Kritiqal Care

Will Uhl (they/them) is a tabletop game designer whose work explores inter-player relationships, unconventional mechanics, and high drama. We discuss balancing narrative conflict and player safety, providing structure to micro-RPGs, and why card-based systems might be better than dice?You can keep up with Will’s work on Bluesky @raffitheowl.bsky.social‬‬‬, support their work on Comradery, and play their games on itch.Will’s Inspiring Thing to Share- Braiding Sweetgrass (Robin Wall Kimmerer, 2013)- Getting involved with local mutual aid groupsThings Discussed- Chitchat (Will Uhl, 2020)- Mystic Lilies (Will Uhl, 2021)- The Luminous Aviary (Will Uhl, 2022)- Stereo Mixtape (Will Uhl, 2024)- Night Drifters: Second Stage (Will Uhl, 2025)- Delta: A Game of Changing Rivers (Will Uhl, upcoming)- The TTRPG Safety Toolkit- Don't Kill A Bird With A Baseball (Rat Bastard Games, 2023)- The Quiet Year (Avery Alder, 2013)- Wanderhome (Possum Creek Games, 2022)Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

q1 (he/him) is a musician, writer, and game developer who makes playful and sometimes haunted tiny games. In this short and sweet episode we discuss the curious social experience of riding the subway, the beautiful limitations of small game engines, and viewing the game creation process like writing a song.You can learn more about q1 on his website, follow him on Bluesky @quewon.bsky.social‬‬, and play his games on itch.q1’s Inspiring Thing to Share- Calling his mom everyday (maybe you should call yours?)Things Discussed- how to use the subway (q1, 2024)- photograph of the sun (q1, 2023)- nonexistence (q1, 2022)- cat food (q1, 2022)- fishtank (Corey Hardt, pancelor, and q1, 2023)- RACCOON LAUNDERING (q1, 2021)- special girls (girl software, 2024)- climbing 208 feet up the ruin wall (Porpentine, 2013)- Agnes Martin’s process of making paintingKritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

Sandy Weisz (he/him) is a puzzle designer out of Chicago whose games focus on team-building, environmental clues, and wordplay. This year he began creating the daily puzzle game, RADDLE, and took some time to chat with me about its EnigMarch origins, how to write a good clue, and balancing puzzle difficulty. We also discuss designing puzzles for groups and an elaborate birthday hunt that went terribly wrong.You can learn more about Sandy’s puzzles on his website, follow him on Bluesky @pzlr.org‬, and sign up for his newsletter.Sandy’s Inspiring Thing to Share- His son’s first videogame inspired EP, Not An Album by msczThings Discussed- RADDLE (Sandy Weisz, 2025)- Bracket City (Ben Smith, 2025)- The Mystery League- EnigMarchKritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

Claire Morwood (she/her) is an indie game developer whose work explores multimedia interactivity, handmade assets, and introspective narratives. She joined me to discuss her most recent project, Asterism, an interactive concept album about exploring the galaxy. We touch on writing music for play, how creating the game from physical objects impacted its design, and the value of a detailed dev log. Later we remember how good libraries are.You can learn more about Claire’s games on her website and follow her on Bluesky @shimmerglitch.bsky.social.Claire’s Cool Things to Share- Visiting your local libraryThings Discussed- Asterism (Claire Morwood, 2025)- Full Moon dev blog- Mix and Game Jam (2020)- Asterism’s installation at Next Level 2024Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

Terry Cavanagh (he/him) is an Irish indie developer know for games like Super Hexagon and Dicey Dungeons. He joined me on the show to discuss developing ideas out of game jams, being drawn to new tools and platforms, and games as social spaces. Later we dive into his new collection, Terry’s Other Games, which compiles many of his small projects across more than a decade.You can learn more about Terry’s games on his website and follow him on Bluesky @terrycavanaghgames.comTerry’s Cool Things to Share- Anthology of the Killer (thecatamites, 2024)Things Discussed- Super Hexagon (Terry Cavanagh, 2012)- Dicey Dungeons (Terry Cavanagh, 2019)- Climb the Giant Man Obby (Terry Cavanagh, 2021)- Anyone could be struck by lighting at any time (Terry Cavanagh, 2021)- Terry’s Other Games (Terry Cavanagh, 2025)- Roblox (and this People Make Games documentary)- OuyaKritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

