147: Digging Deep with The Roottrees are Dead

Laura chats with Jeremy Johnston and Robin Ward about The Roottrees are Dead, their genealogy, murder-mystery, "static deduction" game. We discuss the development process of taking a jam prototype to full release, developing hints and systems that lead players to satisfying discoveries, and the taxonomy of games like The Roottrees are Dead and The Return of the Obra Dinn.
Spoilers abound, so consider playing the game first before tuning in.
Audio edited by Dylan Shumway

Discussed in this episode:
The Roottrees are Dead (Steam) store.steampowered.com/app/2754380/The_Roottre…
The Roottrees are Dead (itch.io – Global Game Jam entry) jjohnstongames.itch.io/the-roottrees-are-dead
Return of the Obra Dinn store.steampowered.com/app/653530/Return_of_th…
Outer Wilds store.steampowered.com/app/753640/Outer_Wilds
Her Story store.steampowered.com/app/368370/Her_Story
Family owlskip-games.itch.io/family
Type Help william-rous.itch.io/type-help
The Rise of the Golden Idol store.steampowered.com/app/2716400/The_Rise_of…
Blue Prince store.steampowered.com/app/1569580/Blue_Prince
Severance tv.apple.com/us/show/severance/umc.cmc.1srk2go…
White Lotus max.com/shows/white-lotus/14f9834d-bc23-41a8-a…
Righteous Gemstones max.com/shows/righteous-gemstones/c3bd0a34-c4c…
Announcement: Eggplant Plays De Mol (2025 Season) eggplant.show/announcing-eggplant-plays-de-mol…
The Genius (Korean Game Show) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Genius_(TV_series)
Robin Ward's blog (links to socials included) eviltrout.com
The Roottrees are Dead Discord server discord.com/invite/Z6Y5sE9Dgt
eggplant.show discord.gg/eggplant patreon.com/eggplantshow