149: Making A Meal Of It with Jenny Jiao Hsia and AP Thomson (Consume Me)

149: Making A Meal Of It with Jenny Jiao Hsia and AP Thomson (Consume Me)

Author: The Secret Lives of Games November 7, 2025 Duration: 1:38:22

Rob, Sarah, and Doug chat with Jenny Jiao Hsia and AP Thomson about Consume Me, an award-winning autobiographical resource-management RPG about the pressure cooker of young adulthood. We discuss the game's ten-year development cycle, balancing dynamic difficulty in a game about overachievement, the complex dynamics of mining your own story, and more!

Heads up: This episode includes discussion of disordered eating and religious upbringing.

Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.

Mentioned in this episode:

Consume Me
https://hexecutable.itch.io/consume-me
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2359120/Consume_Me/

Prototyping Personal Experience – Jenny's talk at A MAZE 2017
https://youtu.be/iQ-PaGTr-iI?si=RIAWQMFZfMWCVCsN

Papers Please by Lucas Pope
https://papersplea.se/

Nina Freeman's games on itch.io
https://starmaidgames.itch.io/

Triad by Anna Anthropy
https://w.itch.io/triad

Reigns by Nerial
https://www.reignsgame.com/reigns 

Long Live the Queen by Hanako Games
https://hanakogames.itch.io/long-live-the-queen 

Perfect Tides by Meredith Gran
https://granulac.itch.io/perfect-tides

Look Back (movie)
https://www.amazon.com/Look-Back-Kiyotaka-Oshiyama/dp/B0DH5DMSRW

Look Back (manga)
https://www.viz.com/look-back

Jenny's TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@q_dork

AP's Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/bad_tetris/

 

https://eggplant.show/ 

https://discord.gg/eggplant 

https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow 

https://www.youtube.com/eggplantshow


Ever wonder what really happens between the initial spark of an idea and the final product you play? The Secret Lives of Games pulls back the curtain, offering a rare, unvarnished look at the creative journey. Each episode is built around a candid conversation with a game creator, moving far beyond simple promotion to explore the messy, beautiful, and often surprising realities of their work. You’ll hear about the late-night breakthroughs, the frustrating dead ends, and the personal philosophies that shape the games we love. This podcast is less about reviews or news and more about understanding the human effort behind the pixels and code. It’s for anyone who’s curious about the art and craft of game development, whether you’re a seasoned player, an aspiring designer, or simply fascinated by creative processes. Listen in for genuine stories about problem-solving, narrative design, artistic choices, and the intricate process of building interactive worlds. These are the detailed, behind-the-scenes discussions that reveal how games truly come to life.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Secret Lives of Games
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