Category Archives: Game Design Theory
DreadBall, Sucker Punch and Running Interference
This has been on the FAQ to be answered for a while now, and yesterday I took a stab at it. However, the more I ponder it, the more I think that my initial reaction was wrong. I’ll explain why … Continue reading
Did They Deserve To Die?
Today I’ve been murdering a lot of darlings, or at least I think I have. What’s perhaps more interesting than the details is a question I posed myself after a bit of pondering: How can you tell the difference between … Continue reading
Soporific Subjects
I’ve spent most of the day catching up on paperwork, though naturally my brain was trying to focus on games (as ever). Normally I’m able to make pretty much any subject into a game idea, given a few minutes consideration, … Continue reading
Deadzone Designer’s Notes – Mercs
Call them mercenaries, call them characters, call them whatever you like, Deadzone is acquiring an ever-growing group of individual heroes and heroines to add spice and story to your games. So how do they fit in? Balance or Overwhelm? Well … Continue reading
Deadzone Designer’s Notes – The Other Solo Rules
As I mentioned yesterday, there are two kinds of solo rules for DZ. The first ones are the involved and complex (in design terms) ones; the second are full of zombies. The idea of a solo campaign where you play … Continue reading
Deadzone Designer’s Notes – Solo Rules
Of all the facets of Deadzone, probably the most challenging in design terms is the solo rules. Actually I should be a bit more specific. There are going to be two versions of solo Deadzone, and what I’m referring to here … Continue reading
Deadzone Designer’s Notes – Super Size Me!
Ever since we announced that we were working on Deadzone people have been asking whether they could play on a bigger battlefield. Sure you can, we said, why not? Deadzone is designed around a single battle mat that is 2 … Continue reading
Deadzone Designer’s Notes – Classic Campaigns
I defined Classic Campaigns in yesterday’s post about Modes of Play. Today I thought I’d talk some more about the details of what I have in mind. The central (but not only) feature of campaigns is that a player’s force … Continue reading
Deadzone Designer’s Notes – Modes Of Play
As Deadzone has evolved it has become more of a family of games than a single thing. Or, perhaps a better way to describe it, Deadzone is a game that can be played in a number of different modes, several … Continue reading
Deadzone Designer’s Notes: Shooting And Cover
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wlJOCB5J0c Like the talking head says, there are two kinds of gunfire in Deadzone: Shooting and Blazing Away. Shooting is what you always see in games: an effort to kill the enemy. Blazing Away is not about killing – it’s … Continue reading
Quirkworthy 