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 »
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 »
A freelance consultant’s days are busy but unpredictable. For any given week, I might have work for multiple clients, or I might be tinkering with my own game, or I might be seeking out new contracts for a future quarter. Most likely it’s a mix of all three. Consulting doesn’t have anywhere near the security
Mayhem, Madness, and Games: Farewell to 2023 Read More »
The story has to start with The Wheel. I am not a gamer who buys a lot of hardware and peripherals. I eventually get around to getting a console or two every generation, but I’m never first in line and I wait for the price cuts. I’m primarily a PC gamer, but I’ll go five
East Bound and Down: A Love Letter to Euro Truck Simulator 2 Read More »
I had a tight group of friends in high school and college who were all, to one degree or another, gamers like me. We had a few places where we hung out, including the local shopping mall (it was the eighties, after all) and the basement of one friend’s house, where we spent hours playing
Remarkable Roaming: A Roguelike Roundup Read More »
My fourteen-year-old son likes games. I guess it’d be hard for him not to; most of the time, if his old man isn’t working on games, he’s playing them. He grew up in a house filled with toys – Lego, board games, Warhammer miniatures, and D&D books. He’s seen both his dad and his mom
What’s Old is New: Games and the Nostalgia Factor Read More »