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The Game Developers' Library

Indie Game Clinic

A regular "book-club" style podcast where Joe Baxter-Webb [Indie Game Clinic] chats with a range of guest co-hosts about the books we think game developers should read (or at least know the gist of!)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  • 9 episodes
  • every few months
  • Avg 1 hr 23 min
  • English

Episodes 9

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  • #9
    August 15 · 1 hr 30 min

    Mike Cook - Next Level: Making Games That Make Themselves

    Buy Books But Not From Bezos: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/indiegameclinic IGC Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/indiegameclinic Music: GDL Theme created by Joe Baxter-Webb especially for the show. No Generative AI was used. The music during the ad break was Backdrop Lady by John Runefelt, licensed via Epidemic Sound https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NkdfV5NQxw Games in the Book: Elite: https://playclassic.games/games/space-simulation-dos-games-online/play-elite-online/ Rogue: https://www.myabandonware.com/game/rogue-4n/play-4n Spelunky: https://playclassic.games/games/platform-windows-games-online/spelunky/ Dwarf Fortress: https://store.steampowered.com/app/975370/Dwarf_Fortress/ Caves of Qud: https://store.steampowered.com/app/333640/Caves_of_Qud/ AI Dungeon: https://aidungeon.com/ Games in the Book We Neglected to Discuss: Black & White: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/postmortem-lionhead-studios-i-black-white-i- Creatures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-6DzI-krUQ Additional Resources on Key Topics: Mike Cook ProcGen Talk 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3daNITP9vBc Mike Cook ProcGen Talk 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SGEcrRFuv4 ProcJam on itch.io: https://itch.io/jam/procjam Drunk Cats in DF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yWf6BHqiWM Probability Curves with Dice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEW6OufmGfs Wave Function Collapse explainer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI_y2GAlQFM Redblock Games Perlin Maps: https://www.redblobgames.com/maps/terrain-from-noise/ Cyclic Dungeon Generation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wvkTT-6P3Q Doom Level Progress Diagrams: https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/100569-level-progress-diagrams-%E2%80%93-2002ado/ Perlin Noise explainer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMj3WU4gORI Spelunky Level Gen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqk5Zf0tw3o Article on "Yomi": https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/what-is-yomi- Jamie Cheng interview on Designer Notes: https://soundcloud.com/idlethumbs/designer-notes-jamie-cheng Derren Brown vs 9 Chess Players: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAXIubSTkc Design/Play/Disrupt at the V&A https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/videogames?srsltid=AfmBOopAVyltddhnMhkoRQrXIT01B80O1KNmBq8zMCDYpmq0PKb7GRv4 Engelstein on Loss Aversion at GDC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_1YcCcBVfY&t=2958s Other Games Mentioned Map Painter '84: https://acellular.itch.io/map-painter-84 Elite Dangerous: https://store.steampowered.com/app/359320/Elite_Dangerous/ Populous: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populous_(video_game) Dungeon Keeper: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1996630/Dungeon_Keeper_Gold/ Rimworld: https://store.steampowered.com/app/294100/RimWorld/ Bad North: https://store.steampowered.com/app/688420/Bad_North_Jotunn_Edition/ Baldurs Gate 3: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1086940/Baldurs_Gate_3/ Disco Elysium: https://store.steampowered.com/app/632470/Disco_Elysium__The_Final_Cut/ Skyrim: https://store.steampowered.com/app/489830/The_Elder_Scrolls_V_Skyrim_Special_Edition/ Alien Isolation: https://store.steampowered.com/app/214490/Alien_Isolation/ Arc Raiders: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1808500/ARC_Raiders/ Fable 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fable_III Oregon Trail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pze05Fz_rh8&t=1s Tom's itch.io: https://tchom.itch.io/ Joe's Stuff: Golem Gourmet on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4209800/Golem_Gourmet/ Strange Voyage on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/strangevoyage.bsky.social ThanetGuide on X: https://x.com/ThanetGuide Joe's article of Baldur's Gate 3 and the silliness of seeing D&D as "IP" when it's also a pre-designed ruleset: https://medium.com/@indiegameclinic/dungeons-dragons-isnt-just-i-p-the-real-game-dev-lessons-of-baldur-s-gate-3-c086bc6c4f35 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • #8
    June 18 · 1 hr 39 min

