Exploring the design and development of video games
Lightning Dodging, the Luca Goers, HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA HA! I call Final Fantasy X my favorite game for many reasons, but it’s not without nitpicks. FFX has issues that are worse for me than mere nitpicks. Let me list the things that bother me the most about my favorite game. This will contain spoilers since many gripes …
Battle Design I am in awe of the battle system! It looks extremely promising. While a little clunky at first, there’s a lot of potential for it to be extremely deep and strategic (it already is in the demo with just two party members and one boss). Here are some good design principles it uses …
How does Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice’s Posture Mechanic work? You can attack, deflect, and counter enemies to decrease their posture. The posture meter fills as you decrease their posture. Deflecting is the key. You deflect when you Guard at the moment the enemy attacks. Sparks will show up based on how close you were to …
In the original Kingdom Hearts, Tech Points were a feature in combat that allowed players to get extra experience for taking specific actions in battle. Tech points are awarded when the player exploits an enemy’s weakness, parries an enemy attack with an attack of their own, or uses an enemy’s attack against themselves Tech Point …
We’ve explored how KH2’s controversial MP System allows for great game design but comes off as unappealing to some people. In Kingdom Hearts 0.2, we see the MP System return from KH2. Not much is different, and it shares a lot of the same problems. Luckily, it synergizes nicely with a mechanic borrowed from KH …
Difficulty modes. Games use them to keep different types of players in flow. While it’s not the best option, it’s can be an easy way to support a broader audience. If you’ve decided that you don’t want to rely on challenge layering or other options alone, here’s what you can do to make a good …
Kingdom Hearts 2 has a rather odd MP System. It’s often criticized but also loved by others. Let’s talk about how it works, what’s not great about it, why it’s awesome, and how it could be made better in Kingdom Hearts 3. Here’s how it works: Magic spells cost some amount of MP. Usually around …
In Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando, automatic weapon upgrades were introduced to the series. Weapons would gain experience as they are used to defeat enemies. When they have enough experience, they upgrade to a completely new weapon, which is better than the original in every way in most cases (except the lava gun). Weapon leveling is …
Let’s talk about non-linearity of Kingdom Hearts! Here are some different types of non-linearity and where KH fits in them: Permanently Branching Storyline/Gameplay – can the player make choices that set them down one path that makes it impossible to see other paths? Very rarely does KH have the player take any paths that block …
While Mario Odyssey’s level design is open for players to choose what they want to do, the game wouldn’t be as impactful without its linear, primary objectives in each world. The moment you enter a world, the game gives the player a goal. The level is designed around guiding players towards the primary objectives …
A core part of the level design in Mario Odyssey is the unordered nature of the challenges. Even with linear, primary objectives, players have the choice to go off the beaten path and do what they want. The lack of order gives the game natural layers to the challenges. Challenge layering is a game design …
We discussed the high-level level design of the 3D Mario, from Mario 64’s sandbox and Galaxy’s linear challenges to Mario 3D World’s tight four-part structure design. It seemed like gamers had to make a choice in 3D platformers: do we want an open world, full of different challenges for us to do that can be …
In part 1, we discussed how 3D Marios were gradually becoming more player-friendly to grab a broader audience in 3D platformers. Mario Galaxy started the trend of more linear levels to prevent players from being confused with exploring 3D space. However, these levels were often a hodgepodge of random ideas with few challenges for players of …
(Part 2 here) Mario has been influential in the 3D platformer genre ever since Mario 64 invented it. Even while most other companies had abandoned 3D platforming, Nintendo stuck with it with Galaxy and 3D Land/World. With the success of Mario Odyssey, we can only hope that Mario has helped revived the genre as well. It’s been …
The Donkey Kong Country series is a series of platformers built around the idea of optional content, with secrets being the star of the show. Optional content is an excellent tool for allowing players to stay in flow in your game because it will enable players greater choice in what activities they are doing and …
One of the best ways to keep difficulty balanced for different skill levels between players is Challenge Layering. Challenge Layering is when games have multiple goals of different difficulty at a given time that players can choose to complete. If they become bored or frustrated, the player can make the game harder or easier for …
This is part two of a post about controlling flow. Find part one here. We know that if players aren’t in flow for too long they will put our game down and possibly never touch it again. One of the most important ways of keeping players in flow is keeping the difficulty manageable – not …
In FFX (now on Nintendo Switch, thank Yevon!), the Chocobo Eater is a boss in the early part of the game that exhibits great game design principles including planning for multiple player types, negative feedback, and flow control using challenge layering. The battle consists of 4 lanes. On each side of the battlefield, there’s a …
In the beloved Final Fantasy X (now on Nintendo Switch, thank Yevon!), the sphere grid acts as a stat and ability tree of massive scale. Every character starts at a position in the sphere grid and as they gain experience (called SP) they can move around the grid collecting stats and abilities along the way. …
While I absolutely love the strategy in the battle system, I had trouble enjoying common encounters during large portions of the game. I often found battles boring and confusing. Let’s explore the reason why and what we can learn from this. Is the battle system too complex? I want to say no because for every …