Max Nichols
@maxnichols.bsky.social
He/him. Sr. Game Designer. Prev: Epic, Bungie, Turbine, more. I run @HyruleInterviews.bsky.social Blog: namelessquality.com Portfolio: maxnicholsdesign.com
Extremely proud to say I was the localization editing lead for Bubbly Basin, Pokopia's first DLC. Also even more proud of the ridiculously talented team of translators, editors, and fantastic loc folks who made it happen. I hope everyone has a bubbly time playing!
Sometimes, Nintendo's trick is simply that they have such long polish phases that they can design their world based on players' desire paths en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desire_...
Desire path - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Hyrule Interviews@hyruleinterviews.bsky.social · 23h agoAonuma on polishing the Breath of the Wild world based on testers’ paths, 2017. Source: Nintendo Everything #Zelda #BreathoftheWildQuote #AonumaQuote nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-on-ze...
![PEOPLE:
- Eiji Aonuma, age 53. Producer of Breath of the Wild.
QUOTE:
Aonuma: [During Breath of the Wild development] I asked the team to create a tool displaying a map on which the movements of a hundred players would be drawn in real time, with a marking point every hour.
[If I saw] that many people were going to the same place at one time, I asked them why they had gone there. … Often, it was something I’d never thought about or seen in this angle during development, but sounded very funny. It also allowed us to detect locations no one was going to because it wasn’t very practical, in order to modify or add a path, change the topography, make a place more attractive… It was instructive to observe and allowed us to do statistics and make every portion of the world interesting.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreib3aq2sbtwpuhbyfbpskcibie4dislvyrowywzlkgosuhjapafafa)
This was my fun on-a-whim project for the past couple days. I had a lot of fun with it--and learned a whoooole lot. I'm quite proud of it. A lot of history happens closer together than you think
Hyrule Interviews@hyruleinterviews.bsky.social · 7d agoI present: 5000 Years of The Legend of Zelda A flowchart of the media that influenced Zelda. Ranging from mythology and historical sources to ancient board games, D&D, 1930s pulp adventure films, and way more! Click through to see the full-size chart. namelessquality.com/5000-years-o...
I wrote a post about metroidvanias and familiarity wayyy back that I think is still relevant to this vibe auratriolo.com/blog/2024/01...
Familiarity as a designer’s weapon – AURAMBLES
auratriolo.com
Aura/Moom@moomanibe.bsky.social · last wk.Prime 1 cares about making you feel lost, cares about you finding dead ends and turning back, crisscrossing thru the same room 5 times in 30 mins, about moments of silence or ambience and rooms that are just a weird space on this alien planet
New Blog Post: Progression Design and the Surface Area Problem This one is about progression systems and how we apportion access to the game's possibility space via rewards. #GameDesign
Progression Design and the Surface Area Problem
Every game has what I call a “surface area” for its gameplay systems. At a fundamental level, what we are doing when we design progression…
namelessquality.com
New Blog Post: Progression Design and the Surface Area Problem This one is about progression systems and how we apportion access to the game's possibility space via rewards. #GameDesign
Progression Design and the Surface Area Problem
Every game has what I call a “surface area” for its gameplay systems. At a fundamental level, what we are doing when we design progression…
namelessquality.com
A question for all my game dev followers: What are your strategies for evaluating pacing curves for singleplayer games during development? Stuff like “is the pace of level-ups right” and “are we giving out the right amount of currency”
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’m excited to see Paige doing illustration for the first time in ages, and what could possibly be a better subject than moss-covered stones
Paige@paigeedits.bsky.social · 4w agoI haven’t painted in forever, figured some practice was needed before diving into a larger piece.
Part three of my series about game design aesthetics! In this one I talk about the many decisions game designers make every day, and how they make them. Article four will come next week, where I'll finally talk about designers' personal design style—their design asesthetic—directly. #GameDesign
A Game Designer’s Choices
Let’s talk about making choices. Full-time game designers typically make hundreds of choices every day. Most are tiny, some are more substantial. Most are made…
namelessquality.com
Proud to announce our HARDSHIP FUND: uvw-cwa.org/hardship-fun... If you've been recently laid off and need support, we got you.
