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The Simplest Thing First
My first major lesson on the importance of simple things occurred shortly after I was reassigned to work on the outdoor world with Mike Heiberg, the legend that inspired the High Bergg Helm and my...
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Lesson 1. Clarity
A man lies unconscious in a hallway. Does he need help or is he just asleep?What should you do?As humans, we frequently encounter ambiguous situations like this. Few people would want to wake a napping...
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Communication is Hard Work
Before I was assigned to work with Mike, the way we designed zones was something like this: (Names removed to protect the innocent and content dramatically oversimplified to exaggerate the point)Eight...
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Lesson 2. Care
John McWhorter teaches linguistics. Long distance running is popular in Israel. San Pan Tong was renamed from Ban Mae in 1939. Pachycalamus brevis, is a species of reptile in the Trogonophidae...
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Tuning: a Tool to Adjust Care Level
Tuning is the first and most powerful lesson of the Wyatt Cheng school of Game Design. Are you ready?"Any mechanic, no matter how lame, is considered fun when sufficiently overpowered." - Wyatt ChengIt...
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This week's post will be short.The second major factor of care has nothing to do with mechanics. Instead, you can often make someone care, simply by displaying factors which echo lessons, feelings or...
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Lesson 3. Response
A dragon stands before you, your attacks against its skin bounce off it harmlessly. A pang of helplessness surges through you as you swing your sword wildly, narrowly dodging the beast's claw. It...
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Reactive Responses
"Alex, what's the most basic counter in the WoW?", Mike asked me one sunny morning.We had been working long nights creating abilities for Zangarmarsh and I was still quite sleep lagged."Obviously...
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Preparation and Recuperation
In addition to reaction, there's two other major forms of gameplay responses: Preparation and Recuperation. Preparation is where you perform an action before the event begins. The most common example...
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Lesson 4: Satisfaction
Your heart is pounding, breathless, as you rush down the court. The game is tied, with only seconds to spare and the ball is in your hands. The defense is distracted by your teammates and there's a...
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Positive Reinforcement
The art of satisfaction is highly volatile. It changes with the audience, their motivation, the situation and even their experience level playing your game. Satisfaction is the result of many little...
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Negative Reinforcement
The other side of satisfaction is dissatisfaction. It can be a useful tool. "Now, Alex, why on earth would you ever want players to be dissatisfied with your game? Isn't that defeating the whole point...
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Pacing
Most people would say they want a life full of positive experiences. "No hardship, much wealth, health and general success." In their minds, this is true - they always want to follow the path of least...
View ArticleMist of Pandaria Releases Soon!
Mists of Pandaria is releasing next week.I'll be very busy for the next few weeks, so check this post again later to see when I'll be resuming updates!
View ArticleMore Posts Coming Soon
It was time for a harsh wake-up call, but more posts will be coming soon.
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Ennui - Repetition and Dissatisfaction
Did you ever play the sequel of a game you absolutely loved, found that it had all of the same mechanics, was perhaps even of superior quality, yet still put it down after a few days, never to play it...
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Alternate Ways to Satisfy
Typically, when you approach the topic of satisfaction, it immediately jumps into the "how powerful is it?" category. Naturally, the potency of a game mechanic is the first point of importance to the...
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Fit - Make it Appropriate for your Game
Finally... you are ready. Your game mechanics are clear, relevant to the player, evoke strong emotional responses and regularly reward good behaviour. Your publisher is playtesting your title, then...
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Fit the Theme - Don't put Aliens in Hamlet
During my first year as an associate game designer, I was assigned to work on the "Sunstrider Isles" - later to be known as the Isle of Quel'danas. The project's scope was ambitious - we were going to...
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Fit Your Audience - Don't Put Arm Wrestling in Chess
I was sitting at home on vacation, when a friend told me to check Facebook to see the greatest sport every devised. I turned away from my kitchen to take a look.Having been a competitive Go player in...
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