There are few things that are more frustrating in games than arriving at a situation and having absolutely no idea what to do next. Maybe you are at a dead end, and you have no idea where to go next. Maybe you think you know what to do, but cannot actually figure out how to…
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In the world of gaming new, reviews and criticism, there are a few common threads that get brought up time after time. One conversation that comes up all the time is the idea that games are becoming less original. This criticism is often lobbed at large AAA studios, whose gritty open-world shooters can often seem…
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Hey everybody – This week I had to grade research papers, so I did not have time to write a new post. The article that was scheduled for this week (about personality in games) will hopefully be up next Saturday. Until then, enjoy this post about the relationship between Luck and Skill in game design,…
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Most game genres are pretty self-explanatory. Is the main point to go around a course and arrive first at a finish line? It’s a racing game. Do you have a first-person camera and shoot at enemies? It’s a first person shooter. Simple. Not all genres are quite so simple, however. One genre which is a…
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In the past it was not uncommon for a hit video game to be developed by either a single individual or a very small team in a short period of time. For the most part, those days are behind us. Yes, there are plenty of indie developers out there, and some of the games that…
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Sometimes I think about the weirdness that we are willing to accept from pop culture. Mario is an Italian man who gets transported through pipes, gains power from mushrooms, and fights a giant talking turtle, yet nobody bats an eye. Speaking of bats, one of our greatest heroes is a rich guy dressed up as…
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Hey everybody! For those who only started following this blog recently, you may not know that I have been doing a series on the history of game design, where I look at how games have evolved over time. Last year I did an article on Race Games, and another one on War Games. However, the…
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