Fri, 27 Mar 2020 18:40:28 +0000

Tyriq Plummer (Catacomb Kids, UFO 50) joins us to discuss the guts and evolution of his long-term roguelike project, how he stays motivated, and making his minions matter. Plus a very special show announcement! Some things we discussed:

Fri, 13 Mar 2020 18:32:18 +0000

Andrea Roberts of Wonderbelly Games talks to us about her brand-new bouncy dungeon crawler Roundguard! We discuss physics as a system of uncertainty, combining Peggle with a roguelike formula, and using that formula to create player friendliness....

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 22:05:25 +0000

Mark Brown of Game Maker's Toolkit joins us to talk about the process behind his excellent series on game design. We discuss his recent video on randomness - diving deep on input/output randomness - as well as roguelike progression, and much...

Sat, 15 Feb 2020 06:02:23 +0000

Ryan Clark of Brace Yourself Games (Crypt of the Necrodancer, Cadence of Hyrule) sashays in to chat with us about how he hit on his rhythm roguelike formula, layering in depth to make his systems sing, and how he's found - and repeated - indie game...

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 22:58:35 +0000

We get cozy with our own Zach Gage to talk about his just-released SpellTower+, the follow-up to the puzzle game that put him on the map. We discuss making word searches interesting, the design of letter distribution, and making the Westworld of word...

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 21:54:12 +0000

Jan Willem "JW" Nijman (Nuclear Throne, Minit) sits down with us to help us fix mini golf, before we dig into some of the design thinking behind Vlambeer's amazing catalog of action games, how he approaches prototyping, and being the...

Fri, 03 Jan 2020 23:32:48 +0000

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...

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 17:32:58 +0000

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...

Sat, 07 Dec 2019 01:39:23 +0000

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!...

Fri, 22 Nov 2019 15:00:00 +0000

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 to talk about his new roguelike deckbuilder (dicebuilder?) - check it out and send us your questions! Anyways, on...

Fri, 08 Nov 2019 16:00:00 +0000

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...

Fri, 25 Oct 2019 15:00:00 +0000

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....

Fri, 11 Oct 2019 14:00:00 +0000

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: ...

Fri, 27 Sep 2019 23:07:13 +0000

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...

Fri, 13 Sep 2019 16:00:00 +0000

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...

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 16:00:00 +0000

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...

Sun, 18 Aug 2019 01:45:23 +0000

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:

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 16:00:00 +0000

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...

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 16:00:00 +0000

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...

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 16:00:00 +0000

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...