Through the lens of philosophy, sociology and critical theory, this episode unpacks how Luck Be a Landlord transforms every spin into a question of agency, survival and systemic constraint.

About Luck Be a Landlord

• Trampoline Tales – Official Dev Website – https://trampolinetales.com/
• Steam Store Page – https://store.steampowered.com/app/1404850/Luck_be_a_Landlord/
• Google Play Store – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.trampolinetales.lbal
• Playstation Store – https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10010938
• itch.io Store – https://trampolinetales.itch.io/luck-be-a-landlord

Additional Links

• Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? purchase link – https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Capitalist-Realism/Mark-Fisher/9781803414300
• PDF – https://files.libcom.org/files/[Mark_Fisher]_Capitalist_Realism_Is_There_no_Alte(BookZZ.org).pdf
• Byung-Chul Han’s Burnout Society purchase link – https://www.sup.org/books/theory-and-philosophy/burnout-society
• PDF – https://cdn.oujdalibrary.com/books/1012/1012-the-burnout-society-(www.tawcer.com).pdf

Written by Max W. Bartley

Produced by Kai Williams

Intro/Outro Music by Ashley Rezvani

Linking phenomenology, modernism and the work of Piet Mondrian, this episode unpacks how touching, rearranging and gently disrupting digital paintings can invite a new way of engaging with both games and art itself.

About Please Touch the Artwork

• Steam Store Page – https://store.steampowered.com/app/1097100/Please_Touch_The_Artwork/
• Nintendo Switch Store Page – https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/please-touch-the-artwork-switch/?srsltid=AfmBOorPfhxOiFfcjcy7xJ0l2sRXIAKYj0eN6fFTEtWtiOaAtjwRVNAe
• Studio Waterzooi – Official Game Website – https://studiowaterzooi.com/please-touch-the-artwork/

Piet Mondrian and Artistic Influence

• The Art Story – Piet Mondrian Biography – https://www.theartstory.org/artist/mondrian-piet/

Phenomenology and Philosophy of Art

• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Introduction to Phenomenology – https://iep.utm.edu/phenom/

Written and Recorded by Max W. Bartley

Produced by Kai Williams

Intro/Outro Music by Ashley Rezvani

Drawing connections to Taoism, psychology and philosophy, this episode unpacks how Downwell transforms moment-to-moment gameplay into a meditative state of total immersion.

Downwell

• Downwell Wiki – https://downwell.fandom.com/wiki/Downwell_Wiki
• Wikipedia – Downwell – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downwell_(video_game)

Taoism and Wu Wei

• Straight Bamboo – The Chef Cuts the Ox – https://straightbamboo.com/the-chef-cuts-the-ox/
• Stephan Joppich – Wu Wei – https://stephanjoppich.com/wu-wei/
• Einzelgänger – Taoism Philosophy Articles – https://einzelganger.co/category/philosophy/taoism-philosophy/
• StPeter.im – Taoist Writings – https://stpeter.im/writings/tao/

Flow Theory (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)

• Wikipedia – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi
• Flow Research Collective – History of Flow – https://www.flowresearchcollective.com/blog/history-of-flow
• Study.com – Flow Theory Video Lesson – https://study.com/academy/lesson/video/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-flow-theory-works.html

Video Essay Covering Flow, Wu Wei, and the Taoist Charioteer Parable

• YouTube – Don't Try | The Philosophy of Flow – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k23x5kP7dAY

Written and Recorded by Max W. Bartley

Produced by Kai Williams

Intro/Outro Music by Ashley Rezvani