The lads discuss different approaches to narration in adventure games,  from the tried-and-true "describe everything out loud" approach from  classic LucasArts games to the "internal film-noir-ish monologue" of the  Tex Murphy series. Which work best and which are a bit weird when you  think about them?

Narrative Devices

Can you do horror effectively in adventure games? We invited Dave Lloyd, writer and designer of the critically acclaimed game The Drifter, to discuss horror tropes and mechanics, and how they translate into the leisurely pace expected of adventure game players.

Warning: Contains spoilers for The Drifter (as well as The Excavation of Hob's Barrow).

Check out The Drifter on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1170570/The_Drifter/

Horror in Adventure Games (Guest: Dave Lloyd)

Wadjet Eye Games has a new game coming out called Old Skies which deals  heavily with time travel. So, for this episode, we have the Wadjet man himself, Dave Gilbert, talking about time travel mechanics, paradoxes, influences, and what might happen if you go back and snuff your own grandfather.

Check out Old Skies on Steam:  https://store.steampowered.com/app/1346360/Old_Skies/

Time Travel (Guest: Dave Gilbert)

In this episode, the Back Seat Designers take a look at various movies, books, and tv-shows, and ask themselves: Why has no one turned this into an adventure game?

Why Isn't This An Adventure Game?

Joined by guests Mark Yohalem and James Spanos of Wormwood Studios (makers of Primordia and Strangeland), we take a deep look at game development tools and engines in this episode. Adventure Game Studio is a tremendous (and free!) tool to make adventure games. But, as Mark and James discovered when making Primordia and Strangeland, it does have both its perks and drawbacks. Mark takes us through his experiences and James pops in at the end to add some additional context.

If you didn't know them already, these are Wormwood's games:
Primordia: https://store.steampowered.com/app/227000/Primordia/
Strangeland: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1369520/Strangeland/

Originally published: Nov. 8, 2024

Developing Commercial Games in Adventure Game Studio (Guests: Mark Yohalem & James Spanos)

Joined by guests Julia Minamata, Phil Fortier, and Kevin McConnell — three developers who have all recently released modern-day parser games — we delve into the simple questions: What makes the parser better or worse than typical point-and-click adventure games? And are parser games due for a comeback?

Check out Julia's game, The Crimson Diamond:  https://store.steampowered.com/app/1098770/The_Crimson_Diamond/ 

Check out Phil's games, Snail Trek:  https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/5818/Snail_Trek_Collection/

Check out Kevin's game, A Lively Haunt:  https://store.steampowered.com/app/2567670/A_Lively_Haunt/

Originally published: Oct. 9, 2024

Are Parser Games Making a Comeback? (Guests: Julia Minamata, Phil Fortier, Kevin McConnell)

In the first "proper" episode of our rebooted podcast, we take a look at  the wild world of remakes and remasters. What's the difference between  the two? Are they worth the time and effort? And is Gareth really named  after a Welsh tv monkey?

Originally published: Sep. 19, 2024

Remakes and Remasters

The Back Seat Designers podcast is... well, back! Join SQH, Frederik  Olsen, and Dr. Gareth Millward as they reconvene after 5 years of  absence and reacquaint themselves with what they've been doing in the interim.

Originally published: Aug. 30, 2024

Episode 0: Reacquaintances

Troels Pleimert (@sqhistorian) · Zencastr

Troels Pleimert (@sqhistorian)

Three friends discuss adventure games and game development whilst being woefully unqualified to do so. Sometimes they have guests on who are invariably smarter than they are.

Hosted by:
Gareth Millward (he speaks very rarely)
Frederik Olsen (he speaks very slowly)
Troels Pleimert (he speaks too much)

Also available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeuPHRWonRSSFIhOkg1bZnCb3VtOI-xWg