- 16
- Episodes
- 3
- Ratings
- 2024
- First episode
- 9K
- YouTube views
About Systems In Play
Welcome to Systems in Play–a podcast where new game devs Sam and CJ discuss games and their mechanics that inspire us. Join us for discussion topics and some chatting about the games we've been playing, new releases, and our current projects. For more information about our show, please visit systemsinplay.com.
- Publisher
- Sam and CJ
- Category
- comedy · leisure
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- Yes
- First episode
- 8 Apr 2024
- Latest episode
- 5 Sept 2025
Latest episodes
16 episodes in the feed.
5 Sept 2025
Rememburger: A Frankenstein of Meat and Sauce | GMTK Game Jam 25
The boys are back and HUNGRY. This year for the GMTK 25 Game Jam, Systems in Play slaved over a hot grill to cook up this wonderful, delicious, mouth watering, tasty, succulent, 100% beef, fresh never frozen, burger of a game: Rememburger. Watch in real time as we spiral into madness making this game in only 96 hours. Join us in this devlog of Rememburger, playable now on Itch: https://systemsinplay.itch.io/rememburger Link to the jam results (spoiler alert we are unsurprisingly absent): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG3LWpuiLqg Games we discussed: LooPedal - https://fantasmacollective.itch.io/loopedal Pimby's Workaround - https://magicpillow.itch.io/pimbys-workaround Mobia's Trip - https://twice-twice.itch.io/mobias-trip Spiral of Ants - https://the-trave.itch.io/spiral-of-ants Bendjo - https://squishyturtlegames.itch.io/bend-jo Find out what we're about: https://systemsinplay.com
30 May 2025
Finding Game Over
The hosts discuss their experience playing Inscryption by Daniel Mullins, exploring why they stopped short of finishing the game and what it means to complete a gaming experience.
5 Nov 2024
Important Announcement!
You may have noticed we haven't had a proper episode in a minute. We're not gone, just changing it up. In order to talk about games you need to play them so we've opened up more time to do so! From now on, we are going to be live-streaming our playthrough of various games and afterwards make a juicy podcast episode about some aspect, if not the entirety, of that game. We've been streaming Inscryption and so far we've had two streams on twitch and one stream over discord. All of the vods for these can be found on our YouTube channel. We hope to finish the game soon, so come check us out as we stream on Twitch every Thursday! Join the discussion on our discord
4 Oct 2024
SiP On-SIte: "Content Warning"
We regret to inform you that the boys from Systems in Play have passed. Multiple times, in fact. In an attempt to record a podcast while also filming scary monsters and not so nice ghosts in a world unknown to them, the frights were just too much. The following footage is all that remains of this foolish escapade. Systems in Play On Site is an experiment in recording a podcast while also capturing footage in the world that the episode is about. You know those podcasts where two dudes sit across from each other in chairs? Imagine if those two dudes had to peel potatoes while recording their podcasts. Now imagine those chairs were entire virtual worlds and those potatoes were a lot bigger and trying to kill them. This is Systems in Play On Site. This format is something we're trying for the month of October so if it's not your jam, no worries it's not permanent. If, however, this is your jam, then let us know and we might just make this a normal thing. Systems in Play is a bi-weekly podcast that discusses the art of making games, and the joy of playing them. For more information, visit our website at https://systemsinplay.com/ Join the discussion on our discord
20 Sept 2024
Episode 13: Becoming Steve in Minecraft
Systems in *cough cough* Play is *wheeze* back and *blows nose* SICKER than ever. That’s right, folks, CJ got covid. We’re crawling back to the mic, congested and coughing, to bring you an ultra chill episode about what we’ve been playing over the past couple weeks. Sam’s been on a minecraft kick, so we take a beat to talk about building mechanics and our favorite creations across different series. CJ decided covid hadn’t melted his brain enough, and talks about his recent play through of remnant 2. Stay to the end for a new segment we’re calling the HALL OF GAME. Systems in Play is a bi-weekly podcast that discusses the art of making games, and the joy of playing them. For more information, visit our website at https://systemsinplay.com/ Join the discussion on our discord Links to stuff we mentioned during the episode: Why hasn't Nintendo Axed Pokemon Showdown Competitive Pokemon is a full time job (if you don’t cheat…)
6 Sept 2024
Episode 12 - There's No Such Thing as a Bad Game
Have you ever played a game and thought: “wow, that sucked”? Have you experienced the joy of having a remake announced for your favorite game, only for it to come out and completely miss the point of the original? Have you ever tried to return a frustratingly buggy game on Steam, only to realize you’re just minutes over the refund period. If this sounds like you, then fret not. Systems in Play is back and here to inform you that “There is No Such Thing as a Bad Game”. This week, Sam attempts to explain his…interesting philosophy about game quality. We get pretty esoteric in this one, stick around to hear discussions about: ‘what even is art, actually’, ‘what it means to be critical of a game’, and ‘what are the artistic merits of a slot machine’. Systems in Play is a bi-weekly podcast that discusses the art of making games, and the joy of playing them. For more information, visit our website at https://systemsinplay.com/ Join the discussion on our discord Games Discussed: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe PlayStation AllStars Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier Bubsy 3D Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back Nour: Play with your food Her Story Papers, Please Spec Ops: The line Pokemon Assassin’s Creed 2
23 Aug 2024
Episode 11 - Stretch-tris GMTK24 Devlog
