Game Design
Entire game creation process – Intro
I'm the kind of person that needs a constant push to get anything done. I do have motivation, it just needs cranked up every now and again. So to that end, and to hopefully provide some sort of content on…
Gulp! – You swallowed 40,000 times.
I hate Achievements. If there was an XBOX 360 setting where you could turn off Achievements for all games then I would choose it. But there isn't, and you're stuck with them and I hate them. There are three main…
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 superbly balanced (when various exploits were…
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 and rather severe System Shock 2…
“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 sound like a thousand horses screaming…
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 – don't think the first draft of…
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 it to: movement systems, combat systems,…
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 week (sorry) and read it in…
“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 way. I'm not going to get…
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 certain obstacle. As the lead designer…