Autumn Greenley (she/they) and Zaozoruzhna (he/him) are two members of the indie game studio, Mortally Moonstruck Games, who for the last few years they have been working on the mushroom girl cultivating game/RPG/visual novel,Mushroom Musume.They joined me for this episode to discuss the game’s origins, how it grew from a game jam experiment to a much larger project, adapting tabletop principles to a videogame, and their favorite mushroom girls. Later, I get some pointers on how to start foraging.You can learn more about Mortally Moonstruck’s games ontheir website and onitch. You can follow Autumn and Zao on Bluesky@autumnotopia and@zaozoruzhna.Autumn and Zao’s Cool Things to Share- Going outside and looking for mushrooms- Cooking on a cast iron skilletThings Discussed-Mushroom Musume(Mortally Moonstruck Games, upcoming)-Princess Maker(Gainax, 1991)-All That the Rain Promises and More…(David Arora, 1991)-Pigsquad Summer Slow JamsKritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music byDesired. It's available onPocket Casts,Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL onKo-Fi.

Content warning: brief mention of suicide around the 48-51 minute mark. 2024 has come and gone which means it’s time for our annual retrospective episode, where I ask former guests of the show to share their favorite gaming memories of the year. As always the responses were incredibly thoughtful, introspective, and touched on so much more than just the games we play but how they impact our lives. It’s always a joy to produce this episode and I want to give a big thanks to everyone that took part in it. Thanks for joining me for another great year of Kritiqal Care, and happy new year! FeaturingKate Olguin | Alicia and Kiki of Transparency | Andrew of Indiepocalypse | Nicholas O'Brien | Taylor McCue | Colin of melessthanthree | Nilson Carroll | Kat of Pixel A Day | Nathan Blades | Fragile (tipsheda) | Jeff Chiao (Chi Xu) | Adam Le Doux | Lily Valeen | Rose of Domino Club | David Su | Cecile Richard | Xiri | rileylessthan9 Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider sharing it with a loved one and supporting Kritiqal on Ko-Fi.

Nevyn Holms (any/all) is one half of indie tabletop studio Dinoberry Press, whose games explore collaborative crafts, asymmetric mechanics, and genre adaptation. They joined me to break down what draws them to physical objects as mechanics, creating shared buy in at a table, and the importance of fucked up little guys. You can learn more about Dinoberry’s games on their website and on itch. Nevyn’s Cool Things to Share- Doing game design deep dives on itch projects- Sharkula (Mark Polonia, 2022) Things Discussed- Gun & Slinger (Dinoberry Press, 2021)- Justicar (Dinoberry Press, 2022- You’re In Space and Everything’s Fucked (Dinoberry Press, 2023)- Dinocar (Dinoberry Press, 2023)- User Is Typing // Message Sent (Nevyn Holmes, 2020)- Skel-IT-ons (Nevyn Holmes, 2020)- Dice Souls (Chris Bissette, 2021) Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

Ayu Koyama (she/her), aka sweetfish, is an interactive fiction writer and designer whose work explores religion, history, and digital play. In this episode we chat about what drew her to interactive fiction as a form, how that intersects with her experimental web design projects, and the ways a distant relationship with Catholicism influences her games. In closing we invite you to read old books. You can learn more about Ayu’s projects on her personal website and play her games on itch. Ayu’s Cool Things to Share- The Talented Mr. Ripley (Patricia Highsman, 1955) book series Things Discussed- Night Confessionals (sweetfish, 2023)- Eider Cake (sweetfish, 2024)- Heretic Pride (Laika)- Pentiment (Obsidian, 2022)- Commonplace (Pitter-Patter, 2022)- LATEX, LEATHER, LIPSTICK, LOVE, LUST (LITHOBREAKERS, 2024)- The Neo-Interactives- Weird Web October Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

Content warning: this episode briefly discusses suicidal ideation Kyou System (they/them) is an artist and game developer whose work explores the profound and incoherent world of dreams. We discuss the nocturnal origins of their first game, Remembrance, revisiting and remaking it half a decade later, embracing a more expressionistic writing style, and getting involved in visual novel game jams. Finally, we implore you to consider backgammon. You can learn more about Kyou’s projects on their personal website and play their games on itch. Kyou’s Cool Things to Share- The Menhera VN Jam- Backgammon Things Discussed- Remembrance (Kyou System, 2019)- Permanence (Kyou System, 2020)- THERA (Kyou System, ongoing)- The VN Cup- The Queer Games Bundle- RPG Maker 2003- Ren’Py Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

