Topics

Your nice hosts have covered hundreds of topics over the years, so we've categorized them here! Select a category, or browse the whole list. You can sort by topic name, episode name, or episode number.
Topic Category Host or Guest # Episode Starts at
Player Trust Game Design Stephen McGregor 296 "Metroid is very serious." 0:48:39
4X Games Game Design, Gaming Martha Megarry, Stephen McGregor 205 "Mindworm husbandry." 0:05:08
Actionable Gamification by Yu-kai Chou Game Design, Tools Ellen Burns-Johnson 205 "Mindworm husbandry." 0:40:44
Procedural Generation Programming Martha Megarry 21 "Mutual butt-kicking." 0:35:40
Bots! Bots! Bots! Game Design Mark LaCroix 21 "Mutual butt-kicking." 0:19:44
Getting Out of a Rut IRL Stephen McGregor 21 "Mutual butt-kicking." 0:02:54
Building a PC Hardware Martha Megarry 34 "My computer vapes." 0:05:08
Pen and Paper Games Tabletop Mark LaCroix 34 "My computer vapes." 0:37:18
Off-Ramps Game Design, Gaming Stephen McGregor 268 "No referees?!" 0:50:00
Curling Game Design Mark LaCroix 268 "No referees?!" 0:10:15
Platformers Game Design, Gaming Martha Megarry 87 "Not for me I hate them." 0:05:55
Player Agency Game Design, Narrative Stephen McGregor 87 "Not for me I hate them." 0:48:55
Worldbuilding Game Design, Narrative Mark LaCroix 201 "Not like Beauty and the Beast." 57:08
Fail States Game Design Stephen McGregor 201 "Not like Beauty and the Beast." 32:28
Commitment Game Design Stephen McGregor 239 "Oh is that Rugrats?" 0:35:00
Relaxing Games Game Design, Gaming Ellen Burns-Johnson 239 "Oh is that Rugrats?" 0:05:30
CSS Programming Mark LaCroix 298 "One size bigger and red." 9:47
Skill Trees Game Design Stephen McGregor 298 "One size bigger and red." 46:38
User Interfaces Game Design Mark LaCroix 19 "Pick up all the things." 0:42:26
Point and Clicks Game Design Martha Megarry 19 "Pick up all the things." 0:26:28
Prototyping Game Design Stephen McGregor 19 "Pick up all the things." 0:05:18
The Psychology of Animation Art, Game Design, UI / UX Ellen Burns-Johnson 304 "Play thrice, and make thrice." 0:48:16
Stephen's "Rule of Threes" Game Design Stephen McGregor 304 "Play thrice, and make thrice." 0:17:30
Case Study (Mutazione & Later Alligator) Game Design, Gaming Martha Megarry 163 "Please cheat, I don't care." 0:39:26
Unlocks Game Design Stephen McGregor 163 "Please cheat, I don't care." 0:06:19
Code Libraries Programming Mark LaCroix 90 "Press A to jump." 0:17:29
Tutorials Game Design, UI / UX Stephen McGregor 90 "Press A to jump." 0:41:51
Input Methods and Controls Hardware Stephen McGregor 41 "Proper ones and twos." 0:01:29
Splatoon 2, ur, I mean Shooters Gaming Martha Megarry 41 "Proper ones and twos." 1:13:45
Coding Syles Programming Mark LaCroix 41 "Proper ones and twos." 0:36:49
Self-publishing Must-haves Marketing Mark LaCroix 103 "Put it in a WordSpace!" 0:44:30
Modding Gaming Stephen McGregor 103 "Put it in a WordSpace!" 0:05:00
Making Your Own Tools Tools Stephen McGregor 45 "Qapla'!" 0:44:57
Intro to Linguistics for Game Developers Audio, Game Design Martha Megarry 45 "Qapla'!" 0:03:31
Games for Young Children Game Design, Marketing Ellen Burns-Johnson 199 "Random hilarious nonsense." 0:10:42
Comedy in Games Game Design, Narrative Mark LaCroix 199 "Random hilarious nonsense." 0:44:16
eSports Events, Gaming Martha Megarry 51 "Right the dang now." 0:30:53