Part two of my five-article series about game design aesthetics is here! Why am I talking about genres if the topic is personal design aesthetic? That will become clear later! Article three, about game design choices and how we make them, will come next week. #GameDesign
A Game Designer’s Genres - The Nameless Quality
Years ago, a more experienced game designer I worked with told me that I was still developing my “game design aesthetic”. I asked him what…
namelessquality.com
I always found this exchange very, very funny When a 12yo pitches a kitchen sink game to you, and you don't want to rain on their parade. But the 12yo is a 50-year-old WW2 history buff pacifist who loves war machines & grew up under the US occupation. And is also the most famous animator alive
Hyrule Interviews@hyruleinterviews.bsky.social · last mo.Hayao Miyazaki pitches a video game to Miyamoto, 1992. Source: Family Computer Magazine (Famimaga) #MiyazakiQuote, #MiyamotoQuote www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5zM...
![PEOPLE:
- Hayao Miyazaki, age 51. Co-Founder of Studio Ghibli. Director of films like My Neighbor Totoro and Nausicaä .
- Shigeru Miyamoto, age 39. Creator of Zelda & Mario. Producer of Nintendo EAD’s Software Development Department..
QUOTE:
Miyazaki: I didn’t know much about video games but [there is] a game I wanted to create… … It takes place when the Japanese forces were nearly wiped out by the US in the South Pacific Ocean. The objective of this game is to board a torpedo bomber and hit a US aircraft carrier with a torpedo.
That said, you can also choose not to get on a bomber. Then what will you do? Maybe you grow vegetables on an island to sustain yourself. Maybe you starve and eventually the war ends. Or maybe you become a prisoner of war and stay in a prison camp until the war is over… or maybe you die during the process.
Miyamoto: I see.
Miyzaki: So there are many choices you can make. … We would make these animated scenes and you need to choose your action [with a time limit]. I discussed making such a game.
Miyamoto: I see…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreibeexr72t5y246cwkexmdjjleud4uaahron67cqliazp6ehdht6rm)
I had a fun interview with Playsense, about my Hyrule interviews project! It was fun to chat with folks who weren't coming from the Zelda fandom side, or were even very familiar with all the Zelda games, but were interested in why I do it and my process, and what I get out of it as a game designer
#zelda #zelda | PLAYSENSE
Who here loves #Zelda? We've got a pretty nerdy event coming up. PLAYSENSE will be chatting with Max Nichols, the creator of Hyrule Interviews, a fan-made archive of Zelda developer interviews and quo...
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You know what Nintendo does when they have a surplus set of devs from cancellations or production ending? Put them on other projects. The ability to redeploy headcount while keeping teams together over time is like, the main strategic benefit of scale in the game industry
Part one in my five-article series about game design aesthetics!: namelessquality.com/a-game-desig... This one is a bit of a preamble, to give myself the language to discuss concepts in the subsequent parts. #2, A Game Designer's Genres, is coming next week. #GameDesign
A Game Designer’s Brushstrokes - The Nameless Quality
Years ago, a more experienced game designer I worked with told me that I was still developing my “game design … Read More →
namelessquality.com
My stance on game pricing is that we need to tax the rich
It’s so hard to see the impact we have as game devs sometimes. In my memory Infinite Crisis is a failed project. But some patch notes I wrote inspired someone? Someone awesome Like @cyrusriahi.bsky.social? Every little thing we put out there could impact someone at just the right place and time
Cyrus Riahi@cyrusriahi.bsky.social · 2mo agoShoutout @maxnichols.bsky.social (designer for atomic wonder woman and from what we can gather almost certainly the writer of that specific patch note) and everyone else who ever worked on IC!! I wouldnt be the same person today without it :D
Shoutout @maxnichols.bsky.social (designer for atomic wonder woman and from what we can gather almost certainly the writer of that specific patch note) and everyone else who ever worked on IC!! I wouldnt be the same person today without it :D
Another new blog post! This is a bit more in-depth. 10-15 minute read. I designed Destiny encounters for years but haven't ever talked much about what that actually means. So here you go! #GameDesign #Destiny
The Basics of Destiny Encounter Design - The Nameless Quality
I realized that despite working on Destiny and Destiny 2 encounters for years, I’ve never really talked in any sort … Read More →
namelessquality.com
Max Nichols@maxnichols.bsky.social · 2mo agoNew blog post! Should be a 5-10 minute read. I wrote it mostly as an introduction to another thing I was writing but decided it'd be best standing on it's own. I hope it helps someone out! #GameDesign
New blog post! Should be a 5-10 minute read. I wrote it mostly as an introduction to another thing I was writing but decided it'd be best standing on it's own. I hope it helps someone out! #GameDesign
Fundamentals of FPS Gameplay - The Nameless Quality
At the most basic level, FPS gameplay is the interplay of line-of-sight, movement, facing, cover, and timing between a player … Read More →
namelessquality.com
I don't think we actually talked enough about everything that happened in video game land this week, so I'm bringing it up. I can just do that It's a gloves off kinda affair. I use some strong language. I can, also, do that. It's my blog With love 💜 medium.com/@daavpuke/ar...
