Articles
Game Design
Here are some of my most notable game design articles and essays, including critical analysis and research and attempts to codify some of my own theories.
In which I analyze what frustration in games really means, and how we can use it to our advantage.
Art Games: Reality vs. Potential
In which I argue that an awful lot of people are doing “art games” wrong.
In which I explain the distinction between challenge and punishment, and how we’ve collectively thrown the baby out with the bathwater.
In which I explain how we can cede authorial control to players without losing our ability to influence the experience they have.
In which I describe and justify the three rules of failure: do not break narrative flow, provide a clear way forward, and raise the stakes.
In which I propose a distinction between games and experiences, both being built on interactivity, and both being valid forms within our medium.
In which I describe an approach to game design that asks what the player wants to do, rather than what we want him to do.
The Games Industry
This is a list of my most notable business- and industry-related articles, including discussions on game production, distribution, piracy and DRM, and so on.
Are Designers A Necessary Evil?
In which I deconstruct one argument to that effect and provide a counterargument for what I believe to be the actual, healthy role of game designers in the industry.
In which I implore would-be game developers to ignore the conventional wisdom about breaking into the industry, and instead follow two simple words of advice: make games.
Cultural Accuracy Is Not Racism
In which I highlight — and argue against — a trend of misconstruing games industry references to race as racism, using as examples the controversies surrounding Resident Evil 5, Left 4 Dead 2, and Call of Juarez: Bound In Blood.
In which I springboard off pro-crunch comments by Epic Games to argue for better quality of life in the games industry and a greater sense of social responsibility among studios to exert their influence in support of that goal.
Modern Warfare 2 & Double Standards
In which I call out games industry criticism of Modern Warfare 2‘s infamous “No Russian” mission as a ludicrous double standard.
In which I argue that games are too expensive, that we can make more money and reach a wider audience with a lower price point, and that there’s a growing body of evidence that supports this claim.
In which I argue that more focused, short-form games might be better from both a game design and a financial perspective.
In which I suggest that a syndication model for vintage games might be one answer to our industry’s ever-growing production costs and risk aversion.
In which I rant at game developers who are too busy being full of themselves to pay attention to the fans, hobbyists, and students who need their advice and mentorship to one day inherit our medium
In which I call on the games industry to publicly correct the lies and misinformation commonly peddled by our critics, instead of ignoring them and hoping they’ll just go away.
Politics
These are my most notable articles and essays dealing with the American political landscape.
In which I highlight Republican efforts in 2009 to block Obama’s nominee to the Department of Health and Human Services and to strike $900 million in pandemic preparedness funding from the stimulus, only to then turn around and beg for government handouts to help their states squeak through the swine flu pandemic that they suddenly found themselves mysteriously unprepared to deal with.
In which I implore everyone — politicians, journalists, citizens — to want to fix the problems facing our nation, to want to solve problems rather than to have solved them.
In which I argue that abstinence-only sex education is doing a lot more harm than good, and that the social conservatives peddling this approach are just too immature to address the problem.
In which I express frustration at the Obama administration’s unwillingness to prosecute those who’ve ordered torture to be used in the course of anti-terrorism intelligence gathering, and condemn certain high-profile conservatives who argue that the techniques in question are somehow not even torture at all.
External Articles
Here are some of the best, most insightful game design articles I’ve found by other designers, game developers, and even some people outside the industry. All are highly recommended.
5 Creepy Ways Video Games Are Trying To Get You Addicted
David Wong
This surprising article explores a number of psychological techniques at play in modern video games that are uniquely effective, and yet may at the same time be eroding some of the medium’s foundations. The article is somewhat more thoughtful than the title suggests.
10 Game Design Pitfalls
Gamasutra Staff
A comprehensive look at common game design process failures, with good advice for solutions and for avoiding these problems in the first place.
40 Ways To Be A Better (Game) Designer
Raph Koster
A short-but-invaluable compilation of game design best practices.
A Deeper Look Into The Combat Design of Uncharted 2
Benson Russell
A more-expansive-than-usual analysis of the design choices of a major AAA title.
A Series of Rants
Anna Anthropy
This is really just a short list of bullet points intended as an accompaniment to a GDC 2010 rant, but — somewhat unfortunately — they’re all very salient arguments.
About the Ego
Corvus Elrod
Corvus Elrod of BoRT nails the game designer’s role in the industry.
All For Games: An Interview with Warren Spector
Brandon Sheffield
I have a great deal of respect for Warren Spector’s work, and it really comes from just one game: Deus Ex. This is a wide-ranging and in-depth interview filled with great little nuggets, but chief among them is Spector’s idea of “linked sandboxes”.
Avatars Aren’t Tokens
Raph Koster
An astute observation of the psychological and subliminal effects of avatar design on player behavior. Discussed through the lens of an MMO, but applicable to any character-driven game.
Basics of Effective FPS Encounter Design
Steve Gaynor
This article looks at FPS encounter design in great detail, through the lens of F.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. 2. It’s a subject I rarely see covered with such a direct focus, which is odd considering the contemporary popularity of the genre.
Carmack Talks Rage, Other Stuff
Jim Rossignol
This is a series of video interviews with John Carmack and Polish games magazine CD-Action, made known to me (and now you!) via the excellent Rock, Paper, Shotgun. When I say “interviews”, I really mean “John Carmack blabs about whatever the hell comes to mind for half an hour, and it’s totally awesome”.
Coelcanth: Lessons From Doom
JP LeBreton
LeBreton’s assessment of Doom as a 2D SHMUP is pretty eye-opening. The article contains a number of other interesting insights regarding this classic game.
Constructing Artificial Emotions: A Design Experiment
Daniel Cook
Explores methods for evoking complex emotions across a wide spectrum, building from a most-fascinating experimental game concept through a variety of scientific sources.
