We're joined by Billy Basso (Animal Well), Ben Wilson (Saltsea Chronicles), Kayin (I Wanna Be The Guy), and Adam Conover (Adam Ruins Everything) to discuss Mini & Max, the 45th game in the UFO 50 collection.

“Mini and her dog Max are locked in the storage room. Harness the magic of shrinking to escape!”

Next week: Combatants

Audio edited by Dylan Shumway

Discussed in this episode:

Animal Well Triple Physical Release https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjRxh0v08yo 

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-nintendo-switch-2-edition-switch-2/ 

Outer Wilds https://www.mobiusdigitalgames.com/outer-wilds.html Spelunky https://www.spelunkyworld.com/index.html 

Uurnog: Uurnlimited https://rawfury.com/games/uurnog-uurnlimited/

Everything https://www.doublefine.com/games/everything 

Tux and Fanny https://www.gog.com/en/game/tux_and_fanny 

Tinykin https://www.tinykingame.com/ 

Caves of Qud https://www.cavesofqud.com/

Adam Conover Live Tour https://www.adamconover.net/

Zero Fifty One zerofiftyone.net 

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 Eileen Hollinger (Capybara Games) to discuss Pilot Quest, the 44th game in the UFO 50 collection.

“The Campanella has crashed! Fix it by harvesting resources and exploring the wild zone.”

Next week: Mini & Max

Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.

Discussed in this episode:

Collection of Mana  https://mana.square-enix-games.com/en-us/games/collection-of-mana 

Actraiser Renaissance https://www.square-enix-games.com/en_US/games/actraiser-renaissance

Progress Quest http://progressquest.com/

Candy Box II (Sequel to Candy Box)  https://candybox2.github.io/candybox/ 

Cow Clicker http://cowclicker.com/

A Dark Room https://adarkroom.doublespeakgames.com/

Cookie Clicker https://cookieclicker.com/ 

Clicker Heroes  https://www.clickerheroes.com/

AdVenture Capitalist https://hyperhippo.com/games/adventure-capitalist/

Universal Paperclips https://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/

The Barnacle Goose Experiment https://everest-pipkin.com/barnacle-goose/

Banana https://store.steampowered.com/app/2923300/Banana/

Neptune’s Pride https://np.ironhelmet.com/#landing

Game Dev Story https://store.steampowered.com/app/1847240/Game_Dev_Story/

Knytt https://archive.org/details/Knytt/

Cosmo’s Cosmic Adventure https://www.gog.com/en/game/cosmos_cosmic_adventure

GameMaker https://gamemaker.io/en

Edinburgh Festival Fringe https://www.edfringe.com/ 

Mel McGlensey is NORMAL https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/mel-mcglensey-normal

Into the Depths: Kentucky Route Zero - Part 1  https://eggplant.show/into-the-depths-kentucky-route-zero-part-1 

Into the Depths: Super Mario World - Part 1 https://eggplant.show/into-the-depths-super-mario-world-part-1 

https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow 

http://discord.gg/eggplant

https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow

We're joined by Alfredo Barraza (Riot Games), Adam Dolin (God of War: Ragnarok), and Colin and Sarah Northway (Northway Games) to discuss Elfazar’s Hat, the 43rd game in the UFO 50 collection.

“Elfazar is hailed as a great magician, but his captive animals are ready to strike back!”

Next week: Pilot Quest

Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.

Discussed in this episode:

Pocky & Rocky Reshrined https://store.steampowered.com/app/2200580/Pocky__Rocky_Reshrined/

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist https://exocolonist.com/ 

Vancouver Game Garden https://vangamegarden.com/

99: Charting the Future with Sarah Northway (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist) https://eggplant.show/99-charting-the-future-with-sarah-northway-i-was-a-teenage-exocolonist

https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow 

http://discord.gg/eggplant

https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow

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

In this bonus installment of our current Into the Depths series, we continue diving into Caves of Qud. This sprawling open-world roguelike has been in development since 2007 and Early Access since 2015.

Doug and Rob - joined by special guest host Star St. Germain - chat about sidequests with one of the game’s narrative designers, Caelyn Sandel. This episode we talk about the Servidian Meadow, the Hindren, Bey Lah, the integration of political and cultural commentary into worldbuilding, writing workflows, Mamon Souldrinker, Warden Une, Fraying Favorites, Many Eyes, Caelen Sandshell, _, and the cyclical nature of influence on Qud’s world.

Don't forget to join our Discord and play along with the series! 

Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.

