Lowbo | 就是萝卜
@lowbo.io
https://www.lowbo.io/ Senior Game Designer. Formerly Sprocket Games, Riot Games R&D, LoL game modes, etc. 我会说一点中文(普通话)。PNW. 🏳️🌈
Today is the day to repost this meme about International Men's Day, one of the most unironically wholesome memes that has ever been made. Shoutout to all my fellow champs, chiefs, and kings. ✊
Pop Base@popbase.tv · 10mo agoToday is International Men’s Day.
Another blog post! I wrote about Silksong and “artificial difficulty." (this was totally topical when I wrote the first draft a month and a half ago) www.lowbo.io/silksong-and...
Silksong and The Right Kind of Friction
Silksong brought back Difficulty Discourse in force. We've got all the usual hits: accessibility, artistic vision, and a thousand memes. When a single boss inspires a hate subreddit with thousands of ...
lowbo.io
I am often deeply moved by comments on youtube videos of old songs. It may not be the most skilled poetry, but the sincerity of the message is so powerful to me.
reading slaughterhouse 5 for the first time and i was absolutely knocked senseless by this passage, which is so true and relevant that it feels like it was pulled from a history book
so I am obviously biased but if you’re interested in smart thinking about game design I think this starter pack is your best quick resource on social media for it. sorry in advance for my contribution of all the animal pics to it.
Polaris Game Design@polarisgamedesign.com · 10mo agoHello, Bluesky! If you love thinking, talking, and/or writing about game design, check out our starter pack! go.bsky.app/AsBK784 We're an organization committed to tackling the toughest problems in games and sharing what we learn with the world!
New podcast episode! This week, I talk with @lowbo.io (Benjamin Lindsay), a former Riot game designer who worked on League of Legends and on Riot's illustrious and secretive R&D projects. We talked about Silksong, League of Legends, and what "good game design" even means! makegamesdrinkcoffee.com
I was on a podcast! :O Was a lot of fun chatting with @nemo10.bsky.social about Silksong, League of Legends, and philosophical approaches to game design. Check it out! youtu.be/DtHTlp5Fvjs I’m a Certified Yapping Enjoyer so if anybody reading has a podcast, I’d be happy to be on yours too!
S1E4 - Benjamin Lindsay - Game Designer (formerly: Riot), "Give Everyone a Cookie!"
YouTube video by Make Games, Drink Coffee
youtu.be
I think smaller teams make better games. I think happy people make better games. I think every studio should be thinking of the team as their #1 product and strength, and the games are the OUTPUT of that team. People should be trained, given opportunities, given reasons to WANT to be there
1000 MBAs could never prepare you for the reality that people like Good Shit and will reward you for delivering it
Lowbo | 就是萝卜@lowbo.io · 11mo agodropout, a company that inspires fan loyalty by being full of expert craftspeople who love their craft and care deeply about delivering a good product! imagine!
www.instagram.com/reel/DQFKD_w... I feel like I'm going to see a lot writeups about this on how to develop fan loyalty by *performing* authenticity without ever considering *embodying* it
dropouttv on Instagram: "⭐When we announced a price increase earlier this year (for new and returning subscribers ONLY), we saw something strange happen - m…"
⭐When we announced a price increase earlier this year (for new and returning subscribers ONLY), we saw something strange happen - many people were ASKING us to charge them more for their Dropout subscription. We thought about it, and we decided to honor that request (for anyone who wants to). Head over to dropout.tv/superfan to learn more 🌠#dropout #superfan
instagram.com
About this second principle, which is VERY important: I often find myself designing and tweaking to pre-empt the complaints that I have internalised after years of community management. But when you do that, you're designing for the wrong person. Design it for the sicko who gets you completely
Aaron Lim 林家丰@ehronlime.bsky.social · 11mo agoPlaytesting Is Play is one I bang on about a lot but that’s maybe not so obviously applicable. Maybe “Don’t make the game for people who won’t like it”. Call it “sickos only” or “every game it’s player”.
I open up Reddit and I immediately see a NSFW-ish example of "idea that seems ridiculous at first is in fact very promising" newatlas.com/disease/butt...
