DGC Ep 440: Papers, Please (part one)

DGC Ep 440: Papers, Please (part one)

Author: Brett Douville and Tim Longo August 6, 2025 Duration: 1:05:11

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on indie games, by looking at Papers, Please. We talk a bit about Lucas Pope, its creator, and then turn to the game's mechanics and themes. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
One or two playthroughs

Issues covered: tactile job simulation games, empathy and commentary, tactility and user interfaces, how it plays, the mechanics post-day, plate-spinning, all the various things you have to check, a nerve-wracking experience, stamping passports, turning the screws, paying vs not paying for things, stereotypical regimes, indie games coming up with new interesting mechanics and AAA borrowing them, justifying denial of entry, having your options limited by bureaucracy, ways that days can end, the timer pressure, dehumanizing the process, describing the board game Train, opportunities for subversion, coins, being recruited for espionage, a precedent for weapon power mechanics.

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Shirley Jackson, The Lottery, Cart Life, Persuasive Games, Ian Bogost, Fez, Naughty Dog, Helsing's Fire, Return of the Obra Dinn, Moida Mansion, Playdate, Mars After Midnight, The Lives of Others, Fumito Ueda, Uncharted 2, Balance of Power, Chris Crawford, Seamus McNally, Train, Brenda Romero, Keita Takahashi, Katamari Damacy, To A T, Pidy Retsym/Mystery Dip, Quoggim Logglehoggle, NES, Cave Story, Blaster Master, Daisuke Amaya, Outer Wilds, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. 

Next time:

Twitch: timlongojr 
Discord 
DevGameClub@gmail.com 

(show notes updated to attempt to force AP to update)


Dev Game Club is a conversation between two working game developers who have been there. Each week, hosts Brett Douville and Tim Longo pick a classic video game from the past-often a title that shaped design thinking or introduced a new technical standard-and break it down from their professional perspective. Their discussions go beyond nostalgia, examining how these older titles functioned, why certain creative decisions were made, and what lasting impact they left on the industry. You’ll hear specific analysis of game mechanics, narrative structure, and technical achievements, all filtered through decades of hands-on development experience. The goal isn’t just to reminisce but to extract tangible lessons that are still relevant for creators and deeply interesting for passionate players today. They invite you to play the game in question alongside them, then settle in for a detailed, insider’s post-mortem. This podcast offers a unique blend of critical appreciation and practical insight, treating video game history as a living textbook. It’s for anyone who loves games and wants to understand the craft behind them on a deeper level. New episodes release regularly, diving into a different influential game from the archives.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Dev Game Club
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