Skeleton Songs

Lottie Bevan & Alexis Kennedy
  • 5.0 (8)
  • VIDEO GAMES
  • UPDATED FORTNIGHTLY

A games and literature podcast all about stories and game dev, from London-based indie developers Weather Factory. Currently all about making a CRPG with a two-person team.

  1. 12/12/2025

    "Snow in the Neath"

    Our final episode of 2025! Talking Travelling At Night's alpha, the sine wave of game dev, where Fallen London's Overgoat came from and how we're attempting to solve the 'layer of plastic' in AAA RPGs. Support the show

    1h 3m

  2. 01/12/2025

    "Don't Be A Cube"

    This week in the life of jobbing game developers, we reach ALPHA. Cue period appropriate beatnik slang, a disagreement about potato croquettes and why 2D and 3D are such frenemies in isometric CRPGs. Support the show

    1h 1m

  3. 17/11/2025

    "Dreamweaver"

    Skeleton Songs is BACK with a game-dev-centric season all about the inside story of making an indie RPG. In this episode, find out why CRPGs are such hard work, why UI eats time, why we're scared of Disco Elysium, and what's up with Travelling At Night. Also we have a fight about jazz. Support the show

    55 min
  4. Only In Silence The Word

    25/01/2024

    Only In Silence The Word

    "The final victory of sci-fi is its final defeat," says AK, gnomically, before we sing the Beverly Hills Cop theme tune and talk about trombones. Join us for a discussion of 'the best fiction novel of the 20th century', A Wizard of Earthsea, and its masterful magic system: from Native American folklore to shamanism, demonic to natural theurgy, and eastern wyrms to western protodragons. Is it written for children or not? What is 'Equilibrium'? Why is 'clot of shadow' so upsetting, and what does it have to do with Cultist Simulator? In memory of Ursula Le Guin, and little Hoag. Games / books mentioned in this episode, for your gaming / reading pleasure: - A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula Le Guin - City of Illusions, by Ursula Le Guin - Cultist Simulator, by us Support the show

    1h 1m
  5. The Wood Between the Worlds

    18/12/2023

    The Wood Between the Worlds

    Lord of the Rings + Narnia + Jane Austen = ? A smash-hit 800-page faux-Victorian novel of realist magic and alternate histories, of course! Welcome to the world of Susanna Clarke, whose rules-based, Mametian and very 'English' magic system is one of the best we've had the good fortune to meet. Join us for a discussion of made-up magical scholarship, urban versus natural magic, whether you should consider the Land of Faerie for your next holiday destination, and 'the beauty of grey'. Games / books mentioned in this episode, for your gaming / reading pleasure: - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke - Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke - The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, by Susanna Clarke - Harm's Way, by Colin Greenland - Take Back Plenty, by Colin Greenland - Lud-in-the-Mist, by Hope Mirrlees - The Secret History, by Donna Tartt - Cultist Simulator + BOOK OF HOURS, by us - Deus Ex, by Ion Storm - "Time Enough At Last", by John Brahm and Rod Serling Follow us on Twitter and sign up to the mailing list to make sure you don't miss the next episode! ♥  Support the show

    1h 6m
  6. The Kilns of Smorgasbord

    24/11/2023

    The Kilns of Smorgasbord

    Author. Visionary. Dreamweaver. Plus bellhop. Meet Jack Vance, one of the most inventive fantasy authors we've ever heard of, and probably not a pirate king. What happens when fairies become too lumpen and earthy? Why are Lvl1 wizards in D&D so rubbish? Who is Larkin the Baby-Stealer, and why are you reaching for that kazoo? We talk Cugel the Clever, Vancean magic and why you shouldn't make bread from dogs. Games / books mentioned in this episode, for your gaming / reading pleasure: - Lyonesse, by Jack Vance - Tales of the Dying Earth, by Jack Vance - 'Liane the Wayfarer', by Jack Vance - Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, by Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness - BOOK OF HOURS, by us - Fallen London / Sunless Sea, by Failbetter Games - Dungeons & Dragons, by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson Follow us on Twitter and sign up to the mailing list to make sure you don't miss the next episode! ♥  Support the show

    1h 3m
  7. Magic That Hath Ravish'd Me

    06/11/2023

    Magic That Hath Ravish'd Me

    "If magic works, why isn't the President of the United States doing it?" After a 'brief' hiatus, we're back! We pick up where we left off and talk about the magic of Doctor Faustus, whether magic is 'liberation or damnation', and the distinction between ceremonial magic and what specialists term 'Doing A Big Spell'. Games / books mentioned in this episode, for your gaming / reading pleasure: - The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, by, mostly, Christoper Marlowe - Cultist Simulator / BOOK OF HOURS / The Lady Afterwards, by us - A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin Follow us on Twitter and sign up to the mailing list to make sure you don't miss the next episode! ♥  Support the show

    48 min
  8. This Thing of Darkness

    27/04/2022

    This Thing of Darkness

    Welcome to a new season, all about magic and literature! We talk William Shakespeare's Tempest, from women-wizards from Algiers to royal demonology. Caliban's Moth, Ariel's Lantern and AK nearly dies in a spiegel tent. Games / books mentioned in this episode, for your gaming / reading pleasure: - "The Tempest", by William Shakespeare - Against Worldbuilding, and Other Provocations, by Alexis Kennedy - Daemonologie, by King James I - The Lesser Key of Solomon, anonymous Follow us on Twitter and sign up to the mailing list to make sure you don't miss the next episode! ♥  Support the show

    47 min
See All (27)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

A games and literature podcast all about stories and game dev, from London-based indie developers Weather Factory. Currently all about making a CRPG with a two-person team.

Information

  • Creator
    Lottie Bevan & Alexis Kennedy
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Skeleton Songs
  • Show Website
    Skeleton Songs

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