Game Dev Podcast | Coffee with Butterscotch

Hey, Shenanites! In this episode, we talk about big napkin goose bags, a desire for chaos, and buying chores. Trading up from a paper clip to a house is all about figuring out the business logic. But it’s still important to remember to put the hat down sometimes and enjoy the moment. LEVELHEAD IS LAUNCHING NEXT WEEK! Can you believe it? Check out levelhead.io for more information and wishlist or p...

Hello, Shenanites! This week, we discuss bidet turrets, change management, and 40 tabs plus a spreadsheet. Instead of trying to be a perfect human working inside terrible structures, build forgiveness mechanics into your life! Sometimes guesses are impossible, so just keep moving forward in a biased random walk. Questions answered (abbreviated): Ps7cho: What is your self quarantine game of choice?...

Hi, Shenanites! In this episode, we talk about sports humans, the bidet contingent, and getting on the Ferris wheel. The Levelhead launch is now less than four weeks away, and the gold build is done! Who knew that three bug fixes and changing a zero to a one would be so emotional. When you break through a milestone, there’s often a goal vacuum left behind. We should probably fill it with more than...

Hail and well met, Shenanites! Welcome back to your weekly dose of something approximating comedy! This week, we discuss laptop nesting dolls, footkick fives, and the cheerful edge of murder. Plus, an intense discussion about game design! With insights SO DEEP AND PROFOUND that we forgot them! The main thing is this: if you want to assert your business dominance, you’ll need some steel-plated shoe...

Hello, Shenanites! In this episode, we talk about living on a spaceship, hotel WODs, and void houses. Working from home means that all times are peak times. A pandemic is sweeping the world, and we’re all in this together -- do what you can to help! It’s about attitude. And excellent distance socializing. (Speaking of, our audio is different in this episode because we have to be together apart. It...

Hiya, Shenanites! This week, we discuss idiot testing, the accidental nature of procrastination, and what brains are bad at. Games have to respect the lassoo if they’re going to reach escape velocity. Which is to say, the news you’ve all been waiting for is finally here... Levelhead is launching on APRIL 30th! To so many platforms, your head might explode. But don’t let it -- you’ll need that nogg...

Greetings, Shenanites! In this episode, we talk about blame nets, the strongest cereal, and Norman doors. Once you have your ducks in a column and your crabs in a row, you can turtle up and just start poking people. At base, learning, teaching, and, really, all forms of communication are about figuring out assumptions. Once you do that, the world is your truffle! Questions answered (abbreviated):...

Hey hey, Shenanites! This week, we discuss reality show pitches, cheap hobbies, and minimalist hyper casual garbage. Do you know who else believed in rapid prototyping and small batch delivery? Hint: airplanes were involved. Which is to say, history is more than just a recounting of wars. Sometimes it’s running a marathon in a suit. Sidenote: We recorded this episode before GDC was postponed, so t...

Hello, Shenanites! In this episode, we talk about those tricksy menisci, the complexity of screenshots, and elbow rubbing. Plus a whole grab bag of questions, ranging from breakfast desserts to color wheels. Whenever you’re feeling down, just remember this: A list isn’t defined by what’s in it; it’s defined by what it can do. If you want to check out Jen’s podcast Docs Watch, go to https://docswat...

Hi there, Shenanites! This week, we discuss mining for wiznugs, possibly true earth facts, and tooling. Goals you can’t control are simply stressors. You can only build the triangle wagon; other people decide how many triangle wagons they want to buy. Questions answered (abbreviated): lekiy: You often make cyber tools to solve cyber problems. Do you have any examples of making physical tools to so...

Heya, Shenanites! In this episode, we talk about distributing polish points, the sine wave of life, and Seth’s sports beeves. With games like Faceball and Killball, it’s amazing anyone makes it out of childhood with their teeth intact. If you don’t want to engage in shin-to-shin or ball-on-base combat, maybe try swimming instead. At least the pool doesn’t bellyflop you -- YOU bellyflop IT. Questio...

Hello, Shenanites! This week, we discuss shady economies, demon jam, and simulated robot armies. Plus, a peek into the exposure bucks ecosystem! Prohibition never works, so if you can’t beat’em, join’em. At least right up to the line of dumb. It always comes back to that ol’ Jevons paradox. Questions answered (abbreviated): Beekie Boppaboop: How did the Levelhead baddies get their names? Ecomusk G...

Hi, Shenanites! In this episode, we talk about the worst word, cocooning, and “just in time” refactoring. How do you eat spaghetti? Definitely not by lining each noodle up in a row. What are you trying to build, a raft? To sail the sea of red sauce? While navigating around meatballs? Hm. Now we’re hungry. Questions answered (abbreviated): Mimmabip Gourkee: Do you set limits on how long you can spe...

