Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games (Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games)
Explore every episode of Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games
| Pub. Date | Title | Duration | |
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| 18 Jun 2021 | 72: Expanding Your Universe with Jakub Wasilewski (Slipways) | 01:20:29 | |
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: | |||
| 28 Jan 2022 | 88: Welcoming Sarah! | 01:56:40 | |
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: "King Me": A Defense of King-Making in Board Game Design Shut Up & Sit Down Root review | |||
| 20 Sep 2024 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Introduction | 01:04:45 | |
We introduce Eggplant Presents: A Year of UFO 50 - our new 1-year weekly show covering every game in the UFO 50 collection. Join us! Next week: Barbuta, with guest co-hosts Xalavier Nelson Jr. and Gabe Cuzzillo. | |||
| 31 Jan 2025 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Big Bell Race | 01:15:30 | |
We're joined by Alfredo Barraza (Riot) to discuss Big Bell Race, the 19th game in the UFO 50 collection. "Do you have what it takes to become the Big Bell Race Champion?" Our show has been nominated for a 2024 Thinky Award in some great company! Check out the full list here... and if you should be moved to vote for us, that is between you and whatever higher power you recognize. Thanks to Thinky Games for the recognition. Next week: Warptank Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.
https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow
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| 27 Dec 2024 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Bushido Ball | 01:38:57 | |
We're joined by Casey Yano (Mega Crit), Trent Kusters (League of Geeks), and Alfredo Barraza (Riot) to discuss Bushido Ball, the 14th game in the UFO 50 collection. "It’s the annual Bushido Ball tournament. Choose from 6 fighters and compete to win!" Next week: Block Koala | |||
| 20 Nov 2022 | 103: Day of the Devs Special | 01:29:36 | |
We (well, Nick) stops by the annual Day of the Devs event in San Francisco, and chats to a bunch of lovely developers about the games they're showing there, their biggest design challenges, and what it feels like making games in the cursed year of 2022. Show notes: | |||
| 17 Jul 2020 | 48: Making It Personal with Shawn Alexander Allen (Treachery in Beatdown City) | 01:49:08 | |
Shawn Alexander Allen joins us to talk about his tactical brawler, Treachery in Beatdown City. We discuss the roots and inspirations of this innovative mash-up, the action economy that makes it tick, and the process of translating life experience into your creative work. Some things we discussed: Put Your Glock Away, I've Got a Stronger Weapon For You (A Maze talk) @writnelson's Blockbuster thread | |||
| 16 Apr 2021 | Into the Depths: Kentucky Route Zero - Part 5 | 01:44:35 | |
In the fifth installment of our Kentucky Route Zero miniseries, we broadcast our thoughts on the Un Pueblo De Nada interlude, before prowling our way through Act V and our closing thoughts on the game. Show notes: Clara Rockmore - The Art of the Theramin Brian Rotman: Signifying Nothing - The Semiotics of Zero Jenny Odell - How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy How to unlock the bonus interlude Noah Caldwell-Gervais - Notes From Along Kentucky Route Zero Robert Frost - The Death of a Hired Man Haruki Murakami - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Can't Tell Me Nothing with Zach Galifianakis HQ Walt Whitman - Song of Myself, Verse 52 Metal Gear Solid 3, I Love You With All My Heart Jordan Youngblood “Is Metal Gear’s Rectum a Digital Grave?: Queer Trauma and Failure in the Metal Gear Solid Series.” Panel on Queer Failure. Queerness and Games Conference. University of Berkeley. 24-26 October 2013 | |||
| 02 Sep 2022 | 98: Escaping Your Fate with Coin Crew Games (Escape Academy) | 01:19:01 | |
Co-founders Wyatt Bushnell and Mike Salyh - and special guest co-host Laura E. Hall - join us to discuss Coin Crew's awesome new co-op escape room game Escape Academy. We discuss pandemic pivoting to the digital space, designing for arcades vs. living rooms, and the perils of playtesting in both mediums. Show notes: | |||
| 19 Dec 2020 | 59: Making Magic with Chevy Ray Johnston (Ikenfell) | 01:23:23 | |
Ikenfell creator Chevy Ray Johnston joins us to explore the inner workings of his tactical magic school RPG, from building a meaningful story with interpersonal stakes, to nailing the timing on a streamlined yet dynamic combat system. Show notes: | |||
| 27 Nov 2020 | Into the Depths: The Music of Mutazione - Part 1 | 01:10:51 | |
Introducing a special Into the Depths miniseries produced by developer Die Gute Fabrik, an examination of their wonderful 'mutant soap opera' told through the lens of its music. In this first installment, they discuss the origins of their collaboration, and the early direction and influences that informed the tone of both the game and its music. Show notes: Mutazione (Original Game Soundtrack) Alessandro's Spotify playlist of music that influenced Mutazione Nils' Spotify playlist of music that influenced Mutazione | |||
