Play Dead

In this episode, Gabby talks with Adam Hines and Bryant Cannon of Night School Studios, the creators of the critically-acclaimed game Oxenfree and the upcoming game Afterparty. They talk about writing for grief, the consequences of changing the past, and how Afterparty is going to deal with the subject of death. The music used in this episode comes from the Oxenfree and AfterParty soundtracks, both of which were composed by scntfc.

In this episode, Gabby talks with Dan Salvato, the creator of the critically-acclaimed, romance-slash-horror visual novel game Doki Doki Literature Club. They discuss writing mental health and horror games, subverting the visual novel genre, and how DDLC uses deletion as “death”. Warning: This episode contains spoilers for the game Doki Doki Literature Club, and discussion about sensitive subjects such as suicide and self harm. The music used in this episode comes from the Doki Doki Literature Club soundtrack which was composed by Dan Salvato.

In the season three premiere, Gabby talks with Ian Dallas, the Creative Director of Giant Sparrow, about the studio’s critically-acclaimed What Remains of Edith Finch. They discuss the development of Edith Finch, the team’s careful approach to the depiction of children’s deaths, and how Ian’s personal experiences with death impacted the game’s overall design and development. The music used in this episode comes from the What Remains of Edith Finch soundtrack composed by Jeff Russo. You can learn more about him at JeffRusso.com.

In this episode, Gabby speaks with Matt Klimas, the Virginia-based graphic designer and game developer behind the graveyard-building card game Grim Acres. They talk about the beauty of graveyards, the challenges of game balance, and the creative processes for card games and board games with a physical component. The music in this episode comes from Robby Duguay. You can check out more of Robby’s work by following him on Twitter @RobbyDuguay or check out his website at composer.games.

In this episode, Gabby speaks with Klaus Lyngeled of Zoink! Games about the upcoming games Fe and Flipping Death, the latter of which will be out soon for the Nintendo Switch. The music used in this episode comes from the Flipping Death soundtrack, which was composed by Gustav Davidsson and Erik Bengtsson, and the Fe soundtrack, which was composed by Joel Bille.

In this episode, Gabby speaks with Sam Coster of Butterscotch Shenanigans about developing Crashlands shortly after being diagnosed with cancer and having to face his mortality. They also talk about how death is used in games, and what games affected Sam the most while he was going through cancer treatments. The music used in this episode comes from the Crashlands soundtrack, which was written and composed by Fat Bard. You can check out the OST and listen to more of their music at FatBard.bandcamp.com.

In this special episode, Gabby speaks with all of Play Dead’s Season 2 guests about their most memorable video game deaths, including Daniel Rosen, Stephanie Harvey, Justin Kuiper, Adam Saltsman, Kim Koronya, Andrew Willans, and Niamh Schönherr (you can also catch up with Season 1’s memorable deaths over here). The music used in this episode was written and composed by Justine, and comes from their latest mix on Soundcloud, which you can check out at https://soundcloud.com/sintecta/sets/mishmash. You can also hear more of Justine’s music at https://sintecta.bandcamp.com/ and follow them on twitter @Sintecta.

In this special VR episode, Gabby speaks with Andrew Willans (EVE: Valkyrie) about the mechanical challenges VR developers face when designing death in their games; and Kim Koronya (Globes VR) about creating empathy using VR, and the ethics that need to be considered when creating VR games involving death. The music used in Andrew’s parts of this episode comes from the EVE: Valkyrie soundtrack, which was written and composed by Rich Maccoull. You can hear more at soundcloud.com/ccpgames. The piano tracks used during the opening and during Kim’s parts come from http://www.bensound.com.

In this episode of Play Dead, Gabby speaks with writer and independent game developer Niamh Schönherr about her upcoming game Sofðu litla tófan mín: A Lullaby (or “Sleep Tight my Little Fox: A Lullaby”), death in Icelandic folklore and ritual, and the connection between food and death. The music used in this episode comes from Niamh’s game Sofðu litla tófan mín: A Lullaby, and was written and composed by Solai and the Super Marcato Bros respectively. You can check out Solai’s work at solai.bandcamp.com and the Super Marcato Bros music at supermarcatobros.bandcamp.com.

In this episode, Gabby speaks with Adam Saltsman of Finji Co. about their upcoming game Overland, permadeath design in video games, and what it means to survive the apocalypse. The music used in this episode comes from Overland and is written and composed by Overland sound designer Jocelyn Reyes. You can check out their work here and follow them on Twitter @jirisrey

In this episode, Gabby speaks with Justin Kuiper, the lead writer at Route 59 Games, about how death is used as a mechanic and storytelling device in their upcoming game Necrobarista. The music used in this episode comes from Necrobarista and is written and composed by Kevin Penkin. You can check out his work here: kpenkmusic.com.

