The Secret Lives of Games

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 Star St. Germain, dive into the game's finale and overarching themes with narrative designer Caelyn Sandel and co-creators Jason Grinblat and Brian Bucklew. Be warned, major spoilers await: We discuss the aftermath of the Tomb of the Eaters, the Moon Stair, the [Redacted], Reclamation, We Are [Redacted], plus other juicy details about how this legendary game finally came to an end… and what's in store for it next. Audio edited by Dylan Shumway. Discussed in this episode: Brian's must-follow bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/unormal.bsky.social Warm static – Official Caves of Qud wiki https://wiki.cavesofqud.com/wiki/Warm_static Independent Games Summit: What Even is 1.0?: Indefinite Early Access and Live Development https://gdcvault.com/play/1035081/Independent-Games-Summit-What-Even End-to-End Procedural Generation in Caves of Qud https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV-DZqdKlnE Tile-Based Map Generation using Wave Function Collapse in 'Caves of Qud' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdCgi9E90jw  Caves of Qud Discord https://discord.com/invite/cavesofqud Eris – Girsh Illustration https://www.reddit.com/r/cavesofqud/comments/1n449aw/girsh_qas_and_qon/ A Mythopoetic Interface Reading of Caves of Qud (Roguelike Celebration 2025) https://www.youtube.com/live/UQNfH9pKWd4?si=jFy9VTRZzLPJHn4W&t=1091  Sproggiwood https://store.steampowered.com/app/311720/Sproggiwood/ Slav Epic Paintings by Alphonse Mucha https://www.muchafoundation.org/en/gallery/themes/theme/slav-epic https://secretlives.games/  https://bsky.app/profile/secretlivesofgames.bsky.social https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow  http://discord.gg/tslog https://www.patreon.com/tslog (full rebrand still in progress, lol)    

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 recommended that you start playing Vesper.5 now to prepare for later)  (Tentative) Episode/play order: 868-HACK Vertex Dispenser Zaga-33 Vesper.5 Corrypt Kompendium (plus digital archiving of O) BECOME A GREAT ARTIST IN JUST 10 SECONDS Helix (plus SMESPORT) Imbroglio Cinco Paus P1 Select (plus Quinzena maybe?) & Broughlike Game Jam Games 868-BACK (caveat: still in development) Audio edited by Dylan Shumway  Discussed in this episode:   Michael Brough's Website https://www.smestorp.com/  Michael O'Blivion's Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@michael_oblivion  Flock https://annapurnainteractive.com/en/games/flock  Wilmot's Warehouse Boardgame https://www.cmyk.games/products/wilmot Q-UP https://store.steampowered.com/app/3730790/QUP/ Donkeyspace (Frank's Substack) https://franklantz.substack.com/  The Beauty of Games https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262552950/the-beauty-of-games/   Metanet Software https://www.metanetsoftware.com/about-us  N++ https://nplusplus.org/  PRACTICE 2015: Mare Sheppard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBCDeMl4VwY   FTL https://subsetgames.com/ftl.html  Sylvie's Games https://sylvie.website/  A wild start, 41 points with no artifacts! (Cinco Paus LP ep 1) by vivafringe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-8xXBwAdG4  Droqen's website https://www.droqen.com/   Raigan's bluesky (will give away free copies of Cinco Paus on Christmas!) https://bsky.app/profile/raiganburns.bsky.social   Q-UP OST https://kariomart.bandcamp.com/album/q-up-ost  868-HACK (Steam) https://store.steampowered.com/app/274700/868HACK/ Vesper.5  https://mightyvision.blogspot.com/2012/08/vesper5.html  https://www.youtube.com/@thesecretlivesofgames https://discord.com/invite/tslog https://www.patreon.com/tslog

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 upbringing. Audio edited by Dylan Shumway. Mentioned in this episode: Consume Me https://hexecutable.itch.io/consume-me https://store.steampowered.com/app/2359120/Consume_Me/ Prototyping Personal Experience – Jenny's talk at A MAZE 2017 https://youtu.be/iQ-PaGTr-iI?si=RIAWQMFZfMWCVCsN Papers Please by Lucas Pope https://papersplea.se/ Nina Freeman's games on itch.io https://starmaidgames.itch.io/ Triad by Anna Anthropy https://w.itch.io/triad Reigns by Nerial https://www.reignsgame.com/reigns  Long Live the Queen by Hanako Games https://hanakogames.itch.io/long-live-the-queen  Perfect Tides by Meredith Gran https://granulac.itch.io/perfect-tides Look Back (movie) https://www.amazon.com/Look-Back-Kiyotaka-Oshiyama/dp/B0DH5DMSRW Look Back (manga) https://www.viz.com/look-back Jenny's TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@q_dork AP's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bad_tetris/   https://eggplant.show/  https://discord.gg/eggplant  https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow  https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow

