Recently came across a Reddit-thread discussing the real-life "hiker's nod" phenomenon, which inspired me to do some exploration on how to translate this to game design (for virtual worlds/mmos in particular) #gamedesign

On Stranger Trails, or: How to apply the Hiker’s Nod to Game Design

The Hiker’s Nod Is there a game design principle that matches up to the phenomenon of instinctively nodding/saying a quick hello in passing to otherwise complete strangers on (non-busy) hikin…

blog.xoduz.org

Since when can starter packs contain more than 150 accounts? Or has that always been a thing, if you add them directly from someone's profile... 🤔

Welp. I parted ways with Ubisoft Singapore two weeks ago after nearly three years. Did a short writeup about that in ye ol' blog, for the curious. Now taking a breather and catching up on my Steam Library while keeping eyes peeled, ears sharpened and design senses on alert for new opportunities! \o/

New Horizons

Two weeks ago, I parted ways with Ubisoft Singapore after nearly three years.

blog.xoduz.org

Part 4 of my series about game design aesthetics! In this one I discuss what a personal design aesthetic is, how it comes to be, and how to nurture it. Article five, in a few weeks, will discuss the game design aesthetic of groups: studios, team, cultures. #GameDesign

A Game Designer’s Aesthetic

In the first article, I discussed game design patterns, and called them the brushstrokes of game design. In the second article I discussed game genres,…

namelessquality.com

I wish I was a more confrontational person so I could tell this taxi uncle to stop pumping the fucking gas pedal/accelerator every 1.5 seconds.

Since CERN shut down my K/D ratio in FPS games increased by 3%.

Cabel Sasser@cabel.panic.com · 3mo ago

some amazing things happening over on threads — ever since they “shut down CERN”

Listening to Raph Koster discuss Star Wars Galaxies is a bit of a game design masterclass. www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAv0...

The Story Behind Star Wars Galaxies' Notorious Jedi Problem - /noclip

YouTube video by /noclip

youtube.com

Pfft. 1980 was the year, with genre-defining and "they were the first to do X"-games like Pac-Man, Missile Command, Zork, Adventure, Rogue, Mystery House, Olympic Decathlon, Space Invaders (Atari port) and Defender.

ⓓⓔⓔⓑ definitive edition nintendo switch 2 edition@deeb.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Years ranked by video game releases 📝

Hot dinner take: I don't need to play all games through to the end to get enjoyment out of them. I'm ok being part of the "80-90% of gamers don't finish games" statistic.

Okay, that's definitely becoming a reading for my #GameDesign systems course. 🤓 Great exploration of the design possibility space, visual and mathematical examination of the consequences, and reflection on what strategic / thematic / social experiences each variant supports. Inspiring stuff!

Rock Paper Scissors 2

YouTube video by Fractal Philosophy

youtube.com

sometimes late at night i am confronted with a troubling thought: maybe in 2026 everyone has just forgotten how to make video games. then i am confronted with a more troubling thought: perhaps we actually never knew how to make video games in the first place

Adding full voice-over narration for all NPCs, cutscenes, quests etc in video games is a waste of time and resources. Most players (73.875%, give or take) skip the dialogue, and skip the cutscenes, or play with sound turned off so they can hear their own music.

Sick Combos@sickcombos.bsky.social · 3mo ago

i've seen too many good video game opinions today, time for some bad ones what is your take that will have you like this?

Game development is so funny because we have these grand visions of what we want to do but then get stuck spending hours on trivial things like making ESC close the correct UI element.

I hope Stephen Spielberg will some day watch Hook and enjoy it, and that all the critics that panned it will rediscover their lost inner child. It's such a wonderful movie.

I’ve been tuning competitive games for 15 years, and I’ve come to one inevitable conclusion. Want to know why people loved our patches on Killer Instinct and Rumbleverse so much? My hour long deep dive premieres tonight at 10pm EST on Game Design Direct! www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCPQ...

Game Balance Isn't Real

YouTube video by GameDesignDirect

youtube.com

Why is Valve so stingy with the countries they make their hardware available in? They have too much money already, and don't want more? Come on, gabe

Name your fav film sequel.

Doomski - Wishlist Project Timbre@doomskigames.com · 5mo ago

Name your fav film sequel.

Personal gripe: I wish people would elaborate when they describe games using nothing but blanket statements like "good/bad game design" 😶

Wanna think more deeply about game design? Here's some reports on the latest systems analyses from Polaris Design Retreat, from social psychological-safety design to mechanical comedy to loss, and beyond! polarisgamedesign.com/reports/

Reports

REPORTS 2022 2023 2023 Understanding Systems Suspense Why is it fun to learn the rules of a videogame? Not just to play the game, but to learn it; to travel from the state of unknowing to knowing, to ...

polarisgamedesign.com

From time to time, the concept of "friction" in game design comes up. People argue about whether or not to remove friction, but I think they're actually disagreeing about what "friction" means and in what context.

Not sure how I failed to see this awesome thread for two weeks, but better late than never! So many good tips :)

Cat Manning@catacalypto.bsky.social · 6mo ago

would love to see a thread of small practical pieces of advice developers just starting out or unfamiliar with a genre might not know! I’ll start: if you’re using a tag-based system, don’t just give everything an individual tag—look for thematic groups where similar events can lead to same outcome

Cairn is such a nice cozy, relaxing gamOHSHITAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh💀 ...10/10 would climb again.

Incredible numbers! On paper the idea of building an endgame around ruthless PvP provides cheap, endless content. In truth it all but killed the game, as the PvE audience got an experience contrary to the previous 60 hrs. Very useful case study for designers.

Eurogamer@eurogamer.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Dune: Awakening is ditching PvP as a mandatory endgame experience, as over 80% of lifetime players didn't engage with it at all www.eurogamer.net/dune-awakeni...

All seats in all flights (domestic, international or interplanetary), should all be aisle seats only. All. Also, no reclining possible.

Rav@rvbdrm.com · 5mo ago

WE NEED BAD IRRELEVANT TAKES IMMEDIATELY FLOOD THE TIMELINE

My lunch take on game design: One thing people always get wrong about game design, is... ...treating "emergence" as a happy accident. Emergent behavior is the end-result of a carefully orchestrated possibility space by designers, not just random luck!

Human Computer@human.computer · 5mo ago

What people always get wrong about game design is that... golf balls need more butt cheeks. 🍑 In truth, it's actually all about juggling systems.

IMO the three most important tools for game design are MS excel, thesaurus dot com, and a reliable stopwatch.

introducing more people to my favorite game design problem, the Horse Archer Problem: you either make archery and mobility suck individually or when paired together, or you rediscover why the Mongols were so successful

PROTIP: pop a credits list at the start of whatever design doc/ database setup you've got going on, and add people who help you out as you go. It makes things a LOT easier at the end, especially if those names rack up over a long period of time.

Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou@kanaratron.bsky.social · 7mo ago

It's never too early to start blocking out your indie game's credits.

1am onwards are the golden hours of creativity and feature creep.