Tales from the Backlog - Episodes Tagged with “Walking Sim”

211: Baby Steps (with Josh Galecki - Pixelated Playgrounds)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

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Join Dave and special guest Josh Galecki (Pixelated Playgrounds, Moonroof Studios) to take a long walk into the woods of Baby Steps. Developed by Bennett Foddy, Gabe Cuzillo and Maxi Boch and published by Devolver Digital, Baby Steps is an extremely unique game, one where its story of its failson protagonist meshes with its frustrating-yet-rewarding gameplay for a very rewarding and genuinely funny experience. Check out the podcast for more.

Guest info: Josh Galecki (he/him)

Check out Pixelated Playgrounds https://www.pixelatedplaygrounds.com/
Check out Josh's games on Steam https://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=Moonroof%20Studios
Check out more of Josh's games on itch https://joshuagalecki.itch.io/

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card
0:11 Introductions
5:42 Our Histories with Baby Steps
9:42 Top-Level Thoughts
15:11 Characterization of Nate
20:18 Walking Mechanics
26:56 Difficulty and World Design
40:19 Hating On Nate and Comedy
54:27 Visuals, Music and Sound
59:13 Who Should Play Baby Steps?
1:04:16 Pixelated Playgrounds and Moonroof Studios
1:08:40 Spoiler Wall & Patron Thank-Yous
1:10:17 Spoilers- Jim, The Manbreaker, Other Challenges
1:32:19 Spoilers- Let's Talk About Nate
1:42:28 Spoilers- Nate's Journey and Endings
1:55:43 Accomplishments vs Achievements
2:04:23 Guys...Where Are We?

Sound clips in episode were captured in game.

The Secret Lives of Games interview with Bennett Foddy & Gabe Cuzillo- https://eggplant.show/152-walking-over-it-with-gabe-cuzzillo-and-bennett-foddy-baby-steps

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

151: Tacoma (with CtrlAltNoob)

Dave Jackson — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Fullbright made a name for themselves with 2013's Gone Home, leading many to anticipate their next project. 2017's Tacoma, however, seems to have come and gone without much fanfare. It is a fairly simple game that may not reach the emotional peaks of Gone Home, but Tacoma is a very good game in its own right. And then, due to director Steve Gaynor's workplace behavior during the development of Open Roads, Fullbright was all but gone, leaving Tacoma kind of hanging in the "forgotten and under-appreciated" zone, in my opinion. Listen in to find out more!

Guest info: CtrlAltNoob. Find her videos, streams, writing and more here: https://bio.link/ctrlaltnoob

TIMESTAMPS

Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 0:17
Story Setup/Presentation 10:01
SPOILER WALL 42:30

Music used in the episode:

Elevator Theme (Fullbright)
Space Station Ambiance (Fullbright)
Is That All There Is (cover) (Jerry Lieber, Mike Stoller)

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Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages

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9: Gone Home (with Jake Anderson)

Dave Jackson — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 00:00:00 -0500

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Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)! In the second entry in the Lazy Sunday series focusing on short indie games, Dave is joined again by newly typecasted Walking Sim enthusiast Jake Anderson to talk about Fullbright's groundbreaking hit, Gone Home.

Gone Home is one of the OG Walking Sims, and may even be responsible for that genre name. But since the genre has evolved since Gone Home's release, what is it like playing it for the first time after playing some of the more recent hits in the genre? Listen in to find out what Dave and Jake think. And don't forget to turn all the lights on!

TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Gone Home 12:43, Spoiler Section 45:18

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Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

6: SOMA (with Ryan Delaney)

Dave Jackson — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 00:00:00 -0500

Dave is joined by Ryan Delaney to discuss Frictional Games' existential horror classic, SOMA. This is a game with an absolutely top-level story that simply has to be experienced, but does the simplistic gameplay drag down the overall experience? Listen to find out what we think.

TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, SOMA 9:40, Spoiler Section 41:50

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

5: Firewatch (with Jake Anderson)

Dave Jackson — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 03:00:00 -0500

In the first in the Lazy Sunday series focusing on short indie games, Dave is joined by climbing safety enthusiast Jake Anderson to discuss Campo Santo's hit walking sim, Firewatch. Firewatch is at the same time critically acclaimed and a bit of a lightning rod for criticism. Find out what Dave and Jake think in the episode.

TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00, Firewatch 12:15, Spoiler Section 44:47

GDC Talk on making the world of Firewatch

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!