Gameology: Recent Episodes
Mathew Falvai and Attila Branyiczky
Let's talk Game Design! Unique perspectives and discussions between a Gamer and a Game Developer. Featuring Indie developer Attila "Gabriel" Branyiczky of Bluish-Green Productions and Mathew Falvai
Rating old Game Design Docs; should I Make it, or Break it? Mathew and Attila discuss “BAXY Guns”, “Gravity Giver”, “Drop Pod Wars”, and “Bomb Bot”
What makes an ideal review? What can players do to make an informed purchase about a game they are interested in? Mathew and Attila discuss possibilities for improving Game Reviews.
Rating old Game Design Docs; should I Make it, or Break it? Mathew and Attila discuss “End of Friendships”, “Enemies Inc.” and “Eyes on Eggs”.
Souls-like on the NES? Mathew and Attila discuss Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, the black sheep of the Zelda franchise which seems to have more in common with Dark Souls than it does other Legend of Zelda games.
Rating old Game Design Docs; should I Make it, or Break it? Mathew and Attila discuss "Color Cascade", "Don't Open the Box", and "Droption"
As much as we love to see Review Scores, do permanent Game Reviews make sense in the ever-updating world of games? Mathew and Attila discuss the flawed "out of 10" Rating scale and try to brainstorm solutions.
A solo-cast discussing what changes were made to Orbit: Satellite Defense and the reasons behind the changes. Experience the journey from a game-jam winning concept, to Mobile, to its Steam Early Access release PC release.
Orbit: Satellite Defense is available now on Steam
Click here for more information about Orbit: Satellite Defense
Rating old Game Design Docs; should I Make it, or Break it? Mathew and Attila discuss "Cave Explorer", "Center Tetris" & "Collapse"
What makes something visually appealing? Repulsive? What is the Uncanny Valley, and how can we avoid it, or intentionally use it to craft Horror Games? Mathew and Attila discuss the Psychology of Aesthetics
A solo-cast where I discuss the reasons behind trimming certain features from Zarnok Fortress. Experience, Leveling, Unlocking Abilities, find out what was removed from Zarnok Fortress and why!
Available now on Steam
Look forward to details about a Make it or Break it Game Jam in the New Year!
Rating old Game Design Docs; should I Make it, or Break it? Mathew and Attila discuss ideas for Bisector: The mathematical target slicing cousin of Fruit Ninja, Boolean Bash: A Logic Operator tile puzzle, and Bribery Race: Throw around money to alter the racetrack in your favor!
Side-note: I totally meant to say "Caltrops" but instead I said "Cantrips". I've been playing too much D&D lately.
Mathew and Attila discuss the different ways in which experience is earned and new levels and abilities are awarded across different games.
Rating old Game Design Docs; should I Make it, or Break it? Mathew and Attila discuss the frustratingly complicated "Arrow Key Trap Maze", the brain-bending "RGB", and "Origami Simulator"
Mathew and Attila have a Spoiler-Free discussion on all the amazing new mechanics of Super Mario Odyssey for the Nintendo Switch.
A solo-cast where Attila condenses the episodes "Environmental Reuse" and "Procedural Generation" into byte-sized B1TS 0F W1SD0M
Attila and fellow RTS fan Chris Feres discuss the later years of the RTS genre including the ill-fated Command & Conquer Franchise.
Attila waxes nostalgia with fellow RTS fan Chris Feres. A look at the early RTS scene including the heavy hitters of the 90’s; Starcraft and Command & Conquer
An interview with the co-creator of the popular Red Alert 3: Paradox mod! Join Attila and Chris Feres as they discuss the ups and downs of game modding.
From the much loved Yoshi to the oft-under-appreciated Yellow Spinning Blocks, Mathew and Attila examine all the features that made Mario World truly deserving of the “Super” prefix.
Cut-scenes come in all shapes and sizes, from brief dialog exchanges, to grand cinematic. Mathew and Attila discuss the best practices of cut-scenes in gaming.
The game that cemented Mario as the platforming icon he is today; Mario Bros. 3 stands as a shining example of how to take a great game and improve every single aspect of it.
Inspired by the delightful traversal mechanics of Super Mario Odyssey, Attila and Mathew discuss who much traversal mechanics matter in other games.
Despite being the so-called "black sheep" of the Mario Bros. series, Mathew and Attila look at the aspects of Super Mario Bros. 2 that made it into games to come, as well as the elements that were understandably cut.
So often, AI meant to assist the player ends up doing the complete opposite. Mathew and Attila discuss everything from rage-inducing Escort Quests to delightfully helpful invulnerable assistants in their discussion on friendly AI.
