Mark Rosewater recently made a podcast explaining the differences between Choices and Options in his design terminology, and arguing for why he feels Choices are superior. I predict we’ll be dealing with the confusion from this podcast in the MTG design community for a while. Rosewater starts by defining Choices vs. Options in a useful way. […]
It’s Braid. The indie masterpiece that made the genre. Explore what makes it so intelligently designed.
The GM’s Guide returns with an episode on one of my favorite topics, Story Structure. We dive into what makes for an excellent series of events for an adventure and why. No, it’s not the hero’s journey. This event structure is fluid, flexible and based entirely in a few simple psychological principles. It just works, […]
I’m always surprised to find people are still playing and caring about some of my old games that I haven’t thought about in years. Today I was emailed a question by a player who sent me a character sheet with this description. I got a chuckle reading it. Yes, it’s all rules-legal in the system […]
Loyal readers, I have sad news. Due to work pressures as Faeria nears its early access period, as well as some technical difficulties, I’ve been unable to keep up with my weekly series. We’ll be back in action as soon as possible. The GM’s Guide has had the longest delay so far, while I’d luckily prepared […]
This is not a joke. If you’re giving people direction, just give people direction. Tell them, “Press Enter”. Then if they press something else, you can still start the program anyway. When you ask people to make a decision in something they’re unfamiliar with, all our evolutionary instincts to avoid making decisions before we […]
Many games offer focused, simple experiences. Other games, like CCGs, miniatures games, fighting games, RPGs, mobas and more tend to offer a diverse menu of playstyles. This is one of their strengths, as lots of different players can enjoy the same game together. They can also provide variety for players, offering the option to change […]
Enter the dungeon! How do you suggest flight in a top-down game? How do you teach mechanics without a single instruction? Why are maps, compasses and boomerangs in so many 3D zelda games for no real reason? Let’s dig in.
The original Legend of Zelda on the NES was one of the first open world games. I played it for the first time last year, and it shockingly still holds up very well. So I made a video analyzing the design of the opening section and the core combat/movement mechanics. There’s a LOT of surprising […]
Dan Felder 