inklecast
Channel Details
inklecast
Independent developer of narrative games and interactive stories.
Recent Episodes
42 episodes
Joy to the world!
This week, for our Christmas podcast, we discuss joy. Games should be fun, right - so why are so many so grim? Season's Greeting, y'all!
All about Fail States
What happens if Sherlock gets it wrong?
When players are in control, designers need tricks to prevent the player from breaking the story.
To 3D or not to 3D?
What is it about 3D games that makes them so much more appealing and valuable to players - and surely 3D games aren't so much harder to build?
A History of Violence
History is full of bloodthirsty battles and dreadful wars. But does that mean games should play with history more - or less? And what makes some setti...
Stopping Points
If and when designers provide opportunities for players to stop playing can have a massive impact on the addictiveness and longevity of a game. Should...
Fast Travel
Jon is upset that Lara Croft's fast travel breaks the story canon, sparking a general discussion about how and why quick travel has become so widespre...
Unpicking: Really Bad Chess
Jon's been playing Really Bad Chess (which is apparently really good), and it's got us talking about fairness in games.
Get Really Bad Ch...
The state of mobile gaming
Inkle take a (somewhat nostalgic) look at the state of mobile gaming, and Jon doesn't lose a finger.
What's Next
With Sorcery wrapped up, we take a cryptic peek behind the curtain of the Next Big Thing; a game that's been brewing for the last two years...
Sorcery Series Retrospective
With the Sorcery! series finally complete, Jon and Joe reflect on four years of development.
Buy Sorcery 4 on Steam - http://store.steamp...
IGN's Sorcery! 4 preview party playthrough
In this special episode of the inklecast, we bring you the live recording of IGN and inkle's preview playthrough of Sorcery! 4 at the launch party, re...
Chasing White Whales
If we could find the time, work out how to do it, or make someone else do it for us, what would we build?
A dancing cat conman game, apparently...
Religion in Games
Why do games so rarely include religion as a theme?
Jon, Joe and Tom's discussion tackles controversy, cynicism, and Batman.
80 Days: The Board Game?
How do you turn a story game into a board game? Tom, Jon and Joe discuss the hypothetical 80 Days: The Board Game.
Making the trade
This week, we look at designing gameplay around the business of trade. Does the cut and thrust of business make for good gameplay, or will buying low...
How to run an indie game business!
How does the reality of running an indie game business compare with the dream?
User Testing
This week, we chat about testing Sorcery 4. What does Inkle's testing process look like compared to other studios?
Unpicking: Uncharted 4
Despite some pretty solid review scores, we've got our reservations about Naughty Dog's latest.
On Interactive Film
After playing Late Shift, we discuss about the potential of interactive films as a storytelling medium.
Late Shift - http://lateshift-mov...
What does inkle think about VR?
This week, we weigh in on the VR debate; will it take off, and are there interesting storytelling opportunities?
Oh the places you'll go
This week, how games (over)use maps, minimaps and UI to help get players to where they need to go.
Lessons from Interactive Fiction (Part 2)
The second part in our retrospective on the turn-of-the-century IF scene; focusing on how authors created characters in their stories.
Ga...
Ink: Latest updates
We give a round up of some of the latest developments on our narrative scripting language, and talk about some games that are using ink. If you're usi...
Lessons from Interactive Fiction (Part 1)
The first in mini-series where Jon reveals some of the best ideas developed in the highly prolific, but often overlooked late-90s/early-00 interactive...
Why narrative games need slick UI
How much does the design of the interface and user experience of interactive fiction matter?
Jon talks parser-based interactive fiction, and Jo...
Secrets of Sorcery!
Revealing the weirdest way to beat Sorcery 3's toughest boss, an unlikely friendship with a giant insect, and a Molyneux-tastic easter-egg.
Teasing Sorcery 4!
Jon emerges from the writers room to drop some hints about the final part of the Sorcery series!
Can a game drown a story?
We try to answer a question we've been throwing around a bit recently:
Is it's possible for strong game mechanics to weaken the player's connec...
Visual storytelling, with Jay Gunn
We're joined by comic book writer Jay Gunn (@GunnComics) to discuss how games can capture the expressiveness of comic books.
The Intercept: A new open source ink game
We've just released a new open source game called The Intercept, which you can play for free right now! We chat about the origins and themes of the st...
Messing around with board games!
Tom talks about the challenges of designing abstract strategy games for an Inkle side project, while Joe and Jon muse over story integration and the a...
Sorcery 3 Steam Special!
Sorcery 3 is joining the collection on Steam next week, so we're back with another Sorcery special!
Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/...
Ink: Now open source!
We're proud to reveal that the latest incarnation of our in-house interactive fiction authoring engine, Ink, is now open source! Jon, Jon and Tom disc...
Games, books, and the book game
Joe and Jon open up on Inkle’s relationship with books, and Tom challenges them to a literature-themed game design improv session.
Catch us on T...
Unpicking: Oxenfree
Joe, Jon and Tom chat about Oxenfree's real time dialogue system, and mull over how players relate to characters, looking at This War of Mine and The...
"The name of the game"
While mulling over the name for Inkle's latest project, Tom, Jon and Joe chat about what makes good names work, and find some interesting connections...
Inklecast Sorcery Special Part 2
To celebrate the Steam release of Sorcery 1 & 2, Jon and Joe delve into the design of the hit series
Buy on Steam - store.steampowered.co...
Inklecast Sorcery Special
To celebrate the Steam release of Sorcery 1 & 2, Jon and Joe reminisce on the origins and design of the acclaimed series.
Buy on Steam -...
Roleplay in Narrative Games
Welcome to the inklecast! The idea is simple: we - Joe Humfrey, Jon Ingold and Tom Kail - get around a table, talk about interactive fiction, narrativ...