    Anna Anthropy - Rise of the Videogame Zinesters

    In this episode, Tom and Joe read and respond to Rise of the Videogame Zinesters: How Freaks, Normals, Amateurs, Artists, Dreamers, Drop-outs, Queers, Housewives Are Taking Back an Art Form. Patreon.com/indiegameclinic Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • #7
    March 21 · 1 hr 35 min

    Tynan Sylvester - Designing Games: A Guide to Engineering Experiences

    In this episode we read Rimworld creator Tynan Sylvester's design textbook. 00:00 intro OVERVIEW 01:34 situating the book in our collection 07:55 signposting cultural politics 10:30 book's structure & approach PHILOSOPHY & PSYCHOLOGY 17:33 engines of experience 20:30 events and anticipation 23:09 emotion and human values 27:50 an interesting take on "flow" INTERESTING AREAS/CHAPTERS 30:30 challenge & mastery 34:12 flexible meanings of "narrative" 40:34 decisions types & intensities 47:05 strategy design & balance 50:18 predicting your opponent ("yomi") 55:38 game theory & griefing 01:01:40 some other chapters/topics PRODUCTION / PROCESSES 01:03:20 the market and the specificity of game appeal 01:02:45 processes and planning 01:07:40 knowledge, research, and evaluating ideas 01:09:00 the dependency stack 01:13:00 collaboration, sensitivity and the Rimworld controversy 01:31:05 what we're reading next time The theme song was produced by show host Joe Baxter-Webb. The Ludonarrative Dissonance jingle was "Carvings" by Blood of Geruda, licensed from Epidemic Sound. RELATED TOPICS: Misattribution of Arousal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misattribution_of_arousal Game Theory & (ir)rationality: https://larspsyll.wordpress.com/2025/02/15/what-is-wrong-with-game-theory/ Swagless Games: https://www.polygon.com/code-vein-2-swagless-game/ Jeff Vogel GDC talk about serving a market gap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stxVBJem3Rs&t=1746s Tynan Sylvester GDC talk on the idea reservoir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdqhHKjepiE&t=3113s Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • #6
    February 16 · 1 hr 20 min

    Scott McCloud - Understanding Comics, The Invisible Art

    In this episode we attempt to verbally describe a comic book. But not just any comic book. Scott McCloud's 1993 "Understanding Comics" is a comic about comics; not necessarily how to make them, but how they "work" for readers. Your librarians Tom and Joe jump about the book in no particular order, picking apart what they personally got from the book, and highlighting areas where we think there's something interesting in there for an indie dev. TOPICS INCLUDE: > how videogames are interactive cartoons > semiotics and the psychology of images > how "gaps" and "holes" in stories create engagement > nonlinear narrative in different media > starting projects with "ideas" vs starting with craft TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 intro 01:45 why this book 06:15 overview 11:35 indie games and cartoon aesthetics 14:02 two mediums with the same status issue 16:22 iconic representation and identification 18:55 history and definition of comics 23:02 the semiotics of comics 30:12 the three types of image 41:00 gamers love a ruined city 44:48 time is weird in comics 49:45 "closure" in media psychology 52:33 non-linear moments in comics 57:29 the meaning of lines and colours 59:20 showing & telling / multimodality 65:35 self-referentiality as a sign of a mature medium 68:50 McClouds 6 Steps of Creativity 73:20 finishing projects vs starting new ones 68:13 what's next? OTHER REFERENCES: Juniper Dev on Little White Guys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=banRsciq1ww Ian Bogost's 2023 essay on Gone Home: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/perpetual-adolescence-the-fullbright-companys-gone-home/ "Storyteller" Comicbook-Interface Puzzle Game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1624540/Storyteller/ "Her Story" Narrative Puzzle Game https://store.steampowered.com/app/368370/Her_Story/ "The Beginner's Guide" (example of a "reflexive"/self-referential game) https://store.steampowered.com/app/303210/The_Beginners_Guide/ wiki page of Pierre Bourdieu's "Distinction" (sociology of taste) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinction_(book) The original game design "MDA Theory" paper: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://users.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/MDA.pdf McCloud's 6 Steps of Creativity explained using SoundCloud Rappers: https://rudycraiglcgr.blogspot.com/2016/08/this-for-lcgn-class-we-had-to-read.html Derek Yu on finishing games: https://makegames.tumblr.com/post/1136623767/finishing-a-game Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • #4
    Sep 7, 2025 · 1 hr 28 min

