PODCAST · games
Up Up Down Down
by Allen Pike and Nigel Brooke
App developers Allen Pike and Nigel Brooke host an interesting guest each week to discuss what's up and what's down in the games industry. Chaos ensues.
Episodes
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48. We Made a Game
Malin Sundberg joins us to discuss Two Spies, the new turn-based iOS spy strategy we’ve made, along with its UI, Swift as a game development language, and the pros and cons of shipping a game as a side project. Two Spies The game on the App Store Steamclock
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47. You Suck at Micro
Soren Johnson joins us to discuss making strategy games. We discuss his new game Offworld Trading Company, touch on his work on the Civilization series, and the challenges of balance. Afterward, we express our early bewilderment at Overwatch. Offworld Trading Company Designer Notes
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46. Goofy as Heck
Serenity Caldwell joins us to discuss the Apple TV as a gaming platform. We talk about what games we’ve tried so far, the weaknesses of the Siri Remote, and what kind of games could be great on Apple TV. We discuss runner games, party games, and gams that are purposely bad. Afterwards we talk…
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45. How the Hell to Make Firewatch
Campo Santo’s Nels Anderson joins us to discuss making narrative games, and in particular, Campo Santo’s new hit game Firewatch. Waving the spoilers flag high, we dig in to what makes Firewatch tick, the crazy world of branching narrative, tricky aspects of making the game, flapjacks, and the...
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44. You're Buying a Child
Chris Bourassa, Creative Director of Red Hook Games, joins us to talk about their hit new game Darkest Dungeon. We talk fairness, difficulty, early access, and corpses. Then we dig in to Chris’ art direction, including the look and feel of the characters, and the tools and processes he uses to...
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43. What the Heck?
Tiff Arment joins us to discuss the ups and downs of survival games. We dig in to stark and frozen landscape of The Long Dark, the dark whimsy of Don’t Starve, and Minecraft’s role in kickstarting the whole genre. Afterwards, we discuss Prison Architect, the hardest difficulty in The Last of Us,...
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42. Flood Their Cities With Poop Water
Karoliina Korppoo, Lead Designer on Cities Skylines, joins us to discuss simulation games. We discuss the challenges of simulations, making traffic work, cruise ships on land, focusing on fun, and poop water. Afterwards, we discuss the new expansion After Dark, Diablo, and the glory of...
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41. Let Me Pick Three Colors
Firewatch’s 3D Artist Jane Ng joins us to disuss 3D art in indie games. We talk about some of the remarkable ways Campo Santo has made Firewatch look beautiful and distinctive. We discuss procedural sky generation, stylistic fog systems, and general challenges with making art for games with small...
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40. The Les Miserables Barricade
We’re back for Season 2! Game designer Bobby Ross joins us to talk level design. We talk about the process of designing levels, lighting technology in 3D games, how to create balaced PvP, invisible walls, and other challenges of level design. Afterwards, we talk about what we liked at PAX. Bobby...
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39. Strumming the Strum Button
Isometric’s Steve Lubitz joins us to talk rhythm games. We start with the strange origins of rhythm games on the PlayStation in the 1990s and the craze of DDR. We dig in to the rise of plastic instruments, the joy of getting good at Rock Band, and the Great Plastic Crash of 2009. We touch on…
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38. The Bullet Spongiest Bullet Sponge
Michael “Rands” Lopp joins us to talk Destiny. We briefly discuss its budget and profitability before digging in to the question of why, despite its problems, it’s a fun game. We dissect the Crucible PvP mode, matchmaking, the story or lack thereof, leveling, and bullet sponges. Afterwards, we…
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37. Early Access Without Any Access
John Walker, co-director and editor of Rock, Paper, Shotgun, joins us to discuss the state of PC gaming. We talk Early Access, Kickstarter, preorders, and the many pitfalls therein. We dig in to the profitability of PC ports, dismiss various kinds of football, dissect the longevity of old-school...
