Episode 162Game design is challenging, doubly so when designing a game for both casual and competitive play. Today, we discuss games that balance both competitive and casual play, our experiences with competitive games, and how we think the player bases of these games impact design decisions. We also give our thoughts on the newly released Hellblade II, and what its release could mean for Microsoft and Ninja Theory. As always, we conclude with the games we're playing (Senua's Saga: Hellblade II, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne). This episode was recorded in May 2024. Royalty free music from BenSound.Questions or comments? Check us out on Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter at @PodcastGametalkOr chat us up in Discord - discord.gg/JZCj5QnTimestamps:0:00 - Competitive vs Casual Game Design18:09 - Balancing PVE and PVP23:13 - Our Experiences With Competitive Gaming29:58 - Speedrunning34:05 - Balancing High-Level and Low-Level Play41:44 - Senua's Saga: Hellblade II1:09:27 - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door1:23:43 - Assassin's Creed Odyssey1:36:02 - Monster Hunter World: Iceborne