The Secret Lives of Games
Candid conversations with game creators that dive deep into the art, craft, and process of making games.
Episodes
We're joined by droqen (The End of Gameplay, Starseed Pilgrim), Darius Kazemi (Tiny Subversions, Harvard Applied Social Media Lab), and Tara Macalister (mathematician, composer) to discuss Vertex Dispenser, the second game in our year-long exploration of the work of Michael Brough.
Next Month: Kompendium
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.
Discussed in this episode:
Vertex Dispenser
https://store.steampowered.com/app/102400/Vertex_Dispe...
The gang's all here to count down our favorite "games" of "2025", alongside a bevvy of great picks from previous guests and listeners. Happy new year!
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway
Our GOTY Picks (SPOILERS!):
~~~~~~~~~
Rob
5. Many Nights a Whisper - Deconstructeam, Selkie Harbour
4. Blue Prince - Dogubomb
3. Skat - German T...
We're joined by Shawn Alexander Allen (Beatdown City Survivors), Cole Wehrle (Root), and Drew Wehrle (Pax Pamir) to discuss the first title in our year-long exploration of the work of Michael Brough: 868-HACK.
Next Month: Vertex Dispenser
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway
Discussed in this episode:
868-HACK
https://868-hack.neocities.org/
...
Nick is joined by guest co-host Chris Plante (Post Games) for a chat with Kimmo Lahtinen (aka gimbll) about his dynamite new twin-stick shooter, Sektori. They discuss the joy of the genre, pursuing excellence in an oversaturated genre, and how personal limitations shape solo development.
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway
Discussed in this episode:
Sektori
We're proud to present the final installment of our over-a-year-long Into the Depths series on Caves of Qud, as well as our last episode with our recently retired Eggplant branding. Caves of Qud is a massive open-world roguelike RPG that has been in development since 2007 and Early Access since 2015, and we give it an appropriately epic sendoff with nearly four hours of deep discussion.
Doug and Rob, joined by special guest host St...
We're joined by Frank Lantz (Q-UP) and Mare Sheppard + Raigan Burns of Metanet (N++) for the first episode of All Systems Brough, a year-long exploration of the work of Michael Brough. We share our thoughts on why Michael's oeuvre demands a deep dive, add some historical context, and share the plan for the year ahead. We also introduce a (final?) rebrand to the podcast!
Next episode: 868-HACK
(it's also re...
Rob, Sarah, and Doug chat with Jenny Jiao Hsia and AP Thomson about Consume Me, an award-winning autobiographical resource-management RPG about the pressure cooker of young adulthood. We discuss the game's ten-year development cycle, balancing dynamic difficulty in a game about overachievement, the complex dynamics of mining your own story, and more!
Heads up: This episode includes discussion of disordered eating and religious upbr...
Laura, Rob, and Sarah chat with Adam Robinson-Yu about The Annual Ghost Town Pumpkin Festival, a communal and virtual festival experience hosted every ~October for the last six years. We discuss the logistics of running a seasonal multiplayer game, encouraging emergent interactions through limited tools, highlighting pumpkin artistry, expressing embodiment in digital space, building secrets over time, and more!
NOTE: If you want to...
Laura chats with Jeremy Johnston and Robin Ward about The Roottrees are Dead, their genealogy, murder-mystery, "static deduction" game. We discuss the development process of taking a jam prototype to full release, developing hints and systems that lead players to satisfying discoveries, and the taxonomy of games like The Roottrees are Dead and The Return of the Obra Dinn.
Spoilers abound, so consider playi...
We're joined by (most of) the developers of UFO 50 - Derek Yu, Jon Perry, Eirik Suhrke, Tyriq Plummer, and Paul Hubans - to close out our series with a project-spanning discussion of their development process, how they're feeling a year out from launch, and so much more.
Next week: Who knows??
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway
Discussed in this episode:
868-HACK
Full audio from our epic live series finale, packed with previous series guests, tarot readings, mad libs, touching listener letters, and so much more. Come laugh and cry with us, say goodbye to UFO 50, and hear what's next for Eggplant!
