Canvas (he/she), aka bighandinsky, is the creator of crunchy, narrative driven scifi games A Forgetful Loop and A Day of Maintenance. He’s collaborated with fellow writers and indie devs Freya Campbell and Elliot Herriman, and joined me on this episode to chat about integrating dense narration into mechanics heavy games, writing casual and circuitous conversations with robots, and the struggle of managing energy and stress during longterm projects.
Read MoreAfter what feels like an eternity within the barren halls of Virtue’s Last Reward, Axe and Nathalie escape into a world they scarcely recognize. With little time to process what’s occur, they are funneled back into the facility where the facts of this diabolical game are finally disclosed. Is Akane as twisted as she seems? Who is the worst dad among us? Does anyone really care about being tortured for science? No? Sorry? Hey, put that knife awa—
Read MoreReturning to the director’s office, Axe and Nathalie use their months of nonary knowledge to finally hack into the lion computer, finding no puzzles and fewer answers. Unmoved by Phi’s pleas to take our BP and leave, we abandon her in the elevator for another date in the garden with Robo Luna. She clues us in on some mysterious plans within plans, murders she didn’t commit, and teaches us how to build a faraday cage before disintegrating in our arms. Surely, this was all for a good reason…
Read MoreLeah Case (she/her) is a writer and game developer who specializes in absurd Twine hacking. In our chat, she digs into why she loves Twine so much, how she approaches writing branching interactive fiction, and how collaborating as part of snotwurm lets her focus in on system building (in Twine, of course). She closes the show out by teasing a forthcoming visual novel strategy game, and recommending some further listening.
Read MoreAfter a long sleep in the cryogenic pods, Axe and Nathalie are thrust back into Virtue’s Last Reward, the final end just out of reach. They fumble with dice in a neglected archive, spilling milk all over their hands, but manage to make it back to the garden with both arms attached. Alas, Luna crushes their robot dreams, revealing them to just be normal podcasters before everything explodes.
Read MoreJumping all the way back up the termite mound, Axe and Nathalie finally enter the cyan door, a choice they maybe should have made at the start. They learn about Schrodinger’s Cat, Erotic Units, Prime Decomposition, and several other Wikipedia pages while reveling in the impeccably designed garden puzzle. Unfortunately, they are once again betrayed and forced in the last act to contend with deflating 3D models and gender roles no amount of annihilation energy can destroy.
Read MoreAfter the last bewildering lock, Axe and Nathalie take the long way down to warehouse B and finally get some answers. They learn about inflation with Tenmyouji, fend of Clover’s advances, and come face-to-face with the termite architect himself, Zero. Unfortunately, not even root beer can lessen the sting of a friend’s betrayal…
Read MoreAutumn Rain (she/they/it) is a prolific game developer whose work explores religious trauma, non-linear exploration, and getting lost in a maze of rats. We discuss games as miserable piles of secrets, the importance of indie dev communities, and why it’s actually fine and good to troll gamers.
Read MoreAfter a brief taste of freedom, Axe and Nathalie plunge back into Virtue’s Last Reward, running headfirst into a lock before much of anything happens. Desperate to move on and (hopefully) get some answers, they fumble through a poorly arranged lab, detail the mathematical effects of Radical-6, and once again wish better for Clover. Exhausted and possibly infected with anime sickness, they close out the episode struggling to think of any reason to put cults in videogames.
Read MoreLily Valeen (she/they) is a game designer, writer, and artist who recently released BOSSGAME: The Final Boss is My Heart, a mobile action game about lesbian devil hunters. She joined me on the show to dive into BOSSGAME's development, the frustrating preconceptions around mobile games, and writing queer romance. Later on, we encourage you to befriend your cool mutuals.
Read MoreWith its mix of flowery dialogue, elaborate metaphor, and obsessive passion, Legacy of Kain is continually referencing and subverting gothic conventions throughout its runtime. Amidst the complex story spanning multiple time periods, interrogations on the nature of power, and musings on immortal morality, another theme emerges from the game’s proximity to gothic and vampire literature: Kain is queer as hell.
Read MoreAfter weeks locked in the Virtue’s Last Reward lounge, Axe and Nathalie finally step through the 9 door, only to discover a barren desert awaiting them. With nowhere left to go, they ponder the broken logic of the prisoner’s dilemma, why they have all these gold files, and who gets to use the big rock. Before fully crumbling under the weight of so much cursed knowledge, they stumble upon a transmitter and receive a message from what remains of the outside world.
Read MoreAxe and Nathalie groggily awake sometime after the start of Virtue’s Last Reward, only to discover they’ve been locked inside a cryogenic pod! Struggling against limited oxygen, they race through a blur of incomplete discoveries. As the hallucinations set in, Nathalie discovers a set of additional rules that might just let her escape this twisted game if she can predict how it all ends.
Read MoreKate Barrett (she/her) is a game developer and comic artist best known for her playful, irreverent, and frequently copyright infringing design philosophy. She joined me this episode to retrace her curiosity-turned-obsession with Earnest Cline’s novel, evangelize her suitably unorthodox commitment to Blitz3D, and discuss the freedom that comes with embracing Glorious Trainwrecks.
Read MoreAxe and Nathalie venture further into Virtue’s Last Reward, getting trapped waiting for the password reset email as murder abounds. The workplace comedy death game continues to expand absurdly outward, treating our hosts to even more thought experiments, cryptic anagrams, and anime sicknesses. Will the nineth lion eat the sun? Could a child be behind it all? Can we ever escape The Chinese Room of our mind? Voting closes in 3…2…1…
Read MoreDespite its formal diversity, a tonal and stylistic consistency lends coherency to owch’s oeuvre, particularly a pattern of changes. The qualitative value of these changes is not usually clearly positive, and often scary, but always necessary to reach the ending. While individually owch’s games can seem inscrutable, when viewed together their shared interest in transformation, dramatic change, and uncertain outcomes suggests deeper readings.
Read MoreKenzie Shores (she/her) is a game developer and artist best known for the pornographic visual novel, Hardcoded. Nearing the game’s full release, Kenzie joined me to chat about Hardcoded’s origins, the challenge of monetizing porn, and why it really sucks to work on the same game for seven years.
Read MoreWelcome back, espers! Axe and Nathalie awake up from their slumber to once again find themselves trapped in the twisted hands of Zero Escape. This time they’ll be forced to navigate the crudely rendered halls of Virtue’s Last Reward (Spike Chunsoft, 2012), the second game in the trilogy and a notably larger one than 999. Will they manage to solve the infuriating infirmary puzzle? Is Zero III a v-tuber? Will Clover ever stop winking??? The podcast doors will open in 3…2…1…
Read MoreThe year has come and gone in a Sonic hued blur, and as is now tradition, I reached out to prior Kritiqal Care guests to ask what their favorite gaming and/or gaming-adjacent memory was in 2022. The responses were truly incredible, spanning great games, communities, moments of personal growth, and surprising opportunities. This continues to be my favorite episode of the year, and I’m so glad to get to share it with you. Happy new year!
Read MoreHappy holidays from Zero Context! Bridging the gap between 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward, Axe and Nathalie reconvene for a very special episode, live reacting to the VLR promotional OVA. Zero Context will return in the new year. Don’t forget to leave cookies for Santa.
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