Game Dev Podcast | Coffee with Butterscotch

This week, we talk about optimal stickiness, quest concepts, and brain sharing. Pair programming is like piloting a Jaeger. Drifting off each other’s brain powers makes the process of extra-dimension…

This week, we talk about voice software, creating a shared experience, and game sequels. Context is everything: yelling at computer screens in an open office setting is rude whereas yelling in your h…

In this episode, we discuss breakfast, intent vs balance, and survivorship bias. Game design is about finding the balance between the emotion you want to deliver and the experience the player feels. …

This week, we talk about doing cat stuff, microdefects, and context specificity. Workflow is about smoothing the path between Knowing and Done, so the Doing needs to be as easy as possible. Solving o…

In this episode, we discuss ankles, Newton’s third law, and high leverage experiential time spend. Everything we look at is through the lens of survivorship bias. After all, what we see is what’s alr…

This week, we talk about what we did during our Bscotch summer break! Mostly, V Rising, Hench, and Crashlands 2. (That last one might sound like a work thing, but hey, you aren’t our supervisor.) Wha…

In this episode, we discuss the secret to cooking, overcoming tedium, and frustration thresholds. During the course of your work, you’ll run into small things that are annoying. You might even run in…

This week, we talk about meeting your adventure quota, experienced goods, and cinematic feels. When you’re making a sequel, there are a lot of expectations to manage. While you need the excitement, c…

In this episode, we discuss optimal temperature ranges, the Diablo to QWOP scale, and bizarrely wholesome reading experiences. You don’t want too many cooks in the kitchen, but what about not enough …

This week, we talk about context shifts, the homework model, and vague help. It’s easy to feel like small incremental progress is worthless, but that’s an issue with perception rather than with reali…

In this episode, we discuss no scope game dev, independent levers, and readability. You’ve gotta think in the short term to survive, but the long term to succeed. Making that mental shift is hard whe…

This week, we talk about social feedback loops, scalability, and having better problems. Change creates change, and you wanna be thinking about those changes at least two layers deep. Otherwise you m…

In this episode, we discuss difficulty tuning, balance, and noises. When you’re designing an experience, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s not just about your design – it’s about where your de…

This week, we talk about charlatans, circular definitions, and bunnywool. We revisit the idea of “You just gotta get in there.” If all you have are questions, getting in there is about figuring out s…

In this episode, we discuss layers on layers on layers. It’s more useful to think of most things in terms of levels – of accessibility, of interaction, of knowledge. When you’re designing, design wit…

This week, we talk about DVD choices, inkblot movies, and shutting out the world. When you’re exploring a paradigm shift, a big part of that upfront investment is learning and creating new processes.…

In this episode, we discuss secrets, knowledge mastery, and buffing pawns. Gameplay loops keep players engaged, but it’s all too easy to only think about mechanical loops. Providing various levels of…

This week, we talk about hidden information, player choice, and doing less. Things are often different than what you think they’re going to be, and that’s okay! But if you mistake activity for progre…

In this episode, we discuss more fan poking, feeding the beast, and reframing productivity. We had our quarterly review, and it was, as usual, illuminating! Productivity isn’t just about making stuff…

This week, we talk about the nightmare of incentives, design arms race, and price. Despite what economists tell you, you can’t assume a can opener. Or a spherical cow for that matter. And certainly n…