Show Notes
We're joined by Star St. Germain (Aconite), Madison Karrh (Birth), and Zach Aikman (Chuhai Labs) to discuss Night Manor, the 42nd game in the UFO 50 collection. "Trapped in a nightmare where you must use your wits to survive and escape!"
Next week: Elfazar's Hat Audio edited by Dylan Shumway
Discussed in this episode: Into the Depths: Caves of Qud (Sidequests Special) https://eggplant.show/into-the-depths-caves-of-qud-sidequests-special Clock Tower: Rewind (remaster of original Clock Tower release) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1921490/Wild_Blue/ Déjà Vu: MacVentures Series https://store.steampowered.com/app/343820/Dj_Vu_MacVenture_Series/ The Uninvited: MacVenture Series https://store.steampowered.com/app/343810/The_Uninvited_MacVenture_Series/ Shadowgate (remake) https://store.steampowered.com/app/294440/Shadowgate/ Moida Mansion https://dukope.itch.io/moida-mansion 31 Days of Halloween https://buttondown.com/31daysofhalloween/archive/31-days-of-halloween-october-1-5731/ Maniac Mansion https://www.gog.com/en/game/maniac_mansion King's Quest https://www.gog.com/en/game/kings_quest_1_2_3 The Legend of Kyrandia https://www.gog.com/en/game/legend_of_kyrandia Putt Putt Goes to the Moon https://store.steampowered.com/app/294650/PuttPutt_Goes_to_the_Moon/ Blue Prince https://www.blueprincegame.com/ Lorelei and the Laser Eyes https://annapurnainteractive.com/en/games/lorelei-and-the-laser-eyes Inscryption https://www.inscryption.com/ Crow Country https://crowcountrygame.com/ Wild Blue https://store.steampowered.com/app/1921490/Wild_Blue/ Star on bsky https://bsky.app/profile/thisisstar.bsky.social Star on itch thisisstar.itch.io Star's website https://www.thisisstar.com/ Birth https://store.steampowered.com/app/1889040/Birth/
https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow http://discord.gg/eggplant https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow
More from The Secret Lives of Games
We're joined by John Axon (Capybara Games), Raigan Burns (N++, N PLUS INFINITY TIMES TWO), and Tonda Ros (Blue Prince) to discuss Cinco Paus, a wand-slinging, grid-based roguelike described as "NetHack meets poker" and "the scientific method." It's the tenth installment in our yearlong special series exploring the work of Michael Brough: All Systems Brough. Next episode: P1 Select Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.
We're joined by Nicole He (The Crush House, Kinlo Labs), Eddy Boxerman (Osmos, Karmaka, Broken Rules), and Noah Sasso (Sportsfriends, Iron Galaxy Studios) to discuss Imbroglio, a deck-building, grid-based, genre-defining brough-like. It's the ninth installment in our yearlong special series exploring the work of Michael Brough: All Systems Brough. Next episode: Cinco Paus Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.
We chat with Mark Essen (Nidhogg, Wheel World) about his "feverish bullet heaven platformer" Blood Dungeon. We discuss making a small game in the shadow of a bigger project, the constraints it takes to do it sanely, and building on the foundations of a nascent genre.
We're joined by v buckenham (Downpour, Beasts of Balance), Izzy Kestrel (Electrifying Incident, A Little Game Called Mario), and Bennett Foddy (Baby Steps, QWOP, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy) to discuss Helix, a spiral-action shmuplike about staying alive. It's the eighth installment in our yearlong special series exploring the work of Michael Brough: All Systems Brough. Next episode: Imbroglio Audio edited by Dylan Shumway. Discussed in this episode: Helix https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/helix/id562550427 868-BACK (Out now!! Go buy it!!) https://store.steampowered.com/app/3304110/868BACK/ https://finji.itch.io/868-back Michael Brough's Website https://www.smestorp.com/ Maypole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maypole Game Design Deep Dive: The unique touchscreen action game controls of Helix https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/game-design-deep-dive-the-unique-touchscreen-action-game-controls-of-i-helix-i- Bit Pilot http://www.bitpilotgame.com/ Tilt to Live https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tilt-to-live-hd/id391837930 Super Hexagon https://superhexagon.com/ Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved remake https://store.steampowered.com/app/8400/Geometry_Wars_Retro_Evolved/ Endings (Michael's 2015 blog) https://mightyvision.blogspot.com/2015/01/endings.html Playdate https://play.date/ Nex Playground https://www.nexplayground.com/ Hylics https://mason-lindroth.itch.io/hylics Vangers https://www.gog.com/en/game/vangers Tools for Creativity class (virtual) with v buckenham https://sfpc.study/sessions/fall-26/tools-for-creativity School for Poetic Computation https://sfpc.study/ bimbo static site generator https://iznaut.itch.io/bimbo
We chat with Brooke Husic (Puzzmo, New Yorker, A24) about creating, stewarding, and showrunning a daily crossword for the web-based puzzle phenomenon, Puzzmo. Our discussion covers Puzzmo's first 1,000 days, Brooke's prolific career as a constructor, the impact of cultural biases on crosswords, the early-2020s indie-puzzle development boom, the need to care for both solvers and setters during revisions, the interconnectedness of difficulty and context, the relationship between constructor and venue, and so! much! more! Also: Don't forget to check out today's Puzzmo midi crossword, its 1,001th, a special collaboration between two names that will be familiar to listeners of this episode. Audio edited by Dylan Shumway Discussed in this episode: Puzzmo https://www.puzzmo.com/today/ Today's Brooke and Rob collab puzzle, "Time to get up!" https://www.puzzmo.com/puzzle/2026-07-12/crossword