Systems in Play is back, despite our brains resembling bowls of jello left out in the sun for a week. “Who would do this to my favorite podcast hosts?”, you may ask. Well, dear listener, I must admit that it was US who did this to us, for in our infinite hubris, I am afraid that we joined the GMTK 2024 game jam. Come now, and listen to our slow descent into madness and exhaustion over the course of this four day jam. In this special episode, the boys entered the Game Maker’s Toolkit Game Jam, and recorded daily updates of our progress. Listen as we start from a concept, and slowly form it into an actual game over the course of 4 days. We’d love it if you checked out our submission: Stretch-ris But you should also check out some of our favorite submissions of the jam: Cappy & Tappy: https://declanmorrison.itch.io/cappy-n-tappy-temple-of-peril Summoner's Torment XI: 2: https://oludo.itch.io/summoners-torment-xi-2d Systems in Play is a bi-weekly podcast that discusses the art of making games, and the joy of playing them. For more information, visit our website at https://systemsinplay.com/
9 Aug 2024
Episode 10 - A Genre Is Bloodborne (feat. TerrificBlake)
Systems in Play returns, now with 100% more TerrificBlake! For our first ever guest episode, we discuss one of gaming’s newest genres: Souls-like games. If you’ve ever wondered: What is Elden Ring? Why would anyone do that to themselves? Is Dark Souls a Souls-like? Am I Maidenless? Then have we got the show for you! Stick around after the great Souls-like debate for a broader discussion on what it means for a game to become a genre. Systems in Play is a bi-weekly podcast that discusses the art of making games, and the joy of playing them. For more information, visit our website at systemsinplay.com Feat. www.twitch.tv/terrificblake Join the discussion at: https://discord.gg/H8PzRVzFun Games Discussed Crow Country Hades Blood Borne Dark Souls 3 Demon Souls Boom Blox Wii Brink Elden Ring Bloodborne Kart (Nightmare Kart) Bloodborne De-make Chained Together Getting Over It w/Bennet Foddy Link’s Awakening Lies of P Enotria: The Last Song Mortal Shell Content Warning Lethal Company Phasmophobia Murky Divers
26 Jul 2024
Episode 9 - We're Dying to Talk About Animal Well
Systems in Play is back...from the dead??? Well, not quite, but this week we are talking about death mechanics in games, and how the weight of death affects a player's decisions. SPOILER ALERT! Toward the end of this episode, we talk about specific character deaths. Spoilers for specific games will always be flagged during the episode, but a list of every game we discuss (spoilers or not)is in the episode description if there is a game that you want to go into blind. Stay tuned to hear about Sam's experience with Animal well, our forays into competitive gaming, and a mysterious encounter with 'Lord Shubert'. Wanna discuss the topics with the boys? Join our discord community and hash out each and every topic we’ve discussed or will ever discuss. This week's question is: "With video game characters expected to die many times, why do we cry when it happens for real?" https://discord.gg/dw2JNK6f As always, visit our website for more! https://systemsinplay.com/ Games Discussed: Animal Well Resident Evil 2 & 3 Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom Dishonored Kingdom Hearts Dark Souls Jak and Daxter 2 Legend of the Dragoon Pokemon Fire Red Pokemon Unite Street Fighter 6 Risk of Rain Spelunky Nuzlockes Fire Emblem Life is Strange Ultimate Alliance 2 Red Dead Redemption 1 & 2 Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
12 Jul 2024
Episode 8 - The One Where We Mention Elden Ring
After the tragic loss of Episode 7 (may she rest in peace) Systems in Play rises again for Episode 8. In our time away, we set up a discord! Come share your stories in game dev, shit on our takes, and talk about the latest episodes with the rest of our community. https://discord.gg/93ff42jr This week, in the midst of a new development project, Sam poses a question: “How do you design a character creator?” Join us for a structured discussion about considerations to take when creating the design, look, and feel of a character editor. Question of the Week: “What are your best and worst experiences using a character creator?” Games Discussed Xcom Street Fighter 6 Soul Calibur Baldur’s Gate 3 Mii Maker Pokemon Wildermyth Spore Sims Roblox Minecraft 00:00:53 Announcements 00:08:51 Take it away Sam 00:11:17 Character creator explanation 00:12:09 Do you make yourself, an oc, or a preset when using a character creator? 00:17:44 Avatar vs Character 00:23:14 Style vs Substance 00:23:47 How long do you typically spend on making a character and do you try every single option in the creator? 00:37:29 Have you ever had fun using a character creator? 00:53:16 Have you ever felt unable to make yourself in a character creator? 01:18:19 Is there an accessory that you always want to add in a character creator? We also mention Elden Ring
18 Jun 2024
Episode 6 - Dark and Darker and Darkerer and Darkest
Systems in Play returns, just in time for a slew of new game announcements! We’ve got a brand new recording schedule, so the boys are finally able to talk about what’s new in gaming, while it’s (sort of) new! So come on in, put on those rubber gloves, and get ready for the only podcast approved by the FDA for listening while washing dishes. Question of the Week - What recently announced games are you most excited for? Life is Strange: Double Exposure Jose Gonzalez Age of Mythology: Retold METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER South of Midnight Note: This episode was recorded before the June 18 Nintendo Direct What have we been playing? Sam: Mario Odyssey CJ: Tekken Dark Resurrection Sam: Hollow Knight Sam: Dire Decks Dark and Darker SipClips Brackeys Godot Tutorial GMTK Game Jam 2024 System in Play is a video game podcast where new game devs Sam and Cj discuss games and their mechanics that inspire us. Join us every two weeks for a new discussion topic as well as some chatting about the games we've been playing, new releases, and our current projects. Our theme song was written by Cj, and our cover art was drawn by Sam.
