Edge Guard

46 - Mama Possum

Momma Possum! That’s the name of the game we play this week, a Twine-style game about fightin’ giant cockroaches with even giant-er mechs in post-apocalyptic Tennessee. We talk about such topics as family, the arc of history, and contemporary US politics—so, you know, nothing too serious.

 

Play the game here: https://bravemule.itch.io/mamapossum

 

And follow the creators on Twitter:

Cassandra Khaw: @casskhaw

Kevin Snow: @bravemule

George Kavallines: @george_kvs

Priscilla Snow: @ghoulnoise

45 - Quarantine Circular

This week, the boys are going deep on Quarantine Circular, Bithell Games’ follow-up to last year’s Subsurface Circular. They spend some time comparing and contrasting Quarantine and Subsurface, discussing their use of communication and puzzles and how each game treats these differently. Additionally, the game sparks a conversation about science fiction tropes and the manner in which they are employed. Also, despite his insistence that he won’t stumble over his words, Blake absolutely does. Jordan makes him pay dearly for his mistake.

 

If you are interested in following the creators on twitter, check out @mikeBithell
And also explore the game’s soundtrack if you enjoy good music:
https://danlesac.bandcamp.com/album/quarantine-circular

44 - Special Guest Julian Cordero

Julian Cordero, a game developer whose games TREEEEEEES and Levedad we played in previous episodes, chats with us (all the way from Spain!) about game design, school in New York, and his childhood in Ecuador—as well as his aspirations to build up a game development community there.

 

Follow Julian on Twitter: @solimporta

Also, check out the song Julian referenced in the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQHvIOReFR8

And check out his new collective, BigBag: @bigbagco

43 - Microtransaction Simulator

Fake microtransactions are serious business in Microtransaction Simulator, a game by a Steam creator who goes by “chlsea.” We talk about the surprising depth of this satirical game, and about why clicking is always at least minimally-pleasurable, regardless of what you are actually clicking on. Naturally, we take a little dive into the dark world of actual microtransactions, too (spoiler: they’re the worst, but also, funding game development is quite complicated).

 

You can find the game on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/689090/Microtransaction_Simulator/

42 - Palmystery

Blake and Jordan get a little ~handsy~ in this week’s game: Palmystery! A surrealist exploration game that involves moving through animated hand-based landscapes. Yeah… you have to play it to really understand. We talk about what separates interesting weird from bad weird, and why this game is the interesting kind. Also, somehow we don’t realize that one of the many puns of the title is “palmistry,” or fortune telling with hand lines. Whoops!

 

Download the game here: https://palgal.itch.io/palmystery

And follow the creator on Twitter: @palomadawkins

41 - Supertype

Letters become puzzle pieces in Supertype, a puzzle game for mobile that mixes two mechanics that we rarely see paired together: typing and gravity. We talk about how this truly-inventive game makes you see the alphabet from a new perspective, as well as why it might be a “perfect” mobile game. Also, we’re very excited to see our newfound expertise in kerning come back into play.

 

Find the game here (or just buy it on iTunes or Google Play): http://www.kamibox.de/supertype

And follow the creator on Twitter: @kamibox_ph

40 - Warehouse Panic

This week, Blake and Jordan play “Warehouse Panic,” a 3-player game about covering as many tiles as possible with squares, while preventing your opponents from doing the same. It’s a bit of a change for the podcast, since we actually played it together (Jordan still won, though). The game prompts us to go on a long digression about Tetris: its history, the psychological phenomena named after it, and the impressive/frightening amount that Blake knows about it.

 

Play the game in-browser here: https://warehousepanic.io/

And follow the creator on Twitter: @rezoner

 

39 - Lieve Oma

This week sees Blake and Jordan playing “Lieve Oma,” a tender game about the relationship between a grandmother and a grandchild. The game prompts us to reminisce about our relationships with our own grandparents, as well as talk about the creative ways we’ve seen indie developers work around their resource limitations in games like this one.

 

Download the game here: https://vltmn.itch.io/lieve-oma

And follow the creator on Twitter: @FlorianVltmn

Episode 38 - Levedad

Blake and Jordan check out “Levedad,” the newest project by Julian Cordero (who we first met in episode #2, with TREEEEEEES), a game about time and long exposure photography. We check out other players’ photos, talk about this game’s “vibey” vibe, and just generally appreciate the interesting things with light that this game lets you do. Really, it’s quite cool.

 

Download the game here: https://solimporta.itch.io/levedad

And follow Julian Cordero on Twitter: @solimporta

Episode 37 - Dogness

This week, Blake and Jordan team up with an authoritarian “dogmagogue” to create the perfect dog in the newest game by Molleindustria, “Dogness.” A satirical simulation game, “Dogness” is about the misconceptions about genetics shared by dog breeders and 19th century racist pseudo-scientists. Yikes! This explicitly political game leads us to have a discussion about the utility (and limitations) of games as rhetorical arguments—oh, and Blake finally beats Jordan at a game, for once.

 

Download the game here: https://molleindustria.itch.io/dogness

And follow the creator on Twitter: @molleindustria