Are We Gonna Talk About This Crazy Week In Games?
Summer Game Fest 2026 has, once again, been eventful...
medium.com
People Make Games traveled to Michigan to meet Jerry Gretzinger, an 84-year-old man, who's spent most of his life working away on a single, giant map to an imaginary world. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is8N...
The Man Who's Spent a Lifetime Making One, Giant Map
YouTube video by People Make Games
youtube.com
Q for game historians- Shigesato Itoi is in this 1985 interview in LOGiN magazine, with Masanobu Endo. But his first game was Mother (Earthbound 0), in 1989. To my knowledge he had no connection to video games yet. Why would he have been in this interview? Do you know, @shmuplations.bsky.social ?
Hyrule Interviews@hyruleinterviews.bsky.social · 2mo agoEndo & Itoi on the asceticism of game developers, 1985. Source: Shmuplations #EndoQuote, #ItoiQuote shmuplations.com/endoitoi/
![PEOPLE:
- Masanobu Endo, age 32. Creator of Tower of Druaga (1984), which likely influenced The Legend of Zelda (1986).
- Shigesato Itoi, age 37. Author. Later: Creator of Earthbound (1989) and editor for the Ishinorimori A Link to the Past manga.
QUOTE:
Endo: When you talk to game developers, they'll often say, "working at the foot of Mt. Fuji would be perfect."
Itoi: … [laughs] That kind of asceticism isn't limited to the digital field. … There was even an era when "suppressing consciousness" was considered beautiful. … Those who suppressed something until it burst out and killed them were called "those who died young." Those who persevered until death were called "those who stubbornly stuck to their principles their whole lives." It's a kind of stoicism.
But that kind of repressive power cannot create things that appeal to people. It's very handy for leading people in the wrong direction though. It's incredibly useful for steering people down dangerous paths.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2e7f2uvcguv4d5qxqnyjmk32/bafkreihxi2lo3dkeovxhg3ssmke6ugyxm4p7xla6lasdmsqtozmp2ypfiy)
My first podcast appearance in a while! 😎 This week I had a great chat with @sacredrealmspod.bsky.social and @maxnichols.bsky.social following the #OcarinaofTime remake announcement! open.spotify.com/episode/2ve9... #Zelda @zeldauniverse.bsky.social
Ocarina of Time Remake Roundtable
Sacred Realms: A Zelda Retrospective Podcast · Episode
open.spotify.com
Taking a break from my social media break to crowdsource: I've got a series of 4-5 articles about what it means to have a personal aesthetic as a game designer that are ready to publish. Gamedeveloper.com used to aggregate blogs posts from industry folks. Is there any similar platform today?
Game Industry News, Deep Dives, and Interviews | Game Developer
The game industry resource for breaking news and in-depth analysis of the latest game industry tech and trends.
gamedeveloper.com
The high school setting works well in part because it's got a nice structure to it and there's a built-in social apparatus. It's time: Persona 6 should be set in a retirement community
Gonna take a break from social media for a bit. Wanna test some lifestyle stuff. I’ll see y’all on the other side!