I have long considered execution to be basically a form of randomness, similar to dice rolls or card draws. I have also long recognized that not everyone agrees with me, and some people find the idea deeply offensive. I can understand both of these responses, but today I would like to address them directly and … Continue reading "Execution in strategy games should be considered “randomness”"
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DanC on the reasons for making games
Today I talked to Dan Cook about competitive games, social games, and our objectives behind making games in the first place. This was one of my favorite conversations with one of my favorite game design theorists out there. His blog, Lost Garden, was literally THE blog (along with maybe some stuff from Anna Anthropy) that … Continue reading "DanC on the reasons for making games"
Read MoreDialectic with my 2012 self on “the importance of theme”
One of the things that’s scary about being a writer is that the things you write keep existing, unchanged, the way that you wrote them, back when you wrote them. Sometimes it’s difficult to go back to a piece you wrote even six months ago and re-read your own work. There’s just always so much … Continue reading "Dialectic with my 2012 self on “the importance of theme”"
Read MoreDifficulty in Videogames
I wanted to write a few words about difficulty in games. First, the word “difficulty” doesn’t really apply to the kinds of things I want to make: strategy games. Or at least, it shouldn’t. Any good multiplayer online strategy game will have a matchmaking system, which does the very best it can at providing a … Continue reading "Difficulty in Videogames"
Read More“Decisions”, XCom’s “creeping problem”, and paper prototyping
Hi! Welcome to episode 53 of the Clockwork Game Design Podcast! This is the second of “season 2” of the podcast – it’s another hour plus episode chock full of cool features. First we talk about the whole “a series of interesting decisions” concept, which Sid Meier is well known for(here‘s his GDC 2012 talk … Continue reading "“Decisions”, XCom’s “creeping problem”, and paper prototyping"
Read MoreArtifact and the Game-Complexity Overton Window
If you haven’t played Artifact, you should give it a try, I think. Not because it’s good necessarily, although I do think it’s probably the best CCG (collectible card game) I’ve ever played. I could talk about the bad kinds of randomness in the game (pro card player Reyand basically describes the difference between variable … Continue reading "Artifact and the Game-Complexity Overton Window"
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