Category Archives: Game Design Theory
Game Design: The Usual Confusion
Game design, like every other creative process, starts with endless possibilities. As you go through the various stages, your once infinite options narrow, and the vague initial spark coalesces into a fixed and final form. There are things to like … Continue reading
My Second Favourite German Word
There is a quote that goes something like “If you can’t explain something simply then you don’t understand it well enough”, variously ascribed to Einstein or Feynman. It’s been getting to this point that has taken the time. Even now, … Continue reading
A point about game design
Monday’s post attracted a couple of interesting comments, and I’ve pulled out this one from EJ to reply as a post because I didn’t want it to get lost in the mix. It’s an interesting point, and worth discussing as … Continue reading
Game Design Theory: Benchmarks for Other Skirmish Games?
Having proposed the Collateral nightclub shootout as a benchmark for modern skirmishes, I’ve started to think about what might be an equivalent for ancient/medieval/fantasy games. I’ve got a few ideas kicking about, but before I prejudice your thinking too much, … Continue reading
Game Design Theory: A New Benchmark For Modern Skirmish Games
Thanks for all the film suggestions folks. As you might expect, I’ve already got a number of them, though that doesn’t mean I’ve watched them recently. Even those I’ve seen are well worth re-watching. One comment that I thought was … Continue reading
Research is Weird: SF Worlds
This post is really to make you think about the way AI may work (or not), and to give you something to consider when you’re working on the imagined future of your game. However, I have to get there by way of the internet’s omnipresent … Continue reading
Balancing DS Campaigns
The campaign rules on page 31 of the DKQ quest book include a simple balancing mechanism to tailor things to your group. The balance of the metagame is very sensitive to the relative skills of the different players, especially how cunning the Overlord is … Continue reading
