Never Alone is a puzzle-platformer for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. It is a collaboration between E-Line Media and Upper One Games to adapt the culture and oral history of the Iñupiaq community. Up to two players play as a young girl named Nuna and an arctic fox to overcome numerous arctic obstacles while exploring the stories of Robert Cleveland and unlocking videos that share this people’s traditions.

Lead game designer Grant Roberts shares the access his team had to the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, what other entries in the “world game” genre were an inspiration, how else the cultural insight videos could’ve been integrated into the gameplay, and what other heritages might be adapted into future games.

Watch the video above, or download the audio edition from Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.

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Happy New Year’s Eve! So many indie games were released in 2014, no one person could’ve played them all. So for this audio-only special episode of IndieSider, I’ve recruited Matt Conn of GaymerX, Sabriel Mastin of Indie Haven, and Emma Clarkson of BostonFIG to a roundtable discussion where we share our picks for Indie Game of the Year in three categories: mobile, desktop, and console. Along the way, Matt and Emma debate the merits of Gabriel Knight 3, Emma and Ken reminisce about working at GameStop, Matt and Sabriel do their best Boston accent imitations, and we make New Year’s resolutions to play the games we wanted to play in 2014 but never got around to.

Listen to the show below, or download the MP3 from Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.

Games mentioned in this episode:

Featured image courtesy David Luders.

Framed is an interactive graphic novel from Loveshack Entertainment. Rearrange the panels of this noir-style comic book to change the order in which the action occurs. Will the spy run headlong into the police — or will he slip down a hallway, evading detection? You the player decide with panels you can drag-and-drop, rotate, and reuse.

In this interview, Framed designer and composer Adrian Moore discusses the influences that led to this unprecedented game, the role narrative plays, the different genres and game mechanics the team experimented with, and how the mobile indie market harkens back to the earlier days of his career, developing Populous at Bullfrog.

Watch the video above, or download the audio edition from Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.

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In traditional war games, players assume the role of a soldier, fighting the bad guys and saving the day. But in reality, not everyone affected by war is a soldier. In This War of Mine, 11 bit studios simulates the experience of being a civilian in a war-torn country. By day, you make decisions about how to manage your meager resources to take care of your team; at night, you send your best runner to scavenge for supplies — and hope she makes it back.

In this interview, senior writer Pawel Miechowski explains how his studio created This War of Mine, the research that went into making the game authentic, what lines they decided they could and could not cross, and what the developers hope players get from the experience.

Watch the video above, or download the audio edition from Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.

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A Bird Story is a one-hour interactive narrative from Freebird Games, available from Steam for PC, Mac, and Linux. With no spoken dialogue, no written text, and little gameplay, A Bird Story instead focuses on storytelling and soundtrack, bridging the gap between To the Moon and its sequel. In this interview, Kan Gao of Freebird Games discusses how he tells a story without words, why he chose this medium for his tale, and the themes and experiences he hopes to convey.

Watch the video above, or download the audio edition from Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.

Links mentioned in this episode:

IndieSider pairs Let’s Plays of indie games with developer interviews. New episodes air every other Wednesday and can be found in video format on YouTube or as audio in iTunes and TuneIn.

Qbqbqb is a two-dimensional puzzle game that takes the traditional match-three mechanic and puts a spin on it — literally! Blocks are dropped onto a planetoid that players rotate left and right. Each planet is a different size and features its own synthesized techno soundtrack, to which the falling blocks contribute their tones. Qbqbqb includes both co-op and versus modes (local play only) and a colorblind mode.

Qbqbqb, which is now available for PC, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS, was developed in just one weekend by a single artist. In this week’s IndieSider, we speak with Przemyslaw Sikorski, aka Rezoner, about how he programmed the game under such constraints, how Tetris inspired him, and the indie game development scene is like in his native Poland.

Watch the video above, or download the audio edition from Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.

Links mentioned in this episode:

IndieSider pairs Let’s Plays of indie games with developer interviews. New episodes air every other Wednesday and can be found in video format on YouTube or as audio in iTunes and TuneIn.

Shadowgate, the classic point-and-click adventure, returns in this modern reimagining from Zojoi. Explore Castle Shadowgate from a point-and-click adventure, mastering weapons and spells with which to solve puzzles and defeat wyverns. Originally released in 1987 for the Macintosh and most famously for the 8-bit Nintendo in 1989, a successful Kickstarter campaign has brought this modern Shadowgate to Mac and Windows via Steam, featuring an updated user interface, new original illustrations, and a reorchestrated soundtrack based on the original.

Karl Roelofs, design director at Zojoi and game designer for the original Shadowgate, talks about returning to the franchise, retaining the original spirit while updating it for today’s audience, and future games coming from Zojoi, including Déjà Vu and The Uninvited.

Watch the video above, or download the audio edition from Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.

Links mentioned in this episode:

IndieSider pairs Let’s Plays of indie games with developer interviews. New episodes air every other Wednesday and can be found in video format on YouTube or as audio in iTunes and TuneIn.

When I want an example of a video game that deals with a powerful subject in a creative and meaningful way, I point to Papo & Yo, which served as a metaphor for growing up with an alcoholic father. Now that game’s developer, Minority Media, has released their next game: Spirits of Spring, a game that deals with bullying. You play as Chiwatin and his friends Rabbit and Bear as they try to keep evil crows from destroying the Spirit Trees that bring spring to the cold reaches of northern Canada. Can you protect yourself and your friends? Is the only way to defeat your enemies to become a crow yourself? Find out in this game,

In this week’s IndieSider, I interview Ruben Farrus, the game’s creative director, about how children will be able to relate to the game’s remote setting, Minority Media’s history with bullying, and how he measures “success” in terms other than sales.

Watch the video above, or download the audio edition from Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.

IndieSider pairs Let’s Plays of indie games with developer interviews. New episodes air every other Wednesday and can be found in video format on YouTube or as audio in iTunes.

Super Win the Game is the commercial sequel to the 2012 freeware game You Have to Win the Game. Featuring gameplay and aesthetic homages to Zelda II, Startropics, Metroid, and more, the game features platforming exploration without combat — no head-stomping, no fireballs, no weapons, but plenty of other power-ups, like snorkels and double-jump boots. An optional CRT emulation mode will curve your screen and add scanlines!

In this episode of IndieSider, I interview Minor Key Games co-founder J. Kyle Pittman about the decision to make a commercial sequel to a freeware game, which classic titles he borrowed from, why he doesn’t use the term “Metroidvania” or developer tools like Steam Early Access and Kickstarter, and what the younger generation of gamers think of CRT mode.

Watch the video above, or download the audio edition from Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.

Links mentioned in this episode:

IndieSider pairs Let’s Plays of indie games with developer interviews. New episodes air every other Wednesday and can be found in video format on YouTube or as audio in iTunes.

Rex Rocket is a 2D Metroidvania with 8-bit graphics and a wry sense of humor. Set entirely on a spaceship infested with shapeshifting green goo, the game features more than 110 rooms, branching paths, and multiple power-ups. It’s currently available on Steam for PC, with Mac, mobile, and Ouya versions coming soon. In this week’s IndieSider, I explore the first few levels while chatting with Castle Pixel artist Robert Maher.

Watch the video above, or download the audio edition from Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.

Links mentioned in this episode:

IndieSider pairs Let’s Plays of indie games with developer interviews. New episodes air every other Wednesday and can be found in video format on YouTube or as audio in iTunes.