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36. Scintillating Amazon Javelins of the Whale
Noel Berry, developer of the upcoming procedural platformer Skytorn, joins us to discuss procedural content in games. We talk about Skytorn and how its levels are built, and discuss many other indie games with procedural levels, from Minecraft to Don’t Starve. We dig in to what kinds of games...
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35. We're Made of Bells and Whistles
Maya Kramer, indie game marketing extraordinaire, joins us to talk PR and marketing. We discuss conferences and expos, getting the word out about indie games, the story of Towerfall, and how games filter up from the noise to journalists and platforms. Afterwards, we talk PSN outages, getting…
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34. Watching someone else play Minecraft
John Moltz, co-author of The Visual Guide to Minecraft, joins us to discuss the weird and wonderful world of Minecraft. We discuss why kids are obsessed it, managing servers, mods, Java, and trolling. Bonus: Nigel does a special interview with three further subject experts - his kids. Moltz’ book...
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33. Being a Good Citizen on the Platform
Matt Comi of Big Bucket joins us to discuss developing games on Apple platforms. We talk about Matt and Neven Mrgan’s new game Space Age, porting games written for iOS and the Mac, Swift and Objective-C as languages for game development, and building the game engine and level editor for Space…
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32. Perfect Combination of Quality and Quantity
This week Federico Viticci joins us to talk digital distribution. We discuss about Nintendo’s attempts to court indie developers compared to Sony and Microsoft’s, the programs that make cross-plaftorm development plausible for indies, the various digital download platforms both on the consoles…
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31. I Want to Kinda Annoy People
Desert Golfing’s Justin Smith joins us from an alien spaceship to discuss reward in games, or a lack thereof. We talk about the world’s reception to his game Desert Golfing, and game design tools like high scores, story progression, leveling up, and sparkles. We also touch on Justin’s games No...
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30. Talking About Caragors
Isometric’s Georgia Dow joins us to discuss good and bad enemy AI. After an important word on Gamergate, we dig in to the sophisticated AI of Pac-Man. We go in depth on Shadows of Mordor and its Nemesis System, and the AI in various other games, stealth and otherwise. Allen complains about bad…
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29. Shakespeares Were Five Acts
Ryan Payton, in the midst of shipping Episode 3 of the critically acclaimed République, joins us to discuss episodic games. We start with a diversion into the challenge of supporting slower and older devices, then talk Season’s Passes, approaches to releasing game episodes, Telltale Games, and…
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28. 400,000 Boar-killing Bots
Kristen Bornemann, Development Director of the critically acclaimed MMO Guild Wars 2, joins us to talk scaling MMOs and other games. We talk about smooth and rocky launches, the death of “realms”, and Guild Wars 2’s novel business model. We also discuss hackers, shipping bi-weekly updates, and...
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27. A Tiny Game That You Can Play Forever
Asher Vollmer, creator of Threes and Close Castles, joins us to talk puzzle games. We discuss the process of designing developing Threes, and what goes in to making a great little puzzle game. We then talk about the whimsical minimalism that works so well in indie games, and how to bring them to...
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26. Final_Final_REAL_FINAL_v5.wav
Matthew Marteinsson, audio designer at Klei Entertainment, joins us to discuss sound design in games. We talk about the various techniques Matt used in Klei’s recent game Don’t Stave, from bees to gobblers. We discuss recording sound effects, what makes great sound design, what makes bad sound...
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25. So Unreal is Just Amazing
Martiancraft’s Jeff LaMarche joins us to discuss 3D game engines. We discuss the core features of a game engine, what Unity brings to the table, and why it has become so popular for indie games like Martiancraft’s Republic Sniper. Then we dig in to Unreal, Jeff’s team’s switch to it from Unity…
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24. Walking with a Voiceover
Daniel Cook of Spry Fox joins us to discuss content-focused and system-focused game design. We talk about the rise of narrative games like Gone Home and Journey, and contrast them to system-centric games that offer deeper gameplay, at the expense of greater risk to game developers. We talk about...
