episode

It's the end of the 2010s, and the gang is looking back to try and make sense of what just happened. Join us for a jaunt down memory lane that is almost as insightful as it is exhausting. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll be amazed at how many games we're still playing today came out over a decade ago.

Happy new year, and here's to another decade of great games.

Questions? Comments? New year's resolutions? Contact us on Twitter or email mailbox@pgipodcast.com. And if you liked the show, please review us on Apple Podcasts or share this episode with a friend!

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Header image from Animal Crossing New Leaf by Nintendo

We're super excited to be joined by Alex Beachum, creative director of Outer Wilds, the time-looping space exploration game that won the Independent Game Festival's grand prize back when it was still a student project.

Together we explore the story of the game's seven year development cycle before diving deep into how Alex and the team at Mobius Digital created a mystery game that spans an entire solar system. How did they make sure that players would be motivated to investigate each separate plot thread? How did they prevent players from ever feeling lost or directionless? How did they do all of this without ever placing a map marker or opening a quest log? You'll have to listen to found out

Questions? Comments? Suggestions of developers for us to interview? Contact us on Twitter or email mailbox@pgipodcast.com. And if you liked the show, please review us on Apple Podcasts or share this episode with a friend!

Links

• Download Outer Wilds from the Epic Games Store!
• Or play it on Xbox One (free with Game Pass!)
• Contact the Mobius Digital team on Twitter

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Header image from Outer Wilds by Mobius Digital Games

How do you turn an idea into a game, and how do you make sure that game maintains the spirit of that idea as you develop it? We're joined by Meat Boy level design maven, TowerFall world champion, and all-round charmer Kyle Pulver to solve these problems once and for all! Along the way, we discuss the value of applying constraints to your design, how to define your game by 'pivoting' through your design space, and how making a game is kind of like navigating a canoe. Or blowing up a flour mill. If you like strained metaphors, this is definitely the episode for you.

Additional Reading

• Follow Kyle on Twitter!
• Buy Super Meat Boy: Rival Rush here!

Questions? Comments? Want to challenge Kyle to a round of Towerfall (bad idea)? Contact us on Twitter or email mailbox@pgipodcast.com. And if you liked the show, please review us on Apple Podcasts!

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Header image from Meat Boy Forever by Team Meat

The classic trio is back on the mics, and we're celebrating by diving into that most classic of game mechanics — grinding! Join us as we debate grinding's definition, discuss why it has such a bad reputation, and explain how it can help players get more from your game and make your life as a game designer easier, then marvel as we do all of this without any relevant credentials or experience to back up our convictions. With no guest to guide us, we're loud, we're sassy, and we're just as pretentious as ever.

Questions? Comments? Want to show off how much better you are at bowling than us? Contact us on Twitter or email mailbox@pgipodcast.com. And if you liked the show, please review us on Apple Podcasts!

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Header image from Torchlight II by Runic Games

How do you make games that feel competitive for players of all skill levels, while still feeling fair to the players with the most experience? Catch-up mechanics!

Joseph Chen joins us to chat through different kinds of catch-up mechanics, how overpowered catch-up mechanics can take over your game, and that dark cousin of the catch-up mechanic: the runaway leader.

Additional reading

• Follow Joseph on Twitter!
• Check out Joseph's game Fantastic Factories on Kickstarter

Questions? Comments? Got your own favorite catch-up mechanic? Contact us on Twitter or email mailbox@pgipodcast.com. And if you liked the show, please review us on Apple Podcasts!

Subscribe: iTunes | Google Play | Android | RSS

Header image from Fantastic Factories by Joseph Chen