News

JikGuard
Dreaming Spires: Dynamic Narrative, Layer by Layer 2
For our upcoming game Pendragon we've tied a dynamic narrative engine to a chess-like strategy game. Boards, moves, pieces... and combinatorial explosion. Here's how it works.
May 22, 2020
JikGuard
Launch Day Depression (And Why I'm Over It)
I can't tell you how many times I cried, yelled, and even curled up in a ball for hours during the creation of launch of my previous game Pinstripe. For my next game Neversong, this launch has been freeing. Here's why, and how you can do it too.
May 21, 2020
JikGuard
Narrative vs Gameplay: a Toolbox for Harmonious Coexistence
How to tell your story while the player is enjoying your game? A list of where, how, when, you should deliver your narrative to maximize both gameplay and story experience.
May 21, 2020
JikGuard
Making an MMO screensaver: Here's how I built it
During April I made an MMO Screensaver for the Alone Together Jam. In this article I talk about how I designed the game; techniques I used to synchronise the world; and, how I built the multiplayer side.
May 21, 2020
None
Revisiting the AI of Alien: Isolation
Five years since its release, there are still secrets to uncover in the AI of Alien: Isolation. So in this blog I revisit my most popular topic.
May 20, 2020
JikGuard
Open World Level Design: The Full Vision (part 3/5)
At this stage, the design team has defined the role that the open world will play in the desired game experience and has chosen one or more player progression strategies. It is time to "draw" the open world itself.
May 19, 2020
JikGuard
Video Game Music Composer: The Interactive Music of SPYDER (Part 2)
Second of a 2-part series. Game composer Winifred Phillips delves into the dynamic music system for the recently-released SPYDER video game, developed by Sumo Digital for Apple Arcade. Part 2 explores the action system (including many video examples).
May 19, 2020
JikGuard
Developing Multitile Creatures in Roguelikes
Describing technical and design issues associated with having creatures that occupy multiple cells in the grid-based world of a roguelike, with solutions.
May 19, 2020
JikGuard
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp downloads flourish on the back of COVID-19 and the Switch offering
In March, Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (ACPC) saw its best month for global downloads since its launch in 2017, at 2.7 million across Apple App Store and Google Play Store - growth of 458%.
May 19, 2020
JikGuard
The hidden Switch demo upside & more discoverability tricks
Why having a Switch demo may have hidden advantages, even more great trending information from SteamDB, and a host of other useful info for those looking to get their game seen.
May 19, 2020
JikGuard
Adding Life To Worlds With Dialogue Barks
Ambient dialogue can work brilliantly to breathe life into a world, reinforce goals and lore, and make the player truly feel a part of the world. In this article, I'll talk about how we can make the most of barks in open world games.
May 18, 2020
JikGuard
Open-world Enemy AI in Mafia III
A broad survey of the most important systems that went into creating Mafia III’s AI such as perception, position selection and the cover system.
May 18, 2020