News

Ostensible Improvements: When Better Isn't
Ostensible Improvements: When Better Isn't
A look into design changes in sequels that should result in better games but don't.
Dec. 5, 2017
Different Kinds of Difficulty: Continuous and Aspirational
Different Kinds of Difficulty: Continuous and Aspirational
With Cuphead reigniting discussions about difficult games it is worth spending some time examining some of the ways in which a game can be difficult.
Dec. 5, 2017
Reynald's Expedition: Designing A Hero
Reynald's Expedition: Designing A Hero
In this article, we share the creative process we went through when creating Reynald, our first game's main character and eager archeologist!
Dec. 4, 2017
Game Industry Blockchain Technologies Should Be Humble to Survive
Game Industry Blockchain Technologies Should Be Humble to Survive
Among the many blockchain solutions proposed for the gaming industry, the most popular have been those that create marketplaces for in-game purchases used in free-to-play models.These model however, excludes the role of game developers and publishers.
Dec. 4, 2017
Humane Design: The Lootbox
Humane Design: The Lootbox
Through the frame of Humane Design, this piece breaks open the comparison between gambling and lootboxes, providing examples of how even industry standard lootbox systems could be refined.
Dec. 4, 2017
The Future of F2P: The Force Wars
The Future of F2P: The Force Wars
It's getting real over at EA with regards to consumer and regulator push back against their business models. Here Ramin Shokrizade uses Star Wars themed analogies to describe how this is a market shock, and how it will affect the entire industry.
Dec. 4, 2017
Video Game Deep Cuts: Dream Of A Million Onions
Video Game Deep Cuts: Dream Of A Million Onions
This week's best articles and visuals around games include a podcast about Dream Daddies, a wonderful video profile of Million Onion Hotel creator Yoshiro Kimura, and lots more.
Dec. 3, 2017
Stress testing Unity’s LLAPI, what are the limits?
Stress testing Unity’s LLAPI, what are the limits?
Explore the what and whys of Unity's networking options and use NetTest (full source included) to put the latest version of the LLAPI through its paces.
Dec. 1, 2017
Foliage Optimization in Unity
Foliage Optimization in Unity
Performance optimization comes part and parcel with lush, dense 3d forests. In this article, I offer a detailed description of how I tackle forest optimization in Unity.
Dec. 1, 2017
The Statue Got Me High: Annotated Source
The Statue Got Me High: Annotated Source
Here's the Inform 7 source text to my 2012 game "The Statue Got Me High," based on the They Might Be Giants song of the same name. In 2015 and 2017 I added annotations commenting on the design, the implementation, and various TMBG references.
Dec. 1, 2017
Hitpoint Balancing with many variables
Hitpoint Balancing with many variables
How do you do boss hitpoint balancing in a game where you have a high number of variables?
Nov. 30, 2017
Pure Narrative Gaps
Pure Narrative Gaps
On what a narrative gap looks like in a systems-driven game, how they can benefit your game and the risks inherent to them.
Nov. 30, 2017