    Jason Schreier - Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made

    In this episode we discuss Jason Schreier's journalistic account of the creation of a bunch of different games, ranging from huge AAA games like DragonAge: Inquisition, to smaller indie ones like Shovel Knight and Stardew Valley. Game Developers' Library is a regular podcast covering books which may be helpful to people who make games. Tom Hughes is a full-time game developer, and Joe Baxter-Webb is a game designer and game dev content creator. The reading list of GDL is here on Bookshop.org https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/the-game-developers-library-podcast-reading-list? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • #3
    Jul 31, 2025 · 1 hr 16 min

    Jesse Schell - The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses

    In this episode we cover this weighty game design textbook, discussing its stronger and weaker areas, how it can help new developers to understand design and player psychology, and why so many more technically-oriented folks bounce off the book. Host Joe Baxter-Webb is a game design educator and YouTuber. He has previously been the course lead in Game Design at Canterbury Christ Church University, and has helped develop for multiple commercial games companies including King (Candy Crush Soda Saga) Karta (Blackpink in Roblox, Spotify in Fortnite) and Adult Swim Games. Guest host Jeremy Johnson is an indie dev and also Assistant Professor of Video Game Development at St. Edward's University, Texas, USA, where he teaches from A Book of Lenses every semester. Most books mentioned are available via my bookshop.org affiliate page. This allows you to purchase books online in a way which benefits small local retailers. https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/indiegameclinic other things cited: Deck of Lenses, the free online version: https://deck.artofgamedesign.com/#/menu/0/?lang=en Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies, online version: https://stoney.sb.org/eno/oblique.html Achievement Relocked: Loss Aversion and Game Design by Geoff Engelstein: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Achievement-Relocked-Aversion-Playful-Thinking/dp/026204353X Fermat and Pascal on Probability (on the games-based origins of probability math): chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.york.ac.uk/depts/maths/histstat/pascal.pdf George Fan: How I Got My Mom to Play Through Plants vs. Zombies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbzhHSexzpY Purple Cow by Seth Godin, Animated Book Summary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QkPaJ299Uk The Writer Will Do Something by Matthew Seiji: https://matthewseiji.itch.io/twwds the "Japanese inventor with 3500 patents" was Dr. Nakamatsu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnjSjJOEfSc The reading list of GDL is here on Bookshop.org https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/the-game-developers-library-podcast-reading-list? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • #2
    Jun 26, 2025 · 1 hr 16 min

    Raph Koster - A Theory of Fun For Game Design

    I discuss Raph Koster's game design classic from 2004. Is this a book about craft, or about ethics? The reading list of GDL is here on Bookshop.org https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/the-game-developers-library-podcast-reading-list? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • #1
    May 18, 2025 · 1 hr 15 min

    Derek Yu - Spelunky

    We discuss Spelunky by Derek Yu, which was published by Boss Fight Books in 2016. This episode is hosted by Joe Baxter-Webb (game design educator and host of Indie Game Clinic) and game developer Tom Hughes. The reading list of GDL is here on Bookshop.org https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/the-game-developers-library-podcast-reading-list? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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