I’m as surprised as you are — it’s the ninth episode of the Space-Biff! Space-Cast! Today I’m joined by Armando Canales, Lyndon Martin, and Brian Willcutt, the designers of this year’s controversial title The Cost. We discuss the game itself, along with broader concepts of moral game design and how to focus a game’s intended story on the elements that matter most.

Listen over here or download here. Timestamps can be found after the jump.

Timestamps

0:11 — introducing Moe, Lyndon, and Brian
6:54 — The Cost in the early days
9:10 — why asbestos?
16:09 — is it fair for games to tackle hard subject matter?
21:09 — moral game design
26:04 — shared incentive spaces
39:40 — the boundaries of a game’s story
55:39 — references and influences

Next time, we’ll be discussing religion, Islamo-anxiety, and the frictions between Mormonism and Christianity.

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