Hating on The Force Awakens has seen a new surge with South Park comically blaming the film for all of 2016’s problems. Critics accuse the film of just being poorly repackaged nostalgia moments from A New Hope, while supporters insist the movie is a well made film that works on its own. Where does this […]

Super Mario Run charged out on December 15th, three days ago as of this writing. While its sales have skyrocketed as we’d expect, the game is currently suffering a shocking 2.5 star rating. However, these low ratings mask a brilliant game. While players rightly complain about the monetization structure, always-online requirements, and other issues surrounding the […]

So I got a tweet over the weekend that read thusly. @DesignerDanF All I want for Christmas is to find out what happened in Ravenshadow! pic.twitter.com/oa6UeBQp5z — Alpha Bromega (@birdlikeman) December 11, 2016 So I decided to play santa. I recorded the next episode in the series the same day, which focuses on how tragedies […]

It’s very easy to make a game that never has a balance problem. I’ve done it multiple times. Heck, even back in college a team and I worked together to make a whole pen and paper RPG called Wanderlust that was so balanced the strongest characters you could create in it were only 8% more […]

You know the device. You start with some tense and possibly wacky scene. Then the screen fades to black and the title card pops up: “One Week Earlier”. You’re now back in a comfortable scene and wondering how on earth the strange circumstance in the opening came about. This is a great technique. It’s also […]

I recently watched the new Star Wars film for the first time since its global premiere. I remembered being favorably impressed despite its awkward conclusion at Starkiller Base. However, I also remember leaving the theater thinking, “Kylo Ren is going to get a LOT of hate.” As funny as it is to see Kylo Ren […]

There’s a saying in writing for long-running series that you should only kill off a significant character if that character’s death creates more potential for stories than that character’s life. Design space in games ripe for expansions should be treated in a similar way. For example, let’s say you make an ability that lets you […]

My Cardography Interview was just uploaded. Listen to me get grilled on common design mistakes, tricks of the trade and all sorts of design topics. Click here for the link.