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23. How Not to Doom Yourself
Curtis Lassam joins us to discuss the great failures in video games. We kick things off with Jurassic Park: Trespasser, then learn about Curtis’ Three Rules to Not Doom Yourself. We follow the rocky career of Tim Schafer, then Nigel tells us all about Daikatana. Afterwards, we bat around a bad…
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22. Games Are Things Made By People
Adam “Atomic” Saltsman joins us to discuss collaboration and sustanability in the world of indie games. We talk about Adam’s new venture Finji Games, and collaborating with fans, from early access to Earliest Access. We fondly remember Canabalt, remember that critical hits aren’t always…
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21. A Complete Tub of Crap
Guy English returns this week to discuss 3D graphics APIs, so hold on to your butts. We start with the origins of the GPU, and recount the evolution of graphics APIs. We dig in to what a modern GPU actually does, and then discuss Apple’s new graphics API, Metal. Guy and Nigel reminisce about just...
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20. That's Not My Shepard
Brianna Wu and Amanda Warner of Giant Spacekat Games join us to talk about narrative in games. We talk about our favourite storylines, the development of Giant Spacekat’s imminent game Revolution 60, Unreal Engine, hand-crafted animations, and some initial thoughts on the final build of…
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19. They Shipped It Anyway
Philippe Casgrain of NSNorth and formerly of Transgaming joins us to discuss porting games. We discuss the technologies behind virtualizing games on the Mac, ports gone bad, and the effects of consoles on the PC versions of games. Then, we talk a bit about Wii U games and Hearthstone. Transgaming...
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18. There Are No Rules
Toca Boca’s Amanda Rösler joins us to discuss making great games for kids. We talk about why Toca Boca’s apps are more like toys than they are games, games for kids on the App Store, the pitfalls of making games for kids, and tea parties. Later, we talk about co-op games we’re looking forward to...
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17. The Main Character is a Serial Killer!
iMore’s Peter Cohen joins us to discuss morality in video games, and what it means to play dictators, serial killers, and just plain jerks. We determine whether or not this makes us bad people, and whether or not it’s going to traumatize our kids. Finally, we discuss the futility of going to E3....
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16. The Looney Tunes School of Stealth
Justin Voss of Low Earth Orbit joins us to talk stealth games. We discuss the origin of stealth games, instant failure, and the joy of finding alternative ways to complete a mission. Then, we rag on Metal Gear Solid and salivate over E3 announcements. The original Thief Eavesdropping in…
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15. Being a Bad Spider-Man
Scott Stevenson of Low Earth Orbit joins us to talk open world games. We discuss side quests, railroading, and trying to tell a story when the player can ruin everything. As usual, we end with a diversion into games we’re excited about, and some peculiar Kickstarters. Thief Hey cousin! Let’s go...
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14. The Red LEDs Were Cheaper
Ars Technica’s Kyle Orland joins us to discuss the great failures in game consoles. We talk about our favourite doomed consoles, the story of Sega’s downfall, and Nintendo’s journey through the desert with the Wii U. The Apple Pippin TurboGrafx-16 Console prices adjusted for inflation The…
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13. A QWOP Sort of Humour
Developer and humourist Curtis Lassam joins us to discuss humour in games. We discuss comically hard games, sandboxes as a vehicle for comedy, what makes it hard to write a funny game, and a goat. Octodad QWOP Enviro-Bear 2000 The Worms series Dwarf Fortress Boatmurdered Team Fortress’ “Meet The...
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12. First Person Shooter Monkey Island
Neven Mrgan, designer of wonderful apps and games, joins us to discuss retro games. We discuss his upcoming game Space Age, the challenges of pixel art, and Neven’s previous games The Incident and Blackbar. Space Age The Incident Scaling Pixel Art from Microsoft Research Gus Mueller’s excellent...
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11. Secret Alien Technology
Myke Hurley, world-renowned podcaster, joins us to discuss portable consoles, the future of the PS Vita, and the iPhone as a portable game console. Directional, Myke’s gaming podcast with Federico Viticci OlliOlli for PS Vita Indie games on the PS Vita MOGA Power Ace Game Controller for iOS...
