Categories
Game Design

Two steps forward…

With each consecutive hardware generation it takes time to achieve what was possible at the end of the previous generation. New hardware requires new software techniques and often a return to first principles. The initial move from sprite based to polygon based games saw a marked increase in the spatial complexity of environments but was […]

Categories
Game Design

The Perma-death interview.

A large part of what fascinates me about games is the subjective nature of the play experience itself, the notion that no two people will have the same experience even within a heavily scripted game. Recently Australian blogger Ben Abraham has been gaining attention for his decision to partake in an “iron man” play through […]

Categories
Game Design

The Taxonomy of Left 4 Dead.

Nearly twenty years ago Richard A. Bartle, co-creator of the first Multi User Dungeon (MUD) the precursor to the Massively Multiplayer Online Game, wrote an article entitled “Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Player who suit MUDs”. Even today the classifications he set forth still hold true when examining the types of player who play World Of Warcraft […]

Categories
Game Design

I can’t see you.

The demo for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin was released yesterday and though I enjoy it for a variety of reasons there’s one element that stands out, something I’d not expected. Due to either a design decision or a bug (regardless of which, the fan reaction means it may well be changed) it’s impossible to play […]

Categories
Game Design

I can’t see you.

The demo for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin was released yesterday and though I enjoy it for a variety of reasons there’s one element that stands out, something I’d not expected. Due to either a design decision or a bug (and regardless of which, the fan reaction means it’ll likely be changed) it’s impossible to play […]

Categories
Game Design Narrative Design

Story Flow.

Note: This was originally written as response to some elements of Clint’s presentation, before I got stuck on the notion of logical immersion as flow and from there the concept of story flow. Maybe if I’d been paying more attention I’d have read Pat Redding’s presentation before I made this post. As it is I’ll be […]