Hey there, Shenanites! This week, we discuss sorting by bigness, fractal loose ends, and your 600 senses. Every moment of existence is split into infinity, so there’s always the chance that one of the versions of you can accurately measure volumes. I mean, how else would they have managed to fit forty-five miles of nerves in your body? Questions answered (abbreviated): Gabe: What was the biggest m...

How’s it going, Shenanites? In this episode, we talk about Sisyphian tasks, relationship FOMO, and reasonable metrics. When you’re trying to measure the truth and all you have are proxies, you have to ask yourself: what truth do you actually care about? Probably the one with the euphonium and the flaming coconuts. Note: Sam says ADD, but that term isn’t used any longer. The current terminology is...

Salutations, Shenanites! This week, we discuss learning to love the slog, common blunders, and people ferreting. Mise en place your life to build up your habits. Dress for the day you want, not the day you have. As it turns out, everything is DevOps all the way down. Questions answered (abbreviated): Beekie Boppaboop: Have you met anybody in person that disliked Levelhead? Gabe: How did you guys m...

Happy New Year, Shenanites! In this episode, we review one year and preview the next. We also talk about nostril chafe, Levelhead in numbers, and hedging our bets against the monkey’s paw. 20-Grindteen had us sharpening our knives, but what are we going to do in 2020? Ring in the new year with this episode, and find out! Who knows, maybe you’ll like coffee in your oatmeal! From the community: Retr...

Season’s greetings, Shenanites! Grab your hot cocoa and an ugly sweater, and gather ‘round this podcast ep with your family. This week, we talk about deferred gifts, market fragmentation, and mechanical nudges. We hope the rest of your 2019 is looking chill, and we’ll see you next year! Questions answered (abbreviated): Woland77: What is a day of work like for your QA/testing team? Beekie Boppaboo...

Hiya, Shenanites! In this episode, we discuss questing for strains, the impracticality spectrum, and blockchain nickels. What if your grammar lettuce is wilted? What if it’s dark upstairs? What if a squirrel gets stuck in your vacuum wall? Who knows. Our brains only like to pose the questions, not go the extra answer. SEGUE. You know what they say about long hands? Ya need long pens. Questions ans...

Hey, Shenanites! We’re back from vacation and delirious from jet lag, so this one is going to be weird! This week, we talk about Gall’s law, functional fixedness, and stress naps. We’re all living in a survivorship bias world. You can’t do more than you can do, so do the important things. Questions answered (abbreviated): Wigglyhonk Quickpie: Are there any other game developer podcasts out there l...

Hi again, Shenanites! Welcome to part two of our question blitz! It’s blitzier this time. In this episode, we drink moonshine and talk about sexy vampires, pointy pointing pointers, and unicycling badly. You gotta put on your noise canceling headphones and develop practice discipline. Otherwise that spaghetti code is just gonna slap you in the face. Which would YOU rather? Questions answered (abbr...

Hello, Shenanies! If you’ve been following along, you know that the studio is going to be thrown into chaos over the next couple weeks. But we couldn’t leave your coffee in the lurch without butterscotch, so we pre-corded some shenanigans for you! In this episode, we talk about high sneeze potency, vegetarian radiation, and opinionated tools. Here’s the long and short of it: Remain curious and ope...

Hiya, Shenanites! This week, we discuss denominator blindness, the fresh eyes of youth, and the true marker of adulthood. Why descend into the void when you can rise up to meet it? Also, do you ever think about how we’re all just wet robots covered in leather? ...no? Just us? Questions answered (abbreviated): Flyhoppie Axerompa: If you had a billion dollars that could only be spent to solve the pr...

Ahoy, Shenanites! In this episode (which is actually 232, so... ya know), we discuss hot reloads, the meaning of meat, and A BIG NEWS ALERT. Sometimes you can find your joy in making shit games, and sometimes you can find it in head sweater tubes. Either way, the important thing is the joy. Send us AS MANY (good) QUESTIONS AS YOU CAN. Because we’re going to be recording DOUBLE, and we need your id...

Hello, Shenanites! It’s a short one today because we have SECRET NEWS that we can’t talk about yet but we accidentally talked about it during our regular recording. So have this brief coffee taster to tide you over, and then tune in tomorrow afternoon for a full-to-brimming cup of Coffee with Butterscotch! Now with added secrets. Questions answered (abbreviated): Beekie Boppaboop: How hard would i...