Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Draknek & Friends Official Podcast

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Blaž Urban Gracar (LOK, LOK Digital, Herd, Workworkwork). Topics discussed include the process of manufacturing physical games, the design process behind Herd and Workworkwork, and a surprisingly long diversion about Yu-Gi-Oh! and similar card games.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Paul aka FLEB (20 Small Mazes, Strange Jigsaws). Topics discussed include developing three games at the same time, scope creep, and the life and career of Peter Molyneux.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Mairi are joined by Robin Ward and Jeremy Johnston (The Incident at Galley House). This is a no-spoilers conversation! Topics discussed include differences between the original Type Help and The Incident at Galley House, what impact voice acting had on the game, our favourite wildly underrated puzzle games in general, and what's next for Evil Trout.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Martin Binfield (Schrodinger's Cat Burglar). Topics discussed include similarities between puzzle games and stealth games AND similarities between puzzles and jokes, how much Schrodinger's Cat Burglar has changed over the past eight years, and speedruns for A Monster’s Expedition.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Ausiàs Dalmau Roig (Is This Seat Taken?). Topics discussed include designing puzzles with multiple solutions, their partnership with Wholesome Games, and what they're working on next.

In this episode, Alan is joined by Draknek & Friends' Publishing Manager, Ben Wilson, and they chat to Luke of Blookerstein Games, the creator of Dittori. Topics include the reception to the game’s announcement and demo, learning when it’s the right time to optimise, what it’s like to work with Draknek & Friends, and early inspirations for Dittori.

As mentioned in this episode, here's a link to the Dittori Demo OST.

In this episode, host Alan is joined by Mairi Nolan (Cerebral Puzzle Showcase) and Joseph Mansfield (Thinky Games) to discuss the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase 2026 and the recently premiered Thinky Direct! 

Discussed games include:

The Land Forgotten
Dittori
868-BACK
Lock In
Some Puzzles
Red Frame
Mimic Meadows
Servant of the Lake
Hello Again
Schrodinger's Cat Burglar
Map Map - A Game About Maps
Rita
Looking for Fael
Timebound
EMUUROM
Echo Weaver
Light of Atlantis
Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School
Funeral for the Sun
Clover's Quadrants
Outpour
Trifolium: The Adventures of Gary Pretzelneck

In this episode, Alan and Syrenne are joined by Rachel Watts, the editor in chief of Thinky Games (thinkygames.com) and co-host of the Indieventure Podcast. Topics include the economics of covering games, what makes puzzle games unique and what it’s like to write a book about Cocoon.

In this episode, Alan chats to Stephen Lavelle, the creator of Stephen's Sausage Roll, which just hit 10 years old! Topics include how Stephen's Sausage Roll started as an attempt to make a really bad game, his main regret about PuzzleScript, the benefits of making a level editor for Oeuf, and multiplayer puzzle games.

In this episode, Alan and Syrenne are joined by Tad Cordle, the creator of Sensorium and the recently released A Little Perspective. Topic include game development in Dreams, perspective in puzzle games, and designing puzzles around all five senses.

In this episode, Alan and Syrenne are joined by Bobby Vanden, the creator of He Who Watches. We just announced that we're publishing this game, so obviously we're very excited about this one!

Topics discussed include the inspirations for the game, how to accommodate for motion sickness in a game that can be very disorienting, and what it's like to publish with Draknek.

In this episode, Alan and Syrenne are joined by Ben Taylor, the creator of Can of Wormholes. Topics include the design ethos of doing a lot with a little, how he came up with Can of Wormholes' innovative hint system, and whether or not Alan can be goaded into adding more content to A Monster's Expedition.

In this week's podcast, we talk to Levi Pinkert, creator of Loophole, about what ideas make it from drawing board to actual development, how to make the judgement call on ambition Vs. realism, and the terrible crime of not featuring pushable blocks in a grid-based puzzle game.

In this episode, Alan and Syrenne are joined by Eli Rainsberry, the composer and sound designer of A Monster's Expedition, Saltsea Chronicles, Wilmot Works It Out, and more. Topics include how they got into the industry, the development of A Monster's Expedition, and how designing music for puzzle games is different from other games.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Adam Saltsman, the co-founder of Finji and the developer of CORGISPACE. Topics include the development of CORGISPACE, game design, despair about the industry, and PICO-8.

