What Isn’t Game Design

There’s a reason video games build what’s called a ‘vertical slice’. If you’re not familiar, a vertical slice is a single playable area, with all mechanics, final art, vfx, sfx, music, etc. Basically, a little piece of exactly how the finished game will look and feel and play. The vertical slice is what game developers […] Source

I know a lot about guns. I’ve never held a gun. I’ve seen guns only on store walls and on the hips of officers. I’m not interested in guns. Still, I know a lot about guns because guns play a big role in many of the videogames I love. As a game designer specializing in […] Source

Some Background A few years ago I stumbled upon the amazing advertising for OmegaMart. It produced a sense of the uncanny which I found both funny and intriguing. I quickly became obsessed and learned all I could about OmegaMart and Meow Wolf, its creators. As a person who loves and seeks truly original and artistic […] Source

Allow me to start by saying that I mean no disrespect to Dialogue Trees.  I don’t think dialogue trees can or should be replaced.  They are an art form of their own — a perfect compromise among the competing forces game developers require from such a system: Easy to predict, to implement, to hook into other […] Source

First off, I acknowledge that this is the wrong question to ask.  The better question is: “How can I determine how many mechanics my game should have?”  This essay gives my own opinion on that question. However, just so we’re all on the same page, this is the definition of “game mechanic” I’m thinking of. […] Source