| 06 Dec 2024 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Kick Club | 01:41:33 | |
We're joined by John Axon (Capy Games) and Hayden "Docky" Scott-Baron (Planet Coaster) to discuss Kick Club, the 11th game in the UFO 50 collection. “Sports are fighting over who is best! Let’s all play together!” Next week: Avianos | |||
| 20 Oct 2024 | Into the Depths: Caves of Qud (Part 1) | 01:31:55 | |
In the first installment of a new Into the Depths series, we dive into the brilliant Caves of Qud. This sprawling open-world roguelike has been in development since 2007 and Early Access since 2015, and we're celebrating it as it nears a v1.0 release. Doug and Rob, together with guest host and Qud-head Jack Schlesinger (Puzzmo, Knotwords, Good Sudoku), talk to Caves of Qud creators Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat all about post-apocalyptic worldbuilding, building an emergence-focused game engine, and what it takes to keep a project and partnership going for nearly two decades. Don't forget to join our discord and play along with the series. Try to get a character to Level 5 before our next episode, where we'll get into some basics around the early game and Qud's many interlocking systems. You can purchase Caves of Qud -- still in Early Access, for now -- on Steam or GOG. Discussed in this Episode Gamma World
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| 16 Sep 2022 | 99: Charting the Future with Sarah Northway (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist) | 01:22:32 | |
Sarah Northway (Northway Games) joins us to discuss her sprawling new narrative RPG I Was a Teenage Exocolonist. We discuss juggling a staggering script, deckbuilding as storytelling, and some of the wilder places that the game's time looping can go. Show notes: | |||
| 01 Nov 2018 | 05: The Design of Spelunky | 01:25:04 | |
We dive deep into the core design of Spelunky - what exactly fuels its procedural perfection, and why is its world still so compelling? And what design touches do our listeners love, and which would they send to Hell? Plus some new Spelunky 2 tidbits! | |||
| 01 Jan 2021 | 60: Games of the Year 2020 with Laura E. Hall | 02:16:59 | |
Immersive puzzle designer Laura E. Hall returns for another huge year-end show, as we each count down our Top 5 games of 2020, alongside picks from previous guests and our listeners. Happy New Year! Show notes: Laura E. Hall Our GOTY picks (SPOILERS): Laura: Zach: Andy: Doug: Nick: Guest picks: Listener picks: | |||
| 01 May 2020 | Into the Depths: Noita - Part 3 | 01:32:22 | |
In the third installment of our miniseries, we discuss Noita's worldbuilding, secrets in game culture, games as toys, tutorialization (or lack thereof), and the conflicts of wandcrafting. | |||
| 30 Aug 2019 | 26: The Nick and Andy Show | 01:48:53 | |
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 anniversary of his career-defining game Osmos, and we dive into a bounty of beautiful listener letters. Things we discussed: | |||
| 14 Mar 2025 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Party House | 01:51:09 | |
We're joined by guest hosts Billy Basso (Animal Well), Jack Schlesinger (Baby Steps), and Gab Koenig (Tux and Fanny) to discuss Party House, the 25th game in the UFO 50 collection. “Can you throw the best house party of the summer without getting busted?” Next week: Hot Foot Audio edited by Dylan Shumway. Discussed in this episode: The Quacks of Quedlinburg https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/244521/the-quacks-of-quedlinburg Dominion (Temple Gate Games) https://templegatesgames.com/gamepages/dominion.html Quarriors! https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/91536/quarriors Jon Perry’s board games https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/73364/jon-perry Michael O’Blivion’s UFO 50 YouTube videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjLTO0klFN8&list=PL1D9Hwc75ZKp0tryurUbmtRUufIk_j6GD&index=4 Luck be a Landlord https://store.steampowered.com/app/1404850/Luck_be_a_Landlord/ Slice & Dice https://tann.fun/games/dice/ Into the Depths: Slice & Dice – Part 1 https://eggplant.show/into-the-depths-slice-dice-part-1 Baby Steps https://www.babystepsgame.com/ Animal Well https://www.animalwell.net/ Episode 139 – Sticking to Your Systems with Animal Well https://eggplant.show/139-sticking-to-your-systems-with-animal-well Into the Depths: Caves of Qud (Part 1) https://eggplant.show/into-the-depths-caves-of-qud-part-1 Episode 92 – Untangling Language with Knotwords https://eggplant.show/92-untangling-language-with-knotwords Episode 128 – "Yes, And"-ing Your Design with Albert Birney and Gabriel Koenig (Tux and Fanny) https://eggplant.show/128-yes-and-ing-your-design-with-albert-birney-and-gabriel-koenig-tux-and-fanny https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow
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| 11 Apr 2019 | 16: The Spelunky Book Club | 01:27:32 | |
We delve deep into the pages of Derek Yu’s excellent Spelunky book, from its thoughtful musings on creativity, to its inspiring lessons in game design. A must-read on how our favorite game came to be! Plus some record-breaking Spelunky news, the Weekly Challenge, and more. Things we discussed: d_tea's back-to-back World Records Boss Fight Books Humble Bundle Derek Yu's Twitter thread on difficulty | |||
