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    <fireside:hostname>app01</fireside:hostname>
    <fireside:genDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2026 10:21:33 +0000</fireside:genDate>
    <generator>Fireside (https://fireside.fm)</generator>
    <title>Tales from the Backlog - Episodes Tagged with “Ap Thompson”</title>
    <link>https://talesfromthebacklog.fireside.fm/tags/ap%20thompson</link>
    <pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
    <description>A video games podcast where Dave Jackson and guests break down and discuss the games they play. Each episode looks at one game in depth, focusing on mechanics, story, music and other aspects, with no spoilers until a clearly marked spoiler wall in the middle.</description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <itunes:type>episodic</itunes:type>
    <itunes:subtitle>A video games podcast where Dave Jackson and guests take a game out of the backlog, play it and discuss their experiences in depth, with no spoilers until they warn you.</itunes:subtitle>
    <itunes:author>Dave Jackson</itunes:author>
    <itunes:summary>A video games podcast where Dave Jackson and guests break down and discuss the games they play. Each episode looks at one game in depth, focusing on mechanics, story, music and other aspects, with no spoilers until a clearly marked spoiler wall in the middle.</itunes:summary>
    <itunes:image href="https://media24.fireside.fm/file/fireside-images-2024/podcasts/images/2/22f78a73-e050-4873-99ee-9baa9398fea5/cover.jpg?v=2"/>
    <itunes:explicit>yes</itunes:explicit>
    <itunes:keywords>games, video games, games podcast, video games podcast, video game critique, video game analysis, gaming discussion show, podcast about games, game review podcast,</itunes:keywords>
    <itunes:owner>
      <itunes:name>Dave Jackson</itunes:name>
      <itunes:email>talesfromthebacklogpod@gmail.com</itunes:email>
    </itunes:owner>
<itunes:category text="Leisure">
  <itunes:category text="Video Games"/>
</itunes:category>
<itunes:category text="Leisure">
  <itunes:category text="Games"/>
</itunes:category>
<itunes:category text="Leisure"/>
<item>
  <title>224: Titanium Court (with Emily Merritt - No Small Games)</title>
  <link>https://talesfromthebacklog.fireside.fm/224</link>
  <guid isPermaLink="false">dec264db-9316-42a3-a53e-cb2dd34f5107</guid>
  <pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
  <author>Dave Jackson</author>
  <enclosure url="https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/22f78a73-e050-4873-99ee-9baa9398fea5/dec264db-9316-42a3-a53e-cb2dd34f5107.mp3" length="145204224" type="audio/mpeg"/>
  <itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType>
  <itunes:author>Dave Jackson</itunes:author>
  <itunes:subtitle>Dave is joined by Emily Merritt (No Small Games) to discuss AP Thompson's 2026 narrative strategy game, Titanium Court. </itunes:subtitle>
  <itunes:duration>2:31:15</itunes:duration>
  <itunes:explicit>yes</itunes:explicit>
  <itunes:image href="https://media24.fireside.fm/file/fireside-images-2024/podcasts/images/2/22f78a73-e050-4873-99ee-9baa9398fea5/cover.jpg?v=2"/>
  <description>&lt;p&gt;Support my work on Patreon- &lt;a href="https://patreon.com/realdavejackson" rel="nofollow noopener"&gt;https://patreon.com/realdavejackson&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
Discord, Socials and more- &lt;a href="https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog" rel="nofollow noopener"&gt;https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Join Dave and special guest Emily Merritt (No Small Games) as they do their best to unpack AP Thompson's Titanium Court. Even AP Thompson's simplified description of "a match-3 tower defense game for people who like to read" still hides a mountain of detail, so this was a fun discussion about those component parts and especially how they tie together into a genuinely interesting narrative and commentary on the way we play games and "consume" media in general. As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Guest info: Emily Merritt (she/her)&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Check out No Small Games &lt;a href="https://nosmallgames.com/" rel="nofollow noopener"&gt;https://nosmallgames.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Follow on Twitch &lt;a href="https://www.twitch.tv/aspecificegg" rel="nofollow noopener"&gt;https://www.twitch.tv/aspecificegg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Follow on Bluesky &lt;a href="https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social" rel="nofollow noopener"&gt;https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;TIMESTAMPS&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;0:00 Title &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;0:20 Introductions&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;4:52 Our Histories with Titanium Court&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;8:18 Top-Level Thoughts&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;14:59 Story Setup and Worldbuilding&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;22:46 Theatre Inspiration and Humor&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;33:02 Visual Design&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;41:04 Music&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;48:45 Gameplay- Jobs and Goals&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;59:23 Gameplay- High/Low Tide&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1:12:22 "Addictive" Games&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1:17:24 Who Should Play?&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1:23:04 No Small Games&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1:28:19 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1:30:17 Spoilers- Curses Lifted&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1:45:11 Spoilers- Story Discussion&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;1:57:00 Spoilers- Story, Continued&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Music used in the episode is credited to AP Thompson. You can purchase the soundtrack on Steam. Tracks used:&lt;/strong&gt; Chimera Solo, Timeskip Titlecard and the Ten Years Later, The One AP Doesn't Like, Metamind Defense Grid Blues, Biome Select, Fourth Quarter, For a Dollar&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cover art&lt;/strong&gt; by Jack Allen- find him at &lt;a href="https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures" rel="nofollow noopener"&gt;https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
</description>
  <itunes:keywords>titanium court, indie game podcast, games, video games, games podcast, video games podcast, video game critique, video game analysis</itunes:keywords>
  <content:encoded>
    <![CDATA[<p>Support my work on Patreon- <a href="https://patreon.com/realdavejackson" rel="nofollow noopener">https://patreon.com/realdavejackson</a><br>
Discord, Socials and more- <a href="https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog" rel="nofollow noopener">https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog</a></p>