6 Jun 2024
Episode 5 - I Was Eating Those Beans!
Systems in Play returns with a hearty new episode! This week the boys are talking about how save data affects the design and mechanics of a game. What happens when a developer encourages save scumming? Are there games that don’t let you save? Will Sam find a way to make this about Pokemon? Listen on to learn all this and more! Question of the Week: Have you ever lost save data in a game? Episode 5 Discussion Notes Pepper Grinder Developer - Riv “Feel Like Spiderman” Tower Fall Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker Great video about Spirit Tracks Mario Galaxy Non-standard control schemes Assassin’s Creed Mirage Death Stranding Revisiting the DS IR Camera in the Switch 1-2 Switch Warioware PS4 Touchpad Ghost of Tsushima Question: Have you ever lost a save? Super Smash Bros Melee XCom Breath of the Wild Legend of the Dragoon Earthbound Save Scumming Fallout New Vegas Life is Strange Emulators Jade Empire Animal Crossing - Mr. Resetti Importing Saves Mass Effect Series Witcher Pillars of Eternity Undertale Checkpoints Shovel Knight Resident Evil Pokemon Mythicals Bakugan Beyblade Pokemon Transfer Transfer graph Bonus Question! Have you ever transferred a Pokemon across generations?
21 May 2024
Episode 4 - There Goes My Run
Welcome back to Systems in Play! The podcast where fledgling game developers CJ and Sam discuss making and playing games. This week we're talking about Balatro, the new rogue-like poker game from indie dev LocalThunk. We're also talking rogue-likes, daily challenges, Hell Divers, and the potential genesis of a new genre of games. Stay to the end for a peek behind the curtain as we discuss our process and tools for making Shorts in Godot. Question of the week: If you were an NPC in a video game, what items would you drop? Our editor Merlin had a lot to say during this episode, apologies for the background noise! Games and Topics Discussed Balatro GMTK Video Spelunky Downwell Eggplant Daily Run Poinpy Delta Polished Crystal Hell Divers Phasmophobia
8 May 2024
Episode 3 - Slay the Spire Doomscrolling
Systems in Play returns with a vengance. This time we're talking about Sam's newest addiction, and addiction in general. Stay tuned as the boys take a tour through different environments and biomes, and disuss their effects on gameplay. Reddit question: When does addictive gaming become a bad thing? Games Discussed Triple Town Angry Birds Slay the Spire Caterpillar Pokemon Sword Bologna Village Terraria Baldur's Gate 3 Red Dead 1 & 2 Kingdom Hearts 2 Assassin's Creed Black Flag Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom Dark Souls 3 Resident Evil Phasmophobia
24 Apr 2024
Episode 2 - Ratatouille Himself
The boys return and are hungry for a delicious discussion of cooking...in games! Join us as we dive into different flavors of cooking mechanics in a variety of genres. Later on, Sam gushes about Mario Wonder and we discuss how the latest entry iterates on the long-standing Mario formula. Stay tuned for all that, and even more exciting topics: Incredible sandwich physics Ratatouille himself Turtle seed Sam's greatest challenge 20 tacos Our theme music was written by CJ, and the cover art was drawn by Sam. For more information about our show, please visit SystemsInPlay.com
8 Apr 2024
Episode 0 - Game Dev Flavored
Welcome to Systems in Play–a podcast where new game developers Sam and Cj discuss video games and their mechanics that inspire us. In our inaugural episode, we introduce ourselves by talking about our favorite games. Later on, we scratch an Itch.io by talking about HELP! NO BRAKE by Edgar Mendoza. We round out the episode by talking about a new release and the games we’ve been playing. Our theme music was written by Cj, and the cover art was drawn by Sam. For more information about our show, please visit SystemsInPlay.com
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
- YouTube views
- 8,791
- Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
- Apple Podcasts (US)
- 5.0 / 5
- 1 ratings
- Spotify
- 5.0 / 5
- 2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 57 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
- Quality
- 63
- Social presence
- 0
- YouTube
- 68
- Engagement
- 60
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