Alan is joined by Dan Pearson, Draknek & Friends' newest member of the team. Topics include his career from journalism to game development, the challenges of marketing puzzle games, and designing puzzles to get into the mind of players.

Join us for our second year of GOTY festivities at the Draknek & Friends Official Podcast. Syrenne and Alan are once again joined by Mairi and Joseph for this look at a lot of our favorite games from the last year.

Games discussed:
Blue Prince

Is This Seat Taken?

The Roottrees are Dead

Glowkeeper

Öoo

The Mr. Rabbit Magic Show

Strange Jigsaws

Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping

0PLAYER

Ligo

Golden Idol DLCs

Lab Rat

Kaizen: A Factory Story

Adam Saltsman's small PICO-8 games

Gentoo Rescue

The House of Tesla

Escape Simulator 2

Escape Academy 2 Demo

Gnosia (2022)

LOK Digital

The Electrifying Incident

Spooky Express

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Pip, the writer and narrative director of A Monster's Expedition and Spooky Express. Topics include the development of A Monster's Expedition, worldbuilding in non-linear games, and writing localization notes about comedy.

Pip lost her train of thought at a crucial point and forgot to mention a really important part of the writing process on A Monster’s Expedition: involving sensitivity consultant Helen Gould! Helen’s feedback was invaluable in helping us make the exhibits fun for as many people as possible, while working with the museum framing.

In this episode, Alan is joined by Luis, the developer of Sushi for Robots and the new "Thinky Dailies." Topics discussed include the Thinky Dailies, his weird and lucky career, and the Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant.

In this episode, while Syrenne was on a much-needed vacation, Alan took the opportunity to chat to Adam deGrandis for an hour about all things game dev!

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Oolimry, the developer behind Glowkeeper. Topics include the development of Glowkeeper, designing a Metroidbrainia, and how to test secrets in game.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by the majority of the development team behind our recently released game Spooky Express. Listen to over an hour of development anecdotes and discussion about how the game came to be! This episode contains minor spoilers.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Priscilla Snow the composer who worked on games like Spooky Express, A Good Snowman is Hard to Build, and Patrick's Parabox. Topics include the getting into composing for games, the specifics of working on Spooky Express, and weird bespoke instruments.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Melanie Zawodniak the editor of this very podcast! In this very casual episode, we talk about puzzle games, livestreaming, and Kingdom Hearts.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Adam deGrandis, the art director on Spooky Express and A Monster's Expedition. Topics include the development of the games, his time teaching, a dive through some gaming history, and a surprisingly long tangent about music.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Zach Barth, one of the developers behind Kaizen: A Factory Story and Zachtronics. Topics include the development of Kaizen, making accessible Zach-likes, and systems design.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Ben Wilson the other producer at Draknek & Friends. Topics include his journey through the games industry, crossword puzzles, and card games.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Robin and Jeremy, the developers behind The Roottrees are Dead. Topics include the origins of the game, the remake on Steam, and genre classifications.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Chao Cui, the developer behind Kiko's Apple Adventure. Topics include the development of the game, designing a sokoban with movable stages, and the Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Corey Martin the developer behind Bonfire Peaks. Topics include the development of Bonfire Peaks and its DLC sequel, Bonfire Peaks Lost Memories, his other work on games like Tire Boy, and puzzles in non-puzzle games.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Dana Trebella, the founder of Spoke & Wheel Strategy. Topics include best practices for how and when to message your game, common marketing pitfalls, and stories of working with the Draknek team.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Lucie Viatgé, the concept artist behind Spooky Express. Topics include the development of Spooky Express, her time at KO-OP, and her relationship with puzzle games.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Joseph Mansfield for his threepeat appearance on the podcast to discuss the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase 2025 and the recently premiered Thinky Direct!

