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:

1. 868-HACK

2. Vertex Dispenser

3. Zaga-33

4. Vesper.5

5. Corrypt

6. Kompendium (plus digital archiving of O)

7. BECOME A GREAT ARTIST IN JUST 10 SECONDS

8. Helix (plus SMESPORT)

9. Imbroglio

10. Cinco Paus

11. P1 Select (plus Quinzena maybe?) & Broughlike Game Jam Games

12. 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

We're joined by Daniel Mullins (Inscryption), Tonda Ros (Blue Prince), and Glove (UFO 50 Historian/ska podcaster) to discuss Seaside Drive, the 48th game in the UFO 50 collection.

"Nothing's more relaxing than a nice long drive by the sea... Complete with plenty of gunfire!"

Next week: Campanella 3

Audio edited by Dylan Shumway

Discussed in this episode:

Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games Merch

https://cottonbureau.com/people/eggplant-the-secret-lives-of-games-podcast

Downwell

https://downwellgame.com/

Branching Paths

https://branchingpaths.jp/

Cherry Rush (UFO 50 Speedrunning Charity Event — August 29th-31st, 2025)

https://www.cherry-rush.org/

Blue Prince

https://www.blueprincegame.com/

https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow

http://discord.gg/eggplant

https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow