Reposted with Permission. Also since I wrote the original article E3 happened and Sony has revealed a lot more of the stratergy, some...
In a world of frameworks, simple to use engines and added layers of abstraction we are in danger of leaky abstraction, both in design and programming. While t...
Take a moment, think back, past the nostalgia and sepia dreams so we can consider old, forgotten mechanics. The thing we love about games is that they are com...
In some cases the most destructive action one can perform on the creative psyche is to give it absolute freedom. The blank page, blue sky, and empty word document are am...
Sometimes you’re asked to design for the untestable scenario. For instance, design a system for 10,000 players to asynchrously interact in a persistent competit...
A designer does not need to be a programmer but understanding programming is key. One of the most valuable but more expensive skills for a designer to acquire is programming...
Excel is the brick and mortar tool for the designer. Through really any decent spreadsheet software will do and have most the features I list, so pardon the Excel centric explanations. With Excel you can build entire complex systems and mimic game systems. Allowing you to not only prototype systems but also balance and analyze them.
Our profession develops, we form conventions and a toolbox of useful solutions. These tools make us faster, and more efficient. Conventions are not only developer driven but player driven as we defi...
The Hidden Evil of the Micro Transaction. Over the last year a lot of time has been spent thinking, writing and developing my thoughts on social gaming and by extension micro transactions. The last f...
I’ve got a question: “Do you respect your designers?” Growing up I always wanted to make games, and gravitated to programming as the means to achie...
When I first started to enjoy games on my C64 alongside the board games and role-playing games one thing was king, limitations of the medium. Shortly afterwards I learnt BASIC then C, and started maki...
Disclaimer: I’m not claiming games which use these mechanics are in any way lesser. I’m merely highlighting these as easy ways to sauce up a game. Think of it like add ketchup / mayo / vinegar to...
So about two years ago I discovered the Lets Play phenomnia on YouTube thanks to Kikoskia and his awesome X-Com playthough. Which was a game I love and have played many times. I quickly discovered t...
So I've lost sleep over the last week because I've been trying to convince people Social games are not evil. I've had some good counter arguments thrown at me. Sleep lost. Counter Arguments and final...
So basically that's the game flow detailed there. The mission select is of course random. Tonight development goal is as follows: Build a blueprint and save it, One Page Designs...
So I pulled in our two Testers, Andy Bell and Stephen Rowe to talk about the joys and realities of being a games tester.