How do you make an addictive video game?
Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!
Happy Sunday everybody!
We’re back with a new one for you. My favorite episodes of Search Engine to work on are the ones where, afterwards, some sliver of the world looks a little different to me, and this was one.
This episode will change how you look at games. We talk to Ben Brode, the designer behind Hearthstone and Marvel Snap, about how a creative person learns to make the things they love, and about the secret ideas hiding in games as simple as rock-papers-scissors.
Links from the episode are below but first, let’s talk games.
I’ve already gotten a few emails this morning with suggestions for other addictive video games … Balatro has come up, which looks pretty fascinating. A very strange version of poker which lets you play “illegal poker hands” and encourages you to cheat.
A couple people suggested Slay the Spire which I’ve avoided because its reputation is that it’s so addictive I’m genuinely worried it’ll impinge on my ability to focus on this job I love so much.
I should also mention, on my vacation I picked up Vampire Survivors, which is a strange and very enjoyable game. It has charming, original Nintendo-style graphics.
I’m starting to understand that sometimes the cruder a game looks, the more I’ll actually enjoy it. The same way sometimes restaurants with sub-par ambience actually have very good food.
If you have a recommendation for a game, you know where to drop it. (The comments).
Further reading (and playing)
Here’s the essay “Milling Time,” by Max Read, which I referenced in the introduction. Max also has a Substack I follow called “Read Max,” it’s a mix of writing about tech and culture recommendations.
If you dare, here are links to Hearthstone and to Marvel Snap.
Also, Ben Brode made a music video for his rap song about his grilled cheese recipe.
We’ll see you next week, with a brand new episode. We’re diving into those wrong number scam texts you may have seen. Gina … it’s me … from the pet store.
See you then,
PJ
Ben Brode and PJ Vogt laughing it up on the same podcast? Your audio editor must have been sweating bullets.
Ben Brode was a fun personality to listen to! A game I've picked up recently and would recommend is Cobalt Core. It's also a roguelike deck builder very much inspired by Slay the Spire, but spaceship fighter themed, has an actual storyline that progresses, and more comedic and lighthearted. I like this game genre a lot, but I can't do Hearthstone and Slay the Spire anymore for the time suck. Thanks PJ!