DGC Ep 456: Pikmin (part two)

DGC Ep 456: Pikmin (part two)

Author: Brett Douville and Tim Longo January 14, 2026 Duration: 1:19:47

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we return to our series on Pikmin. We talk about returning to the game after a break, the macro structure and persistence of the levels, and other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary.

Sections played:
Several more hours

Issues covered: Defeating Games for Charity, relearning the controls, figuring out what you were trying to accomplish, naming buttons, persistent units and worlds, exploratory sandboxes, reinforcing replay, Nintendo creating something new, things that are hard to classify into genres, the order of operations, plate-spinning and de-stressing, gameplay paradigms, not knowing when you have the right tools, the ticking timers, limited knowledge to find, the puzzly boss, learning how well you can recover, gentle fail states, not telling you everything you might want to know, the un-Nintendo timers, day/night cycles, hitting enemies out of the air, loss aversion, Olimar salting the wounds, leading plant people, delightful music, finding where you can review our podcast, settings in games, trying to preserve an experience, console hardware revs, different forms of remake, ideal versions of settings, not opening up the settings, prerendered cutscenes, motivated choices due to hardware, remembering your audience. 

Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Video Game History Foundation, Dwarf Fortress, Project Octavia, Hollow Knight, KyleAndError, Unreal, Homeworld, Starcraft, Warcraft, Splatoon, Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Incredible Machine, WarioWare, UFO 50, Metroid, Majora's Mask, Outer Wilds, Apocalypse Now, Hajime Wakai, Benimanjaro, mysterydip, Silent Hill 2, Rogue, Resident Evil, Halo, Saber Interactive, Hitman, Final Fantasy (series), PS1, Chrono Trigger, Blizzard Entertainment, World of Warcraft, Tomb Raider, Quake, Minecraft, Ed Fries, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia.

Next time:
Finish Pikmin!

Links!
Defeating Games for Charity

Twitch: timlongojr and twinsunscorp 
YouTube 
Discord 
DevGameClub@gmail.com 


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
Podcast Episodes
DGC Ep 453: Bonus Interview with Ed Fries [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:27:28
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we try something a little different. Unattached to any particular game, we chat with Ed Fries, a long-time video game developer most well-known for his work shepherding the early…
DGC Ep 452: Pikmin (part one) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:03
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on 2001's Pikmin. We set the game in its time and then spend a lot of time talking about putting Nintendo's spin on the RTS on a console. Dev Game Club look…
DGC Ep 451: Portal Bonus Interview with Chet Faliszek [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:27
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we add to our Portal and Portal 2 discussion with an interview with Chet Faliszek. We cover tons of Valve time. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them…
Discord Game Club Ep. 12 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39:09
Tim is traveling this week, so we are reaching into the Discord Game Club interview archive. This time around, BioStats and Calamity Nolan interview N0isses, who talks about his streaming, music, music streaming, and lot…
DGC Ep 450: Deadly Premonition (part four) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:30
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we finish our series on Deadly Premonition. We talk a bit about the main story, the life sim, how we get around and more before turning to takeaways. Dev Game Club looks at class…
DGC Ep 449: Portal 2 Bonus Live Stream [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:29:00
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we enjoy a bonus conversation capping our series on Portal. We talk Portal 2, the tension between story and gameplay, its length, and yes, even some co-op. And we do it all live…
DGC Ep 448: Deadly Premonition (part three) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:12
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 2010's Deadly Premonition. We dig into the game further, particularly talking about how its open world works for us as opposed to the repetitive tasks o…
DGC Ep 447: Deadly Premonition (part two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:52
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on 2010's Deadly Premonition. We revisit the Twin Peaks of it all, and then discuss some of the more mechanical aspects of the game, particularly the profi…
DGC Ep 446: Deadly Premonition (part one) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:46
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series on 2010's Deadly Premonition. We first set the game in its time, and talk a bit about Japanese creators breaking out and establishing more auteurist inclina…
DGC Ep 445: Portal Bonus Interview with Erik Wolpaw [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:57
Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we add to our series on Portal by interviewing Erik Wolpaw. We talk about his pre-Portal career, burnout, and success on small teams and large. Dev Game Club looks at classic vid…