Sarah sits down with game dev and content creator Emily, aka SonderingEmily, to talk about Lily’s World XD—a psychological horror game that turns early 2000s internet nostalgia into something far more unsettling. Set entirely on a young girl’s cluttered desktop, her game brings back the days of AIM chats, personal blogs, and art created in MS Paint—only this time, someone’s watching.

Emily shares how her own internet memories shaped the game, from digging through old blog posts to revisiting the charm of early social media. They discuss the joys (and struggles) of solo game development.

A must-listen for anyone who ever lived through the golden age of ICQ and AIM, spent way too much time on their Myspace layout, or felt like the internet really knew them before social media took over.

Episode Timestamps:

Intro (0:00 )

The Current State of Lily's World XD (2:09 )

What is Lily's World XD? (3:11 )

Inspirations for the Game (5:13 )

Emily's Favorite Feature & Feedback (9:02 )

It's Not a Bug, It's a Feature! (12:52 )

Plans for Post-Launch Support (14:10 )

Emily's Journey into Gamedev (16:26 )

A Magic Moment as a Game Developer (21:24 )

Challenges and Victories of Developing Your Own Game (24:34 )

(Mostly) Solo Dev – Who's Helping Out? (27:03 )

Lessons Learned While Developing Your Own Game (27:58 )

Advice for Fellow Gamedevs (30:06 )

Story Behind the Name SonderingEmily (32:32 )

A Taste of the Past – Emily's Previous Game (34:44 )

How Emily Finances Her Game Development (39:16 )

What’s Unique About LA’s Indie Dev Scene? (41:28 )

Emily's Vision for Lily's World XD (43:52 )

Outro (47:50 )

As always, have fun listening! If you like what we do, tell your friends (and enemies) about us.