Design
Articles on the art, science, and process of game design. Example topics include design ideation, clarity, and communication.
Saplings
A few years ago, I noticed that most of my metaphors about game design mention trees. I didn’t think much of it at first – after all, why would my choice of words matter that much – then again, I routinely give talks on the importance of precise language both in representation & communication.
Getting Feedback
Getting feedback is one of the skills that you'll hone and sharpen continuously throughout your career. Here are five basic tips that might help you process and gather feedback.
Time/Thought Loop
When is what? When is how?
The Core
A simple design exercise to help you understand what you're making, and what in your work contradicts it.
Event[0] and intentional clunkiness
Event[0] is a game about survival. If you haven’t played it yet, I’d like to warn you that this article contains major spoilers. As in, this post reveals the ending of the game, and some of the most magnificent moments in the game. The game is a
![Event[0] and intentional clunkiness](/content/images/size/w1460/wordpress/2016/09/large_event0.png)
The Center Of All Things
Games communicate something from the creator to the player, and as such, carry intent. While I can’t statistically prove it, I’ve come to believe intent is what separates a good from a bad game. Intent creates a direction, an impulse to a design. It doesn’t necessarily start
Fire Emblem: Fates & Localisation
One of the most interesting conversations happening in games right now is the controversy surrounding Fire Emblem: Fates, a Nintendo game in the popular Fire Emblem series. While the game originally launched in Japanese markets in June 2015, the US version of the game came out today (as of this
The disappointing ending of Firewatch
[stag_icon icon=”exclamation-triangle” url=”” size=”32px” new_window=”no”] Content warning: discusses Firewatch spoilers Campo Santo’s lovely debut title Firewatch has released to both critical and financial success, and yet the internet seems to be split on one specific element of the game: the ending of the game.
Ludoludologic dissonance?
The Witness has an interesting design premise: it’s a game that comes from a strong and singular authorial vision. However, having played through many hours of The Witness so far, I would posit that that strength is also its biggest weakness. The strengths are easy to discuss: The Witness
Infini-button
My favorite ‘laws’ in life are those that seem remarkably simple & obvious, but that have a lot of unexpected implications. One of my favorite is a Human-Computer Interaction law called Fitts’ Law. While there’s a lot of specificity you can discuss, the basic version of the law is as
