The Secret Lives of Games

Latest Episodes:

80: Envisioning a Future with JETT: The Far Shore Oct 08, 2021

Show notes

Craig D. Adams (Superbrothers A/V) and Patrick McAllister (Pine Scented Software) join us as they embark on the release of their interstellar adventure JETT: The Far Shore. We cover its 10+ year development, telling a small piece of a big story, and assembling the right squad to help land it.

Show notes:

JETT: The Far Shore

Superbrothers A/V

Pine Scented Software

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift

79: Shifting Perspectives in Storytelling with Variable State (Last Stop) Sep 24, 2021

Show notes

Variable State co-founders Jonathan Burroughs, Terry Kenny, and Lyndon Holland pop by to chat about their supernatural anthology drama Last Stop. We discuss capturing London through its details, telling an interconnected story across multiple genres, and the importance of pacing.

Show notes:

Thirty Flights of Loving

Primer timeline

Dunkirk

78: Making Myths with Worldwalker Games (Wildermyth) Sep 10, 2021

Show notes

We're joined by Anne Austin and Nate Austin of Worldwalker Games to explore their charming myth-making tactical RPG, Wildermyth. We dig into the challenges of procedural storytelling, clever ways of handling time passage and death, and capturing a tabletop feel without the table.

Show notes:

Wildermyth

Worldwalker Games

AI-Driven Dynamic Dialog through Fuzzy Pattern Matching

The Thing (video game)

The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31 (board game)

Descent: Journeys in the Dark

XCOM

Spirit of the Century

77: Learning to Let Go with GoodbyeWorld Games (Before Your Eyes) Aug 27, 2021

Show notes

Graham Parkes and Bela Messex of GoodbyeWorld Games join us to discuss their beautiful, blink-controlled adventure through the afterlife, Before Your Eyes. We discuss the benefits of disempowerment, working off faith in technology, and teaching players to let go.

Show notes:

Walter Murch's In the Blink of An Eye

Death of a Salesman

C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce

Where You Are short film

76: Seeing For Yourself with Tali Faulkner (Umurangi Generation) Aug 13, 2021

Show notes

We chat to Umurangi Generation's Tali Faulkner about his (IGF grand prize-winning!) "first-person photography game in the sh*tty future." We discuss keeping scope small while having a lot to say, the role of respectful design and Indigenous knowledge, and positioning players to see for themselves.

Show notes:

Tali Faulkner

Umurangi Generation

Sarah Elmaleh

Shooting the Apocalypse by Jini Maxwell

Freeplay Parallels 2020 talk

Neon Genesis Evangelion

British nuclear tests at Maralinga

ThorHighHeels' OST

Umberto Eco's UR-FASCISM

75: Finding Our Intersecting Tastes (75th episode special!) Jul 30, 2021

Show notes

For our 75th episode special, we endeavor to find which games lie at the intersection of our tastes, talking through our ranking algorithm and counting down our top 22 games. Thanks for all the support so far!

Show notes:

Let's Mosey: A Slow Translation of Final Fantasy VII

Chrono Trigger by Michael P. Williams

Chrono Trigger Mixtape

Losing Your Grip: Futility and Dramatic Necessity in Shadow of the Colossus

Arcane Kids Manife$to

Kaizo Mario

TENNNES

TENORI-ON

Our Top 22 (SPOILERS):

10th place: Super Puzzle Fighter N++ Katamari Damacy Dance Dance Revolution 9th place: Samurai Gunn 8th place: Everyday Shooter 7th place: Kentucky Route Zero Fez The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 6th place: Super Mario Kart Super Mario Galaxy Portal Final Fantasy VII Doom 5th place: Mario 64 Drop7 Desert Golfing Chrono Trigger 4th place: Shadow of the Colossus 3rd place: Spelunky 2 2nd place: Spelunky HD 1st place: Super Mario World

74: Taking Our Time with Durational Games (Airplane Mode special #2) Jul 16, 2021

Show notes

The second special episode originally created in partnership with AMC Games for the in-flight entertainment of Airplane Mode, a very literal flight simulator. We chat about ritual in games, rethinking our relationship to time, and bringing it to bear on our own work and play.

Show notes:

Lifeline...

Shadow of the Colossus

Tharsis

Star Trek: Discovery

The Castles of Burgundy

Lost Cities

Desert Bus

Pippin Barr's Durations

Marina Abramović's The Artist is Present

Zach's Transit Meditation

San Andreas Deer Cam

Dishonored

Assassin's Creed Odyssey: Discovery Tour

Grand Theft Auto Pacifist

The Traveling Swordsman Problem

Nick's Thanksgiving Blade Triptych

Casey Reas' Processing

How to do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

Delayed Response: The Art of Waiting From the Ancient to the Instant World

The Great British Bake Off

Apex Legends

VESPER.5

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP

Brandon Sanderson

73: Constructing Your Dreams with HoloVista Jul 02, 2021

Show notes

Aconite founders Star St. Germain and Nadya Lev and lead designer Scott Jon Siegel join us to discuss their beautiful, mixed reality mind bender HoloVista. We chat about embracing hidden object game design, telling personal stories through a lens of social media, and subverting the selfie museum.

Show notes:

Journey to the End of the Night

Ian Bogost

Jane McGonigal

Gardens of Time

How Return of the Obra Dinn Works

Mariode

Blake Kathryn

Nour: Play With Your Food

Andi Hegedus

Mesmer & Braid: The Alternate Reality Game

Steve Peters

Nick Tierce

72: Expanding Your Universe with Jakub Wasilewski (Slipways) Jun 18, 2021

Show notes

Jakub Wasilewski of Beetlewing joins us to talk about his new grand-yet-bite-sized space strategy game, Slipways. We discuss game feel as inspiration, breaking your game for fun and profit, and limiting your universe to expand your audience.

Show notes:

Teomachia (Jakub's board game)

71: Surviving the Big Bang with Feral Cat Den (Genesis Noir) Jun 04, 2021

Show notes

Evan Anthony and Jeremy Abel of Feral Cat Den join us to discuss their inspired cosmic adventure game, Genesis Noir. We discuss the aesthetics of interaction, processing your game launch, and shooting for the stars with your ending.

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