Two things are key to becoming a great game designer: making games, and playing games. In this article, Rodain Joubert extracts and explains three game design lessons from playing Dungeon Crawl that revolves around difficulty, providing meaningful decisions, and removing tedium from the game interface.
To prototype and get early feedback is great for getting rid of bugs, get ideas, test the fun factor, and keep yourself motivated. Use these tips get more players to play your game when it is not finished.
The two Samorost games, the flash games by Amanita, has revolusionised the way we think of atmosphere and art in games. In this article, Rodain Joubert pays homage to the games that set a new benchmark for adventure games.
We all know that good old stereotype: the one which dictates that all computer-bound people are highly introverted and extremely antisocial individuals who wouldn’t know how to start a conversation even if they were slapped in the face with their grandmother’s knickers.
This article originally appeared in Dev.Mag Issue 26, released in October 2006. Compared to most other game development competitions, Game.Dev’s fondly-named “Comps” have always stood out on one particular front: each new incarnation has always set out to challenge, direct and develop entrants within the field of game development. Instead of the oh-so-typical “create a [...]
So. Hot on the heels of my previous ShellBlast review comes this humble opinion of its new, Xbox-based cousin: ShellBlast HD. Vertigo Games was kind enough to supply me with a review copy for this sprightly bugger, so of course I latched onto it . And hey, guess what? It’s just as good as the original.
I’ll waste no time in dropping the hammer: I really don’t like World of Warcraft. The grinding bores me, the mentality upsets me and the game world just doesn’t engage me enough to warrant the odd five gazillion hours that you need to pour in just to get… well, anywhere. I’ve tried it out, honestly!
When you sit down to write a book, one of the most important things to bear in mind is the shaping and formation of your expression: if you can elegantly express in a single sentence what a lesser writer would need a paragraph to evoke, then you’ve got yourself a talent for writing. Good journalism, [...]
Save Jack was one of last year’s honorable mentions in Microsoft’s annual DreamBuildPlay game development competition, made by a pair of South African devs with a penchant for interesting ideas and a desire to put them into action. We decided that it would be a good idea to interview these good folks for their take [...]
Ed: Yo Nandrew, where’s that ShellBlast review you promised me? You’re already a day late. Me: Ah, er, bad news. I haven’t written it yet. I’ve been banging my head against this level 30 nuke defusal for most of the afternoon, and as far as I know I’ve still got oxidation and time-bombs to unlock. [...]
Disclaimer: This article covers the hyperbolic ranting of an entirely fictional (and very foul-tempered) stick figure thing. As such, we reserve the right to label this article as satire and advise you to take any of Angry Joe’s advice in good humour and high spirits. Whether or not he happens to make any valid points [...]
This article originally appeared on NAG Online. Code in Python, go to outer space. A simple process, really. Do you really, really want to become a game programmer? Do you really, really have no idea how to start? Try some Python! This easy and simple programming language is not just a great springboard for people [...]
Blazing in at the IGF and leaving a clay-ridden trail of aliens, shotguns and grumpy farmers, Cletus Clay is shaping up to be one of the most interesting indie offerings around, not least because it uses a game world built entirely of plasticine models.
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