<p>Join Dave and special guest Emily Merritt (No Small Games) as they do their best to unpack AP Thompson's Titanium Court. Even AP Thompson's simplified description of "a match-3 tower defense game for people who like to read" still hides a mountain of detail, so this was a fun discussion about those component parts and especially how they tie together into a genuinely interesting narrative and commentary on the way we play games and "consume" media in general. As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!</p>

<p><strong>Guest info: Emily Merritt (she/her)</strong> </p>

<ul>
<li>Check out No Small Games <a href="https://nosmallgames.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">https://nosmallgames.com/</a></li>
<li>Follow on Twitch <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/aspecificegg" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.twitch.tv/aspecificegg</a></li>
<li>Follow on Bluesky <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social" rel="nofollow noopener">https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social</a></li>
</ul>

<p><strong>TIMESTAMPS</strong></p>

<ul>
<li>0:00 Title </li>
<li>0:20 Introductions</li>
<li>4:52 Our Histories with Titanium Court</li>
<li>8:18 Top-Level Thoughts</li>
<li>14:59 Story Setup and Worldbuilding</li>
<li>22:46 Theatre Inspiration and Humor</li>
<li>33:02 Visual Design</li>
<li>41:04 Music</li>
<li>48:45 Gameplay- Jobs and Goals</li>
<li>59:23 Gameplay- High/Low Tide</li>
<li>1:12:22 "Addictive" Games</li>
<li>1:17:24 Who Should Play?</li>
<li>1:23:04 No Small Games</li>
<li>1:28:19 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous</li>
<li>1:30:17 Spoilers- Curses Lifted</li>
<li>1:45:11 Spoilers- Story Discussion</li>
<li>1:57:00 Spoilers- Story, Continued</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Music used in the episode is credited to AP Thompson. You can purchase the soundtrack on Steam. Tracks used:</strong> Chimera Solo, Timeskip Titlecard and the Ten Years Later, The One AP Doesn't Like, Metamind Defense Grid Blues, Biome Select, Fourth Quarter, For a Dollar</p>

<p><strong>Cover art</strong> by Jack Allen- find him at <a href="https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures" rel="nofollow noopener">https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures</a></p><p><a rel="payment" href="https://www.patreon.com/realdavejackson">Support Tales from the Backlog</a></p>]]>
  </content:encoded>
  <itunes:summary>
    <![CDATA[<p>Support my work on Patreon- <a href="https://patreon.com/realdavejackson" rel="nofollow noopener">https://patreon.com/realdavejackson</a><br>
Discord, Socials and more- <a href="https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog" rel="nofollow noopener">https://linktr.ee/talesfromthebacklog</a></p>

<p>Join Dave and special guest Emily Merritt (No Small Games) as they do their best to unpack AP Thompson's Titanium Court. Even AP Thompson's simplified description of "a match-3 tower defense game for people who like to read" still hides a mountain of detail, so this was a fun discussion about those component parts and especially how they tie together into a genuinely interesting narrative and commentary on the way we play games and "consume" media in general. As always, no spoilers for a while- enjoy!</p>

<p><strong>Guest info: Emily Merritt (she/her)</strong> </p>

<ul>
<li>Check out No Small Games <a href="https://nosmallgames.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">https://nosmallgames.com/</a></li>
<li>Follow on Twitch <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/aspecificegg" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.twitch.tv/aspecificegg</a></li>
<li>Follow on Bluesky <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social" rel="nofollow noopener">https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social</a></li>
</ul>

<p><strong>TIMESTAMPS</strong></p>

<ul>
<li>0:00 Title </li>
<li>0:20 Introductions</li>
<li>4:52 Our Histories with Titanium Court</li>
<li>8:18 Top-Level Thoughts</li>
<li>14:59 Story Setup and Worldbuilding</li>
<li>22:46 Theatre Inspiration and Humor</li>
<li>33:02 Visual Design</li>
<li>41:04 Music</li>
<li>48:45 Gameplay- Jobs and Goals</li>
<li>59:23 Gameplay- High/Low Tide</li>
<li>1:12:22 "Addictive" Games</li>
<li>1:17:24 Who Should Play?</li>
<li>1:23:04 No Small Games</li>
<li>1:28:19 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous</li>
<li>1:30:17 Spoilers- Curses Lifted</li>
<li>1:45:11 Spoilers- Story Discussion</li>
<li>1:57:00 Spoilers- Story, Continued</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Music used in the episode is credited to AP Thompson. You can purchase the soundtrack on Steam. Tracks used:</strong> Chimera Solo, Timeskip Titlecard and the Ten Years Later, The One AP Doesn't Like, Metamind Defense Grid Blues, Biome Select, Fourth Quarter, For a Dollar</p>

<p><strong>Cover art</strong> by Jack Allen- find him at <a href="https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures" rel="nofollow noopener">https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures</a></p><p><a rel="payment" href="https://www.patreon.com/realdavejackson">Support Tales from the Backlog</a></p>]]>
  </itunes:summary>
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