Nevyn Holms (any/all) is one half of indie tabletop studio Dinoberry Press, whose games explore collaborative crafts, asymmetric mechanics, and genre adaptation. They joined me to break down what draws them to physical objects as mechanics, creating shared buy in at a table, and the importance of fucked up little guys.
Read MoreAyu Koyama (she/her) is an interactive fiction writer and designer whose work explores religion, history, and digital play. In this episode we chat about what drew her to interactive fiction as a form, how that intersects with her experimental web design projects, and the ways a distant relationship with Catholicism influences her games. In closing we invite you to read old books.
Read MoreKyou System (they/them) is an artist and game developer whose work explores the profound and incoherent world of dreams. We discuss the nocturnal origins of their first game, Remembrance, revisiting and remaking it half a decade later, embracing a more expressionistic writing style, and getting involved in visual novel game jams.
Read Morerileylessthan9 (it/its) is a multimedia artist and game developer whose work explores the tension between abrasion and hope. In this episode we chat about its collage visual style, getting emotional over code, and the absurdity of people trying to ignore trans representation in itch games.
Read MoreKasey Ozymy (he/him) is an indie RPG developer whose work draws from 16-bit classics and deep cuts. In this episode we chat about what interests him about RPGs, the design and writing philosophy behind modern classic Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, and how the upcoming Hymn to the Earless God will be an even more complex project.
Read MoreXiri (he/him) is the creator of the sublime BL visual novel series, HITME, among other games exploring queer identity and the end of the world. He took some time away from the upcoming HITM3 to chat with me about transitioning from music videos to games, how film influences his work, and a world where everybody is gay.
Read MoreAustin Ramsay (he/him) is a tabletop RPG designer best known for Beam Saber, a Forged in the Dark game about mech pilots fighting an endless war. He joined me on this episode to talk about going from writing “imagination games” as a kid to 400+ page RPGs, creating rules that encourage player/GM collaboration, and how fun it can be to have a character go AWOL.
Read MoreSylvie (she/her) is a prolific creator of challenging platformers, action RPGs, and games about cats. She sat down with me to discuss her design philosophy based in constraints, games as conversations, and her esoteric entry into the year of bump combat. Later, she 1CCs an arcade cult classic.
Read MoreIt’s over. After being incinerated, dismembered, and blown up too many times to count, Axe and Nathalie have arrived at the end of Zero Time Dilemma, the end of Zero Escape, and the end of this podcast. As the sun sets on the Nevada desert, Delta informs our hosts that every terrible decision was necessary to bring them to this very moment transmitting live to you, dear listener. That through their suffering, the world may be saved. With the final decision staring our duo in the face, we leave it up to you to decide the fate of humanity…
Read MoreMeredith Gran (she/her) is a comics artist and game designer, best known for her webcomic, Octopus Pie and the adventure game Perfect Tides. She sat down with me to talk about her experience coming to games from a comics background, how Perfect Tides’ mechanics where influenced by teenage naivety, and why the 00s are such a rich period for coming of age stories. Finally, we wrap up with a teaser for the upcoming sequel, Perfect Tides: Station to Station.
Read MoreIt’s the penultimate episode of Zero Context, which means Axe and Nathalie get to finally meet Zero in the flesh. With bloodshot eyes and cane in hand, he clues them in on the tragic truth of our favorite ball-headed boy, Mira’s bloody fate, and how he’s somehow been there the whole time just out of frame. Before our duo can process these revelations, Zero unveils new telekinetic powers and blows everyone away so he can spend a quite evening with his mom.
Read MoreFor the first Kritiqal Care bonus episode, returning guests Colin (he/they) of melessthanthree and Kevin Wong (they/them) join me to discuss their recently released action RPG, Death of a Wish. We discuss where the idea for a sequel came from, its themes emerging from contemporary anxieties and apathy, balancing thematic resonance with difficulty, and planning a coordinated marketing push for an effective team of two.
Read MoreCecile Richard (they/them) is a graphic designer, writer, and game developer known for their playful Bitsy projects and hypertext fiction. They joined me to discuss cyclical stories, the risk/reward of collaborating with close friends, and how cool underground tunnels are. We also take a moment to proselytize about editors, and I learn about a new, extremely fake sounding sport.
Read MoreThrough a chaotic sequence of various form of time travel, Axe and Nathalie have finally ended up at Zero Time Dilemma’s apex. They bare witness to a cabin fever love story, learn about transporter cooldown timers, and send clones of doomed babies back to the turn of the 20th century. Shifting to another timeline, they discover the facility is not what it seems, get another round of snail story facts, and finally glance at that bloody anagram before our favorite boy Carlos blows the door off its hinges…
Read MoreAfter last week’s malaise, Axe and Nathalie have been orb launched into two bewilderingly dense fragments. Zero Time Dilemma begins to reveal its secrets, as first our hosts close the loop on the radical-6 outbreak, finding a far more familiar culprit than expected. Then, Akane’s murderous soul returns to her body and they bear witness to the worst time travel escape plan of all time. Just as the way out is at hand, the lights are cut and a boy without a name comes to end the episode for us…
Read MoreDavid Su (he/him) is a musician, audio programmer, and game designer who explores interactive music and performance art. He took some time off from his ballooning schedule to discuss how he got interested in making games from an audio background, the challenges and rewards of centering your game around sound, and the playful earnestness of a cloned sheep’s lament. Later, we wander into a video store.
Read MoreHappy New Year! Returning from an arguably better videogame, Axe and Nathalie are back in the Zero Time Dilemma bomb shelter with our favorite cast of disorganized sickos. They learn about game show probability puzzles, crunch the numbers on sci-fi virus mortality rates (they’re bad), and play an actual escape room game. In another timeline, Nathalie proposes that a dog could be behind the whole thing, Axe pleads for more mid-puzzle cutscene, and the duo collectively sigh at how still nothing is happening before being put out of their misery by a mysterious assassin.
Read MoreIt’s New Year’s Eve, which means 2023 has come and gone, bringing in closing our annual end of the year show. As is tradition, I reached out to past guests of the show to ask what their most impactful gaming memory was from the last 12 months. The responses were as insightful, touching, and playful as ever, running the gamut from industry events, personal milestones, and games that captured people’s imaginations.
Read MoreAxe and Nathalie take a break from Zero Escape for the holidays, having scored an all-expenses-paid trip to a ski lodge from a mysterious and generous listener. The time off gives them a chance to finally play the seminal sound novel, Kamaitachi no Yoru (Chunsoft, 1994) AKA Night of the Sickle Weasel, but unfortunately, the game becomes all too real as bodies start to pile up with the ceaseless snow. As frenzied accusations threaten to lock up our hosts for good, they search for a branch of the flow chart which will get them out of this nightmare…
Read MoreIn an eerily brief set of fragments, Axe and Nathalie must contend with poison capsules, rotating rooms, and a belligerent shotgun wielding Eric as they scramble towards some a still ambiguous resolution. They scan some brains and swing some hammers before confronting a troubling child abuse backstory and its many unfortunate connotations. After the dust settles, Nathalie unveils a new set of 9 10 predictions that just might be her ticket our of this twisted game, and our hosts look forward to a holiday reprieve from Zero as they jump to a different game entirely.
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