| 24 Jun 2022 | 93: Cheating Depth with Card Shark | 01:20:35 | |
Card Shark creators Arnaud De Bock of Nerial (Reigns) and Nicolai Troshinsky join us to discuss their innovative new adventure game about cheating. We discuss its filmic inspirations, the narrative progression of chaining tricks, and designing a game loop of teaching and testing. Show notes: | |||
| 13 May 2022 | 90: Rethinking Reality with Tender Claws (The Under Presents) | 01:19:43 | |
Tender Claws' Samantha Gorman and Danny Cannizzazo join us - alongside guest co-host Star St. Germain - to discuss their singular immersive theater experience The Under, creating an enriching social space in VR, and gameplay as an act of rebellion. Show notes: The Severance Theory: Welcome to Respite | |||
| 30 Jun 2023 | 119: Collaborating in Character with Ashly Burch and Guerrilla Games (Horizon) | 01:28:39 | |
We're joined by actor Ashly Burch and Guerilla Games' Ben McCaw and Jochen Willemsen to deconstruct their deeply collaborative work on the Horizon game franchise - building the character of Aloy, the role of performance capture, and carving out nuance and evolution in a blockbuster series. Show Notes: | |||
| 01 Aug 2019 | 24: Going Rogue with Glenn Wichman (Rogue) | 01:22:04 | |
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 surprisingly Chesslike origins, and the secret metagame behind Quicken (shhh!). | |||
| 28 Jun 2024 | 140: Minding Your Manors with Botany Manor | 01:14:32 | |
We're joined by Laure De Mey and Kitt Byrne of Balloon Studios to chat about their Victorian first-person puzzler Botany Manor. We discuss building a space that feels the right amount of "real," letting history guide your setting, weaving a subtly affecting narrative, and...priest holes. Show Notes: | |||
| 25 Sep 2020 | 53: Keeping it Short with Adam Robinson-Yu (A Short Hike) | 01:23:45 | |
A Short Hike creator Adam Robinson-Yu chills with us to chat about his cozy exploration game, from its Humble origins and inspirations, to balancing feature density with scope. Show notes: A Short Hike | |||
| 20 Jan 2025 | 144: Keeping it Queer with Mo Cohen and Hagen Deloss (Queer Quest) | 01:22:55 | |
We chat with Mo Cohen (Queermo Games) and Hagen Deloss about Queer Quest, a point-and-click adventure that's best described as "gay Monkey Island meets feminist Leisure Suit Larry". Audio edited by Dylan Shumway. Show notes: Queer Quest official site (Queermo Games) Queer Quest on Steam and itch.io Eggplant interview with Gilles De Coster (De Mol) Queer Quest Kickstarter (October 2016) Mar Del Castillo and Miss Honey Read Only Memories (ROM) (MidBoss) My Ex-Boyfriend the Space Tyrant (Luke Miller) Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator Rise of the Video Game Zinesters by Anna Anthropy | |||
| 03 Jan 2020 | 35: Games of the Year 2019 with Laura E. Hall | 01:41:56 | |
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 Year! Things we discussed: Our GOTY picks (SPOILERS) Laura: Zach: Doug: Andy: Nick: | |||
| 15 Feb 2020 | 38: The Rhythms and Layers of Ryan Clark | 01:19:34 | |
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 success. Some things we discussed: Bard seeded speed world record | |||
| 16 Jun 2023 | 118: Exploring Your Curiosity with Rita Orlov (PostCurious) | 01:12:59 | |
We're joined by Rita Orlov to discuss her PostCurious catalog of captivating narrative tabletop puzzle games, including her journey from physical and fine art into games, why designers love bouldering, and trusting players to summit her puzzles. Show Notes: | |||
| 08 Oct 2021 | 80: Envisioning a Future with JETT: The Far Shore | 01:42:42 | |
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: | |||
| 04 Oct 2022 | 100: Just One (Hundred) with Friends of Eggplant | 02:00:57 | |
We're joined by dear friends of the show Laura E. Hall, Bennett Foddy, and Doseone for a Doug-masterminded, Eggplant-themed game of Just One. Stick around after the insanity for a reflection on the past four years of the show, how our lives have changed since, and what the show means to us (and you - thanks for the letters!). Show notes: | |||
| 03 Dec 2021 | 84: Digging the Rabbit Hole with Daniel Mullins (Inscryption) | 01:27:53 | |
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: | |||
| 04 Oct 2018 | 03: Breaking world records with Kinnijup and ix | 01:22:38 | |
We welcome world-record speedrunners and all-around Spelunky experts Jamie “Kinnijup” White and Aaron “ix” Kearsley to the show! We talk about the culture of competitive Spelunky, recent record-breaking runs, and why speedrunning feels like skateboarding. | |||
| 29 Apr 2022 | Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Bonus Episode! | 02:21:32 | |
Surprise! In the spirit of SMW's bonus worlds, we're back with a Special episode to cap off our deep-dive miniseries, as previous Into the Depths guests Stephanie Boluk and Patrick LeMieux take us on a tour of some of the coolest SMW ephemera yet! Show notes: Tons of links this week, so please check out this great syllabus that Patrick put together for us! | |||
| 02 Jul 2021 | 73: Constructing Your Dreams with HoloVista | 01:26:42 | |
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 How Return of the Obra Dinn Works Andi Hegedus | |||
