Quantum Conundrum, a physics puzzle game with story.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 179: Voiceover adds characterization & fills gaps.
“Art is how we decorate space, music is how we decorate time." -Jean-Michel Basquiat
(In this case, music = narration)
Quantum Conundrum provided direction & world building by using V.O. work.
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Costume quest was enjoyable adventure/turn-based RPG that was a ton of fun to explore.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 178: Player preference can beat design or innovation.
It’s long debated.
Do you prefer to find your crowd or design for an audience?
Costume Quest hit a lot of the comedy/difficulty/mechanics that I personally really enjoy.
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Managing ammo in Red Dead Redemption meant sometimes needing to switch to an alternate weapon at pivotal moments.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 177:
Game economy 101: Sources = Sinks.
Players need ‘sources’ of commodities AND
places to ‘sink’ (spend) them.
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare had limited ammunition, so it was a big decision to fire or give bullets away.
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Harvest Moon: A Tale of Two Towns had a just a few more things to do per day than a player could reasonably handle. If it were fewer, they could do everything, if there were A LOT more options, players could focus their time on a subset of activities.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 176: Don’t ask players to go a bridge too far.
Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns simultaneously had too many & too few things to do.
You could accomplish *almost* every task, or wander empty areas looking for random collectibles.
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Here I am, dressed like a cowboy. Oversized sheriff badge and everything!
Sugar cookies in the shape of a cowboy hat, mustache, sheriff star, and cactus.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 175: Getting players to read is tricky.
People read all the time.
You’re reading right now!
But you didn’t think “reading”, you thought “see what's happening”.
I got players to stop & try Confines of the Law with costumes & cookies.
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Middle Manager of Justice was a mobile game by Double Fine Productions, where players had to keep various districts in a city happy and free from crime.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 174: Limit & pace spinning plates.
A “decay” mechanic (where things get worse when the player doesn’t interact) could make a feature compelling - or an overwhelming chore.
Middle Manager of Justice added districts (happiness meters) at a fine rate.
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A low-detail model of of a Big Daddy in BioShock.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 173: Improve performance with LODs.
Most players don’t notice the different Level Of Detail (LOD) 3D models shown at various distances.
They may call out "texture popping", but overall performance would be worse with a single model.
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Beneath a Steel Sky was a point-and-click adventure game released in 1994.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 172: Puzzle solutions should be one step from “normal”.
🥱 Easy: get key->open door
🔐 Player feels smart: improvise key->open door
😵 Convoluted: need key->get vegetable->do laundry->open door
Beneath A Steel Sky had well balanced puzzles.
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Pokemon Picross for the 3DS was a puzzle game where you ended with various pokemon-themed pictures.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 171: The best power-ups let players achieve new goals.
In Pokémon Picross, a benefit would have been to gain energy or earn bonus currency. The only bonuses makes puzzles easier, but…
solving puzzles is what players are there for.
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Puzzle Swap was a mini-game on the Nintendo 3DS that benefited from StreetPass system to collect pieces. Players could only collect a few puzzle pieces before needing to assign them to their respective puzzles.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 170: Put a manageable cap on repeat actions.
Players may love to collect things, they will hit a point where engaging with their backlog is overwhelming.
Puzzle Swap was limited to 10 pieces a time, encouraging frequent check-ins.
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Duals! was built using Microsoft Kodu Game Lab as part of a 2-day educational class in Atlantic City, NJ. Two robots face off trying to destroy the other before being destroyed.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 169: Continue talking until the plan is clear.
Prepare to discuss your design with various disciplines & skill levels.
You may be trying to solve different problems.
I created Duals! as a teaching exercise for middle schoolers.
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Gone Home feels like a space you understand and are familiar with by the end.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 168: Connect the start & end of your game.
Sounds simple, but think on it.
Regardless of re-writes & cuts, your game is going to have a beginning and an endgame.
Gone Home invites the players to make the unfamiliar seem like home.
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Star Wars: Uprising had you collect gear to build a custom hero. It was a mobile game shut down in 2016.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 167: Speed up tedious, repeating actions.
Star Wars: Uprising had boxes to get gear.
The pre-animation for 1 box was the same as opening 5. For veteran players, it was quicker to open 5 at once. This holds true for crafting too.
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DomiNations, the mobile strategy game by Big Huge Games.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 166: You don’t need to be the best at your game.
It is *paramount* you play your own game... you just don’t need to top the leaderboard.
Your job is to know your systems & players.
I knew DomiNations inside & out, but couldn’t always 5⭐️ a battle.
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A megalodon wearing a sombrero, eye patch, gold chain, and ring piercing in the game Hungry Shark Evolution. Just as natured intended.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 165: Everybody likes hats! 🤠
Cosmetics show off individually & can encourage players to stick with your game.
