Into the Depths: Caves of Qud (Sidequests Special)
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
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EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Lords of Diskonia
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
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EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Grimstone
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
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EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Star Waspir
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
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EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Rakshasa
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