Raygan and Shane fly solo this week as Raygan visits his bro-host in person! (Please forgive any dip in audio quality.) We discuss Helldivers for Playstation 4, Playstation 3, and Playstation Vita.

Helldivers, from the makers of Magika, is a top-down four-player co-op dual-stick shooter. (That was four, count ’em four hyphens!) It may appear a little generic at first, but it has some of the most thought out game balance of any online co-op game we’ve ever played. We discuss the many design decisions that lead to making this the rare online game that’s fun to play with literally anyone.

Links for this episode:

• Helldivers on PSN – $20
• Arrowhead Game Studios
• Magicka
• /r/Helldivers subreddit
• Dungeon Master Shane will make a D&D character of/for you!
• Here’s Shane’s character sheet for gnome barbarian Gary Butterfield!

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame
See our list of upcoming games, and make suggestions..

Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes!

Your hosts this week were:

• Raygan Kelly – @raygank
• Shane Kelly – @8bitShane

In this special double-length episode, guest host Gary Butterfield of Watch Out For Fireballs! joins us to discuss The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

As you may know, Link Between Worlds is a direct sequel to Link to the Past for the SNES, taking place in the same overworld and with many of the same mechanics. It manages to be both deeply nostalgic and incredibly innovative, updating the classic formula with many clever new game mechanics. It also respects your time, with a streamlined structure that allows you to complete the adventure in about 15 hours.

We discuss what makes this the most innovative Zelda game in years, compare and contrast it with its predecessors, and learn about Nate’s strange, sad history as a Navi sympathizer.

Links (heh) for this episode:

• Watch Out For Fireballs Episode 68 – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
• Iwata Asks – Interview with the Link to the Past team
• Duckfeed.tv

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame
See our list of upcoming games, and make suggestions..

Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes!

Your hosts this week were:

• Gary Butterfield – @garybuh
• Raygan Kelly – @raygank
• Nate Heininger – @natestl

Laura intended to join us for this episode, but was sidelined due to illness. We missed you Laura!

Special guest Nate Heagy, founder and developer of Amuses Me Games and die-hard Hearthstone player joins us to discuss the hugely successful digital-native collectible card game from Blizzard.

Hearthstone is a bit different from the games we typically cover but it’s a fascinating re-thinking of an existing genre made clearly with fitting-into-your-life in mind. It’s an open-ended experience played almost exclusively online against real people, and it’s a free-to-play game funded by microtransactions and purchases of digital collectibles. All these are things that, in most instances, we kind of hate, yet Hearthstone is a fascinating and instructive example of smart design and general polish that rises above these labels.

We discuss the smart design of the game and why it works where other digital card games have failed, and Nate offers us some advice for new players on picking a class, crafting cards, and winning matches.

Hearthstone is free-to-play for iOS, Android, PC, and Mac. Expect to spend perhaps an hour learning the rules and completing the tutorial. Each match/game to can be completed in around 10 minutes.

Thanks to Nate Heagy for joining us on this episode!

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame
See our list of upcoming games, and make suggestions..

Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes!

Your hosts this week were:

• Guest Host Nate Heagy – @amusesmegames
• Raygan Kelly – @raygank
• Shane Kelly – @8bitShane
• Nate Heininger – @natestl

This week we talk about the entrants for this year’s Spring Thing interactive fiction festival. Spring Thing is an offshoot of IFComp that focuses on new works (they must debut as a part of the festival) that are freely available, and generally shorter and more experimental than IFComp entries. We collectively played all but one of this year’s entrants and talk about them in detail.

We recorded this on the evening that the voting closed for the Spring Thing Audience Choice ribbon. The winners have since been announced, and Toby’s Nose won both the Audience Choice and the Alumni Choice awards!

We also discuss the results of this year’s XYZZY awards, and some other interactive fiction. This is only the beginning of our coverage of the interactive fiction competition/festival scene, so stay tuned!

Links for this episode

• Spring Thing Festival of Interactive Fiction
• IFComp 2014
• The XYZZY Awards
• The Short Game – 31: Interactive Fiction
• The Short Game – 36: 80 Days
• GDC video: Leading Players Astray: 80 Days & Unexpected Stories
• Hadean Lands
• Hadean Lands walkthrough from Key & Compass
• The Uncle Who Works For Nintendo
• With Those We Love Alive – By Porpentine
• Creatures Such as We
• Crystal Warrior Ke$ha
• Toby’s Nose by Chandler Groover
  • Winner of both the Audience Choice and the Alumni Choice ribbons for 2015
• Sunrise by Lucky Sun Scribes
• A Trial by B Minus Seven
• Ruiness by Porpentine
  • Porpentine’s website
• Mere Anarchy by Bruno Dias
• The Short Game – 28: A Dark Room
• Aspel by Emily Short
  • Writing for Seltani: an Aspel Post-mortem | Emily Short’s Interactive Storytelling
• Aaron Reed
• Ryan North’s To Be or Not To Be

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame
See our list of upcoming games, and make suggestions..

Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes!

Your hosts this week were:

• Raygan Kelly – @raygank
• Laura Nash – @laurajnash
• Nate Heininger – @natestl
• Shane Kelly – @8bitShane

Na Na, nanananana na na na Katamari Damacy!

This week we’re rolling it all up and talking about this cult hit from 2004. One of the best pick-up-and-play games of that generation, Katamari Damacy still stands out as a truly unique and wonderful game. We discuss a bit about the game’s history, gush about the great soundtrack, and swap Katamari memories.

Katamari Damacy is available for PS2 (disk) and PS3 (PSN download.) As an arcade-inspired game, it can be completed in just a few hours but leaves much room for replay value and score attacks.

• Katamari Damacy – Wikipedia
• Katamari Damacy for PS2 on Amazon – Around $15
• Katamari Damacy® – PSN download for PS3 – $9.99

Links for this episode

• MIT Mystery Hunt
  • MIT Mystery Hunt Katamari puzzles
• TIME magazine’s 2004 blurb about the game.
• Bandai Namco pulls games from iOS, including Katamari and Pac-Man
• Travelers-Snowball (Live-action Katamari) – YouTube
• Roll up any webpage! Katamari Hack bookmarklet

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame
See our list of upcoming games, and make suggestions..

Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes!

Your hosts this week were:

• Raygan Kelly – @raygank
• Shane Kelly – @8bitShane
• Nate Heininger – @natestl
• Laura Nash – @laurajnash

This week we’re discussing The Unfinished Swan, an experimental first person exploration game on Sony platforms from Giant Sparrow. This is a really unique game with some incredible visuals and mechanics. Most famously, it begins in a completely white void where your only way to navigate is to paint the walls and surroundings with a black paint gun, creating/discovering striking 3D monochrome visuals. The game is full of stunningly original ideas; the first 15 minutes alone are worth the price of admission.

The Unfinished Swan is available on PS3, PS4 and PS Vita, typically at $14.99 though it is frequently part of bundles or sales. Expect it to take about 3-5 hours to complete.

UPDATE: The Unfinished Swan will be a part of the Playstation Plus free games for May 2015. If you’re a PS+ member, make sure to check out this great game!

Links for this episode:

• The Unfinished Swan – Wikipedia
• Giant Sparrow
• What Remains of Edith Finch
• What Remains of Edith Finch Trailer – YouTube
• The Unfinished Swan – Original Tech Demo

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame
See our list of upcoming games, and make suggestions..

Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes!

Your hosts this week were:

• Raygan Kelly – @raygank
• Shane Kelly – @8bitShane
• Nate Heininger – @natestl

This week we’re releasing two – that’s right two episodes. This first one is a continuation of our Life is Strange book club. We eschew our regular format to return to the world of teen drama, time powers, botched diner breakfast orders, and wandering around in junk yards looking for garbage.

Watch this space in just a few days for this week’s regular episode, focusing on The Unfinished Swan

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame
See our list of upcoming games, and make suggestions..

Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes!

Your hosts this week were:

• Raygan Kelly – @raygank
• Shane Kelly – @8bitShane
• Nate Heininger – @natestl
• Laura Nash – @laurajnash

Wait, isn’t this a video games podcast? Well, kinda. This week, we’re talking about pinball!

We start with a discussion of playing real, actual, physical pinball in 2015. It’s getting hard to find pinball games at arcades, movie theaters, and drug stores, yet somehow it’s never been easier to find pinball tables to play, if you know where to look. We also discuss some notable pinball video games and simulations, from the very realistic to hybrid games like pinball-RPG Rollers of the Realm.

Links for this episode:

• Carcassonne
• Pinball History at Wikipedia

• Special When Lit – A Pinball Documentary
• Special When Lit on YouTube
• PinballMap.com
• Pinside.com
• Pinfinder Pinball Finder on the App Store
• Pacific Pinball Museum
• Pinheads: The Story of the Pacific Pinball Museum – YouTube
• The Internet Pinball Machine Database
• How to Play Pinball – YouTube Playlist
• PAX East 2013:How To Play Pinball – YouTube
• Video Pinball from Atari
• Nintendo Pinball
• Tristan by LittleWing
• Tristan Pinball – YouTube
• Hardcore Gaming 101 – Crush Pinball Series

• Pinball Arcade
• Zen Pinball 2
• Rollers of the Realm for the Playstation®4, Playstation®Vita, and Steam for PC`

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame
See our list of upcoming games, and make suggestions..

Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes!

Your hosts this week were:

• Raygan Kelly – @raygank
• Shane Kelly – @8bitShane

A goat that solves puzzles to escape a magical tower with the help of his little mouse friend. Sure why not. This week we play Escape Goat 2 by MagicalBeanTime and published by Doublefine.

This game has expertly-crafted puzzles perfect for long time puzzle platform players, but has a smooth difficulty curve and low skill barrier that should make it a great game for players at any level. We discuss our thoughts on the puzzle design, and try to fill in the details of the minimalistic goat-themed story.

Escape Goat 2 is available on Steam and PS4 for $20. Best experienced in short dips of a few levels at a time, expect Escape Goat 2 to take around 5 hours to complete (but potentially much more to clear 100%.)

Links for this episode:

• Escape Goat 2
• Escape Goat 2 at Indie MegaBooth
• Escape Goat 2 on Steam
• Escape Goat 2 on the Playstation Store
• Escape Goat 2 Launch Trailer
• Soundtrack on BandCamp

Escape Goat (the original)

Other puzzle platforms

• Thomas Was Alone (The Short Game episode 6)
• Braid
• FEZ
• Teslagrad
• The Swapper (The Short Game episode 35)

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame
See our list of upcoming games, and make suggestions..

Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes!

Your hosts this week were:

• Raygan Kelly – @raygank
• Shane Kelly – @8bitShane
• Nate Heininger – @natestl
• Laura Nash – @laurajnash

Following up on our previous Shortisode on Game Music, this week we discuss… more game music!

Nate wasn’t able to join us last time, so we hear his picks and those of some listeners and friends. This was fun to edit.

Note: An earlier version of this episode was published which included an editing error that left large gaps missing after the 16 minute mark. This release corrects the error. We’re releasing it as a separate episode post to ensure folks who already downloaded the first version get the good copy. Sorry for the duplication!

Picks

Nate’s Picks:
– Duck Tales – The Moon
– Sonic the Hedgehog – Green Hill Zone Theme
– Katamari Damacy – Katamari on the Rocks
– Civilization IV – Baba Yetu

Molly’s Picks:
– Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker – Dragon Roost Island
– Banjo-Kazooie: Click Clock Wood (Spring)
– Final Fantasy X: Besaid Island

Justin’s Picks:
– The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – Tal Tal Heights
– Final Fantasy VI – Shadows Theme
– Metroid Prime – Space Pirates Battle

Listener Michael’s Picks:
– Timeline (PC) Title Theme
– The Longest Journey Soundtrack

Other links:
Bastion – Spike in a Rail
Bear Hive

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame
See our list of upcoming games, and make suggestions..

Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes!

Your hosts this week were:

• Raygan Kelly – @raygank
• Nate Heininger – @natestl
• Laura Nash – @laurajnash