This episode has a video version that you can watch here: https://youtu.be/RVNMsXXeatk

A copy of each of our shortlist of recommended games, some of which did not get discussed in the episode:

Games Discussed:

Bonfire Peaks - Lost Memories Parts 2+3

Gentoo Rescue

Kiko's Apple Adventure

Spooky Express

Compress(space)

Shape Sender Deluxe

Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping

Map Map: A Game About Maps

Schrodinger's Cat Burglar

Pup Champs

He Who Watches

Blue Prince

Isles of Sea and Sky

868-BACK

Memory's Reach

The Button Effect

Other recommendations we ran out of time to discuss:

Stuffo the Puzzle Bot

Hiding Spot

SOLAS 128

Linelith

Is this Seat Taken

Headlong Hunt

The Court of Wanderers

Toki Tori 2+

LOK Digital

Echo Weaver

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Zachary Johnson, a developer behind games like Joggernauts and Stage Fright. Zach is also the inspiration for Draknek's next game, Spooky Express - a fact he did not know when the recording started. Topics include an overview of Zach's career, stories from Train Jam, and Zach's hopes for Spooky Express.

The Spooky Express demo is live now, so go ahead and give it a try after listening to this episode!

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Luke Spierewka, the developer behind Pup Champs and Railbound. Topics include the development of Afterburn's games, developing games in shorter turnarounds, and lessons learned across multiple successive puzzle games.

In this special episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Lucas Le Slo, a puzzle designer on the newly announced Spooky Express. Topics include the development of Spooky Express and its inception, the project's goals, as well as Lucas' other work on puzzle games such as Lab Rat.

In this episode...

Well, sometimes when you set out to create something, it doesn't actually end up looking at all like what your goal was. That statement applies to both this podcast episode as well as The Electrifying Incident. Syrenne and Alan are joined by Ben and Phoenix from the development team and things go off the rails fast as Syrenne re-experiences the intense scope creep and change that happened on this title.

Please keep in mind that this episode contains FULL SPOILERS for all seven achievements of The Electrifying Incident. And remember folks: this isn't a 3-v-1, this is a 1-v-3 and I'm winning.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Annika Maar the developer behind Duck Detective. Topics include the development of the game, short development timelines, and making approachable and funny games with deep thinky mechanics.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Gwen Frey the developer behind Lab Rat. Topics include the development of the game and its large scope, Gwen's long career in games, and the state of funding in the industry.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Izzy Kestrel from the Electrifying Incident development team. Topics include the development of TEI, Thinky Games as social experiences, Gex, and A Little Game Called Mario.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Tana Tanoi, the developer behind Shape Sender Deluxe. Topics include the development of Shape Sender Deluxe, the Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant, and the difficulties of making a thinky physics puzzle game.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Laure and Kitt from Balloon Studios, the developer behind Botany Manor. Topics include the development of the game, the inspiration for setting the puzzles in a manor, and tricking players into playing puzzle games.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Joseph Mansfield, the manager of ThinkyGames.com. Topics include discussions of thinky games we love, what Joe's been up to, and a long tangent about Bonfire Peaks and The Legend of Zelda series. The vibes on this one are immaculate.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Nic Ford, Jordan Watkins, and Michael Von Korff, the developers behind Bean and Nothingness. Topics include the development of the game, designing complex interactions while balancing the game, and designing puzzle games for hardcore puzzle fans.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Phoenix Stroh from the Electrifying Incident development team. Topics include the development of The Electrifying Incident, working with Godot, and working with your former professor.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Lukas Hort, one of the developers behind Map Map: A Game About Maps. Topics include the development of Map Map: A Game About Maps, how cartography puzzle design intersects with level and world design, and being selected for the Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant.

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Benjamin Davis, the lead programmer on Draknek's games like A Monster's Expedition, Cosmic Express, A Good Snowman is Hard to Build, and the recently announced The Electrifying Incident. Topics include how Alan and Ben met, what it's like to work with Alan on these games, and details on the newly announced game. Come for the details about the new game, stay because Syrenne slowly deteriorates throughout the episode. It's a fun one.

In this bonus episode, YagmanX interviews Draknek! Please note that this interview originally happened in early 2024.

You can watch the original video upload here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR9-5FyKJOM

In this episode, hosts Alan and Syrenne are joined by Andrejs Klavins, one of the developers behind The Case of the Golden Idol and The Rise of the Golden Idol. Topics include the development of the Golden Idol games, balancing narrative and deductive reasoning puzzles, and the process of iterating the game design and UX to create the new standard for detective game design.