Episode 151 - The SPECTACULAR SWAPMEAT SPECIAL

Jamie Stormbreaker from One More Game joins Ben this week to discuss game design philosophy and the amazingly zany and fun game SWAPMEAT—a third-person shooter featuring a unique part-switching mechanic. Jamie and his team are very excited to share their full “out of early access” version of the cooperative-focused roguelite with the world on June 17th, so there is a LOT of juicy conversational MEAT to consume. As a perfectly marbled audio morsel, no additional gravy is required or encouraged. *** 00:00:58 - Lawyer input, industry to independent, Saros is a seven, THAC0, and for all ten of us 00:07:00 - Swapping origins, Steam verification, meat quote despair, and the Pounding Fathers 00:15:19 - Beyond early access, listening to and engaging the community, and planet renaming 00:17:51 - In-office consoles, Alpha-driven development, and building games in public view 00:24:55 - Expectation reset, thoughts on sequels, RTS games, and playing with vs. versus 00:32:00 - Multiplayer roguelite challenges, talking to players early, and don’t roast Jamie 00:35:42 - Ben’s thought path, revisiting games as a dev, and balancing difficulty with empathy 00:40:51 - How loot is distributed in SWAPMEAT to minimize competition, and playful banter 00:43:34 - Solo play, early access perks, the definition of independent, and institutional support 00:48:30 - Fresh ideas, end-to-end enjoyment, Indies are the innovators, and taking risks 00:51:15 - AI concerns, no joy in average, automation, art is made by humans, and breaking art *** Follow Two Vague on… Our website: https://www.twovaguepodcast.com On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/two_vague_podcast On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twovaguepodcast On Substack: https://twovaguepodcast.substack.com/ On Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/twovaguepodcast.com For show appearances and other inquiries, contact us at [email protected] -AND-  …for all of your PRI and 2VP merch, check out the Partly Robot Industries store at TEEPUBLIC! https://www.teepublic.com/user/partly-robot-industries Follow Andrew / Partly Robot Industries on… His website: https://partlyrobot.com/ On Instagram: https://instagram.com/partlyrobot On TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@partlyrobot On Substack: https://partlyrobot.substack.com/ On Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/partlyrobot.com On Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/partlyrobot On Microcosm Publishing: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/artist/andrew-coltrin On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/partlyrobot And his TREE o’ LINKS: http://linktr.ee/partlyrobot Please consider helping Andrew out with a pledge for Nerd Emergencies ...And Other Misunderstandings: A Comix Showcase of Neurodivergent Perspectives, his latest zine offering featuring the creative comic musings of dozens of neurodivergent artists and allies: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/partlyrobot/nerd-emergencies  *** References, Links, and Tags For more information on SWAPMEAT and One More Game shenanigans… https://www.playswapmeat.com/ https://www.onemoregame.com/games/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2790700/SWAPMEAT/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCKk5i2zueI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tGNHwQQljc #Podbean #DIYPodcast #ApplePodcast #VideoGames #Trivia #Comedy #Talkshow #2VP #TwoVaguePodcast #PodernFamily #InterviewShow #GamersofThreads #Gamer #PartlyRobot #PartlyRobotIndustries #TeePublic #MicrocosmPublishing #NerdEmergencies #SWAPMEAT #OneMoreGame #JamieStormbreaker