<description>&lt;p&gt;We chat with Tonda Ros (Dogubomb) one year after the release of his genre-blending room-drafting puzzlebox sensation, Blue Prince. Our discussion covers Tonda's year as the game's representative in the world; his inspirations across digital, analog, and tabletop works; cultivating player appreciation for virtual spaces; managing player hunches through playtesting; balancing lore with puzzle mechanics; comparing game development with filmmaking; and so! much! more! Kind of like the game itself, we just keep going.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Audio edited by Dylan Shumway&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Discussed in this episode:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Blue Prince&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://www.blueprincegame.com/"&gt;https://www.blueprincegame.com/&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Mythic Spoiler&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://mythicspoiler.com/"&gt;https://mythicspoiler.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;My Perfect Console – Tonda Ros&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://www.myperfectconsole.com/episode/129"&gt;https://www.myperfectconsole.com/episode/129&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;realMyst&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://cyan.com/realmyst/"&gt;https://cyan.com/realmyst/&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Digital version of MAZE: Solve the World's Most Challenging Puzzle by Christopher Manson&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/1l9urle/website_version_of_christopher_mansons_1985/"&gt; https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/1l9urle/website_version_of_christopher_mansons_1985/&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;"It Seems I Have Found Myself In Another Mysterious House" by Rob Dubbin&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://roblemsolving.com/games/2025/04/25/mysterious-house.html"&gt;https://roblemsolving.com/games/2025/04/25/mysterious-house.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Castles of Mad King Ludwig&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/155426/castles-of-mad-king-ludwig"&gt; https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/155426/castles-of-mad-king-ludwig&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Dominion&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://www.riograndegames.com/games/dominion/"&gt;https://www.riograndegames.com/games/dominion/&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Ascension&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/69789/ascension-deckbuilding-game"&gt; https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/69789/ascension-deckbuilding-game&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Blue Prince Soundtrack by Trigg and Gusset&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://triggandgusset.bandcamp.com/album/blue-prince-the-original-soundtrack"&gt; https://triggandgusset.bandcamp.com/album/blue-prince-the-original-soundtrack&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Jewels in the Attic&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/16608/jewels-in-the-attic"&gt;https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/16608/jewels-in-the-attic&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Tales of the Crystals&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9755/tales-of-the-crystals"&gt;https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9755/tales-of-the-crystals&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029120/"&gt;https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029120/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Graduate (1967)&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061722/"&gt;https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061722/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;MIO: Memories in Orbit&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://store.steampowered.com/app/1672810/MIO_Memories_in_Orbit/"&gt; https://store.steampowered.com/app/1672810/MIO_Memories_in_Orbit/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href= "https://secretlives.games"&gt;https://secretlives.games&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href= "https://discord.gg/tslog"&gt;https://discord.gg/tslog&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href= "https://www.patreon.com/tslog"&gt;https://www.patreon.com/tslog&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

The Secret Lives of Games

The Secret Lives of Games

156: Filling Buckets with Tonda Ros (Blue Prince)

APR 10, 2026123 MIN
The Secret Lives of Games

156: Filling Buckets with Tonda Ros (Blue Prince)

APR 10, 2026123 MIN

Description

We chat with Tonda Ros (Dogubomb) one year after the release of his genre-blending room-drafting puzzlebox sensation, Blue Prince. Our discussion covers Tonda's year as the game's representative in the world; his inspirations across digital, analog, and tabletop works; cultivating player appreciation for virtual spaces; managing player hunches through playtesting; balancing lore with puzzle mechanics; comparing game development with filmmaking; and so! much! more! Kind of like the game itself, we just keep going. Audio edited by Dylan Shumway Discussed in this episode: Blue Prince https://www.blueprincegame.com/ Mythic Spoiler https://mythicspoiler.com/ My Perfect Console – Tonda Ros https://www.myperfectconsole.com/episode/129 realMyst https://cyan.com/realmyst/ Digital version of MAZE: Solve the World's Most Challenging Puzzle by Christopher Manson https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/1l9urle/website_version_of_christopher_mansons_1985/ "It Seems I Have Found Myself In Another Mysterious House" by Rob Dubbin https://roblemsolving.com/games/2025/04/25/mysterious-house.html The Castles of Mad King Ludwig https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/155426/castles-of-mad-king-ludwig Dominion https://www.riograndegames.com/games/dominion/ Ascension https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/69789/ascension-deckbuilding-game Blue Prince Soundtrack by Trigg and Gusset https://triggandgusset.bandcamp.com/album/blue-prince-the-original-soundtrack Jewels in the Attic https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/16608/jewels-in-the-attic Tales of the Crystals https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9755/tales-of-the-crystals The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029120/ The Graduate (1967) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061722/ MIO: Memories in Orbit https://store.steampowered.com/app/1672810/MIO_Memories_in_Orbit/ https://secretlives.games https://discord.gg/tslog https://www.patreon.com/tslog