A collection of opinion pieces and essays that have shaped the way I think about games. Dead link? Use Cached View.

Kinaesthetics

  1. 1 In Praise Of Sticky Friction 22
  2. 2 Improving the Combat 'Impact' Of Action Games 11
  3. 3 Kinaesthetics - Errant Signal 7
  4. 4 Vlambeer - "The art of screenshake" 6
  5. 5 Juice it or lose it 7
  6. 6 Animation in Action Games 14

Level Design

  1. 1 Composition in Level Design 74
  2. 2 Framing and Centering in Game Design 22
  3. 3 Level Design: Views and Vistas 25
  4. 4 The Invisible Hand of Super Metroid 15
  5. 5 Level Design In The Legend Of Zelda 27
  6. 6 Architecture in Video Games: Designing for Impact 7
  7. 7 World of Level Design - Game Environment Design, Art and Architecture 17
  8. 8 World of Level Design - Level Design 14

Theatrics

  1. 1 The Useless Podcast - Small Things 4
  2. 2 Stagecraft in Player VS Player Games 1

Feedback Loop

  1. 1 Building Tight Game Systems of Cause and Effect 14
  2. 2 Perceivable Consequence 10
  3. 3 A Study in Transparency: How Board Games Matter 5
  4. 4 Daniel Cook: Game Design Theory I Wish I had Known When I Started 8

Player Motivation

  1. 1 Behavioral Game Design 17
  2. 2 Achievements Considered Harmful? 4
  3. 3 Changing Player Behavior 2
  4. 4 The Nature of Grinding 5
  5. 5 Errant Signal - Gamification 3
  6. 6 Internet Gaming Disorder 3
  7. 7 Reward Schedules 2

Teaching The Player

  1. 1 Extra Credits: Tutorials 101 6
  2. 2 How to train players right, so they don't hate learning to play 9
  3. 3 Half-Life 2's Invisible Tutorial 7
  4. 4 Mega Man Classic vs. Mega Man X 6
  5. 5 Teaching Players Through Level Design 4
  6. 6 Super Mario 3D World's 4 Step Level Design 3

Aesthetics

  1. 1 Photorealism - Errant Signal 4
  2. 2 Why High Resolution Graphics Aren't Enough 3

Combat Systems

  1. 1 The Fundamental Pillars of a Combat System 17
  2. 2 Enemy Attacks and Telegraphing 12

SFX

  1. 1 How great sound design can make your game 'feel' better 9
  2. 2 Practical Audio for Indies 13

The Hook

  1. 1 Starting Off Right - How the First Five Minutes Draw Players In 15
  2. 2 How to Choose the Right Design 5

Movement Systems

  1. 1 Climbing in Games 7
  2. 2 Gamers can't jump! (and other grumbles) 3

Multiplayer

  1. 1 Multiplayer Logistics 1
  2. 2 Counter Play - Making Multiplayer Fun for the Opponent 5
  3. 3 Why good matchmaking requires enormous player counts 0
  4. 4 Scheduled multiplayer 0

Soundtracks

  1. 1 Adaptive Soundtracks 7
  2. 2 Arrangement for Vertical Layers 2

Social Behavior

  1. 1 Anti-Social Behavior in Games 5
  2. 2 Science Behind Shaping Player Behavior in Online Games 0
  3. 3 The Origins of Rage 1

Philosophy

  1. 1 "Fun" is a Four-Letter Word 7
  2. 2 An Aimless Diatribe On Fun 0
  3. 3 Games Mean Via Their Dynamics 0
  4. 4 Game Design - Making Your Life Hard 1

Narrative

  1. 1 Writing a more compelling game narrative 11
  2. 2 Plot Is Dumb, Character Is Cool 4
  3. 3 4-Layers, A Narrative Design Approach 1
  4. 4 The Self, Presence and Storytelling 2

Designing With A Community

  1. 1 Community-Informed Development for The Long Dark 2
  2. 2 Open Development: Learning from Desktop Dungeons 2
  3. 3 A Thousand Voices: Open Game Development 1

Failure States

  1. 1 Game Maker's Toolkit - Redesigning Death 0

AI

  1. 1 Less is More: Designing Awesome AI 10
  2. 2 The Recipe for Good AI 7
  3. 3 Game Development Myths: Players Want Smart Artificial Intelligence 3
  4. 4 Intelligent Mistakes: How to Incorporate Stupidity Into Your AI 1
  5. 5 Target Selection for AI Companions in FPS Games 2

Design Block

  1. 1 Beating Design Block (Level Design) 8

Accessible Design

  1. 1 No More Excuses, Your Guide to Accessible Design 1

Mechanical Depth

  1. 1 Evaluating Game Mechanics For Depth 2

Game Balance

  1. 1 Metagame Balance 8
  2. 2 Balancing Multiplayer Games 4
  3. 3 Asymmetry in Games 1

Multiplayer Map Design

  1. 1 Designing FPS Multiplayer Maps 3
  2. 2 LevelCap Bashes BF4 Map Design 1
  3. 3 Carney's Crash Course: Map Design 101 0
  4. 4 Cover-Based Level Design In GoW 0
  5. 5 The Visual Guide to Multiplayer Level Design 1

Enemy Design

  1. 1 This domain name has been registered with YouDot.io 10

Environmental Storytelling

  1. 1 Techniques for In-Level Storytelling 4
  2. 2 The Level Design of Gone Home 1
  3. 3 Thief vs. AAA Gaming 2

Difficulty

  1. 1 Cheating in the Player's Favor 5
  2. 2 Reducing difficulty dynamically and invisibly 1
  3. 3 What Capcom Didn't Tell You About Resident Evil 4 1
  4. 4 Gamasutra 1
  5. 5 Gamasutra 0
  6. 6 Challenging vs. Punishing Games 1

Player Engagement

  1. 1 Intensity Ramps - Mike Stout 1
  2. 2 How Games Keep Things Exciting 4
  3. 3 Cognitive Flow: The Psychology of Great Game Design 2

Crafting

  1. 1 7 crafting systems game designers should study 13

Bad Design

  1. 1 The Anatomy of a Bad Game 25

Color

  1. 1 Color in games: An in-depth look at one of game design's most useful tools 9
  2. 2 Visual Hierarchy for Game Developers: A Practical Guide to Making Important Stuff Seem Important 2
  3. 3 Color Relativity: Color Theory Beyond the Wheel 5
  4. 4 How to Choose Colours that Work! 7
  5. 5 Colour In Storytelling 1

Controllers

  1. 1 Doing Thumbstick Dead Zones Right 5
  2. 2 Getting thumbsticks to feel good 5
  3. 3 Switching Inputs Devices 7

Cameras

  1. 1 Third person camera design 10

Animation

  1. 1 12 Principles of Animation 12
  2. 2 Hayao Miyazaki - The Essence of Humanity 4

Lighting

  1. 1 L4D Art Direction, Part 2: Stylized Darkness 4

Research

  1. 1 Placebo effect works in video games too 11
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