What does it mean to say that one game is “more solvable” than another? Is there a relationship between solvability (of any sort) and the point at which players get bored of games? Solvability I should start out by making it clear that in game design, we are not usually concerned with true or mathematical […]
Solvability In Games Read More »
It is common to hear players talk about “tactics” and “strategy” in games. In this case, the colloquial understanding of these terms happens to be pretty useful, in that it maps well to something that actually goes on in playing strategy games. With that said, it’s worth taking a moment to clarify these terms: “Tactics”
Arcs in Strategy Games Read More »
Writer and critic Tevis Thompson has been on my radar a long time as a rare person who talks about games in a way that is markedly less alienating to me than usual. I recently heard him on the 1099 podcast, which I recommend people check out, and I thought we could have a really
CGD Podcast: Episode 34 – Videogames and Game Culture with Tevis Thompson Read More »
What are the criteria that make something a good “Clockwork Game”? The Clockwork Game Design model is something I have been working on for the last five years or so. It is specifically an effort to figure out how to make the most elegant and effective strategy games possible. There are certainly practical reasons why
Clockwork Criteria: 6 Guidelines for Ideal Strategy Game Design Read More »
This is a short follow-up to my article, “Uncapped Look-Ahead and the Information Horizon“, in which I proposed the concept of an information horizon: the distance between the current turn, and the point at which information becomes known to a player (usually, but not always, this means that it has become “public information”). A simpler
Minimize calculation (in games worth playing) Read More »
This week, I’m talking about FPS (First Person Shooter) games, something I’ve spent a good chunk of my life playing. I think we really misunderstand these things, as the correct distinction is probably just “shooter” – and probably it’s time that we moved on from them. If you enjoyed the episode, please consider becoming
CGD Podcast Episode 25 – On FPS Games Read More »
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