Kinda Funny Games Daily — December 16, 2025

Episode Overview

Theme:
Today’s show is game-dev centric, focused on industry legend Bruce Straley (formerly of Naughty Dog, now heading Wildflower Interactive) discussing his new studio’s debut game, "Coven of the Chicken Foot." The hosts—Greg Miller—dive into the realities of transitioning from AAA to indie, studio survival in today’s industry, and respond to the news of a big Hollow Knight: Silksong expansion coming next year. The episode blends developer wisdom, candid industry commentary, and lively news breakdowns.

Special Guest: Bruce Straley

• Former Naughty Dog creative director (Uncharted 2, The Last of Us).
• Currently founder of Wildflower Interactive (12 on dev team, 16 total).
• Debuting "Coven of the Chicken Foot" — a singleplayer adventure about an elderly witch and a mysterious creature companion.

Episode Highlights and Key Discussion Points

Wildflower Interactive & Coven of the Chicken Foot

[02:00–14:00]

• Straley’s Journey:

  • After leaving Naughty Dog in 2017 intending to spend time surfing and “doodling,” he was pulled back into game dev by an old lingering idea from his Jak & Daxter days.
  • Set out to build a small, nimble team with a new approach to interactive, character-driven storytelling.

• About the Game:

  • You play as Gertie, an elderly witch, forging a bond with a creature (called "the buddy" internally).
  • Themes: post-adventure world, relationships, trust, commitment, fallout from heroism.
  • "We wanted to make sure we set a world that had all the clues in there for you to reveal, both in environmental storytelling as well as your interactions with the creature character." — Bruce ([04:00])
  • Game premise is inspired by "what comes after the heroes", similar to games like Moonlighter.

• Studio Building Realities:

  • Creative and logistical struggles: team assembly, learning remote workflows, funding, and self-publishing.
  • “Running a small team is hard work. We had to compromise and focus on the game, the creature… everything about the adventure world we're setting up.” — Bruce ([06:07])
  • Had to renegotiate contracts, learned about the importance of ‘kill clauses.’ Praised his “bad cop” biz dev partner for essential legal foresight.

• Philosophy:

  • Pushing what’s possible with AI companions (non-generative AI, just smart “buddy”/NPC design).
  • Focus on dynamic, in-game storytelling rather than cutscenes/exposition.

Notable Quote:

“Could I create those kinds of moments dynamically, letting the player drive the story and the relationship with the character?” — Bruce ([08:07])

• Next Steps & Wishlisting:
  • Game is self-published, available to wishlist on Steam.
  • "It's all about leverage... those wishlists mean something to the people, it's all about risk." — Bruce ([12:04])
  • Console versions possible, depending on publisher interest ([14:23]).

Book Recommendations Influencing Coven of the Chicken Foot

[14:29–15:35]

• Circe by Madeline Miller — “Amazing. It’s building up what makes that kind of person make a decision.” ([14:48])
• The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro — “Post-Arthurian world... a couple trekking across Britain as fantasy fades—a journey with many similarities [to our story].” ([15:15])

Hollow Knight: Silksong Expansion & Indie Studio Insight

[17:57–24:00]

• Silksong Expansion Announced:

  • Nautically themed DLC “Sea of Sorrow” arrives free for all players in 2026.
  • Hollow Knight being updated for Nintendo Switch 2, free for Switch 1 owners.
  • Celebrated Team Cherry’s transparency and success: over 7 million copies sold!
  • “Who knew a game about bugs?” — Bruce ([19:56])

• The Harsh Indie Landscape:

  • Greg and Bruce discuss how Team Cherry, Supergiant (Hades), and Larian Studios are industry outliers; most indie dreams don’t play out that way.
  • "How do you make an indie studio and keep the faith?... Every day, a layoff, a closure, a game delisted." — Greg ([20:46])
  • "It’s a bloodbath out there... For us, funding got removed for various bloodbath reasons in the industry. But we survived because we had the right contract clauses." — Bruce ([21:08–26:12])

• Advice from Evan Wells (Naughty Dog):

  • "You never know...building a team is impossible, building a new game is mythological." — Bruce ([27:17])

Baldur’s Gate 3 & Divinity News

[36:07–44:27]

• Divinity (Larian’s next game) is confirmed as turn-based, bigger than BG3, and in full production.

