Helldivers 2 continues to impress. Between the constantly changing events in the dynamic live war, the friendly community, and the engaging core gameplay, it feels like a game built to last. Helldivers 2 innovates in several areas, but the setting is not one of them. Like the original Helldivers, it’s a thinly veiled riff on …
Trope or Nope: Innovation and Familiarity in Game Design Read More »
In 1453, the city of Constantinople fell to the Ottoman forces of Sultan Mehmed II. The end of the long siege marked the final chapter of the Byzantine Empire. But the writing had been on the wall for the Byzantines for at least a couple of centuries prior – ever since the devastating plundering of …
Shadows of the Past: Great Games with Historical Themes Read More »
Best practices for marketing games have changed dramatically in the last few years. Avoiding coverage of tentpole triple-A titles is impossible during the run-up to their launch, but in an overcrowded marketplace, smaller games have to catch a viral wave to stand out from the pack. There’s an art to improving the chances of a …
When you curl up with a good novel, you expect the writer to take you on a journey. If the author’s any good, you won’t anticipate every plot beat. You’ll be surprised by the twists and turns of the story, and characters will do and say things you couldn’t have anticipated on page 1. The …
Roads Not Taken: Building Better Narratives for Games, Part Two Read More »
I’m keeping it short this week. As the New Year began, I mentioned wanting to write less often about the industry’s problems. Last year was exhausting and I was determined to kick off 2024 with a more hopeful outlook. I still feel good about the long-term future of the game industry. A decade or two …
Winter of our Discontent: The Game Industry’s Churn Continues Read More »
Regardless of the genre, playing games is fundamentally about making decisions. Good decisions in game design involve both choice and consequence. The more players see and feel the results of their decisions, the more engaging a game will be. In a shooter, choices and their consequences are immediate and clear – which enemy to target …
Eating Well: Strategy Game Design and the Feast of Choice Read More »
Game design was a less specialized vocation when I first entered the industry. Teams were smaller and most designers wore all the hats – systems, content, and narrative. Still, my previous experience as a writer and editor meant I often got tapped for narrative work. My first contract job was creating single-player campaign story content …
Hand in Hand: Building Better Narratives for Games Read More »
In 1997, as the Blade Runner game at Westwood was winding down and getting ready to ship, the core team was tired. The project had been a long haul, with many ups and downs. We were proud of the final product, but none of us relished the idea of starting on a sequel – and …
Nautical by Nature: Breaking the Curse of the Pirate Game Read More »
Just before sixth grade, I moved from rural New Hampshire to the planned suburbs of Columbia, Maryland. The environments could not have been more different. It took a while to make new friends, but within a year or so, I started to settle in and find “my people.” It was in those formative middle-school years …
Thin Red Lines: The Problematic and Evocative War Game Read More »
I am really bad at Hunt: Showdown. Crouched on the top floor of the rusted-out stairwell in the ruins of the old prison – a place that always feels like a trap – I feel like have all the approaches covered. I’d placed a concertina trap at the bottom of the stairs, a nasty trip …
Bullets in the Bayou: Design Lessons in Hunt: Showdown Read More »