Eggplant TV Plays De Mol (2025 season) - Interview with Wouter Verstichel
Release Date: 08/04/2025
All Systems Brough - Vertex Dispenser
The Secret Lives of Games
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 Michael Brough’s Website Four color theorem Graph coloring Starcraft II Splatoon Dota 2 Droqen’s rare color graph/explanation lots of michael brough games The Sense of...
info_outline
151: Games of the Year 2025
The Secret Lives of Games
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. - Deconstructeam, Selkie Harbour 4. - Dogubomb 3. - German Trick Taking Game 2. - Mossmouth 1. - Freehold Games Zach - Team Cherry - Game Freak - Chunsoft (Bonus: - Adam Saltsman) (N64) - Lucasarts 1. - HAL Laboratory Doug 5. - Robert Yang 4. () () - James Ward 3. - Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy 2. - Kart...
info_outline
All Systems Brough - 868-HACK
The Secret Lives of Games
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 Michael Brough’s Website XPerience Studios “King Me”: A Defense of King-Making in Board Game Design Leder Games Wehrlegig Games 7-Day Roguelike Jam blog post 868-HACK Release Trailer (2015) PRACTICE 2013: Michael Brough ...
info_outline
150: Making It Great with Kimmo Lahtinen (Sektori)
The Secret Lives of Games
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 Day Repeat Day Barbearian Drift and Drive Resogun Outland Dead Nation Super Stardust Portable Geometry Wars Rez Infinite Post Games podcast Besties...
info_outline
Into the Depths: Caves of Qud Finale
The Secret Lives of Games
We’re proud to present the final installment of our over-a-year-long Into the Depths series on , 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...
info_outline
All Systems Brough - Introduction
The Secret Lives of Games
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...
info_outline
149: Making A Meal Of It with Jenny Jiao Hsia and AP Thomson (Consume Me)
The Secret Lives of Games
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 Prototyping Personal Experience – Jenny's talk at A MAZE 2017 Papers Please by...
info_outline
148: Carving Out Some Time with Adam Robinson-Yu (Ghost Town Pumpkin Festival)
The Secret Lives of Games
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...
info_outline
147: Digging Deep with The Roottrees are Dead
The Secret Lives of Games
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) The Roottrees are Dead (itch.io – Global Game...
info_outline
EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Epilogue: Final developer interview
The Secret Lives of Games
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 Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games Presents: A Year of UFO 50 Finale Eggstravaganza - LIVE! Recording Eggplant Merch! A Year of Block Koala Roguelike Celebration 2025 (Including Fireside Chat with Jon Perry!)...
info_outlineWe'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 live finale interviews:
https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow
122: Finding Decency in Reality with Gilles De Coster (De Mol):
https://eggplant.show/122-finding-decency-in-reality-with-gilles-de-coster-de-mol
https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow
http://discord.gg/eggplant
https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow