Play Dead Gabby DaRienzo

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.