Hungry Shark Evolution added in-game bonuses with equipped items; a smart move making the feature appealing to players.
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Tiny Troopers for Windows PC.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 164: Attacking and movement are linked.
👣 Do combatants plant their feet?
↕️ Follow along a pre-set course?
🕹️ Are move & attack independent controls?
Tiny Troopers was click to move, but allowed you to fire at will in any direction.
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Rite to Flight is a mixed-media point-and-click adventure game.
The team behind Rite to Flight showing the game off at a demo night hosted by the NJ chapter of the IGDA.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 163: Write a post mortem.
Rite to Flight: a Point-and-Cluck Adventure is a game I hold dear. I made it with friends: many who never made a game before.
Writing a postmortem helped us—and other devs—to identify pitfall & success.
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Skylanders had entertaining encounters for players of all ages.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 162: Balance encounters by mixing enemy types.
Robert Gallerani had a great GDC talk about balance.
🍿🍿🍿
The term ‘popcorn’ (enemies destroyed with just 1 hit) works so well as something fun to sprinkle in among other enemies.
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the LEGO game series has "Story Mode" and "Freeplay Mode" where different abilities can be used.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 161: Make replayability evident.
Players get 2 moments:
🛠️ getting the upgrade
✅ using the upgrade.
LEGO Jurassic World (like all LEGO games) does great at highlighting where tools can be used - even if not currently at the player’s disposal.
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#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 160: Whole numbers are easier than decimals to understand.
Put a zero in the ones or tens place for balance flexibility.
Dealing
10 DMG vs 100 HP
feels BETTER than
1 DMG vs 10 HP.
I enjoyed balancing the ticket economy for Candystand.com
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PAC-MAN 256 was a neat take on endless play of the classic Pac-Man mechanic.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 159: Return to normal play between power-ups.
While PAC-MAN 256 had many power-ups, players could only use one at a time.
If one is active, places where power-up options occur are replaced with time extensions to the current power.
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A screenshot from The Stanley Parable Demonstration. It has a wall of buttons, inviting the player to choose just one.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 158: Players don’t know what’s under the hood.
Games *appear* as infinite possibility machines-but are really just cascading if-then statements.
The Stanley Parable Demonstration’s narration had the appearance more *could* happen.
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In the game 'Press X to be okay' you need to be pushing that x button.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 157: There is an experience happening above the controller.
I first heard this from Frank Lantz at an NYU event, but it’s the core part of Press X to Be Okay.
The stress isn’t on the screen, it’s in the input.
And the stress is real.
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A puzzle from Professor Layton and the Last Specter.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 156: It’s OK to have an experience comprised of mini-games.
The “party game” genre is big on this but isn’t the only way.
Professor Layton and the Last Specter ties the experience together with mini-game/puzzles placed in context.
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In Harbor Rescue, you collect the buoys and avoid the hurricanes. The only problem? New hurricanes appear where a collected buoy was.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 155: Have rules for the boundary.
Harbor Rescue had lots of obstacles in play:
💀I didn’t want to kill players for hitting the wall.
🧗I also didn’t want a “hold” where they could plan ahead.
🌊Instead, there’s a current pushing around the edge.
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A single grass piece for 100% encounter rate in this Pokemon game.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 154: Introduce concepts in context.
Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Special Demo had a segment on capturing Pokémon. To illustrate only wild Pokémon can be caught, they had ONE segment of grass with 100% encounter rate.
Frugal!
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Instructions telling players to be both quick and precise, while trying to introduce flow.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 153: You can’t force a flow state.
And you *especially* can’t force it on new players by telling them to be quick AND accurate.
Flow is when play happens without thinking; it’s when players are relaxed & familiar with the mechanic.
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Sudoku Deluxe was a well-designed early mobile game where players could leave notes for themselves without committing to completing the puzzle.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 152: Provide reminders between sessions.
It’s hard for players to pick up after a long absence.
Pre-written journal updates (like in RDR2) work for this.
Sudoku Deluxe allowed you to note guesses (in the margins) & pick up where you left off.
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I played Doggy Caesarean Birth because it sounded like a trainwreck of a title.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 151: Devote resources to your unique points.
Tired: Regular Simulator
Inspired: Animal Simulator
If you game’s fantasy is something that players can’t get anywhere else, you’re likely to get eyeballs.
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a screenshot from "Monster Thurst!" created by high school students in NYC during a game jam.
#BiteSizeGameDesign Lesson 150: Mentor others.
Being a mentor is easier than you think & combats impostor syndrome.
I volunteered to help high school students during a game jam as they made Monster Thurst! - an endless runner about a *very* thirsty monster.
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