System design is one of the only disciplines in game development that can quietly kill a game… without anyone realizing what’s happening. I’ve seen it happen even at the highest levels in the industry, working on games at Blizzard, Riot, EA, and Sky Castle, and consulting on 26 titles… Game after game dying because their […]
Want to know why games like Clash Royale offer 4 choices at a time, when 3 appears to be a standard? Last time I talked about why Slay the Spire, Hades, and many more games offer only 3 options at a time and got a great response, so I’m back for more. I explained how […]
Want to know why so many games offer just 3 choices at a time? Slay the Spire with card picks, Hades with its boons, and many more default to just 3 options to pick from. Why? Here’s why: It’s baked into our brain chemistry. There’s also specific reasons to use 2, 4, 5, or 8. […]
Among the game devs that I mentor, it’s never the seniors that ask me the headache-causing questions. It’s the college students. Often they’re sending me some thought-provoking article or paper on the “nature of games as a medium”. These pieces get so far away from how I view design in general and art as a […]
When you’re interviewing for a dream job, remember this: everyone interviewing you has broken a live build or made some similar epic screwup in the past. Some of the people interviewing you are worried about their next performance review. They’re not a different species because they work at some company you’ve put on a pedestal. […]
Having great ideas is nice, it just doesn’t matter unless you can sell them to the decision-makers. As you gain skills as a designer, you’re more likely to know better than the people you report to. Often you’ll be reporting to someone who hasn’t thought deeply about your problem space, or isn’t a designer at […]
Here’s a design principle that I’ve known most of my career yet still find myself writing on whiteboards because it’s that important: “Never give a player a problem when you can give them an opportunity.” Quest based on clearing out a local ogre camp? Chore. Map to the evil wizard’s secret library filled with their […]
For Monetization, player perception is their reality – and it’s amazing how quickly players “assume evil intentions”. Example: Studio is going to release a new PvP fighting game with 30 characters. Buy the game for $60 and you get all the characters unlocked. This is the “good and just” way to make a fair, ethical, […]
Pro tip: You can basically ignore any headline with the word “could” in it. Examples: “Bloodborne could be coming to PC as early as August 2020!” “Activision could be starting plans for a Call of Duty theme park!” “Crash Bandicoot battle royale could be in the works!” “Valve could be about to make a full […]
Strategy is what you do because its good for business. Values are what you do even if it’s bad for business. If your company nickels and dimes their values against other metrics, they aren’t really values. They’re slogans. Strategy and Values are both incredibly important, whether building a game or a studio. Even if you’re […]
Dan Felder 