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GreatRedSpirit
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ClosePretty simple thread: Post links to articles on game design you found that aren't on RMN here!
Here's one to get the ball rolling: Obsidian's Five Hard Lessons Of RPG Design by Christian Nutt (well, it's detailing Chris Sawyer's thoughts on flaws of RPGs)
Here's one to get the ball rolling: Obsidian's Five Hard Lessons Of RPG Design by Christian Nutt (well, it's detailing Chris Sawyer's thoughts on flaws of RPGs)
Darken
3952
@GRS: I was expecting to disagree with that article as I generally dislike anything Bethesda made after Morrowind (i know it's obsidian but they fit in that area of game developers i feel). But it instead comes out as a nice deconstruction of the RPG genre as it is today.
Everyone knows Sirlin for 'Playing to Win', however that's more of a player focused/competitive design article. I really liked his overview on how to make good secrets and creating subtle but consistent rules into finding them. http://www.sirlin.net/articles/the-secrets-of-donkey-kong-country-2.html this doesn't just apply to platformers btw.
Everyone knows Sirlin for 'Playing to Win', however that's more of a player focused/competitive design article. I really liked his overview on how to make good secrets and creating subtle but consistent rules into finding them. http://www.sirlin.net/articles/the-secrets-of-donkey-kong-country-2.html this doesn't just apply to platformers btw.
author=kentonaGreat article, I didn't read it entirely (3/4), but some of it is so true, and thus sooo funny! Very encouraging too. (Have to reread it entirely.)
Finishing a game is a skillby Derek (creator of Spelunky)
Gee whiz, I have a whole folder dedicated to this! Some ones I'd recommend...
Tips for Game Designers
It's a short, simple list with a lot of points mentioned in other articles. Some versions of these points often pop up in other articles for good reason.
The 6 Indie Mistakes
Pretty self-explanatory; I think these are good pitfalls to be aware of.
Interpreting Player Feedback
From the same tumblr Kentona linked to, but really you could just read all the posts there and come away with something to think about. The one about finishing games is my favorite.
Game balance concepts
This is actually a full blog that deals with a lot of minutiae about balancing out a game. I haven't read through the entire thing, myself, but what I have read and applied has been quite helpful!
Application of Puzzle Theory
This has been a great jumping off point for puzzle design, personally. It's recommended you've read this beforehand.
The Puzzle Structure of Ocarina of Time
Exactly what it says on the tin! It can be a tedious read, but there's a lot of food for thought.
Extra Punctuation
Yahtzee's articles are really hit and miss for me, but some of them have interesting ideas and insights. I've always liked his one on death in video games.
The Zeboyd Games Approach to JRPG Design
I think the general DADC approach has applicability to genres other than RPGs. Way better than DADB or DADA, that's for sure.
Mapping Tips
A lot of general advice about mapping! Ocean's Dream has all kinds of helpful posts on his blog.
Game Design Essentials: 20 RPGs
Another long read, and really just a small sampling, but if you're making RPGs then sometimes a history lesson can do you a lot of good.
Of course, all of the above oughta be taken with salt! And if you sit down and read all of these you still won't have a game. And will probably have spent a lot of time reading about tiny details when you could be making on some gam.
Tips for Game Designers
It's a short, simple list with a lot of points mentioned in other articles. Some versions of these points often pop up in other articles for good reason.
The 6 Indie Mistakes
Pretty self-explanatory; I think these are good pitfalls to be aware of.
Interpreting Player Feedback
From the same tumblr Kentona linked to, but really you could just read all the posts there and come away with something to think about. The one about finishing games is my favorite.
Game balance concepts
This is actually a full blog that deals with a lot of minutiae about balancing out a game. I haven't read through the entire thing, myself, but what I have read and applied has been quite helpful!
Application of Puzzle Theory
This has been a great jumping off point for puzzle design, personally. It's recommended you've read this beforehand.
The Puzzle Structure of Ocarina of Time
Exactly what it says on the tin! It can be a tedious read, but there's a lot of food for thought.
Extra Punctuation
Yahtzee's articles are really hit and miss for me, but some of them have interesting ideas and insights. I've always liked his one on death in video games.
The Zeboyd Games Approach to JRPG Design
I think the general DADC approach has applicability to genres other than RPGs. Way better than DADB or DADA, that's for sure.