Content warning: this episode briefly discusses blood imagery rileylessthannine (it/its) is a multimedia artist and game developer whose work explores the tension between abrasion and hope. In this episode we chat about its collage visual style, getting emotional over code, and the absurdity of people trying to ignore trans representation in itch games. Elsewhere, we collectively stare in befuddlement at Square-Enix’s various business ventures. You can learn more about Riley’s games on itch and its personal website. Riley’s Cool Things to Share- Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning (Kyo Shirodaira, 1999-2005) Things Discussed- Rodea the Sky Soldier (Prope, 2015)- infinity is what we will be (Riley<9, 2023)- tomorrow is my birthday (Riley<9, 2024)- Apricot Kernal (Riley<9, 2022)- if I can eat god / god has to exist (Riley<9, 2022)- Florist S/T (2022) Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

Kasey Ozymy (he/him) is an indie RPG developer whose work draws from 16-bit classics and deep cuts. In this episode we chat about what interests him about RPGs, the design and writing philosophy behind modern classic Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, and how the upcoming Hymn to the Earless God will be an even more complex project. You can learn more about Kasey’s games on Steam, and follow him on Twitter @KaseyOzymy. Kasey’s Cool Things to Share- Listening to entire Wikipedia music genre page discographies- Slay the Spire: The Board Game (Contention Games, 2024) Things Discussed- Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass (Kasey Ozymy, 2018)- Hymn to the Earless God (Starseed Games, upcoming)- The God of Crawling Eyes (Kasey Ozymy, 2013)- A Very Long Rope to the Top of the Sky (Kasey Ozymy, 2013)- The Heart Pumps Clay (Kasey Ozymy, 2014)- Born Under the Rain (Kasey Ozymy, Indrah, LockeZ, Crazy_Leen, 2015)- rpgmaker.net- RPG Maker- Final Fantasy Mystic Quest- Lennus: Kodai Kikai no Kioku / Paladin’s Quest (Copya System, 1992)- When I Was Five I Killed Myself (Howard Buten, 1981) Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

Xiri (he/him) is the creator of the sublime BL visual novel series, HITME, among other games exploring queer relationships and the end of the world. He took some time away from the upcoming HITM3 to chat with me about transitioning from music videos to games, how film influences his work, and a world where everybody is gay. You can learn more about Xiri’s games on itch, and follow him on cohost @akaxiri. Xiri’s Cool Things to Share- Meeting director Antoni Padrós (Pim pam pum revolución, 1970; Shirley Temple Story, 1976) Things Discussed- HITME (xiri, 2021)- HITME2 (xiri, 2022)- HITM3 (xiri, 2024)- MOONYOLK (xiri, 2022)- All Our Asias (Melos Han-Tani, 2018)- Queer Man Peering Into A Rock Pool.jpg (Fuzzy Ghost, 2022)- The Hole (Tsai Ming-liang, 1998)- “The Music of HITM3” devlog- Shūji Terayama- Bruce LaBruce Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

Austin Ramsay (he/him) is a tabletop RPG designer best known for Beam Saber, a Forged in the Dark game about mech pilots fighting an endless war. He joined me on this episode to talk about going from writing “imagination games” as a kid to 400+ page RPGs, creating rules that encourage player/GM collaboration, and how fun it can be to have a character go AWOL. You can learn more about Austin’s games on itch, and follow him on cohost @AustinRamsayGames. Austin’s Cool Things to Share- Unjust Depths (Madiha Santana, 2020-ongoing) Things Discussed- Beam Saber (Austin Ramsay, 2019)- Beam Saber: The Show (Austin Ramsay, 2024)- You Don’t Meet In an Inn, an actual play podcast - CalazCon, upcoming actual play podcast- Forged in the Dark games- Serenity Role Playing Game (Jamie Chambers, 2005)- Rufus Roswell’s fictional/mechanical TTRPG action matrix Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

Sylvie (she/her) is a prolific creator of challenging platformers, action RPGs, and games about cats. She sat down with me to discuss her design philosophy based in constraints, games as conversations, and her esoteric entry into the year of bump combat. Later, she 1CCs an arcade cult classic. You can learn more about Sylvie’s games and writing on her website, and follow her on cohost @sylvie. Sylvie’s Cool Things to Share- The Tower of Druaga (Namco, 1984) and her 1CC playthrough Things Discussed- Sylvie’s game spreadsheet- love ♥ game- Sylvie Lime (Sylvie, 2023)- Her Little Sylvietower (Sylvie, 2022)- Sylvie RPG: 7 Elf Apocalypse (Sylvie, 2024)- Sylvie Miniature (Sylvie, 2024)- The Ys franchise (Nihon Falcom, 1987-2023)- Angeline Era (Analgesic Productions, upcoming)- Sylvie’s essay “Ways of Speaking” Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

