On the post I published last month I talked about telling stories without words, and how tempting it can be to abuse of a minimalist approach to puzzles and experience design. Then I remembered Tiny Thief, and how it actually did the same thing as Virginia, which is telling a story (a very different one, […]
I’ve been playing Virginia, the 2016 game by Variable State. It’s a fantastic game, very interesting from a narrative point of view. I’m sure it took them a great creative effort to figure out its visual language, which tells a complex story without any text at all. And the result is very good, because the […]
It’s been a couple of weeks already, but I figured it would still be nice to take a look at my notes and put together a couple of things I learned over there. Here we go! (You’re invited to add yours on the comments below :D) Game development has a love/hate relationship with frustration Dave Gilbert […]
This is a topic I find myself thinking about very often. So often that I though I would end up having a saying on it. But as with humor in general goes, it gets difficult to state anything that sounds precise and comprehensible enough. But since the topic keeps on fascinating me again and again, […]
So I’m reading Don’t make me think, a common sense approach to web usability (written by Steve Krug). And I’m amazed when I see the writer takes examples from classical written news design to illustrate usability rules that are relevant on today’s digital world. I was surprised mostly because I studied many of them about six […]
I have mixed feelings towards Little Nightmares, because as a player, I don’t treasure the moments of extreme frustration, even if the outcome of overcoming the challenge seems to be promising. As game designers, our goal is to entertain, so flirting with negative emotions and responses is always a risk. However, the way I see […]
I was recommended Construct about a year ago by a fellow programmer. He assured me that I, as a Game Designer without an extensive programming knowledge, would be capable of using it to build my own prototypes and indie projects by myself. After further research I discovered the engine had actually been around for years, so […]
On these Attention War days, where everything’s eye-candied and stunning visuals try to stand out in the noise, Thomas was Alone comes as a rarity. This is definitely not one of those games that sells itself on the screenshots: And don’t misunderstand me. I find the art direction of this game to be quite sophisticated […]
The question, in all its bare simplicity, occurred to me yesterday as somebody listed their favorite comedy video games. They were all Lucas Arts titles and other graphic adventures of the time that stand up for the sense of humor put into dialogues, characters, and plots. So far, so good. I personally love the surreal sense […]
I was instantly inspired and delighted when I saw Hidden Folks for the first time. It took place like a “boy/girl falls in love with boy/girl” scene, where you just see him/her at the other side of the room at a party (or Gamescom indie booth in this case), and you instantly realize you’re just […]