’t about time; it’s about having the ability to control how things interact and integrate. It’s not your fault that society is set up to burn you out. Remember, you’re a person. At some point, maybe you stopped doing the thing. That’s okay. Just start it up again when you can. You’re okay.

Questions answered (abbreviated):

SuperSheaff: If you were to choose a location and type of battle to defeat the other two brothers, what would each of your picks be?
XenTheRed: How do you feel about the new changes to the GMS pricing?
Mimmabip Gourkee: What do you guys think is the maximum amount of hours you can work a day while still living a balanced life & not eventually burning out?

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[Ep328] Spherical Tide Bringer Sep 15, 2021

Show notes

Hello, Shenanites! In this episode, we discuss goose mace, the black mirror effect, and a paint-by-numbers player experience. When the whole world is artificial, how do you make things not feel contrived? Just like in real life, the answer has to do with reasons. As in, you should have them. If you’re going to teach a bear ballet, you better know why you’re doing it.

Questions answered (abbreviated):

Mowrompa Kimmaquompa: In episode 324, y'all talked about the difficulty of worldbuilding without breaking immersion. Is there anything similar that you think about when you make game systems?

Things mentioned:

Webbed (https://webbed.website/) - Be an adorable jumping spider!

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[Ep327] The Systems Checklist Trap Sep 08, 2021

Show notes

Greetings, Shenanites! This week, we talk about spoons in the pot, car sheets, and emotional appeal. Rules aren’t there because they’re true; they’re there because they’re useful. Until they aren’t. Experience is learning when and where to break those rules. Still, all the VC money in the world won’t save you if you completely miss the point.

Questions answered (abbreviated):

challosis: How much time do you put into the "first pass" of gameplay elements? How do you avoid shipping half-baked ideas?

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[Ep326] Intergenerational Ghost Warfare Sep 01, 2021

Show notes

What’s up, Shenanites! In this episode, we discuss immortal cultures, kitchen dreams, and capturing visibility. Creating a moment is easier when everyone is anticipating your every move. It’s harder to capture eyeballs when no one’s around. When you’re analyzing the strategies of the rich and famous and wondering if they could work for you, it’s important to take a moment and ask yourself: are you Beyoncé?

Questions answered (abbreviated):

Beekie Boppaboop: Do you all have art hanging up in your offices?
Alewakka Cammya: We haven't heard anything on ShenaniCon 2021. Is it something that is still in the mix, or is it out?
unanimostly: What do you guys think of surprise releases?

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[Ep325] Wrecking Plants Aug 25, 2021

Show notes

Howdy, Shenanites! This week, we talk about structural supports, allocation of resources, and making meaning. Since we didn’t get to questions last week, this is purely a question episode! Well, except for a slight skeleton detour. Isn’t it weird how without bones or exoskeletons we’d be bags of goo? Just slurbing from one place to the next. Talk about road rash.

Questions answered (abbreviated):

Eppajump Boilvarka: What life hacks have you guys used to power through the have-tos of game development, life, or business?
TimConceivable: Did you guys watch Wandavision? Are you watching Loki?
thewritingfriend: What's the best praise you've ever gotten from a boss/mentor/other authority figure?

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[Ep324] The Immersion Barrier Aug 18, 2021

Show notes

Top of the morning (or afternoon, or evening) to ya, Shenanites! In this episode, we discuss runner’s gut, carnival games, and suspension of disbelief. It’s easy to fall into the trap of more information is always better, but that’s not necessarily true. Even if you could have all the details to start with, does that really make your experience better? After all, when you’re going from plan to execution, you can never know, in the absence of the executed plan, what you missed.

We didn’t get to questions this week because of our spicy story takes, so we’ll focus on answering questions next week!

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[Ep323] Jevens Nuance Aug 11, 2021

Show notes

Hi, Shenanites! This week, we talk about sure things, hot pipes, and what design by chaos really is. Our old friend the Jevens paradox pays us a visit, and it turns out that heuristic has some layers! Plus, listen in as we dive deep into our most contentious internal debate. Three brothers enter… and, well, three brother leave. Because conservation of mass.

Questions answered (abbreviated):

Flyhoppie Axerompa: Could you talk about why certain games might feel like a sure thing?
Fraser_: How long do you think is left before something breaks the pre-Crashlands games, and it’s no longer worthwhile to go back and fix it?
Beekie Boppaboop: What would you say are the studio’s design principles?

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[Ep322] Schrödinger's Urgency Aug 04, 2021

Show notes

Hello, Shenanites! In this episode, we discuss a zombie way of life, a package full of people, and getting out of the work and working on the work. You can’t make people care about something important if they don’t understand what the experience is going to be. And you can’t explain to someone what the experience is because it’s experiential. ...Is lying required to get at a truth?

Questions answered (abbreviated):

TigerSharkBassist: If you guys were to guess Flux's favorite type of music, what genre would it be?
allenmb: What're your thoughts on marketing hype vs facts? Expectations vs reality? What's the most outrageous claim y'all have made in life that ended up being 100% bullshit?

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