| 22 Nov 2019 | 32: (Rerun) Into the Breach with Justin Ma | 01:33:10 | |
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 Terry Cavanagh to talk about his new roguelike deckbuilder (dicebuilder?) Dicey Dungeons - check it out and send us your questions! Anyways, on to our show: Justin Ma of Subset Games joins us to discuss the design of his excellent sci-fi strategy game Into the Breach, from its Spelunky-inspired high/low-level design, to how they cracked its time-driven gameplay, to why throwing away 80% of their work...worked. Things we talked about: 'Into the Breach' Didn't Click Until I Played it Like an EMT Into the Breach - Fantastic Arcade 2017 Developer Commentary | |||
| 13 Sep 2019 | 27: Teamfight Tactics with Greg Borenstein | 01:38:32 | |
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 Sorry! Things we discussed: Riot Games controversy - timeline of events Riot Games controversy - one year later Dota Underlords Richard Garfield: Luck and Games
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| 04 Dec 2020 | 58: Easing into Hades with Supergiant Games | 01:26:42 | |
Greg Kasavin and Amir Rao of Supergiant Games join us for a deep design dive on their smash hit dungeon-crawler Hades, from how (and why) they tackled gameplay and narrative persistence in a roguelike, to creating dynamic systems and characters that always have something new to say. Show notes: | |||
| 14 Feb 2019 | 12: Into the Breach with Justin Ma | 01:31:52 | |
Justin Ma of Subset Games joins us to discuss the design of his excellent sci-fi strategy game Into the Breach, from its Spelunky-inspired high/low-level design, to how they cracked its time-driven gameplay, to why throwing away 80% of their work...worked. Things we talked about: 'Into the Breach' Didn't Click Until I Played it Like an EMT Into the Breach - Fantastic Arcade 2017 Developer Commentary | |||
| 22 Oct 2021 | 81: Scaling and Scoping with Asher Vollmer (Beast Breaker) | 01:14:04 | |
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: | |||
| 03 Apr 2020 | Into the Depths: Noita - Part 1 | 01:16:46 | |
In this first installment of our new miniseries focused on Noita (with guest co-host Bennett Foddy), we share our early stories and beginner tips, discuss the genealogy of the game, and contemplate how we feel about shooting being its primary verb. Some things we discussed: | |||
| 23 Apr 2021 | 68: Bravely Replacing Randomness with Gloam Collective (Bravery Network Online) | 01:26:33 | |
Gloam Collective's Min-Taylor Bai-Woo and Damian Sommer join us to chat about their thrilling new turn-based fighter Bravery Network Online. We discuss the design of its Pokémon-inspired battles, the clever ways in which they replaced randomness, and making friends in the post-post-apocalypse. Show notes: Good BNO example match w/ commentary | |||
| 23 Nov 2024 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Attactics | 01:28:20 | |
We're joined by Adam Conover (Adam Ruins Everything) and Alfredo Barraza (Riot) to discuss Attactics, the ninth game in the UFO 50 collection. “Carefully arrange your troops for maximum advantage in this game of realtime tactics.” Next week: Devilition | |||
| 05 Mar 2021 | Into the Depths: Kentucky Route Zero - Part 2 | 01:34:34 | |
In the second installment of our Kentucky Route Zero miniseries, we marinate in the Limits & Demonstrations interlude, before navigating the Zero to Act II to tackle bureaucracy, bears, and the recurring question: are we inside, or are we outside? Show notes: Jack Burnham, Software Catalogue Eddie Shanken, "The House that Jack Built" Le Corbusier, "Five Points of Architecture" Robert Frost, "Two Tramps in Mud Time" Robert Frost, "Death of the Hired Man" Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves | |||
| 24 Feb 2024 | 134: Striving for Imperfection with Jon Ingold (A Highland Song) | 01:35:32 | |
We're joined by Jon Ingold, co-founder of Inkle Studios (80 Days, Heaven's Vault) to discuss A Highland Song - a wild adventure through the Scottish Highlands. We chat about creating narrative-driven games without a critical path, allowing players to fail forward, and the origins of Inkle's beloved narrative scripting language, ink. Show Notes: | |||
| 20 Sep 2018 | 02: The Spelunky Beginner's Guide | 01:06:22 | |
The Spelunky Beginner’s Guide! For anyone who ever hit a wall, we’re here to help. We dive into both the practical and philosophical approach to upping your Spelunky game, and share some great tips submitted by listeners. Plus the first Weekly Challenge! | |||
| 07 Nov 2020 | 56: Sourcing Locally with Ngoc Vu (Necrobarista) | 01:13:34 | |
Necrobarista's lead artist Ngoc Vu sits down to tell us how her team created the singular aesthetic of their kinetic visual novel, and talks us through its inseparable Melbourne inspirations. Show notes: Long Live the Queen (the game Ngoc couldn't remember!) | |||
| 31 Dec 2023 | 130: Games of the Year 2023 | 02:54:03 | |
We sit down with our newest co-host, writer/developer Rob Dubbin, to each count down our Top 5 games of 2023, alongside picks from previous show guests and our listeners. Happy New Year! Our GOTY picks (SPOILERS): Zach: Rob: Other picks from guests and listeners: Other things mentioned: | |||