In the season two premiere of Play Dead, Gabby talks death and eSports with The Score’s Daniel Rosen and professional Counter-Strike: GO player Stephanie Harvey. They discuss how death can often be used as a tactic in competitive games, and how the eSports community honours and memorializes deceased players. The music used in this episode was written and composed by our dear friend Paige Freeman-Cyopeck, and comes from their album “divided.” You can download divided at https://queercricket.bandcamp.com/ and follow Paige on Twitter @littledogfriend.

In this special end of the year episode of Play Dead, Gabby asks several game developers about their most memorable video game deaths, including Taylor Bai-Woo, Sagan Yee, Ksenia Eic, Tabby Rose, Robby Duguay, Alex Bull, Jonathan Levstein, Rosalind Chapman, Rosemary Brennan, and Dork Shelf Games Editor Eric Weiss. The answers range from NPC deaths, to game glitches, to digital reminders of deceased loved ones. The music used in this episode was written and composed by Robby Duguay and comes from his Christmas album 12GB of Christmas Vol. 4 which is out now. You can check it out here and follow him on Twitter @RobbyDuguay

In the season 1 finale of Play Dead, Gabby is joined by Scott Benson, the game developer and artist of Night in the Woods. They talk about death in Night in the Woods and its supplemental Lost Constellation, the “good death” in video games, and traumatic deaths in Canadian christmas movies. The music used in this episode was written and composed by Alec Holowka and is from the games Night in the Woods, Lost Constellation, and Longest Night. You can check out more of Alec’s work at infiniteammo.com.

In this week’s episode, Gabby is joined by Pippin Barr, an experimental game maker and assistant professor at Concordia University in Montreal. They talk about Pippin’s work, permadeath speed runs, and using death purposefully in games. The music used in this episode is from Pippin’s games Breaksout, Eveline, Hot Coffee, Safety Instructions, and Zorba.

In this week’s episode, Gabby is joined by Aaron Leighton, the art director and illustrator of Sago Sago, and Linda Hochstetler, a Toronto-based registered social worker and therapist who specializes in end of life issues related to illness, death, dying, and loss. They talk about death in traditional children’s media, talking with kids about death, and how to utilize death in meaningful ways in games for both adults and children. The music used in this episode was written and composed by my dear friend Paige Freeman-Cyopeck, and comes from their new album “darkmatter”. You can download darkmatter at https://queercricket.bandcamp.com/ and follow Paige on twitter @littledogfriend.

In this week’s episode, Gabby is joined by Alex Zandra Van Chestein, an independent game developer and a designer at Ikonoclast, the studio behind the Mako Engine — a visual novel maker for Unity — and the game Battle of the Heart. They talk about Ikonoclast’s upcoming death-centric game One Last Cup, then move on to discuss death anxiety and other death positive video games. The music used in this episode was written and composed by Lena Raine for One Last Cup. You can listen to more of Lena’s work at radicaldream.land and follow her on Twitter @kuraine. Content Warning: This episode features discussion of suicide.

In this week’s music-themed episode, Gabby talks about composing music for death in video games with musicians Rich Vreeland, also known as Disasterpeace (FEZ, It Follows, Hyper Light Drifter), Robby Duguay (Fate Tectonics, We Are Doomed), and Jim Guthrie (Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery, Below). The music used in this episode is from the movie It Follows and the games Hyper Light Drifter, Fez, Fate Tectonics, and Sword and Sworcery, and was written and composed by Rich, Robby, and Jim, respectively. Correction: This episode incorrectly credits Robby Duguay as the “composer and sound designer of Fate Tectonics.” Robby Duguay is the composer. Jen Costa is the Sound Designer for Fate Tectonics.

In this week’s episode, Gabby is joined by Lucas Pope, the independent game developer behind Papers, Please, The Republia Times, and the upcoming Return of the Obra Dinn. Gabby had the opportunity to play Return of the Obra Dinn at the 2016 Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco and met with Lucas to talk about the game, killing mechanics in mainstream games, and how indie developers are changing up the formula for death in games. The music used in this episode is from Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn.

In this week’s episode, Gabby is joined by Benjamin Rivers, the independent game developer behind Home and the upcoming Alone With You. They talk about traditional death mechanics, common death tropes in horror games, and how Ben is using death in his own games. The music used in this episode is from Home and Alone With You. Both soundtracks are written and composed by Ivor Stines.