I think that game design theory often has the issue of “seeming cool” while not being terribly practically useful, or only having very narrow utility. Of all of the game design theory I’ve worked on before, this thing here has been by far the most useful. I’ve used it countless times on just about every … Continue reading "“The Triangle” tool for your game design purposes"
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I don’t want update patches. I want UPGRADE patches.
I love patch notes. I believe that most other game designers love patch notes too, but if you’re someone who doesn’t care about patch notes, you probably will be confused by all this. For awhile there’s been this idea floating around that Riot, the developers of League of Legends, have been issuing arguably-unnecessary balance changes … Continue reading "I don’t want update patches. I want UPGRADE patches."
Read MoreHow Strategy Games can use Output Randomness
Been thinking a lot about output randomness and what it means in games. My overall opinion on output randomness has not really changed much, but I think from the process of working on Gem Wizards Tactics, which does have some light output randomness, I have come to some new conclusions about when and why it’s … Continue reading "How Strategy Games can use Output Randomness"
Read MoreCGD Podcast Episode 73 – Emergent Complexity
Hi everyone! Today’s episode goes into some depth about emergent complexity: what is it, what isn’t it, why would we want it, and how do we get more of it? We talk about specific examples in games like 4X strategy games, and most importantly (because I’m making one), squad tactics games. I want to say … Continue reading "CGD Podcast Episode 73 – Emergent Complexity"
Read MoreWhy “quarterbacking” isn’t a problem in cooperative games
Been thinking about cooperative games for awhile, largely as a result of many of my recent thoughts on competitive games and the way that they inherently “socially rank” their players. There’s something about that that bothers me more and more over the years, both for political and personal reasons, many of which I’ve talked about … Continue reading "Why “quarterbacking” isn’t a problem in cooperative games"
Read MoreAchieving playfulness in strategy game design
On a recent podcast episode, Brett “BrickroadDX” Lowey and I discussed the property of “playfulness” in strategy game design, and a lot of conversation over on my stream and Discord have taken place since then. I thought it would be good to first lay out my cleanest explanation for the term, and then indicate the … Continue reading "Achieving playfulness in strategy game design"
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