Originally written for Climax Studios for publication in Develop. Reposted with Permission. Also since I wrote the original article E3 happened and Sony has revealed a lot more of the stratergy, some of which is shown in this video which is a good primer on the subject.
Originally written for #AltDevBlogADay 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.
Originally written for #AltDevBlogADay 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 complex and detailed but primarily, they are games.
Written for #AltDevBlog. 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 among the most terrifying monsters in the creative world. Apply artificial Constraint.
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 competitive world with progression mechanics that plays out over 3 months.
Let’s face it, there is nothing more annoying than being bossed about by someone who is useless. Let’s face it, there is nothing more annoying than being bossed about by someone who is useless. ? So here are three simple rules. Work with them in the trenches.
Let’s face it, there is nothing more annoying than being bossed about by someone who is useless. ? So here are three simple rules. Work with them in the trenches. Everyone in the trenches has to be useful. Supplement don’t Replace ? So acquire some “Hard Skills” fast and be useful.
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 define the language of games. The real question is when to break convention?
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 few months of my professional life have involved some fairly complex and sometimes scary monetisation designs and discussions.
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 achieve this.
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 making my own games some on paper, and I fell in love with the grid.
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.
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 this is a design goldmine. Go to YouTube and search for "Lets Play" right now.
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 finally I hit on the key. So I recorded a Presentation With AUDIO. ....but then the audio didn't record.
Game Flow 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. I am becoming a bigger fan of vector based one page designs.
So I pulled in our two Testers, Andy Bell (@acidphire21) and Stephen Rowe to talk about the joys and realities of being a games tester. Here is a rough order of things we talk about, no transcript I'm afraid. What Reality Bomb would you drop on someone looking to be a tester?