By this I am not describing an absurdly narrow area of expertise… I am describing my aesthetic. It is easy to become lost in the mechanics and machinations of game design. To glorify systems and metrics and equations and definitions and exceptions and minutia — to obsess over design in detail. It is a habit hardened in … Continue reading
Iteration is the key to good game design. Everyone knows this, not just designers. Artists, programmers, even the producers in charge of the schedule acknowledge that iteration is a necessary evil — a gullet of unknown appetite that must be sated. However, this abstract understanding breaks down almost immediately when faced with this inflexible reality: … Continue reading
Rorschach Tests Look at this picture. What do you see? Hermann Rorschach devised the technique of using random ink blots to probe the subconscious mind, based on the idea that patients would be prone to seeing images that were more important or relevant to their mental state. They would project their internal preoccupations onto the otherwise … Continue reading
If you want to learn something, read about it. If you want to understand something, write about it. If you want to master something, teach it. – Yogi Bhajan Successful designers are those that have the discipline to edit their work. Generating gameplay ideas is exciting and easy; discerning those with potential and removing the … Continue reading
Without anyone getting kicked in the face… You always need to listen when people don’t like something. You are too close to the game; You probably already fixed all the things you didn’t like, so you should value a fresh perspective. Keep in mind that you can always trust someone’s emotional reactions, they are always authentic … Continue reading
The last few months of a game’s development is a magical time. Ideally, everything is coming together, the team is firing on all cylinders, and the experience is getting better by the hour. Bugs are getting fixed, the build is more stable and performs better, the art is looking polished, and playtest results begin to … Continue reading
So how do you recognize strength when you see it? How can you train yourself to appreciate strength? The first way to develop a sense for strength is to change the balance constantly. People hate it because it resets their competence, but it will prevent them from optimizing their skills and their strategies. One theory … Continue reading
Uncharted 2 I recently finished Uncharted 2. I thought the acting and the pacing were excellent. The story followed a well-worn arc, but had enough unexpected set pieces to keep it fresh. The combat was dramatically improved over the first game, but still didn’t come together enough to justify the amount of fighting required. The … Continue reading
Habituation The gradual reduction in sensitivity to a repeated stimulus I got my teeth professionally cleaned this morning. (One cavity, apparently I need to floss more.) Now I cannot stop running my tongue back and forth over the newly polished enamel. When I woke up today, my teeth were the farthest thing from my mind, … Continue reading
Here is the paper design I wrote for for the Halo 3 Sniper Rifle: Sniper Rifle Role: Long-range instant-kill sniper rifle, but reloading makes it hard to use Two zoom levels (2x – 7x) Reloading unzooms Magazine of four quick shots, with slow reload Does headshots, even through shields kills any biped in one shot (even … Continue reading
We touched on how paper designs are required for the first balance pass, but what exactly is a paper design, and how are they written? A solid paper design streamlines the design process, focuses the team’s effort, and results in a tightly integrated game. A poor one, however, can send the design team into a tailspin as … Continue reading
