4 Loopholes: what they are, how to find them, how to fix them, and a big list of generic loopholes in games.
game design
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4 In a previous article, we looked at the diegesis theory of interface design. The theory can also be applied to audio design. This is a look into the design of audio for games, and how diegesis theory can help us structure our thoughts.
Video Game Audio: Diegesis Theory
1 In this article, Julian Pritchard gives us his take on game ideas: what is necessary to support a good idea, and how to develop the skills to bring ideas to fruition.
Game Design: On Ideas
1 In this second part of analyzing Desktop Dungeons, we look at how choices are given meaning not only through their complexity, but also through the role they play in structuring an experience.
Desktop Dungeons: Design Analysis (Part 2)
1 This is the first part of an in-depth look at the design of Desktop Dungeons, the South African game that won the Excellence for Design Award at the IGF. In this part, we look at the player actions, choices, and tension.
Desktop Dungeons: Design Analysis (Part 1)
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.
What I Learned from Dungeon Crawl
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 […]
Minimised game design for indies
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 […]
Four issues that developers need to drop already
Disclaimer: Please try not to be scared of Angry Joe – he’s only a stick figure. In fact, he doesn’t even really exist. Steel yourself, read on and ride the storm. It’ll all be over soon. There seems to be a lot of ideas held by new developers which, quite […]
Five Game Development Myths Debunked
If there’s one thing that I take pride in when I offer humble slices of gaming pie to oh-so-hungry colleagues, it’s my ability to carefully consider the difficulty level. Whether I’m making a run-and-jump platformer or a purely cerebral puzzle game, I always live by the same basic mantra: give […]