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10. Nobody Has Gold Stars
Grace “GTZ” of Fat, Ugly, or Slutty joins us to discuss jerks on Xbox Live, getting people to play nice together, and hellbanning. Fat, Ugly, or Slutty League of Legends and the fine art of Jungling Grace’s panels at PAX 2013 and earlier about positively shaping player behaviour Riot Games’...
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9. Getting Bored of Clicking On Cows
Angelina Fabbro of Mozilla joins us to discuss games on the web, why the hell people are still using C++, and business models for web-based games. After that, we jump in to games we’re playing on the iPad, what’s wrong with MMOs, and how Pokémon will never die. Mozilla’s GDC 2014 announcements...
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8. Architecture and Forgiveness
Monument Valley’s Ken Wong joins us to discuss games as art, Monument Valley, and the business of crafting meaningful games. Monument Valley Video games can never be art by Roger Ebert Journey Gone Home and why you should play it instead of Dear Esther Threes, the tiny puzzle that grows on you...
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7. Criticizing Water For Being Wet
Scott Stevenson of Low Earth Orbit joins us to discuss game reviews, game-breaking bugs, and what’s wrong with Lara Croft getting impaled. IGN’s Assassin’s Creed 3 Review A few hundred of Skyrim’s bugs Double Fine’s Hack and Slash The VanCocoa meetup Polygon’s Dragon’s Crown review Polygon’s…
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6. My Whole Colony Filled Up With Cabbage
Gaslamp Games’ David Baumgart joins us to discuss Clockwork Empires, simulations, and pickled fungi. Rock Paper Shotgun’s wonderful preview of Clockwork Empires Dwarf Fortress Stories Creature training in Black & White Engineering Faith, the ill-fated religion simulator Cube Drone Low Earth Orbit...
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5. You Die Instantly
Tyson Kallberg joins us to discuss why games are getting easier, what makes us want to ragequit, and death by checkpoint. Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels Deus Ex: Human Revolutions’s outsourced boss battles The Team Fortress 2 Deathcam You Will Die Instantly!, the episode of Hypercritical that…
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4. It Shipped And It Was Fast
Guy English and Nigel tell tales of the hacks that make games work, from fast inverse square root to assembly shenanigans. Allen tries to keep things understandable for non-programmers, and fails spectacularly. Pac-Man for the Atari 2600 Fast Inverse Square Root The End of the World of Minecraft...
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3. Three Quarters of Half-Life One
Patrick Gibson joins us to discuss games that are too long, side quests, tearing up, and flapping. Tomb Raider 2013 Ben Franklin’s Almanac Pages The Top Free to Play Monetization Tricks Maverick Bird Patrick’s Flappy Bird high score Squarespace, the all-in-one platform that makes it fast and easy...
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2. A Perfect Storm of Crummy Business Decisions
Parveen Kaler joins us to discuss sequels, plastic guitars, and the unfair advantage of being Batman. Guitar Hero’s 20 games in 5 years Top Rated Games of 2013 Top Rated Films of 2013 Steamclock Software
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1. Container of Monetary Units
Matt Kump joins us to discuss In App Purchase, what horrible things it’s done to the games we love, and what we can learn from Party Poker. Glitch Clash of Clans in the shower Matt’s upcoming iOS game Party Monster
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
App developers Allen Pike and Nigel Brooke host an interesting guest each week to discuss what's up and what's down in the games industry. Chaos ensues.
HOSTED BY
Allen Pike and Nigel Brooke
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Up Up Down Down have?
Up Up Down Down currently has 48 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Up Up Down Down about?
App developers Allen Pike and Nigel Brooke host an interesting guest each week to discuss what's up and what's down in the games industry. Chaos ensues.
How often does Up Up Down Down release new episodes?
Up Up Down Down has 48 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Up Up Down Down?
You can listen to Up Up Down Down on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Up Up Down Down?
Up Up Down Down is created and hosted by Allen Pike and Nigel Brooke.
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