Mapping Tips
A lot of general advice about mapping! Ocean's Dream has all kinds of helpful posts on his blog.
Game Design Essentials: 20 RPGs
Another long read, and really just a small sampling, but if you're making RPGs then sometimes a history lesson can do you a lot of good.
Of course, all of the above oughta be taken with salt! And if you sit down and read all of these you still won't have a game. And will probably have spent a lot of time reading about tiny details when you could be making on some gam.
Darken
3952
author=pb
Of course, all of the above oughta be taken with salt! And if you sit down and read all of these you still won't have a game. And will probably have spent a lot of time reading about tiny details when you could be making on some gam.
Yeah I was just thinking this too. Making games should be practised more than anything.
DBAce9Aura
52
(reads articles) Oh, damn. I guess I better start planning a backup project just in case. :(
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
Game Design Anti-Patterns by Zileas, one of the lead designers of League of Legends. A list of things which he tries to avoid doing, with an emphasis on designing player-usable skills.
Dev Watercooler, a series of articles by Ghostcrawler, the lead designer of World of Warcraft, and various other members of his team, on various aspects of game mechanics. A few parts of it are specific to WoW, and a few more parts of it only make sense in a multiplayer environment, but the vast majority of it provides insights that can easily be adapted to any RPG. Articles explain the development team's reasoning on issues such as equipment for different classes, threat for tanks, and casual vs. hardcore content.
Dev Watercooler, a series of articles by Ghostcrawler, the lead designer of World of Warcraft, and various other members of his team, on various aspects of game mechanics. A few parts of it are specific to WoW, and a few more parts of it only make sense in a multiplayer environment, but the vast majority of it provides insights that can easily be adapted to any RPG. Articles explain the development team's reasoning on issues such as equipment for different classes, threat for tanks, and casual vs. hardcore content.
Shinan
4314
A couple that I like is
Soren Johnson's blog "Designer Notes"
There's a lot of interesting articles on that blog. It's not updated overly often but that doesn't mean what is there isn't very valuable.
Shamus Young's blog also has some fun with game design from time to time. I especially like the articles on difficulty(Do it Again, Stupid How Hard is this Game? Games and the Fear of Death for example) and "the plot driven door".
For game design talkies one I really like is the Three Moves Ahead podcast. The site Flash of Steel also has some cool stuff on game design.
A lot of game designers tend to have their own blogs too that are always interesting to look at. Personally I like Cliffski's Blog. But you know... Most guys have one these days.
Soren Johnson's blog "Designer Notes"
There's a lot of interesting articles on that blog. It's not updated overly often but that doesn't mean what is there isn't very valuable.
Shamus Young's blog also has some fun with game design from time to time. I especially like the articles on difficulty(Do it Again, Stupid How Hard is this Game? Games and the Fear of Death for example) and "the plot driven door".
For game design talkies one I really like is the Three Moves Ahead podcast. The site Flash of Steel also has some cool stuff on game design.
A lot of game designers tend to have their own blogs too that are always interesting to look at. Personally I like Cliffski's Blog. But you know... Most guys have one these days.
I made an article for anyone's first RPG >> http://rpgmaker.net/articles/574/
tpasmall
228
http://blog.hexagonstar.com/rpg-design-character-development/
Links says it all, RPG Character Development.
Links says it all, RPG Character Development.
DBAce9Aura
52
How to make losing fun, among other things:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1712/losing_for_the_win_defeat_and_.php
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1712/losing_for_the_win_defeat_and_.php
TheNecromancer
3160
author=GreatRedSpirit
Pretty simple thread: Post links to articles on game design you found that aren't on RMN here!
author=ShortStar
I made an article for anyone's first RPG >> http://rpgmaker.net/articles/574/
Lot's of reading here, I'll browse through some of them when I get some time.
Video of how Megaman X teaches the player how to play. Kinda obnoxious and spergy at parts but I think it's still interesting. Much better than any of that Extra Credits or whatever.
author=GreatRedSpirit
Video of how Megaman X teaches the player how to play. Kinda obnoxious and spergy at parts but I think it's still interesting. Much better than any of that Extra Credits or whatever.
OH GOD.
GEEZE.
THIS IS GREAT. MY MIND IS BLOWN. THANK YOU. I APOLOGIZE FOR MAKING SUCH A USELESS POST.
