Next week I might fight a bear. You would not want to miss that.
Category Archives: Game Design
If these walls could talk
I’d have to say that my favourite narrative, if not favourite game of all time is Half Life 2. There I said it. I named, irrevocably, my favourite game of all time without so much as an act of prosaic … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Game Design
Tagged Cinema, Game development, Half Life 2, Inception, Miles Newton, Psychonauts. Game design, The Machination
16 Comments
Hard, for lack of a better word, is good.
No mortal is immune to the brief, blinding moment where our seemingly invincible character topples to its knees and all you want to do is see how well your computer can fly. A mighty bronze colossus that once gracefully strode … Continue reading
Posted in Game Design, Indignant paradigm shifts, Ramblings
Tagged Difficulty, Fallout 3, Game Design, Game development, Stalker
18 Comments
When should plot justify gameplay?
A little advertisement in a PC Powerplay magazine roused my attention. An outstretched arm donning an exotic device; a grand sea liner at the mercy of this contraption as it is forced through a chronological blender as a mysterious figure, … Continue reading
Posted in Game Design
Tagged Game Design, Game development, Gameplay, Mirrors Edge, plot, Portal, Singularity, World narrative
8 Comments
What have indie games become?
Six months ago I had a plan. I felt confident, and I felt enraptured in the world of indie games, and after many unsuccessful attempts I felt just a little bit pissed off. But it was an idea. At the … Continue reading
Posted in Game Design, Games
Tagged Game Design, Indie Games, Miles Newton, The Machination
21 Comments
A new blog?
Thrilling. And you can read it right here http://shortformfoundry.wordpress.com/ The idea is that I come up with a lot of ideas for games, and I want to see what happens when I give them some fresh air. So this is … Continue reading
Posted in Game Design
Tagged Game Design, Game development, Miles Newton, Short-form foundary
10 Comments
The Ultimatum
Last week I blithely wrote about moral scenarios in games until archfiend Veret promptly SHUT. ME. DOWN. And he was right, you know. I was arguing that moral choice is always too game-y because they never really get you to … Continue reading
Posted in Game Design, Ramblings
Tagged Bioshock, Half Life 2, Intelligent Games, Mass Effect, Miles Newton, Mod, Moral Choice, The Machination, Veret
4 Comments
Thoughts on moral choice
Today I wrote a short story that followed the reflection of a wretched individual who believed he could bring about the rise of a utopia by killing everyone, describing that humans got a great view of perfection from the point … Continue reading
Posted in Game Design, Ramblings
Tagged Half Life 2, Miles Newton, Moral Choice, Short Story, The Machination
12 Comments
Teaching you how to play
Throwing praise at Valve is a bit like pissing in an ocean. You’re going to be surrounded by people who can piss much harder than you and who have been doing it for much longer, but ultimately, you’re going to … Continue reading
Posted in Game Design
Tagged Bioshock, Game Design, Game development, Miles Newton, Teaching you how to play, The Machination, Tutorial, Valve
11 Comments
Constellation
It’s late, I’ve got a cold, and it has been a long, liver-rending weekend, but regardless I feel as if I should impart a piece of wisdom into the wilds of the internet instead of writing nothing at all. Earlier … Continue reading
What makes a good hero in five minutes
I’ve been playing a mixed bag of titles over the last 4 or so months and each and every one of them has had their own concept of what should make a rollicking good hero. The usual fare stretches from … Continue reading