| 22 Apr 2024 | 137: Reflecting (and More) on GDC 2024 | 01:33:19 | |
Four of ours hosts went to the 2024 Game Developers Conference, and we lived to share anecdotes, interesting games we saw, and the highlights (and injuries) of our week! Also, Rob chases down a handful of other lovely devs to tell us the best/hardest things about making games right now. Show Notes: Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure | |||
| 27 May 2024 | Into the Depths: Slice & Dice - Part 1 | 01:44:33 | |
In the first installment of our Slice & Dice deep-dive miniseries, the crew head Into the Depths with the “yahtzee roguelike” that's shown up on our GOTY list for two years running. We're joined by interactive artist/developer Darius Kazemi to help introduce the game and share beginner tips from our (significant) playtime, and get into its unique combination of maximalist design and systems-driven humor. Next episode, we’ll get into some of our favorite game modes: Classic Unfair, Cursed, and Cursed-Hyper. Don’t forget to join our Discord and send in your questions for the game's designer tann, to be answered over email later in the series. Show Notes: Slice & Dice on Steam, itch, iOS, and Google Play Eggplant’s 2022 GOTY Episode (S&D Rob’s #2) Eggplant’s 2023 GOTY Episode (S&D Doug’s #2) Darius Kazemi’s Spelunky level-gen browser tool Slice & Dice development history essay, by tann Allison Parrish’s talk on designing to explore possibility spaces Slice & Dice beginner tips powerpoint Sid Meier’s 2010 GDC keynote Tharsis on Steam The stream where Rob and Doug “puppeteered” Andy to a Classic Unfair victory in Slice & Dice v2.0 | |||
| 08 Nov 2024 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Velgress | 01:28:47 | |
We're joined by Derek Lieu (derek-lieu.com) and Colin Northway (Fantastic Contraption) to discuss Velgress, the seventh game in the UFO 50 collection. “The space pirate Alpha is trapped in the deep pit known as Velgress. Help her climb out!” Next week: Planet Zoldath | |||
| 21 Mar 2025 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Hot Foot | 01:34:34 | |
Recorded in person at GDC 2025, we're joined by guest host Alfredo Barraza (Riot), and UFO 50 developers Jon Perry, Derek Yu, and Tyriq Plummer to discuss Hot Foot, the 26th game in the UFO 50 collection. "It's time to grab your beanbags and settle your differences on the Hot Foot court!" Next week: Divers | |||
| 15 Nov 2018 | 06: Making Spelunky 2 with Derek Yu | 02:00:53 | |
Spelunky creator Derek Yu joins us for a wide-ranging discussion on his design philosophies for approaching a sequel, embracing chaos in design, and so much more. This is a special one, so brew some tea, grab a pug, and get comfortable! | |||
| 30 Dec 2022 | 106: Games of the Year 2022 | 02:43:26 | |
Per tradition, we sit down with immersive puzzle designer Laura E. Hall - and bonus guest writer/developer Rob Dubbin - to count down our Top 5 games of 2022, alongside picks from previous show guests and our listeners. Happy New Year! Our GOTY picks (SPOILERS): Laura: Rob: Sarah: Zach: Doug: Nick: Other picks mentioned by previous guests/listeners: | |||
| 22 May 2020 | 45: Andy's Sprawling Birthday Spectacular | 01:42:00 | |
It's Andy's big 5-0 and we're celebrating by diving into our mailbag of thoughtful listener questions! We discuss working within a team, how academic practice intersects development, framing your work across a career, the role of aesthetics in games, and the materiality of engines. Phew! B.U.T.T.O.N.: On Self-Effacing Games and Unachievements Designing with Physics: Bend the Physics Engine to Your Will | |||
| 05 Sep 2018 | 01: First Spelunky 2 impressions! | 00:52:19 | |
Hands-on Spelunky 2 demo impressions! Nick is fresh off the PAX plane, and Andy, Zach, and Doug are here to grill him on the details, while the whole crew breaks down the first gameplay trailer, chat about the new art, branching paths, mounts, and more. | |||
| 13 Aug 2021 | 76: Seeing For Yourself with Tali Faulkner (Umurangi Generation) | 01:36:53 | |
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: Shooting the Apocalypse by Jini Maxwell | |||
| 28 Oct 2023 | 125: Exploring Your Own Landscape with Mars First Logistics | 01:14:18 | |
Ian MacLarty and Kalonica Quigley join us to discuss their open world physics simulation game, Mars First Logistics. We talk about the tech art behind the game's visual style, the procedurally generated landscape, the humor of the gameplay, and more. Show Notes: | |||
| 19 Aug 2022 | 97: Hosting Online Reality Games (ORGs) w/ Ash Neleh | 01:24:21 | |
Ash Neleh, host of the ! Series of online reality games, joins Doug for a conversation about adapting reality TV competition games for online fan communities. We talk about the 18-year history of the ! Series, as well as some of the favorite twists he's designed. Show notes: | |||
| 17 Jan 2025 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Campanella | 01:22:06 | |
We're joined by Carolyn Petit (Kotaku) and Russ Frushtick (Polygon) to discuss Campanella, the 17th game in the UFO 50 collection. "Fly the Campanella through five challenging worlds! And don't forget to stop for coffee!" Next week: Golfaria Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.