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 avoid spoilers of this year's additions to the game, skip the section from 1:12:40 to 1:22:00! Audio edited by Dylan Shumway Discussed in this episode: Ghost Town Pumpkin Festival https://adamgryu.itch.io/pumpkin-carver  Laura E. Hall's 31 Days of Halloween newsletter https://buttondown.com/31daysofhalloween  Adam's Itch https://adamgryu.itch.io/  Adam's Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/adamgryu.bsky.social https://eggplant.show/  https://discord.gg/eggplant  https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow  https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow 

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 playing the game first before tuning in. Audio edited by Dylan Shumway   Discussed in this episode: The Roottrees are Dead (Steam) https://store.steampowered.com/app/2754380/The_Roottrees_are_Dead/   The Roottrees are Dead (itch.io – Global Game Jam entry) https://jjohnstongames.itch.io/the-roottrees-are-dead  Return of the Obra Dinn https://store.steampowered.com/app/653530/Return_of_the_Obra_Dinn/  Outer Wilds https://store.steampowered.com/app/753640/Outer_Wilds/  Her Story https://store.steampowered.com/app/368370/Her_Story/  Family https://owlskip-games.itch.io/family  Type Help https://william-rous.itch.io/type-help  The Rise of the Golden Idol https://store.steampowered.com/app/2716400/The_Rise_of_the_Golden_Idol/  Blue Prince https://store.steampowered.com/app/1569580/Blue_Prince/  Severance https://tv.apple.com/us/show/severance/umc.cmc.1srk2goyh2q2zdxcx605w8vtx  White Lotus https://www.max.com/shows/white-lotus/14f9834d-bc23-41a8-ab61-5c8abdbea505 Righteous Gemstones https://www.max.com/shows/righteous-gemstones/c3bd0a34-c4ce-4ca5-bd6c-820df7340671  Announcement: Eggplant Plays De Mol (2025 Season) https://eggplant.show/announcing-eggplant-plays-de-mol-2025-season  The Genius (Korean Game Show) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Genius_(TV_series)  Robin Ward's blog (links to socials included) https://eviltrout.com/  The Roottrees are Dead Discord server https://discord.com/invite/Z6Y5sE9Dgt  https://eggplant.show/ https://discord.gg/eggplant https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow

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 https://868-hack.neocities.org/  Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games Presents: A Year of UFO 50 Finale Eggstravaganza - LIVE! Recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTHuGIU3wRI  Eggplant Merch! https://cottonbureau.com/people/eggplant-the-secret-lives-of-games-podcast   A Year of Block Koala https://redcircle.com/shows/4e5322d3-2ea6-42dc-bfb3-18a427384a68 Roguelike Celebration 2025 (Including Fireside Chat with Jon Perry!) https://www.roguelike.club/event2025.html   Time Barons https://www.time-barons.com/about.html   Middleditch and Schwartz https://www.middleditchandschwartz.com/  SPONTANEANATION with Paul F. Tompkins https://www.earwolf.com/show_archive/spontaneanation-with-paul-f-tompkins-archive/  Scrubbin' Trubble (Tyriq's upcoming game) https://scrubbintrubble.com/ Madhouse (Paul's upcoming game) https://store.steampowered.com/app/3727130/MADHOUSE/   UFO 50 Physical Edition https://www.fangamer.com/products/ufo-50-game-nintendo-switch-deluxe-edition  https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow  http://discord.gg/eggplant  https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow

