Game Design

Outside, Dungeon, Town: integrating the Three Places in Videogames

Videogames, at least the kind I’m talking about (RPGs, adventure kinds of somewhat narrative videogames, Zelda games, Elden Ring, etc), have essentially three “places”: Outside – Hyrule field. Most of the game is Outside, just running around in a grassy area or a snowy mountain. It’s kind of the glue between all of the elements …

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Strategy games should always be moving toward their conclusion

One of the principles that has been important to me over the years, which I have talked about a lot, is the idea that strategy games should always be moving toward their conclusion. In a way, this extends from the basic Clockwork Game Design model. In this model, you have a goal, and a “core …

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Secrets in Videogames

As I’ve gone through the Final Fantasy series recently, it’s notable that the games used to have secrets, and now, they pretty much don’t anymore. Somewhere in the late 90s, and certainly by the mid 2000s, it was decided that secrets are bad and games shouldn’t have them. While secrets do have their costs, and …

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