Discussed in this episode:
https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow
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| 01 Jun 2024 | 139: Sticking to Your Systems with Animal Well | 02:00:10 | |
We're joined by Animal Well's sole developer Billy Basso and his business partner Dan Adelman to discuss their genre-defying/defining, steeped-in-secrets hit. Plus special guest co-host Adam Conover (Adam Ruins Everything), as we dig deep into the game's slow-burn development, the iteration of its manifold gameplay (and other) layers, and the delicate balance of stoking the fires of your fanbase. Show Notes: The Decade-Long Quest for Shadow of the Colossus' Last Secret Why do God of War's characters keep spoiling puzzles? All of the Secret Bunnies in Animal Well (HUGE SPOILERS) The Ultimate Secret Ending of Animal Well (EVEN BIGGER SPOILERS) | |||
| 25 Feb 2022 | Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Part 2 | 01:52:27 | |
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: The Story of Super Mario World Making History with Summoning Salt The Decade-Long Quest for Shadow of the Colossus' Last Secret | |||
| 11 Mar 2023 | 111: Finding Your Groove with John Johanas (Hi-Fi RUSH) | 01:15:51 | |
We're joined by John Johanas, Director of Tango Gameworks' pitch-perfect rhythm action game Hi-Fi RUSH. We discuss the many challenges of creating a world and systems that stay on beat, while John and Sarah discuss the creation of the character she plays in the game (!), Korsica. Show Notes: | |||
| 15 May 2020 | Into the Depths: Noita - Part 4 | 01:27:01 | |
In the fourth installment of our Noita miniseries, we discuss the intention of randomness, getting stuck in our play patterns, leaning into the game's weirdness, and some modifications we'd like to see. | |||
| 13 Jan 2023 | 107: Welcoming Laura! | 01:18:39 | |
We welcome Laura E. Hall (they/she) as a permanent member of the cast! Fresh off a session of their online escape game The Traveler's Guide to Little Sodaburg, we dig into its web-savvy design, how the last few years have impacted the immersive games space, and the inspirations behind a rad career of experience design. Show Notes: The Traveler's Guide to Little Sodaburg | |||
| 18 Apr 2025 | Eggplant TV Plays De Mol (2025 season) - Episode 4 | 01:22:36 | |
We're recapping the new 2025 season of our favorite tv show, Flemish De Mol (Season 13). Laura, Jey, and Doug break down Episode 4 and share their Mole suspicions. Join us on the Discord for tips on how to watch, chat about the episodes, and to play a Mol guessing game with us. Links: Wie is de Mol (Netherlands) Season 14, Episode 3 Ep 122: Finding Decency in Reality with Gilles De Coster (De Mol) Eggplant's De Mol 2024 recap series Eggplant Discord | |||
| 10 Apr 2020 | 42: The Secrets of Simplicity with Martin Jonasson (holedown) | 01:14:07 | |
Martin Jonasson (holedown) joins us to extract the juiciness that powers his "delightful spectacle of bouncing," reveals the truth behind his rounded corners, and discusses the aesthetic and scope commitments that drove games like twofold inc. and rymdkapsel. Some things we discussed: | |||
| 04 Jul 2019 | 22: Making the post-post-apocalypse RAD with Double Fine’s Lee Petty | 01:28:51 | |
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 Schafer’s love/hate relationship with farts. Things we discussed: | |||
| 11 Oct 2024 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Ninpek | 01:17:11 | |
We're joined by Adam Robinson-Yu (A Short Hike) to discuss Ninpek, the third game in the UFO 50 collection. “It’s ninja time! Run and jump to reach the end of the world.” Next week: Paint Chase, with guest co-host Carolyn Petit | |||
| 20 Jun 2020 | 46: Reconsidering Civilization with Soren Johnson (Old World) | 01:51:53 | |
Soren Johnson (Offworld Trading Company) joins us to discuss his new historical strategy game Old World, as we dive into playing by feel in a numbers-driven game, the problematic themes inherent to the 4X genre, and personalizing games through narrative scale. Some things we discussed: | |||
| 18 Aug 2019 | 25: Slay the Spire with Anthony Giovannetti | 01:25:16 | |
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: GDC talk - Slay the Spire: Metrics Drive Design and Balance Why Revealing All is the Secret of Slay the Spire's Success How Slay the Spire's Original Interface Almost Killed the Game | |||
| 17 Jan 2019 | 10: Keyforge with Richard Garfield | 02:03:17 | |
The creator of Magic: the Gathering, Netrunner, King of Tokyo, and so much of the modern gaming culture we love joins us to talk about finding cohesion in the beautiful randomness of his latest design: the world’s first Unique Deck Game, Keyforge. Things we mentioned in the interview: The Art of Warcast: A Keyforge Special Richard Garfield - Game Boy Geek interview Richard Garfield on Luck vs. Skill Rest of the show: Blindfolded Final Fantasy IX menu In 2019, We Need to Learn How to Break a Perpetually Tied Game | |||
| 29 May 2020 | Into the Depths: Noita - Part 5 | 02:01:21 | |
In the final installment of our Noita miniseries, Nolla Games' Petri Purho and Olli Harjola join us for a deep dive Q&A on the game! We discuss the influence of magic on its design, its origins and early iterations, how they empower different play styles, and where the boundaries of the game might actually be. | |||
| 21 Apr 2023 | 114: Loving Mondays with Cosmo D (Betrayal at Club Low) | 01:19:22 | |
We're joined by Greg “Cosmo D” Heffernan to discuss his IGF-winning, dice-fueled fever dream Betrayal at Club Low. We explore his fascinating journey from making music to making games, balancing for transparency, and letting your love of the process guide you. Show Notes: | |||
| 28 Aug 2020 | 51: Good Sudoku with Zach Gage | 01:24:31 | |
We kick off a new era with a fully rebranded show! After navel-gazing about the changes, we talk to our own Zach Gage about making a Sudoku game that loves you. Show notes: | |||
| 08 May 2023 | 115: Doubling Down on Intuition with Kenny Sun (Mr. Sun's Hatbox) | 01:05:19 | |
