Exploring the design and development of video games
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is an outstanding JRPG and one of my favorite games of the year. with a strategic battle system that anyone interested in battle mechanics must examine. Battles force players to make quick decisions with risks and rewards keeping them captivated. feel accomplished and satisfied after achieving goals they dreamed of minutes before. …
When we create games, our goal is to create an experience enjoyable enough that it holds the player’s focus as long and as intensely as possible. When something captures our complete attention and imagination for an extended period, we enter an exciting mental state. The rest of the world seems to fall away, and we …
Final Fantasy X (FFX) is a turn-based RPG originally released by Squaresoft in 2001 for Playstation 2 and remastered on PS3, PS4, PC, and now on Nintendo Switch, thank Yevon! Why is FFX so well loved and engaging? One reason is the use of challenge layering to keep players in flow. Challenge layering is the idea of …
Even though I love Final Fantasy XII now, when it came out, I was let down. I felt the story wasn’t up to the standard the series had set. The gameplay was entirely different than what I was used to. After a few years, I started appreciating FFXII more and more. With the remaster, The …
Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, Banjo-Tooie, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Spyro the Dragon, Mario Sunshine, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper, Psychonauts. After these games in the 5th and early 6th console generation, the 3D platformer as we knew it died off significantly. Games that continued their legacy ended up being wildly …
Controlling player flow is one of the most crucial aspects of a game’s design. Flow is what keeps players playing your game. As my favorite game, I’ve spent a good deal of my time in flow in Banjo-Kazooie throughout my life. Now that Yooka-Laylee is coming out this week, I wanted to analyze how Rare …
In the beginning, it seems like Zelda Breath of the Wild is refreshingly difficult. People find themselves dying more often than most games, especially other Zelda games. I recently posted an article on how BotW keeps a wide variety of players in flow and managing difficulty is a large part of that. One thing I …
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has achieved universal acclaim amongst reviewers and fans of the series due to its open-world gameplay and amount of interesting decisions the players can take at any moment. Its predecessor, Skyward Sword, has been a controversial title in the series due to its hit-or-miss motion controls and …
Flow is a state of mind where people are engaged in whatever they are doing completely. In games, players being in flow keeps them attached to your game and more unlikely to put it down. Players tend to be in flow when they are playing towards goals they care about using mechanics they care about …