The psychology of game design, one itch.io game at a time. I play indie games I actually like and explain why they're fun. I'm a psychologist and a game designer, so I also point out what you can use in your own games. Episodes are about 10 minutes.
zivanovic.substack.com (https://zivanovic.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)
Idle Breakout by Kodiqi (https://kodiqi.itch.io/idle-breakout) is an idle version of the classic breakout. It’s a fun game although there isn’t much to learn, which goes a little against Raph Koster’s theory of fun. Still, I spent a considerable amount of time playing even after “mastering” all there is to the game (circa 30 minutes).
This game builds on something fundamental: a tight action-outcome loop with guaranteed success, something inherently satisfying; in this case, click to break bricks. So we keep repeating it until it gets boring, and then try to find new ways to escalate the satisfying thing in the hopes of creating the same satisfaction.
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10 Jun 2026
#29 Nethack
Nethack (https://www.nethack.org/) is one of the defining roguelikes. I talk a bit about what it is really about from a subjective experience and compare it a bit to Hades, one the current roguelike poster-children.
One of the differences, which I think is very important, is how they represent progress between runs: Nethack doesn’t represent it at all, whereas Hades has both upgrades for your character as well as narrative elements that get elaborated as you play the game.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zivanovic.substack.com (https://zivanovic.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
29 May 2026
#28 Doki Doki Literature Club
Doki Doki Literature Club (https://teamsalvato.itch.io/ddlc) by Team Salvato is perhaps the most famous visual novel dating sim game out there because there’s a big twist. I liked both the dating sim AND the twist!
The dating aspect is operationalized as poem-writing, where you have to show that you understand the girl you want to get closer to by picking the words she would like. I thought that was really neat.
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