We're joined by Kenny Sun (Twinfold) to chat about his slapstick, roguelite platformer Mr. Sun's Hatbox. We talk about the benefits of setting a prototype down for a while, what humor can let you get away with, and trusting your instincts. Show Notes: | |||
| 09 Apr 2023 | 113: On top of the Fires of Hell w/ Daniel Benmergui (Storyteller) | 01:14:59 | |
We're joined by Daniel Benmergui (I Wish I Were the Moon, Fidel Dungeon Rescue), creator of the narrative-weaving puzzle game Storyteller. We discuss the challenges of designing playful and snappy interaction, wrangling cause and effect, and managing expectations for a game 15 years in the making. | |||
| 14 Jan 2022 | 87: Fighting Words with Everybody House Games (Babble Royale) | 01:42:28 | |
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: Babble Royale beginner's guide | |||
| 19 May 2023 | 116: Finding Hope in Loss with Red Hook Studios (Darkest Dungeon II) | 01:19:35 | |
We're joined by co-founders Tyler Sigman and Chris Bourassa to discuss Red Hook Studios' new roguelike road trip of the damned, Darkest Dungeon II. We explore heroism by contrast, the delicate stakes of making an unforgiving game more forgiving, and fostering the will to get back up again when the road gets tough. Show Notes: | |||
| 21 Feb 2021 | Into the Depths: Kentucky Route Zero - Part 1 | 01:27:35 | |
In the first installment of our Kentucky Route Zero miniseries, we meet our guest co-hosts, with whom we put Act I's opening scene under a microscope, discuss the game's novel dialogue system, and dive deep into the first batch of its many intertextual references. Show notes: Designing for Mystery in KRZ GDC talk Successful Reflective Choices in Interactive Narrative Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Recoding Gender: Women’s Changing Participation in Computing Playing with Feelings: Video Games and Affect Somewhere Nearby is Colossal Cave A Pedestal, A Table, A Love Letter: Archaeologies of Gender in Videogame History Hundred Thousand Billion Poems | |||
| 18 Apr 2025 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Rock On! Island | 01:48:25 | |
We're joined by Stephanie Boluk (UC Davis), Patrick LeMieux (UC Davis), and Gab Koenig (Tux and Fanny) to discuss Rock On! Island, the 30th game in the UFO 50 collection. “Rally your cavemen and defend your cave from waves of attacking dinosaurs.” Next week: Pingolf Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.
Jon Perry – How Tabletop Design Helped Shape ‘UFO 50’ Bloons TD 6 PixelJunk Monsters 2 Orcs Must Die! Dungeon Defenders Go Home Dinosaurs! Tillmonk Spreadsheet with Rock On! Island Maps Brick101 Save Between Waves Mod Tooth and Tail Blood on the Clocktower A Year of UFO 50 - Mortol Into the Depths: Kentucky Route Zero - Part 1 A Year of UFO 50 - Party House “Yes, And”-ing Your Design with Albert Birney and Gabriel Koenig (Tux and Fanny) https://eggplant.show/128-yes-and-ing-your-design-with-albert-birney-and-gabriel-koenig-tux-and-fanny
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| 11 Aug 2023 | 122: Finding Decency in Reality with Gilles De Coster (De Mol) | 02:27:55 | |
We're honored to be joined by Gilles De Coster, host of our favorite Belgian reality TV game show - De Mol - to talk about the process, inspirations, and execution of the sublime game design behind its thrilling, subversive challenges. We spend the first hour giving all the context you'll need to follow along, before diving into the interview. This is a special one for us, check it out! Show Notes: De Mol (SPOILERS) | |||
| 21 Oct 2022 | 101: Working in a Vacuum with Heavenly Bodies | 01:11:23 | |
Alexander Perrin and Joshua Tatangelo join us to discuss their expressive, physics-driven space puzzler Heavenly Bodies. We chat about designing a challenging game that isn't antagonistic, a funny game whose comedy is inherent, and their inspirations (or lack thereof). Show Notes: | |||
| 30 Jan 2021 | 62: Rethinking Difficulty with Maddy Thorson | 01:19:47 | |
Maddy Thorson (Celeste, TowerFall) joins us to discuss the evolution of their excellent catalog of platformers, how Celeste made them reconsider difficulty, and the benefits of working with a team you can trust. Show notes: | |||
| 28 Feb 2020 | 39: The Tricks of the Toolkit with Mark Brown (Game Maker's Toolkit) | 01:23:38 | |
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 more! Things we discussed: How (And Why) Spelunky Makes its Own Levels Michael Brough's Imbroglio "brog" Sid Meier's Psychology of Game Design Geoff Engelstein's "pink noise" talk Roguelikes, Persistency, and Progression | |||
| 11 Apr 2025 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Vainger | 01:59:56 | |
We're joined by guest hosts Adam Saltsman (Finji), Trent Kusters (League of Geeks), and Teddy Dief (We Are OFK) to discuss Vainger, the 29th game in the UFO 50 collection. “The Vainger returns to Io and finds itself betrayed. The enemy must be found and eradicated.” Next week: Rock On! Island Audio edited by Dylan Shumway. Discussed in this episode: Prince of Prussia Deus Ex The Swapper Transistor Uncle Slam's record Vainger speed run Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Bloodborne Magic, Kevlar, and Conspiracies with Tactical Breach Wizards Dev Tom Francis Usual June Hyper Light Drifter We Are OFK (game) We Are OFK (artist page) Teddy Dief’s webpage Gaburi Chicken, LA A Year of UFO 50 – Warptank A Year of UFO 50 – Camouflage Surviving Overland with Adam Saltsman A Year of UFO 50 – Porgy A Year of UFO 50 – Bushido Ball
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| 15 Nov 2024 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Planet Zoldath | 01:32:27 | |
We're joined by Marc Flury (Thumper) and Alfredo Barraza (Riot) to discuss Planet Zoldath, the eighth game in the UFO 50 collection. “Brave the wilds of Planet Zoldath in search of the intergalactic treasure map!” Next week: Attactics | |||
| 10 Jan 2025 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Camouflage | 01:40:14 | |
We're joined by Adam Saltsman (Finji) and Izzy Kestrel (Funomena, No Goblin) to discuss Camouflage, the 16th game in the UFO 50 collection. "Blend in with your surroundings to evade predators and fulfill your destiny." Next week: Campanella Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.
