[Ep157] Wrenches 101

[Ep157] Wrenches 101

Author: Butterscotch Shenanigans June 27, 2018 Duration: 1:09:17

Hey there, Shenanites! This week we talk about existential worlds, our soothsaying spreadsheet, and sensory deprivation. Also, miswanting. It’s a thing. And sometimes you gotta let people flail a lot, and then boop them in the right direction.

Questions answered (abbreviated):

  • MySecretWeapon: I'm participating in a game jam at the end of June. I've done one before but I'm bringing 2 guys who haven't. What's the best way to split the work load between the 3 of us?
  • zacyzacy: Hey dudes, you talk about how great it is organize your thoughts onto some paper, but how do I turn my empty page into thoughts?
  • fascinator: Are all Free-2-Play games bad? Or is it just the ones that use greasy tactics to get you in?

To stay up to date with all of our buttery goodness subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcasts (apple.co/1LxNEnk). If you want to get more involved in the Butterscotch community, hop into our DISCORD server at discord.gg/bscotch and say hello! Submit questions at https://podcast.bscotch.net, disclose all of your secrets to podcast@bscotch.net, and send letters, gifts, and tasty treats to https://bit.ly/bscotchmailbox. Finally, if you’d like to support the show and buy some coffee FOR Butterscotch, head over to https://tips.bscotch.net.

★ Support this podcast ★

Pull up a chair and pour something warm. Each week, the folks behind the award-winning indie studio Butterscotch Shenanigans-the creators of Crashlands-sit down to untangle the messy, rewarding, and often absurd reality of making games. Coffee with Butterscotch feels less like a formal broadcast and more like eavesdropping on a freewheeling conversation between friends who’ve been in the trenches. You’ll hear them dissect the nuts and bolts of development, from art pipelines to bug-squashing, but the discussion rarely stays in the technical lane. It veers into the philosophy of creativity, the rollercoaster of running a small business, and the strange habits that fuel productivity. The tone is unfiltered and genuinely funny, because the hosts don’t separate the work from the life surrounding it. This podcast digs into how to solve problems, ship your projects, and keep your sanity while doing it, all served with a heavy dose of camaraderie and self-deprecating humor. It’s a weekly dose of insight and laughter for anyone curious about the stories behind the screen, whether you're a seasoned developer, an aspiring creator, or just someone who enjoys peeking behind the curtain of how things are made.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 556

Game Dev Podcast | Coffee with Butterscotch
Podcast Episodes
[Ep357] Metagame Playing Field [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:58
This week, we talk about the nightmare of incentives, design arms race, and price. Despite what economists tell you, you can’t assume a can opener. Or a spherical cow for that matter. And certainly not a can opener that…
[Ep356] The Paradox of Dave [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:54
In this episode, we discuss opinion bludgeons, resource allocation, and quality time. By now, you know that we like to answer questions with questions. Context is important and you should always know why! In the long ter…
[Ep355] Invasive Social Nicety [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:59
This week, we talk about beach funerals, clock shenanigans, and evaluating feedback. If you don’t understand why you’re doing something, you’re not engaging in best practices. In relationships, in the perception of time,…
[Ep354] Normal Terrain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:20
In this episode, we discuss That One Game, invisible walls, and 30-dimensional space. When you’re trying to navigate unfamiliar territory, it’s useful to have a map. But you have to remember that the map is not the world…
[Ep353] Laying Siege [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:51
This week, we talk about portable gaming, snow melt, and the low hanging fruit of web hacking. When the only problems you’re trying to solve are the ones that you created, it’s difficult to innovate. Your framework is st…
[Ep352] Get Parched, Scrubgrass [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:13
In this episode, we discuss time travel messaging, UX problems, and a lifestyle lens. Whatever you measure is what you optimize for, and like all decisions, that choice has consequences. If you don’t design for something…
[Ep351] A Slot Machine of Weather [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:41
This week, we talk about nubless ears, the Andon Cord, and exploration. Productivity and efficiency are two separate concepts with a lot of overlap. What long term things are being sacrificed when the focus is solely on…
[Ep350] Lightning Megaflash [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:08
In this episode, we discuss snow folly, changing the game, and deliberate barriers. While we tend to put a lot of effort into eliminating obstacles, sometimes you want them in place. In those scenarios, as with the oppos…
[Ep349] Sprinkles McIceCream [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:47
It’s a question episode this week, and we talk about illusory standardization, survivorship bias, and FOMO ad spend. Conformation may be necessary to make certain things easier, but is it possible to have conformation wi…
[Ep348] The Power of Dance [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:41
In this episode, we discuss inertia, indices, and inflation. As we already know, measurements are, at best, approximations of the thing you actually want to measure. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use a blunt instru…