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

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) Audio edited by Dylan Shumway Discussed in this episode: Eggplant Merch! https://cottonbureau.com/people/eggplant-the-secret-lives-of-games-podcast  FuryForged – What dark secrets hide beneath the surface of UFO 50? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__FyJ-Obu9E UFO 50 WRITE-UP v2 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yuVnnJDmKKGrlTIGVn1Zykp9Tpn4rthGFei1gztRAN4/edit?tab=t.0  MAPPING MUSIC TO MIAS https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kvdqYzJCO16-UAZV5tkTIrltzEOcQjQV/mobilepresent?slide=id.g30af015f402_0_0  MRMACDUGGAN'S GAME LORE SHEET https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JqOjkGkXjoRvE_uE-nc4bTfFOzcudvKP3WDanGdaio0/edit?gid=2032987708#gid=2032987708 TERMINAL 101 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Y2gHxlxKlm2jyTIY_7QoNOF6iUjhvfWnOO6mIy6P-H8/edit?gid=0#gid=0  Exeter Book Riddles https://oldenglishpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/exeter-book-riddles/  Mushroomy Kingdom  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhNgQ16s-u8  Deadly Premonition OST – Life is Beautiful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzvXBFwcyek Yume Nikki https://store.steampowered.com/app/650700/Yume_Nikki/  Undertale https://undertale.com/ Off https://offtherpg.com/ Space Funeral the First https://thecatamites.itch.io/space-funeral Ib https://vgperson.com/games/ib.htm Petscop https://www.youtube.com/petscop UFO 50 Bandcamp https://phlogiston.bandcamp.com/album/ufo-50 Miasma Tower Bandcamp https://phlogiston.bandcamp.com/album/miasma-tower B3313 Mario 64 Mod https://b3313.fandom.com/wiki/B3313  Has anyone else seen this in miasma tower? i dont know how exactly to trigger it https://www.reddit.com/r/ufo50/comments/1guzkfu/has_anyone_else_seen_this_in_miasma_tower_i_dont/  The Grasshopper (and "Words on Play")  https://broadviewpress.com/product/the-grasshopper-third-edition/#tab-description Glider (Conway's Game of Life) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glider_(Conway%27s_Game_of_Life) Eric Zimmerman Manifesto: The 21st Century Will Be Defined By Games  https://kotaku.com/manifesto-the-21st-century-will-be-defined-by-games-1275355204 Games Climbers Play by Lito Tejada-Flores https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1968_files/AJ%201968%2046-52%20Tejada-Flores%20Games.pdf https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow  http://discord.gg/eggplant https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow

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 by Dylan Shumway   Discussed in this episode: Eggplant Merch! https://cottonbureau.com/people/eggplant-the-secret-lives-of-games-podcast  Cherry Rush YouTube Highlights https://www.youtube.com/@Cherry-Rush  Derek Yu's Wikiquote https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Derek_Yu  Roguelike Celebration 2025 (Including Fireside Chat with Jon Perry!) https://www.roguelike.club/event2025.html  Izzy's itch.io https://iznaut.itch.io/  Izzy's bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/iznaut.com Izzy's Website https://iznaut.com/ Snap & Grab https://nogoblin.com/snapandgrab Shawn's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shawndoublea/?hl=en Beatdown City Survivors https://store.steampowered.com/app/3383040/Beatdown_City_Survivors/  Tyriq's Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/fourbitfriday.bsky.social Scrubbin' Trubble https://scrubbintrubble.com/ The Grasshopper (and "Words on Play")  https://broadviewpress.com/product/the-grasshopper-third-edition/#tab-description C.A. Brown https://www.youtube.com/@CABROWN https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow http://discord.gg/eggplant https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow

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 episode: Eggplant Merch! https://cottonbureau.com/people/eggplant-the-secret-lives-of-games-podcast  Adam Conover Tickets https://www.adamconover.net/  Wing Commander 1+2 https://www.gog.com/en/game/wing_commander_1_2  Wild Blue https://store.steampowered.com/app/1921490/Wild_Blue/  Thumper https://thumpergame.com/  The Virtual Museum of Dead Wifery https://lilithzone.itch.io/the-virtual-museum-of-dead-wifery  Abnormal Mapping https://www.abnormalmapping.com/  doseone https://www.doseone.xyz/  The Unearthed Treasure Room: An Alternative Showcase of Overlooked Games https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNPPJohxAk4  Anodyne 2 https://store.steampowered.com/app/877810/Anodyne_2_Return_to_Dust/  Great Art  https://www.mostancient.com/shop/great-art  Wood Teeth (doseone EP with Height Keech) https://doseone.bandcamp.com/album/wood-teeth?from=embed  https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow  http://discord.gg/eggplant https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow