This is a work-in-progress, excerpted and adapted from a longer but unfinished paper that I am working on to share in a future HobbyGameDev entry. [Updated: the rest of the paper, Mediated Input, is now finished and available] The paper as a whole focuses on mediated input: the use of mechanical and/or electrical controls rather… Read more »
Posts Tagged Game Design
Skills to be Mastered: The Merits of Fixed Difficulty
Nov 30, 2011The idea of scaling or increasing difficulty as a player gets better – either over the course of a game or adaptively based on a player’s level – seems obvious. We know from the now popular concept of flow (and common sense) that boredom occurs when someone’s skill exceeds the challenge, frustration occurs when challenge… Read more »
The Appeal of Modern Military FPS Games
Oct 31, 2011Q: It seems horrific that so many of the highest profile games lately have been depicting modern warfare in first-person. Why do people find a thrill in experiencing reality as soldiers? A: Playing a videogame is, fortunately for everyone involved, quite different than experiencing reality as soldiers. Playing a videogame is even less real than… Read more »
Galaga and Making Interesting Decisions
Sep 23, 2011I keep up with incoming links to this blog (thanks to everyone that shares links in – I notice!), and this morning I caught a discussion about one of last month’s entries, Many Games Are Not About Choices. A counter-argument came up that I suspect may be a common reaction among readers, and I would… Read more »