Why I stopped playing online FPSs
I can’t wait for Team Fortress 2. Not just because Team Fortress Classic was the first (and only) game I played online in a clan (team FuS ftw!) and not just because it was...
Category: Game Design
A little slice of reality
Like 2/3 of PC or XBOX 360 owners, I'm playing BioShock at the moment. I'm not going to review it or anything, other than to say I'm having fantastic fun apart from the occasional...
“Explicit” games
The player moves carefully through the undergrowth, but there seem to be no enemies nearby. Suddenly the sky lights up a ghastly green as a bright globule of light pierces the evening sky. A...
Control… interrupted.
Been evaluating a game recently and it really makes you realise how important the little things are. Also makes you realise that it is almost impossible to think of everything in one go –...
Learn to love your level designers!
There is no element that goes into creating a game that is so dependant on the people doing it as level design. Yes the programmers have to make the game work as you intend...
Theory of Fun
If there is one book on games design or games theory you must read it is “A Theory of Fun for games design” by Raph Koster. I got the final one from Amazon last...
“Save me!”
Saves in games can be a thorny issue. If implemented well, no-one notices them. If implemented badly or even (forbid!) incorrectly then the whole internet explodes in your face. And not in a pleasant...
When is a spike not a spike?
It's often impossible to predict whether a set of variables (player max health, highest available weapon level damage etc.) at a specific point in a game mission will be enough to get past a...
Don’t punish the player
One of my pet design hates is when a game deliberately punishes you, either for doing well or for something as innocent as picking up some health. The main focus of this particular rant...
A little less random please…
I do enjoy RPGs, and I've played a good mix of Western and Japanese over the years. But the two things that puts me off most JRPGs are the “Random Battle” mechanic and the...
