In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Charles Cecil, co-founder of Revolution Software and best known for his work on Beneath a Steel Sky and the Broken Sword series. They discuss why he made a game about the Knights Templar, how digital distribution changed the publisher-developer relationship forever, and what made the goat puzzle unfair. This interview was started on April 14, 2025.

Games discussed: King’s Quest series, Broken Sword series, Beneath a Steel Sky, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Lure of the Temptress, In Cold Blood, Gabriel Knight series, The Da Vinci Code, Darwinia, CLANG, Broken Age, Heavy Rain, Monkey Island series

Designer Notes 94: Charles Cecil - Part 2

Len and Jon are joined by PC Gamer's Evan Lahti to Slay the Spire once again in the roguelike deckbuilder sequel. We discuss why our intrepid host is so bad at this game, if she can even be helped, and what the wackiest combos we've seen so far look like.

Three Moves Ahead 650 - Slay the Spire 2

In this episode, Soren interviews Seth Sivak, best known as the co-founder and CEO of Proletariat, makers of World Zombination and Spellbreak. They discuss how he invited hover doobers, the many times Proletariat almost went out of business, and whether free-to-play still makes sense. This episode was recorded on September 13, 2025, and was engineered by Michael Hermes.

Games discussed: Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Unreal Tournament, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?, Half-Life, Gears of War, Wii Sports, Guitar Hero, Cafe World, Frontierville, Mafia Wars, Adventure World, Dragon Age Legends, FarmVille, CityVille, World Zombination, Clash of Clans, Streamline, Pokemon Go, DayZ, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Speakbreak, DOTA 2, Civilization IV, Apex Legends, World of Warcraft

Designer Notes 95: Seth Sivak

Len and DM are joined by the current Age of Empires II world champion, Hera, to discuss the state of the game in 2026. We try to explain its longevity, examine what it takes to be a top-level esports player, and discuss Hera's streamer invitational tournament, The King's Gauntlet.

Three Moves Ahead 651 - Age of Empires II in 2026 feat. Hera

In this episode, Soren interviews Owen Mahoney, who served first as the CFO and then as the CEO of Nexon. They discuss what the transition to free-to-play meant for game design, how to make sure your company has the right type of shareholders, and how close Nexon came to buying Riot. This episode was recorded on March 11, 2026, and was engineered by Michael Hermes.

Games discussed: Pong, Spacewar, Choplifter, RobotWar, QuizQuiz, MapleStory, KartRider, Stellaris, League of Legends, Minecraft, ARC Raiders, Lethal Company


Designer Notes 96: Owen Mahoney

Len sits down with Game Director Marv Gouw and Consulting Art Director (and Relic co-founder) J. Aaron Kambeitz to talk about ZeroSpace, a new RTS inspired by the greats of the genre with BioWare-style cutscenes and story decisions. We dig into the odd place RTSes find themselves in the industry right now, how the "Homeworld look" relates to typefaces, and how the changes in the games industry today echoes those the film industry went through decades ago.

Three Moves Ahead 652 - ZeroSpace Early Access Interview

Len, Jon, and Fraser set sail with Corsair Cove, a pirate city-builder with a reckless disregard for building codes. We discuss our different buccaneer building styles, the card- and dice-based ship combat, and try to answer the eternal question: what DO you do with a drunken sailor?

Three Moves Ahead 653 - Corsair Cove

Len and Nerium are joined once again by special guest Diana to discuss a lot of the smaller games we played this summer that didn't make it into a full episode, our varying levels of EU5 addiction, and mechsploitation.

Games Discussed:
Sovereign Tower
Dispatch
Suzerain
EU5
Civ 7 Test of Time
Mortal Shell II
Elden Ring: The Convergence
Big Walk
The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily
Twisted Tower
Endacopia
Openfront.io

Three Moves Ahead 654 - Summer Catch-Up 2026

Designer Notes is hosting a special guest episode from Simon Parkin’s excellent podcast My Perfect Console, in which he interviews Soren Johnson about his career and his favorite games. In each episode, Simon asks the guest to choose five games to compose their version of a perfect console or, in Soren’s case, a perfect personal computer. Check out the show at myperfectconsole.com.

Games discussed: Pinball Construction Set, M.U.L.E., Seven Cities of Gold, Legacy of the Ancients, Alpha Centauri, Oxford Mercer, Civilization III, Civilization IV, Spore, Offworld Trading Company, Old World

Designer Notes 97: My Perfect Console - Soren Johnson

SPOILER ADVISORY: This episode contains character spoilers throughout (if you don't want to be spoiled on which classic Star Wars archetypes can be recruited, or which movie characters make cameos). PLOT SPOILERS for the big mid-game time skip begin at 48:05 and conclude at 1:14:09.

Jon and Luke are joined by PC Gamer's Ted Litchfield to discuss Star Wars Zero Company, a tactics game in a galaxy far, far away from several of the developers of NuXCOM and Marvel's Midnight Suns. We discuss our favorite characters, why you should never give firearms to an astromech droid, and all of the other things that make this one of the best Star Wars games in a parsec.

Three Moves Ahead 655 - Star Wars Zero Company

Important If True

Important If True 34: This is Celebrity Explainer

Idle Thumbs is an independent podcast network whose podcasts span comedy, pop culture and entertainment, video games, and TV.

Important If True 34: This is Celebrity Explainer

Idle Thumbs

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