Next week: Final interview with the UFO 50 recovery team!
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway
Discussed in this episode:
Eggplant: The Se...
We're joined by Stephanie Boluk (UC Davis), Patrick LeMieux (UC Davis), and Steve Gillham (OzymandiasAV) to discuss [REDACTED] hidden within the UFO 50 collection. Massive spoilers ahead!
Next week: Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games Presents: A Year of UFO 50 Finale Eggstravaganza - LIVE!
(Airing live on Wednesday, September 17th, 2025 at 7:30pm CST at https://www.twitch.tv/eggplantshow)
Audi...
We're joined by Izzy Kestrel (Gexfeld, A Good Videogame), Shawn Alexander Allen (Treachery in Beatdown City), and the one and only Rand Hall (UFO 50 Voicemailer Extraordinaire) to discuss Cyber Owls, the 50th and final* game in the UFO 50 collection.
"A superweapon threatens to destroy the world, and it's up to the Cyber Owls to save the day!"
Next week: [REDACTED]
Audio edited b...
We're joined by Liz Ryerson (musician, writer, podcaster), Adam Conover (Adam Ruins Everything), and Steve Gillham (OzymandiasAV) to discuss Campanella 3, the 49th game in the UFO 50 collection.
"It's time for Pilot to return to what he does best -- flying the Campanella through deep space!"
Next week: Cyber Owls
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway
Discussed in this epis...
We're joined by Daniel Mullins (Inscryption), Tonda Ros (Blue Prince), and Glove (UFO 50 Historian/ska podcaster) to discuss Seaside Drive, the 48th game in the UFO 50 collection.
"Nothing's more relaxing than a nice long drive by the sea... Complete with plenty of gunfire!"
Next week: Campanella 3
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway
Discussed in this episod...
We're joined by Scott Anderson (Unity), Jackie Vecchitto (Trombone Champ), and Xalavier Nelson (Strange Scaffold) to discuss Quibble Race, the 47th game in the UFO 50 collection.
"In the seedy world of Quibble racing, sometimes it takes shady tactics to get ahead."
Next week: Seaside Drive
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.
Discussed in this episode:
Unity 6.2 Livestream
https://www.youtube.com/live/PmpUlbWD_mI
Post Games: Big predict...
We're joined by Alfredo Barraza (Riot Games), Stephanie Boluk (UC Davis), and Patrick LeMieux (UC Davis) to discuss Combatants, the 46th game in the UFO 50 collection.
"The evil Red Ants have taken your land! Fight Back and defend your queen!"
Next week: Quibble Race
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.
Discussed in this episode:
Starcraft: Remastered
https://starcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/
Pikmin 1+2 Bundle
https://www.nintendo.com/us/st...
We're recapping the 2025 season of our favorite tv show, Flemish De Mol (Season 13).
In this very special bonus episode, Laura, Jey, Doug, and Melissa sit down with Wouter Verstichel (Director/Showrunner of De Mol) to discuss the experience of working on the show.
Join us on the Discord for tips on how to watch, chat about the episodes, and more.
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.
Links:
Eggplant's De Mol 2024 recap series, including ...
We're joined by Billy Basso (Animal Well), Ben Wilson (Saltsea Chronicles), Kayin (I Wanna Be The Guy), and Adam Conover (Adam Ruins Everything) to discuss Mini & Max, the 45th game in the UFO 50 collection.
"Mini and her dog Max are locked in the storage room. Harness the magic of shrinking to escape!"
Next week: Combatants
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway
Discussed in...
We're joined by Stephanie Boluk (UC Davis), Patrick LeMieux (UC Davis), and Eileen Hollinger (Capybara Games) to discuss Pilot Quest, the 44th game in the UFO 50 collection.
"The Campanella has crashed! Fix it by harvesting resources and exploring the wild zone."
Next week: Mini & Max
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.
Discussed in this episode:
Collection of Mana
https://mana.square-enix-games.com/en-us/games/collection-of-mana
Act...
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