Butt-breathing science goes from IgNobel Prize infamy to human reality
Scientists that won an infamous 2024 IgNobel Prize for "discovering that many mammals are capable of breathing through their anus" may indeed have the last laugh. They've now completed a successful hu...
newatlas.com
Lowbo | 就是萝卜@lowbo.io · 11mo agoAnd even more importantly, you *have* to steelman your teammates' ideas. Environments where people are safe to go "this might be a terrible idea, but..." are more creative, more productive, and more fun for everybody to work in. DON'T BE THE PERSON THAT NITPICKS PITCHES.
For TTRPGs I had something I thought of as the "postcard principle". "The game's themes and intent should be well-expressed and prominently surfaced by the mechanical rules - ideally it should not be possible to slip a postcard between the two."
Kate Gray@hownottodraw.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhat's your number one personal game design principle? And even better - does it have a cool name?
The TLDR Principle: if it takes more than a couple of short sentences to explain how to play then it’s not going to work as a quick, casual game
Kate Gray@hownottodraw.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhat's your number one personal game design principle? And even better - does it have a cool name?
People Want To Strangle Horses Every game should have at least one stranglable horse. It is a desire deeply rooted in the human psyche. brainmage.itch.io/i-will-stran...
i will strangle a horse by BRAINMAGE
A comedy twine-based choose-your-own-adventure game where it's your first day on The Farm, and you have One Job
brainmage.itch.io
Kate Gray@hownottodraw.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhat's your number one personal game design principle? And even better - does it have a cool name?
Not so much a design term as a production term; Hot List -> A prioritized list of stuff that is broken that really should get fixed before the next build/milestone/playtest.
Kate Gray@hownottodraw.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhat's your number one personal game design principle? And even better - does it have a cool name?
When it comes to narrative design and game writing, the phrase "story starts with the controller" has been burned into my brain for just about my entire career.
Kate Gray@hownottodraw.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhat's your number one personal game design principle? And even better - does it have a cool name?
Meaningful decisions doesn't mean opaque decisions.
Kate Gray@hownottodraw.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhat's your number one personal game design principle? And even better - does it have a cool name?
This one is kind of silly since it's named after the thing i want to avoid, but "butter sword syndrome" is an issue where your attacks don't feel like they have any impact upon the enemy. I usually try to avoid it by giving the player attacks plenty of push, even against tougher mobs and bosses.
Kate Gray@hownottodraw.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhat's your number one personal game design principle? And even better - does it have a cool name?
Playtesting Is Play is one I bang on about a lot but that’s maybe not so obviously applicable. Maybe “Don’t make the game for people who won’t like it”. Call it “sickos only” or “every game it’s player”.
Kate Gray@hownottodraw.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhat's your number one personal game design principle? And even better - does it have a cool name?
Oh, this one is huge for me too. The Principle of Charity is vitally important in any philosophical endeavor, which includes game design. This applies both internally and externally - sometimes thinking through an idea that's awful at first will lead to someplace productive.
Mitch Dyer@mitchyd.bsky.social · 11mo agoImagine the good version. Life-altering advice from the pal Tom Bissell, I rely on this literally every day and it guides every choice I make. It's easy to assume something won't work, or be too hard. But the second I zoom out and exhale and imagine the good version...the road to victory appears
Imagine the good version. Life-altering advice from the pal Tom Bissell, I rely on this literally every day and it guides every choice I make. It's easy to assume something won't work, or be too hard. But the second I zoom out and exhale and imagine the good version...the road to victory appears
Kate Gray@hownottodraw.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhat's your number one personal game design principle? And even better - does it have a cool name?
Surprise is a virtue that most gamee lack after the first hour.
Kate Gray@hownottodraw.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhat's your number one personal game design principle? And even better - does it have a cool name?
I can't choose so I have a couple. #1, stolen from a friend- Design Things To Their Purpose. Seemingly tautological but actually deep. Always keep in mind the end player experience goal and the way your feature interacts with it. *Features* don't need to be fun, the *game* does.
Kate Gray@hownottodraw.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhat's your number one personal game design principle? And even better - does it have a cool name?
Do, Don't Show. Don't build your systems to look like the cool things are happening, actually let your player do those cool things. Build your systems simple so the player has rules they can follow to create more surprising, emergent moments they'll actually remember.
Mine is "don't waste the player's time," and there are a couple of additional design principles that derive from that. My favorite follow-up is the idea that a game should still be fun even when the player thinks they're losing.