Scope Creep Production Stephen McGregor 51 "Right the dang now." 0:02:41
Putting the Real World in Games Game Design, Narrative Mark LaCroix 318 "Sad or fascinating?" 0:50:22
Cheating, Part 3 Gaming, IRL, Programming Ellen Burns-Johnson 318 "Sad or fascinating?" 0:12:26
Hub Worlds and Safe Houses Game Design Martha Megarry 104 "Safety gone!" 0:09:09
Environmental Storytelling Narrative Mark LaCroix 104 "Safety gone!" 0:38:20
Copying Others Art, Game Design, Narrative Stephen McGregor 314 "Salt, in everything?" n/a
Player Motivations Game Design, Gaming Mark LaCroix 314 "Salt, in everything?" 0:26:57
Repetition Game Design Martha Megarry 61 "Schrödinger’s Animal Crossing." 0:46:44
Influences IRL, Production Mark LaCroix 61 "Schrödinger’s Animal Crossing." 0:02:49
Character Roleplaying Gaming, Narrative Mark LaCroix 58 "Shaniqua Shepard sounds cool." 0:40:09
Fighting Games Gaming Stephen McGregor 58 "Shaniqua Shepard sounds cool." 0:08:08
Noble Failures Hardware Mark LaCroix 153 "She also cheats a lot." 0:32:44
Multi-Generational Gaming Gaming, IRL Martha Megarry 153 "She also cheats a lot." 0:04:49
The Ethics of Engagement Game Design Ellen Burns-Johnson 284 "Shiny rocks get me every time." 0:36:22
Branding & Iconography Marketing Mark LaCroix 284 "Shiny rocks get me every time." 0:10:10
Game Programming Programming Mark LaCroix 76 "Smart lazy." 0:09:13
Work Spaces IRL, Tools Stephen McGregor 76 "Smart lazy." 0:52:06
Save Scumming Game Design, Gaming Stephen McGregor 328 "Smarter, more evolved." 31:57:0
Polymorphism Programming Mark LaCroix 328 "Smarter, more evolved." 0:04:48
"So, you made a game engine?" Hardware, Programming Mark LaCroix 223 "So, you made a game engine?" n/a
Sequels Misc. Mark LaCroix 94 "Somebody's first episode." 1:07:25
Language of Games Game Design Martha Megarry 94 "Somebody's first episode." 0:11:31
Ink Engine Narrative, Programming, Tools Stephen McGregor 253 "Source code is viewable." 0:37:26
Building Assets and Plugins Programming, Tools Mark LaCroix 253 "Source code is viewable." 0:05:33
Marketing 001 Marketing Ellen Burns-Johnson 142 "Space ferret seeks PR support." 0:28:08
Game Libraries Gaming Martha Megarry 142 "Space ferret seeks PR support." 0:02:49
World Building in Platformers Narrative Mark LaCroix 158 "Space ferrets lift off!" Widget Satchel Special 0:40:38
Ferrets Misc. Martha Megarry 158 "Space ferrets lift off!" Widget Satchel Special 0:24:26
Metroidvania Level Design Game Design Stephen McGregor 158 "Space ferrets lift off!" Widget Satchel Special 0:10:29
Art Direction Art Mark LaCroix 262 "Start fresh, in a certain way." 0:42:00
Diagramming Gameplay Loops Game Design Ellen Burns-Johnson 262 "Start fresh, in a certain way." 0:15:20
Writing for Games Narrative Martha Megarry 115 "Steal this episode." 0:15:15
Intellectual Property and the Public Domain News, Production Mark LaCroix 115 "Steal this episode." 0:37:57
Emphasizing Uniqueness Marketing Stephen McGregor 320 "Stephen, explain this." 26:32
Grind Game Design Ellen Burns-Johnson 320 "Stephen, explain this." 06:08
Redundancy Game Design, UI / UX Mark LaCroix 170 "Stephen, his arms wide!" 0:13:01
Arcades Gaming, IRL Stephen McGregor 170 "Stephen, his arms wide!" 0:50:39
Educating Intuition IRL, Misc. Ellen Burns-Johnson 323 "Sweet, sweet Toronto sounds." 0:52:56