Show Notes:

Buy Caves of Qud on itch.io: https://freeholdgames.itch.io/cavesofqud 

Caves of Qud soundtrack: https://freeholdgames.itch.io/caves-of-qud-soundtrack 

The Qud Survival Guide: https://ectafoole.itch.io/the-qud-survival-guide

Star on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/thisisstar.bsky.social 

Star on itch: thisisstar.itch.io

Star’s website: https://www.thisisstar.com/ 

Caelyn on bsky:  https://bsky.app/profile/ectafoole.bsky.social 

Caelyn’s Fiction work ectafoole.itch.io

https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow 

http://discord.gg/eggplant

https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow

We're joined by Trent Kusters (League of Geeks), John Axon (Capybara Games), and Adam Dolin (God of War: Ragnarok) to discuss Lords of Diskonia, the 41st game in the UFO 50 collection.

“War has come to Land of Disks, and the red and blue armies are on a collision course!”

Next week: Night Manor

Audio edited by Dylan Shumway

Discussed in this episode:

I Tried Cycling the Length of Japan: 3,000km and 27 Days on the Road | Long Way North https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpH8vt5WLV0 

Carrom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrom 

Crokinole https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/521/crokinole 

How Tabletop Design Helped Shape ‘UFO 50’ https://gdcvault.com/play/1035154/How-Tabletop-Design-Helped-Shape 

JTolmar - Disks Rogue https://noisyowl.com/disksrogue/ 

Crossbows and Catapults https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2129/crossbows-and-catapults 

Catacombs (Third Edition) https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/195137/catacombs-third-edition 

Beast Breaker https://vodeo.games/bb 

Designing ‘MARVEL SNAP’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjhsY2Zuo-c 

Into the Breach https://subsetgames.com/itb.html 

Air, Land, and Sea https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/247367/air-land-and-sea 

Hot Streak https://www.cmyk.games/products/hot-streak 

BALL X PIT https://www.ballxpit.com/ 

Storytelling through Systems (requires GDC Vault membership) https://gdcvault.com/browse?keyword=storytelling+through+systems# 

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 Trent Kusters (League of Geeks) to discuss Grimstone, the 40th game in the UFO 50 collection.

“Praise Biggan, the four of you survived the saloon fire. But somethin' tells me this story's just gettin' started...”

Next week: Lords of Diskonia

Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.

Discussed in this episode:

Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster https://finalfantasypixelremaster.square-enix-games.com/en_US/ 

SaGa Frontier Remastered https://saga-franchise.square-enix-games.com/en-us/games/saga-frontier-remastered 

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake https://dragonquest.square-enix-games.com/games/en-us/dragon-quest-1-2-hd2d-remake/ 

Super Mario RPG  https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/super-mario-rpg-switch/ 

Undertale  https://undertale.com/ 

Final Fantasy VIII Remastered https://www.square-enix-games.com/games/final-fantasy-viii-remastered 

Mother 3  https://mother3.fobby.net/ 

Final Fantasy VII  https://finalfantasyviipc.square-enix-games.com/en 

Tales of Symphonia Remastered  https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/tales-of/tales-of-symphonia-remastered 

Hylics  https://mason-lindroth.itch.io/hylics 

Huicholes: The Last Peyote Guardians https://vimeo.com/ondemand/huicholesfilm

The Road to Dragon Quest  https://archive.org/details/road-to-dragon-quest

Space Funeral  https://thecatamites.itch.io/space-funeral 

Yume Nikki  https://store.steampowered.com/app/650700/Yume_Nikki/ 

The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/tom-lin/the-thousand-crimes-of-ming-tsu/9780316542173/?lens=little-brown

Game Maker’s Notebook - XCOM Creator Julian Gollop Shares Game Design Tips , Dev Stories and More  https://gamemakersnotebook.libsyn.com/xcom-creator-julian-gollop-shares-game-design-tips-dev-stories-and-more 

Stephanie's Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/chouxsalad.bsky.social

Patrick's Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/alt254.bsky.social

Trent's Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/trentkusters.bsky.social

A Year of UFO 50 - Mortol II https://eggplant.show/ep-a-year-of-ufo-50-mortol-ii 

A Year of UFO 50 - Rock On! Island  https://eggplant.show/ep-a-year-of-ufo-50-rock-on-island 

A Year of UFO 50 - Mortol  https://eggplant.show/ep-a-year-of-ufo-50-mortol 

A Year of UFO 50 - Fist Hell  https://eggplant.show/ep-a-year-of-ufo-50-fist-hell 

A Year of UFO 50 - Vainger  https://eggplant.show/ep-a-year-of-ufo-50-vainger 

A Year of UFO 50 - Porgy  https://eggplant.show/ep-a-year-of-ufo-50-porgy 

A Year of UFO 50 - Bushido Ball  https://eggplant.show/ep-a-year-of-ufo-50-bushido-ball 

Into the Depths: Kentucky Route Zero - Part 1  https://eggplant.show/into-the-depths-kentucky-route-zero-part-1   

https://bsky.app/profile/eggplantshow.bsky.social

https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow 

http://discord.gg/eggplant

https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow

We're joined by Jay Ma (Into the Breach), Steve Gillham (OzymandiasAV), Adam Dolin (God of War: Ragnarok), and Zatoichi (Juggler/UFO 50 Enthusiast) to discuss Star Waspir, the 39th game in the UFO 50 collection.

“You are an elite member of the Star Wasps. Pilot your ship and battle the incoming swarm!”

Next week: Grimstone

Audio edited by Dylan Shumway

Discussed in this episode:

ZeroRanger https://se-made.com/ (steam https://store.steampowered.com/app/809020/ZeroRanger/)

Ikaruga (Steam https://store.steampowered.com/app/253750/Ikaruga/) (Switch https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/ikaruga-switch/) 

Stephen’s Sausage Roll https://www.stephenssausageroll.com/ 

Jay Ma on bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/jarmustard.bsky.social 

Fulcrum Defender (Jay Ma’s new game on PlayDate) https://play.date/games/fulcrum-defender/ 

Abnormal Mapping https://www.abnormalmapping.com/ 

Canonfire.net piece on ZeroRanger https://canonfire.net/post/743721139224838144/041-zeroranger 

The Alters https://altersthegame.com/ 

Zatoichi’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@Zatoichi1962-m6v 

Ikaruga video essay (not discussed on the episode but recommended by Dylan!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbfZoDQhK_8

https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow 

http://discord.gg/eggplant

https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow

We're joined by Tonda Ros (Blue Prince) and doseone (Enter the Gungeon) to discuss Rakshasa, the 38th game in the UFO 50 collection.

“Even death won't stop Jangi from avenging the destruction of his village by demons!”

Next week: Star Waspir

Audio edited by Dylan Shumway

Discussed in this episode:

The Resurrection of Doseone https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/doseone-backwoodz-studioz-all-portrait-no-chorus-interview

Gainsworthy’s spoiler tagged guide for Rakshasa https://discord.com/channels/690388280767807518/1286352161357299795/1380363338420060321

Connected map of Rakshasa’s levels (spoilers!) https://discord.com/channels/690388280767807518/1286352161357299795/1381399766855843891

Never’s End https://www.neversendgame.com/

Escape Academy 2 https://store.steampowered.com/app/3296060/Escape_Academy_2_Back_2_School/

SAMURAI GUNN 2 https://samuraigunn2.com/ 

Enter the Gungeon 2 https://www.devolverdigital.com/games/enter-the-gungeon-2

Baby Steps https://www.babystepsgame.com/

https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow 

http://discord.gg/eggplant

https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow

We're joined by Scott Anderson (Unity), Carolyn Petit (Kotaku), Xanagear (youtube.com/xanagear), and Glove (UFO 50 Historian/ska podcaster) to discuss Valbrace, the 37th game in the UFO 50 collection.

“No knight has ever survived the journey into Gnothrok Keep. What makes you think you'll be any different?”

Next week: Rakshasa

Audio edited by Dylan Shumway

Discussed in this episode:

My Perfect Console Ep. 119: Bennett Foddy, philosopher, game designer (QWOP, GIRP, Getting Over It) https://shows.acast.com/my-perfect-console/episodes/bennett-foddy-game-designer-musician-philosopher-qwop-girp-g 

Odd Object Game Studio https://oddobject.zone/ 

Hot Streak https://www.cmyk.games/products/hot-streak 

Carolyn on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/carolynmichelle.bsky.social 

Scott on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/impossible.bsky.social 

Oak & Yarrow Web Design Studio https://oakyarrow.com/ 

Xanagear on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/xanagear.com 

UFO 50 Fan Discord 50games.fans 

Cherry Rush (UFO 50 Speedrunning Charity Event) https://www.cherry-rush.org/ 

The Rude Boys ska podcast https://www.youtube.com/@rudeboyspodcast

https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow 

http://discord.gg/eggplant

https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow