The Secret Lives of Games

Latest Episodes:

Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Part 2 Feb 25, 2022

Show notes

In the second installment of our Super Mario World deep-dive miniseries, Mare Sheppard and Raigan Burns of Metanet Software (N++) join us to talk about the inertia that makes Mario feel like Mario, the beautiful strangeness of the cape, and just how deep SMW's control quirks go.

Show notes:

Metanet Software

N++

The Story of Super Mario World

Making History with Summoning Salt

Kaizo Kindergarden

The Decade-Long Quest for Shadow of the Colossus' Last Secret

Retronauts on SMW

Reverse Design: SMW

Burned Mario and Luigi

SMW Widescreen

11 Years of N

Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Part 1 Feb 11, 2022

Show notes

In the first installment of our Super Mario World deep-dive miniseries, Derek Yu (Spelunky) and Maddy Thorson (Celeste) join us to talk about our personal histories with the game, its iconic world map and multi-layered secrets, and all sorts of Mario ephemera in-between.

Show notes:

Super Mario World

Derek Yu

Maddy Thorson

Ep. 75: Finding our Intersection Tastes

Kaizo Mario

SMW as an "athletic game"

Atheltic Theme

The Wizard (1989)

Mario death sprite

How to get 50+ lives in SMW

LOVE

88: Welcoming Sarah! Jan 28, 2022

Show notes

We celebrate Sarah Elmaleh as a permanent new member of the cast! Yay Sarah! We also announce the next Into the Depths series, dive into some wildly different topics du jour, and answer your questions!

Show notes:

Sarah Elmaleh

Super Mario World

"King Me": A Defense of King-Making in Board Game Design

Shut Up & Sit Down Root review

Line Goes Up - The Problem with NFTs

Wordle

The Saturday Paper - Wordle

Wordles of the World

Lingo UK

Wordle as poetry generator

The Wreck

The Red Lantern

The Beatles: Get Back

Pokemon Red

Blinfolded Sekiro run

OODA loop

Games Done Quick

Hanabi

87: Fighting Words with Everybody House Games (Babble Royale) Jan 14, 2022

Show notes

Frank and James Lantz of Everybody House Games join us to discuss their tactical word-slinging free-for-all, Babble Royale. We discuss the built-in texture of language, reconsidering elegance, and why not: we phone a few friends for some live rounds of Hey Robot.

Show notes:

Frank Lantz

James Lantz

Everybody House Games

Hey Robot

Babble Royale

Babble Royale beginner's guide

Babble Royale advanced guide

Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

Wavelength

86: Games of the Year 2021 Dec 31, 2021

Show notes

Recurring GOTY guest / immersive puzzle designer Laura E. Hall joins Sarah Elmaleh and the rest of our crew to count down our Top 5 games of 2021, alongside picks from previous guests and our listeners. Happy New Year!

Show notes:

Laura E. Hall Planning Your Escape The Traveler's Guide to Little Sodaburg Ynglet 101% Completion Guide Find Satoshi Laura's Animal Crossing: New Horizons Dream Code: DA-9271-2414-8564

Our GOTY picks (SPOILERS):

Zach: Monster Hunter Rise Death's Door Metroid Fusion Wordle Halo Infinite

Sarah:Mass Effect (1) Legendary Edition Wildermyth The Maze on Planet 7 (streaming)It Takes Two Kentucky Route Zero

Nick:Sea of Thieves Elechead It Takes Two Guardians of the Galaxy Inscryption

Doug: Survivor, South Africa, Season 8 Ynglet Learned LeagueAlien (folk game)Factions (Discord game by Doug)

Andy:Ynglet (Skee Mask - Pool)Unpacking (Porter Robinson - Nurture)Kentucky Route Zero (Low - HEY WHAT)Inscryption (Squid - Bright Green Field)Babble Royale (Madlib - Sound Ancestors)

Laura:The Forgotten City Valheim Pursuit of the Assassin Artist Inscryption Unpacking

85: Thinking Outside the Box with Witch Beam (Unpacking) Dec 17, 2021

Show notes

Witch Beam's Wren Brier and Tim Dawson join us to discuss their cozy zen puzzle game, Unpacking. We chat about the origins of its subtle narrative, living life on the grid, and the generous details that make it feel like home.

Show notes:

Witch Beam

Assault Android Cactus

Making Generous Games with Terry Cavanagh

The UI Artist's Survival Kit

Cohesion is Key: Art Direction for Indies

84: Digging the Rabbit Hole with Daniel Mullins (Inscryption) Dec 03, 2021

Show notes

Daniel Mullins (Pony Island, The Hex) joins us to discuss his inky black card-based odyssey, Inscryption. We discuss [redacted], [redacted], and [redacted]. Just go play it, then come back and listen. Thanks also to our guest co-host Star St. Germain!

Show notes:

Magic: The Gathering Arena

Slay the Spire

Boss Fight Books - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Buddy Simulator 1984

Hidden my game by mom

Sam Barlow

ARG video with Daniel

Masquerade book

Borg vs McEnroe

83: Getting Feedback with Derek Yu Nov 19, 2021

Show notes

Our old pal and Spelunky creator Derek Yu stops by to discuss his helpful blog post on how to think about feedback on your game. We discuss sympathetic vs unsympathetic feedback, thinking about feedback across your entire creative practice, and why feedback can be valuable beyond the content itself.

Show notes:

Derek Yu

Indie Game Dev: Getting Feedback

Osmos

Creativity, Inc.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf

Slay the Spire: Metrics Driven Design and Balance

Lil' Dozer

Playtesting: Avoiding Evil Data

Hannah Nicklin on Critical Response

r/DestoryMyGame

82: Nurturing a Spark with NamaTakahashi (ElecHead) Nov 05, 2021

Show notes

ElecHead creator NamaTakahashi joins us to discuss his inventive puzzle-platformer, one of our favorites in years. We discuss the indie scene in Japan, making a game about secrets, and how to avoid players getting too "full" on your game. Big thanks to Chao from Asobu for translation help!

Show notes:

NamaTakahashi

Indie Brains podcast (Japanese language)

ElecHead (also on Steam)

NamaTakahashi profile video

Downwell

Toki Tori 2

81: Scaling and Scoping with Asher Vollmer (Beast Breaker) Oct 22, 2021

Show notes

We're joined by Asher Vollmer (Threes) to discuss the mouse-bouncing adventure Beast Breaker, the debut game from his studio Vodeo Games. We discuss the perils of overscoping, scaling up (and back down), and building a studio ethos.

Show notes:

A Playful Production Process