Meredith Gran (she/her) is a comics artist and game designer, best known for her webcomic, Octopus Pie and the adventure game Perfect Tides. She sat down with me to talk about her experience coming to games from a comics background, how Perfect Tides’ mechanics where influenced by teenage naivety, and why the 00s are such a rich period for coming of age stories. Finally, we wrap up with a teaser for the upcoming sequel, Perfect Tides: Station to Station. You can learn more about Meredith’s games and comics on her website. Meredith’s Cool Things to Share- Having a VHS collection with Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff, 2001) Things Discussed- Perfect tides (Three Bees, 2022)- Octopus Pie (Meredith Gran, 2007-2017)- King's Quest (Sierra, 1984)- I Like Movies (Chandler Levack, 2022)- PEN15 (Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and Sam Zvibleman, 2019-2021)- Perfect Tides: Station to Station (Meredith Gran, upcoming) Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

For the first Kritiqal Care bonus episode, returning guests Colin (he/they) of melessthanthree and Kevin Wong (they/them) join me to discuss their recently released action RPG, Death of a Wish. A more aggressive sequel to Lucah: Born of a Dream, Death of a Wish follows ex-antagonist Christian as he embarks on a revenge mission against the christofascist Sanctum. We discuss where the idea for a sequel came from, its themes emerging from contemporary anxieties and apathy, balancing thematic resonance with difficulty, and planning a coordinated marketing push for an effective team of two. Death of a Wish is available now on itch, Steam, and Switch. Things Discussed- Death of a Wish (melessthanthree, 2024)- Lucah: Born of a Dream (melessthanthree, 2018)- Dear Future (Dear Future Production Committee, 2021)- How to Blow Up a Pipeline (Daniel Goldhaber, 2022) Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

Cecile Richard (they/them) is a graphic designer, writer, and game developer known for their playful Bitsy projects and hypertext fiction. They joined me to discuss cyclical stories, the risk/reward of collaborating with close friends, and how cool underground tunnels are. We also take a moment to proselytize about editors, and I learn about a new, extremely fake sounding sport. You can play Cecile’s games on itch, and follow them on cohost @haraiva. Cecile’s Cool Things to Share- Australian sports season starting up soon (go Geelong Cats!)- Subterraneans Podcast Things Discussed- Indiepocalypse (listen to our episode with Andrew)- Domino Club (check out our episode with Emma, Nat, and Rose)- Bitsy (enjoy our episode with Adam Le Doux)- Novena (Cecile Richard, 2018)- Endless Scroll (Cecile Richard, 2019)- Topography (Cecile Richard, 2020)- Hope (Cecile Richard and Cable Ties, 2020)- Gutless (Domino Club, 2022)- Cycle (Domino Club, 2022)- The Devil’s Imago (Domino Club, 2023 Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

David Su (he/him) is a musician, audio programmer, and game designer who explores interactive music and performance art. He took some time off from his ballooning schedule to discuss how he got interested in making games from an audio background, the challenges and rewards of centering your game around sound, and the playful earnestness of a cloned sheep’s lament. Later, we wander into a video store. You can play Davids games on itch, and follow him on Twitter @usdivad. David’s Cool Things to Share- Visiting local video stores and buying DVDs Things Discussed- Brass Lion Entertainment- Runaway Reveree (David Su, 2016)- Yi and the Thousand Moons (David Su, 2017)- Seasons (David Su and Dominique Star, 2018)- The Ballad of the Metamorphosis of M. Dolly (David Su, 2019)- One Hand Clapping (Bad Dream Games, 2021)- Tasting Room Jam Halloween 2019 Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider leaving a review or rating, sharing it with a loved one, and supporting KRITIQAL on Ko-Fi.

It’s New Year’s Eve, which means 2023 has come and gone, bringing in closing our annual end of the year show. As is tradition, I reached out to past guests of the show to ask what their most impactful gaming memory was from the last 12 months. As this year has been particularly brutal to folks in and around games, I opened the prompt up to not exclusively focus on good memories, hoping instead to simply reflect on the year as a whole, positive and negative. The responses were as insightful, touching, and playful as ever, running the gamut from industry events, personal milestones, and games that captured people’s imaginations. I hope you enjoy this look back at 2023, and that you have a great 2024. Happy new year! FeaturingElaine Gómez | Kate Olguin | Quinn K | Andrew of Indiepocalypse | Nicholas O'Brien | SKELETON DEEP HELL DOT COM | Taylor McCue | Nilson Carroll | Kat of Pixel A Day | Nathan Blades | Kevin Wong | Jeff Chiao | Lily Valeen | Canvas (bighandinsky) Kritiqal Care is produced by me, Nathalie, with music by Desired. It's available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get podcasts. If you enjoyed the show, consider sharing it with a loved one and supporting Kritiqal on Ko-Fi.