• Discussion about player preferences:

  • Both hosts find turn-based CRPGs hard to get into. Greg wants to break through with Baldur’s Gate 3 but struggles with the “language” and scale.
  • “It takes a special turn-based RPG for me to be into it.” — Greg ([40:42])

• Trailer Commentary:

  • They reflect on modern trailers as misleading (cinematic focus), lacking gameplay footage, especially at big announcements ([42:52–44:09]).

Generative AI in Game Development

[44:27–54:04]

• Larian’s Position:

  • Embracing gen-AI for prototyping/internal use but promising “no slop” in final content — “Everything is human actors. We are writing everything ourselves.” (Swen Vincke)

• Bruce’s Take:

  • “There’s no AI in our game. I can’t even use ‘AI’ to define the creature companion anymore… Now you have to call it a companion.” ([45:37])
  • Cautions against creative industry’s shift to relying on AI.
  • “We need a frontal lobe… we have hundreds of thousands of years of this supercomputer [the brain]… They’re making football fields, draining water supplies… to replicate something a human can already do.” ([48:17])
  • AI’s impact: already costing work for small creative studios.
  • “AI doesn’t inspire me.” ([49:48])

• Industry Fears:

  • Discuss the possibility of “AI slop” becoming the market standard and how human-crafted works will be more valued by contrast.

• Advice for Aspiring Game Devs:

  • “Use free software, just make games. The more you know about all aspects, the better…” ([36:32])
  • School not required; self-teaching viable.

Industry News Roundup

Dead Island 3, Terminator: Survivors, Indie Sales

[54:08–62:33]

• Dead Island 3

  • Confirmed development for 2028 with total studio commitment.
  • Unusually transparent reporting on studio resource allocation.

• Terminator: Survivors

  • No longer aiming for 2025, co-op dropped, focusing on solo experience.
  • Hosts excited; game’s direction likened to Arc Raiders, emphasis on narrative and survival.

• Indie News Bites (Wii News):

  • Mega Man Star Force Legacy due March 27.
  • Wins Meet: 15 million players.
  • Escape from Tarkov: 1 million copies sold since 1.0.

Designing Coven of the Chicken Foot: Character & Theme

[65:02–68:03]

• Design Philosophy:
  • “How do you create an asymmetrical relationship between two characters who need each other?”
  • Gertie is an elderly witch—"not your typical hero"—contrasting with most game protagonists.
  • “It started off with a boy, then a girl, then an old lady… testing against the world of adventure… what if she wasn’t built for double jump and a sword?” ([65:02])
  • The “buddy/creature” is intentionally not the brute/protector — it’s scared, loves muffins, is naive, “more adorable.” ([67:29])
  • The relationship dynamic (player is persistence, companion is apprehension) subverts genre tropes.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “The only way I can develop is to make a game that excites me, that I would play if it came out. I can’t do the same thing over and over again.” — Bruce ([13:08])
• “You never know… The fact that somebody shipped a game means they built a team. That’s what matters.” — Bruce ([27:17])
• “AI doesn’t inspire me. I don’t want to watch a movie that’s been prompted… there’s no struggle, no human experience.” — Bruce ([49:48])
• “We wanted nothing more than to go right after that [Divinity] trailer. Just guy burning alive and then our little chicken-foot witch.” — Bruce ([43:54])
• “If you wish list on Steam, maybe something will happen (re: console release).” — Bruce ([14:23])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Wildflower/Coven of the Chicken Foot origin: [02:00–14:00]
• Book inspirations: [14:29–15:35]
• Hollow Knight/Silksong and indie struggles: [17:57–26:00]
• Advice for game dev newcomers: [36:32–38:03]
• Larian/AI/Industry future: [44:27–54:04]
• Dead Island 3/Terminator Survivors: [54:08–62:33]
• Coven of the Chicken Foot character design deep dive: [65:02–68:03]

Final Thoughts & Community Engagement

• “The response we’ve had to [Coven of the Chicken Foot]… it’s unheard of. The amount of positive feedback really impacts development… what you put out there comes back.” — Bruce ([69:39])
• Steam wishlisting is key for indie success. Community support is vital.
• Strong encouragement to follow Wildflower Interactive and support smaller dev teams.

This episode masterfully blends game news, honest indie dev realities, and front-line reflections on industry change. It’s a must-listen for aspiring developers, indie supporters, and anyone interested in the real work behind your favorite games.