Episodes
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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
http://discord.gg/eggplant
https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow
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We're joined by Aaron "ix" Kearsley (speedrunner), Stephanie Boluk (UC Davis), and Patrick LeMieux (UC Davis) to discuss Mortol, the sixth game in the UFO 50 collection.
“How many people will lay down their lives to save Mortolia?”
Next week: Velgress
http://discord.gg/eggplant
https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow
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Episodes manquant?
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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
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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
Dwarf Fortress
Kitfox Games
Data-Driven Engines of Qud and Sproggiwood, talk by Brian Bucklew @ IRDC 2015
A Data-Driven Object System, talk by Scott Bilas @ GDC 2002 ("Looks like the paper isn't available but here's a talk on the same subject matter")
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Ancient Domains of Mystery (ADOM)
Tracery for context-free grammar generation
Emergent Narrative in Dwarf Fortress, talk by Tarn Adams @ Progression Mechanics 2017
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
Clark Ashton Smith
Sam Wilson (pixel artist)
Craig Hamilton (OST) -
We're joined by Frank Lantz (The Beauty of Games) to discuss Paint Chase, the fourth game in the UFO 50 collection.
“Rev your engines and color your way to victory in the local paint racing competition!”
Next week: Magic Garden
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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
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We're joined by Frank Lantz, Jack Schlesinger, and John Axon to discuss Bug Hunter, the second game in the UFO 50 collection.
“The moon quarry has a bug problem and you’ve been hired to fix it.”
Next week: Ninpek
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We're joined by Xalavier Nelson Jr., Sylvie, and Gabe Cuzzillo to discuss Barbuta, the first game in the UFO 50 collection.
"Explore the castle but watch out for traps!"
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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.
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We’re joined by our own Sarah Elmaleh, who is currently leading the SAG-AFTRA video-game actors’ strike as Chair of the union's Interactive Negotiating Committee. In this rare topical emergency episode, we discuss the urgency of securing basic protections for performers in the age of so-called “generative A.I.,” the power of collective action, and why this fight has existential stakes for video games as a commercial medium. Happy Labor Day!
Show Notes
Sarah Elmaleh
SAG-AFTRA Video Game Strike Official FAQ
SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreements
SAG-AFTRA Tiered Budget Interactive Media Agreement
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In this 3rd and final installment of our latest deep-dive miniseries, the crew continue to discuss “yahtzee roguelike” Slice & Dice, a host favorite that has made our GOTY list for two years running. We're joined once again by series guest co-host Darius Kazemi.
This episode, we ask Slice & Dice developer tann six (6) questions about the game. We also discuss Nightmare mode, as well as the modding system.
Show Notes:
Slice & Dice on Steam, itch, iOS, and Google Play
Into the Depths: Slice & Dice - Episode 1 & 2
Eggplant interview with Animal Well's Billy Basso and Dan Adelman
Eggplant interview with Balatro's localthunk
Slice & Dice 20 Boss Bossrush mod
Knytt & Knytt Stories by Nifflas
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Sorry for the lack of new episodes! We have some big stuff brewing though, tune into this announcement for the details.
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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:
sylvie's website
Catalog of sylvie's games
sylvie's blog posts
sylvie's post on playtesting
Bennett Foddy on JIGGLY ZONE
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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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:
Laura De Mey
Kitt Byrne
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
Return of the Obra Dinn
Pettson O Findus in the Garden
Sapphire Tower
Monkey Island
Over the Garden Wall
Little Women
MacDowell Colony
Nicholas Owen / Priest Holes
RickRack Cactus
Cragside Manor
Greenway House
Wild garlic
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In this 2nd installment of our latest deep-dive miniseries, the crew continue to discuss “yahtzee roguelike” Slice & Dice, a host favorite that has made our GOTY list for two years running.
We're joined once again by series guest co-host Darius Kazemi, as well as very special guest Michael Brough (!), whose own roguelike Cinco Paus is one of the cited inspirations behind Slice & Dice. This episode, we discuss the game's curses and blessings system, as well as its links to some of Michael's games, including 868 HACK.
Join our Discord and send in your questions for the Slice & Dice designer tann.
Show Notes:
Slice & Dice on Steam, itch, iOS, and Google Play
Michael Brough's blog posts on streak scoring (2013, 2017)
868-HACK
Cinco Paus
Michael Brough's blog post on the "powerup" (curse) system in 868-HACK
Slice and Dice | 98%+ Winrate Unfair Hero Tier List video
Hoplite
Classic Unfair run with Doug, Rob, and Andy
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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:
Animal Well
Billy Basso
Dan Adelman
Adam Conover
Scary kangaroo video
Axiom Verge
The Decade-Long Quest for Shadow of the Colossus' Last Secret
Fez
The Witness
Spelunky
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)
haseverythinginanimalwellbeenfoundyet.com
ARG Guardrails blog post
VVVVVV
Riven
Super Win the Game
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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
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Left to our own devices without a guest, we get a little goofy - thankfully our listener letters overfloweth, so we dive into a few of them. Thanks, listeners!
Show Notes:
Jupiter Sunrise
Dinner with the Band
GeoGuesser World Cup 2023
Knytt
Seiklus
Daniels: Why We Tell The Stories We Tell
Pale Fire
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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
Experimental Game Workshop
Museum of Mechanics: Lockpicking
Once Upon a Jester
Misshapen
Mediterranea Inferno
Kill Lincoln
The Crush House
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We're joined by LocalThunk, solo creator of the hypnotic deckbuilder Balatro. We discuss flauting the fashion of a genre and going into development blind, the benefits of balacing by feel, and why Balatro shouldn't exist.
Show Notes:
Balatro
LocalThunk
Big two
Luck Be a Landlord
Slice & Dice
Slay the Spire
Risk of Rain 2
- Montre plus