Designing Story-Based Games
Jordan Mechner
Veteran game designer Jordan Mechner provides 11 timeless tips for designing story-based games.
Designing the Solution Space
David Rosen
Applies the concept of “solution space” in machine learning, to game design. A short article, but densely-packed with information and lots of helpful visual aids.
Fixing Online Gaming Idiocy: A Psychological Approach
Bill Fulton
As Bill Fulton so succinctly puts it: “Some gamers are fuckwads.” This in-depth article explores how to address that problem, by explicitly designing social experiences.
Fun Is Had When Your Time Flies
Jamie Madigan
Psychologist Jamie Madigan explores how perceptions of the passage of time may be linked to the experience of fun.
Game Design Accessibility Matters
Adam Saltsman
This is an extremely insightful article. Accessibility is often discussed in terms of control complexity and tutorial effectiveness, but Adam Saltsman argues effectively for several other perspectives that have not previously been part of the debate. A must-read.
Game Design Essentials: 20 Difficult Games
John Harris
The first in Gamasutra’s “Game Design Essentials” series. Analyzes and provides design lessons for 20 particularly-difficult games.
Game Design Essentials: 20 Open World Games
John Harris
The second in Gamasutra’s “Game Design Essentials” series. Analyzes and provides design lessons for 20 open-world games.
Game Design Essentials: 20 Unusual Control Schemes
John Harris
The third in Gamasutra’s “Game Design Essentials” series. Analyzes and provides design lessons for 20 games with unusual control schemes.
Game Design Essentials: 20 Mysterious Games
John Harris
The fourth of Gamasutra’s “Game Design Essentials” series. Analyzes and provides design lessons for 20 games in which exploration and discovery — the uncovering of the mysterious — play a pivotal role.
Game Design Essentials: 20 RPGs
John Harris
The fifth of Gamasutra’s “Game Design Essentials” series. Analyzes and provides design lessons for 20 role-playing games. This article is incredibly detailed, dauntingly voluminous, and super-awesome!
Game Design Sketchbook: Testing the Limits of Single-Player
Jason Rohrer
Jason Rohrer tackles the problem of why classic games like Chess and Go are infinitely replayable, while modern single-player video games are not, and proposes a solution by way of integrated competition.
Game Theory Applied to Game Design
Wolfire Games
Analyzes the place of rock-paper-scissors mechanics in game design.
Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDs
Richard A. Bartle
This article details Bartle’s classic taxonomy of gamers: Achievers, Explorers, Socialisers, and Killers. Focused on MUDs but adaptable to many other genres and styles of gaming.
How to Destroy the Book
Cory Doctorow
While it’s not directly about game design, the copyright and licensing issues that Cory raises in this talk (transcribed) are as valid for games as for any other medium, particularly now as the games industry is rapidly embracing digital distribution.
Indie Game Design Do’s and Don’t's: A Manifesto
Edmund McMillen
A 24-point manifesto — by Edmund McMillen of Gish, Time Fcuk, and Super Meat Boy fame — on the type of mindset you need to have to be a satisfied indie game designer.
Know When to Stop Designing, Quantitatively
Aza Raskin
This is not explicitly a game design article; rather, it addressed the broader topic of human interface design. Specifically, how to quantify the efficiency of an interface, and use that information to improve it. It’s absolutely brilliant, and with a little lateral thinking, is easily applied to nearly all aspects of game design.
Less Talk, More Rock
Superbrothers
A concise, brilliantly-illustrated manifesto on preserving aesthetic coherence in games.
Love Transcending Death: Challenge Versus Story in Calamity Annie
Gregory Weir
A design analysis of Anna Anthropy’s indie game, Calamity Annie, and its unique combination of punishing difficulty and fluid, engaging story. Presents the idea of decoupling a game’s story from its formal rules, to prevent these elements from cannibalizing each other.
The Making Of: Deus Ex
Edge Magazine
Because Deus Ex is one of my favorite games ever, on any platform, here’s a brief-yet-fascinating making-of on that game. Imagining some of the locations and plot points that they cut is particularly interesting. There could’ve been a moon base!
Modular Level Design
Lee Perry
This article focuses on building highly-detailed levels using a modular approach, based on the level design strategy employed on Unreal Tournament 2003/4.
No More Wrong Turns
Martin Nerurkar
Presents a detailed taxonomy of level design techniques for effectively guiding players through the space.
On Will Wright’s Team, Would You Be a Solvent, or the Glue?
Adam Bryant
An interview with Will Wright from the New York Times, discussing team-building and the personal and social side of management.
Post-It Note Design Docs
Dan Cook
An interesting alternative to the traditional game design documentation process, explained in detail.
Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked
Henry Jenkins
MIT professor Henry Jenkins addresses eight common myths about the highly-politicized but ill-supported “negative effects” of video games and game culture.
Ten Ways to Improve Developer Efficiency
Joe Ludwig
Joe Ludwig succinctly outlines ten things to ensure rapid iteration in game development. Speaking from experience, from working with none of these to working with most of them, I have to say his analysis is spot-on.
To the Right, Hold on Tight
Anna Anthropy
A very insightful and extremely deep analysis of the level design of Super Mario Bros. World 1-1. If you think it sounds too simple to be useful, think again: Anna’s analysis highlights numerous design choices that were so elegant you would never realize they could have been done any other way.
Video Game Climaxes
Richard Terrell
Richard Terrell classifies and analyzes several types of climaxes for video games: how to build them up, how to deliver them right, and what it means for the overall game experience.
Ways To Make Your Virtual Space More Social
Raph Koster
Koster makes the case for downtime in virtual worlds and MMOs as an enabler of socialization, and then provides numerous concrete examples of methods for increasing the frequency and quality of social interaction among players.