Discussed on this episode: Celine Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love – A Journey to the End of Taste by Carl Wilson Adam’s PICO-8 Games (and other itch.io releases!) Izzy’s itch.io page (specific titles mentioned below) Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure Adventure Episode 28 – Surviving Overland with Adam Saltsman
Adam Saltsman on Bluesky Izzy Kestrel on Bluesky
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| 11 Feb 2025 | 145: Addressing Memory with Plunderludics | 01:41:41 | |
Doug and Rob chat with mut moochi, Jonny Hopkins, and Gurn Group about their experimental game and emulator hacking practice, which they call "plunderludics". We're also joined by special guest co-host Bennett Foddy. We describe some of their pieces, the comparison against plunderphonics and other related terms, the tools they've developed, and more. Show notes: plunderludics wiki Unityhawk boshi's place mut's Tapestry mut's Auto Mario Mario Mario's bro skater 2 tetris, but all at once, but all at once jonny's Mario x film composites Gurn Group's itch page Mario Tag documentation Multibowl "Plunderphonics, or Audio Piracy as a Compositional Prerogative" JohnLee Cooper's list Plundercore (Not By Me Mostly) Water Level/b.l.u.e. EXPLORATION by hatimb00
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| 16 Dec 2022 | 105: Making History with Josh Sawyer (Pentiment) | 01:10:54 | |
Josh Sawyer (Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity) joins us to discuss Obsidian's historical, narrative-driven adventure game Pentiment. We chat about text boxes as game feel, creating hard player choices that don't feel bad, and putting yourself in your art. Show Notes: Pitching a 16th Century Murder Mystery - AIAS Game Maker's Notebook So where *is* Tassing, actually? (Tumblr post) | |||
| 12 Nov 2023 | 126: Building Your Own Platform with Zach Gage (Puzzmo) | 01:33:11 | |
We talk to our very own Zach Gage about his brand new games website, Puzzmo. We talk about player curiosity, newspaper games, Crosswords, and more. Show Notes: Episode 37: Designing Around Language with Zach Gage How Hard Could It Be? (crossword puzzle by Rob Dubbin) | |||
| 25 Oct 2024 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Magic Garden | 01:29:02 | |
We're joined by Daniel Mullins (Inscryption), Stuffed Wombat (Mosa Lina), and XanaGear (youtube.com/xanagear) to discuss Magic Garden, the fifth game in the UFO 50 collection. “Stop the jealous witch Cloverana from sabotaging your garden!” Next week: Mortol | |||
| 17 Jul 2024 | 141: Challenging Orthodoxy with sylvie | 01:29:28 | |
Doug and Zach talk to prolific game maker sylvie (love game), together with guest co-host Raigan Burns (Metanet Software). We talk about sylvie's design process, freeware games, subverting traditional orthodoxies around gamefeel, sylvie's influences, and more. Show Notes: Eggplant Episode 11 with Raigan Melos Han-Tani on Living in the Relational Playworld John Thyer's How To Make Good Small Games
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| 24 Mar 2023 | 112: Playing in the Moment with Videogamo (DOBOTONE) | 01:25:35 | |
We're joined by Hernán Sáez of Videogamo (DOBOTONE, NAVE) to discuss his beautifully ephemeral party/arcade games, as well as Marie Foulston, a playful curator/creative director who commissioned Videogamo's latest work, GOL-E-GOL. We discuss site-specific experiences, and the slippage between hardware and software realms. Show Notes: Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt | |||
| 10 Jun 2022 | 92: Untangling Language with Knotwords | 01:29:34 | |
Knotwords creators Jack Schlesinger and our own Zach Gage chat to us about their elegant new logic puzzle word game. We discuss "cracking" the game design they'd been chasing forever, and how they created the puzzle/word generator that makes it great. Show notes: This episode edited by Dylan Shumway, thanks Dylan! | |||
| 30 Jan 2024 | 132: Welcoming Rob! | 01:17:59 | |
We welcome Rob Dubbin (he/they) as a permanent member of the host pool! We discuss his journey from Late Night into making games, applicable lessons learned in the writers' room, and the importance of making your own shot. Show Notes: I Am America (And So Can You!) London Jerry: Freelance Mailman | |||
| 21 Jun 2019 | 21: Keeping Spelunky Alive with MossRanking | 01:07:41 | |
MossRanking creator Mathieu “saturnin55” Legaré and advisor/speedrunner Kevin “meowmixmix” Hyer join us to talk about the history and design behind Spelunky’s incredible community hub. Things we discussed: Playing the Spelunky 2 demo at TwitchCon Bananasaurus Rex's infamous solo eggplant run
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| 29 Nov 2024 | EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Devilition | 01:36:57 | |
We're joined by Tanya X. Short (Kitfox Games) to discuss Devilition, the 10th game in the UFO 50 collection. “Build and detonate chain reactions to drive the demon horde out of town!” Next week: Kick Club | |||
| 23 May 2019 | 19: The Organized Chaos of Edmund McMillen | 01:15:51 | |
The creator of The Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy joins us for a career-spanning discussion of his design ethos, and the organized chaos that drove the creation of the most successful roguelite ever. Things we discussed: Super Meat Boy The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup | |||