Grim Acres with Matt Klimas

In this episode, Gabby talks with Adam Hines and Bryant Cannon of Night School Studios, the creators of the critically-acclaimed game Oxenfree and the upcoming game Afterparty. They talk about writing for grief, the consequences of changing the past, and how Afterparty is going to deal with the subject of death. The music used in this episode comes from the Oxenfree and AfterParty soundtracks, both of which were composed by scntfc.

In this episode, Gabby talks with Dan Salvato, the creator of the critically-acclaimed, romance-slash-horror visual novel game Doki Doki Literature Club. They discuss writing mental health and horror games, subverting the visual novel genre, and how DDLC uses deletion as “death”. Warning: This episode contains spoilers for the game Doki Doki Literature Club, and discussion about sensitive subjects such as suicide and self harm. The music used in this episode comes from the Doki Doki Literature Club soundtrack which was composed by Dan Salvato.

In the season three premiere, Gabby talks with Ian Dallas, the Creative Director of Giant Sparrow, about the studio’s critically-acclaimed What Remains of Edith Finch. They discuss the development of Edith Finch, the team’s careful approach to the depiction of children’s deaths, and how Ian’s personal experiences with death impacted the game’s overall design and development. The music used in this episode comes from the What Remains of Edith Finch soundtrack composed by Jeff Russo. You can learn more about him at JeffRusso.com.

In this episode, Gabby speaks with Matt Klimas, the Virginia-based graphic designer and game developer behind the graveyard-building card game Grim Acres. They talk about the beauty of graveyards, the challenges of game balance, and the creative processes for card games and board games with a physical component. The music in this episode comes from Robby Duguay. You can check out more of Robby’s work by following him on Twitter @RobbyDuguay or check out his website at composer.games.

In this episode, Gabby speaks with Klaus Lyngeled of Zoink! Games about the upcoming games Fe and Flipping Death, the latter of which will be out soon for the Nintendo Switch. The music used in this episode comes from the Flipping Death soundtrack, which was composed by Gustav Davidsson and Erik Bengtsson, and the Fe soundtrack, which was composed by Joel Bille.

In this episode, Gabby speaks with Sam Coster of Butterscotch Shenanigans about developing Crashlands shortly after being diagnosed with cancer and having to face his mortality. They also talk about how death is used in games, and what games affected Sam the most while he was going through cancer treatments. The music used in this episode comes from the Crashlands soundtrack, which was written and composed by Fat Bard. You can check out the OST and listen to more of their music at FatBard.bandcamp.com.

In this special episode, Gabby speaks with all of Play Dead’s Season 2 guests about their most memorable video game deaths, including Daniel Rosen, Stephanie Harvey, Justin Kuiper, Adam Saltsman, Kim Koronya, Andrew Willans, and Niamh Schönherr (you can also catch up with Season 1’s memorable deaths over here). The music used in this episode was written and composed by Justine, and comes from their latest mix on Soundcloud, which you can check out at https://soundcloud.com/sintecta/sets/mishmash. You can also hear more of Justine’s music at https://sintecta.bandcamp.com/ and follow them on twitter @Sintecta.

In this special VR episode, Gabby speaks with Andrew Willans (EVE: Valkyrie) about the mechanical challenges VR developers face when designing death in their games; and Kim Koronya (Globes VR) about creating empathy using VR, and the ethics that need to be considered when creating VR games involving death. The music used in Andrew’s parts of this episode comes from the EVE: Valkyrie soundtrack, which was written and composed by Rich Maccoull. You can hear more at soundcloud.com/ccpgames. The piano tracks used during the opening and during Kim’s parts come from http://www.bensound.com.

In this episode of Play Dead, Gabby speaks with writer and independent game developer Niamh Schönherr about her upcoming game Sofðu litla tófan mín: A Lullaby (or “Sleep Tight my Little Fox: A Lullaby”), death in Icelandic folklore and ritual, and the connection between food and death. The music used in this episode comes from Niamh’s game Sofðu litla tófan mín: A Lullaby, and was written and composed by Solai and the Super Marcato Bros respectively. You can check out Solai’s work at solai.bandcamp.com and the Super Marcato Bros music at supermarcatobros.bandcamp.com.

In this episode, Gabby speaks with Adam Saltsman of Finji Co. about their upcoming game Overland, permadeath design in video games, and what it means to survive the apocalypse. The music used in this episode comes from Overland and is written and composed by Overland sound designer Jocelyn Reyes. You can check out their work here and follow them on Twitter @jirisrey