Games That Push Back with Bennett Foddy

About this episode

Bennett Foddy discusses his unique approach to game design and the impact of frustration and difficulty in gaming.

Bennett Foddy is a legendary game designer known for creating wholly distinctive games such as QWOP, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, and the recently released Baby Steps. He’s also a former professor at the NYU Game Center, where he taught game design alongside developing his own experimental work. In this episode, Bennett joins Joe Nash to discuss his systems-driven approach to game design, why frustration and difficulty are often misunderstood, how streaming and speedrunning have reshaped how games are played and experienced, and what makes his games stand out. Joe Nash is a developer, educator, and award-winning community builder, who has worked at companies including GitHub, Twilio, Unity, and PayPal. Joe got his start in software development by creating mods and running servers for Garry’s Mod, and game development remains his favorite way to experience and explore new technologies and concepts. Please click here to see the transcript of this episode. Sponsorship inquiries: sponsor@softwareengineeringdaily.com

People in this episode

Host: Joe Nash

Guest: Bennett Foddy

Topics covered

• game design
• frustration in games
• streaming
• speedrunning
• experimental games

Keywords

• game design
• Bennett Foddy
• QWOP
• speedrunning
• frustration

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NYU Game Center, GitHub, Twilio, Unity, PayPal

Products: QWOP, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, Baby Steps

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