
Show Notes
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 Secret Lives of Games Presents: A Year of UFO 50 Finale Eggstravaganza - LIVE! Twitch VOD https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2569097617
Eggplant Merch! https://cottonbureau.com/people/eggplant-the-secret-lives-of-games-podcast
Zatoichi's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@Zatoichi1962-m6v
Eggplant Party House Thread (for Gainsworthy's Party House of the Day challenge!) https://discord.com/channels/690388280767807518/1286353349817663519
The Beauty of Games by Frank Lantz https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262552950/the-beauty-of-games/
A Life Well Wasted https://alifewellwasted.com/
Beyond a Boundary by C. L. R. James https://www.dukeupress.edu/beyond-a-boundary
Jacques' Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jacquesnessmonster/
Sean's Portfolio http://seanfeeley.com/
Sean's Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/thebigfeel
Sounds from The Abyss mixes https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEdRlER1F5rGvaoE-XbV6jz6OymxQw4jx
Tim Follin - Chronos A Tapestry of Time theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2WgfEj_zjc&list=RDP2WgfEj_zjc&start_radio=1
Tim Follin - Ghouls and Ghosts Level 3 https://youtu.be/BTUD0XuXT8k?si=JpzOvQwBqS98v3EH
Martin Galway - Parallax Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8LEA23R-Nc&list=RDA8LEA23R-Nc&start_radio=1
Stephane Picq - Gorbi (kgb) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z48ncQu5bh4&list=RDZ48ncQu5bh4&start_radio=1
Wladcy Ciemonski (lords of the darkness) theme by Leszek Holda https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1MlvwuZc74&list=RDv1MlvwuZc74&start_radio=1
Starship Rendezvous - Mysticism (Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata) https://youtu.be/YAILyCJ63iQ?si=XAaP2aah_91U29Zj&t=575
Kaimei-In (Stage 4) [Tiger Road (Arcade)] - Harumi Fujita, Tamayo Kawamoto https://youtu.be/gGEG3DOnJlA?si=Kbii_9lz72OnOR0P&t=638
The Cartoncast https://fancybat.com/cartoncast
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.
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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