Mathew and Attila discuss the platfomer that set the bar for all others to come and made Mario a world-wide sensation. What crucial design choices led to Super Mario Bros. becoming such a sensation? What set it apart from other platformers at the time?
Should government legislation crack down on harmful game design practices? The ESRB might cover content rating, but what about the psychological traps present in so many of today's free-to-play games? Mathew and Attila discuss whether or not these nefarious practices should be subject to outside laws.
Mario 64 brought the famous plumber into the 3rd dimension, what was gained and what was lost in the transition? Mathew and Attila discuss the 3D platformer that set the golden standard for years to come.
Are Consoles going the way of PCs? Incremental hardware updates threaten to overthrow the identity of the home gaming console. Mathew and Attila discuss the implications for the industry and for consumers.
Did you experience this Wii U gem? Mathew and Attila talk about everything from the aesthetics to the sound design of this stellar 3D Mario title.
Show Notes Super Mario Galaxy remains one of the best and most iconic Mario games released to date. Attila and Mathew discuss everything there was to love about this classic, as well as a few details which are not to their liking.
How does this playground game provide the basis for the best tactical game-play experiences? Mathew and Attila look into the widespread implementation of Type Advantage across games of all genres.
What makes a game feel good? What makes a control scheme feel good? What makes destroying an enemy satisfying? The answer to all of these questions is Game Feel! Mathew and Attila discuss the nebulous concept of Game Feel.
The elements that make The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild the masterpiece that it is are sprinkled throughout the Zelda series. Mathew and Attila speculate on the design decisions of Breath of the Wild and look at where some of its most interesting features draw their inspiration.
With all the hate surrounding games having too much "hand-holding" what's the right way to share information with your players? How can you strike a balance with sharing enough information so players know enough about how to play your game without them getting bored? Mathew and Attila discuss the surprisingly complex problem of sign-posting.
Show Notes How are crazy Sequence Breaks and Memory re-writes even possible in the first place? Attila gives insight on the programming practices that gave rise to certain Speed-running tactics.
Show Notes Non-stop overtime and slavish conditions seem to accompany the weeks leading up to the release date of most AAA games. Mathew and Attila discuss the slippery legalities of "Crunch Time".
Are game artists being lazy when they create red and blue versions of the same enemy? The devil is in the details; Mathew and Attila discuss everything from Shiny Pokemon, Overwatch Skins, and Paper Mario enemies to illustrate the best and worst use cases for palette swaps.
Show Notes Checkpoints; the more the merrier? Do they even influence the difficulty of a game, or do they just save you from repeating content? Where is the best place to insert a checkpoint? Also, more discussion on save-scumming, save-states, and other ways players create their own "progress markers".
From the exceptional Loyalty Missions in Mass Effect to the mundane Fetch Quests in MMOs of years past, Side Quests provide some of the most and least memorable experiences in gaming. Mathew and Attila discuss what makes some quests more interesting than others, what the best quest rewards are, and more.
Make the numbers go up. You have to. You can make the numbers go up faster if you play every hour, on the hour, all through tomorrow, for the rest of your life. Progression Systems keep players engaged, but wouldn't it be better if your motivation was to play the game for the sake of enjoying the actual experience?
Show Notes: As much fun as Card Games might be, they are made from the ground up to extract as much value from the consumer as possible. Mathew and Attila discuss games that are distributed as digital Collectible Card Games and physical Trading Card Games.
10 pages of rules before you can even start playing? Why does a board game rule book take 10 pages to explain what a friend can summarize in less than 5 minutes? A discussion on the best way to create engaging board games which are easy to get into but offer just as much emergent complexity to keep you engaged.
Luck can feel great when it works in your favor and aggravating when it works against you, winning a game of skill can be rewarding, but loosing one leaves you no one to blame but yourself.
Show Notes Hearthstone airs on the side of paying for content, but isn't it still pay to win? If you would rather pay for content instead of consumables, where do digital card packs fall? Added to that, Hearthstone's "set rotation" means that some of your purchases will become obsolete. Do we let Hearthstone get away with more because we find it fun to play?
Would you rather pay for Consumables or Content? Is it okay to have "pay to win" in a single-player game? How can developers use micro-transactions in ways that don't harm consumers? Mathew and Attila discuss micro-transactions in games. Attila talks about his negative experiences with the Plants vs Zombies franchise, including the "most stressful Zen Garden ever".
Mathew and Attila discuss what truly makes a choice Meaningful in a game. Games discussed in the show: Deus Ex: Human Revolution Super Mario Bros. Mass Effect Life is Strange Persona (series) Final Fantasy VII Halo 5: Guardians Overwatch Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Dark Souls (series)
Mathew and Attila discuss narrative in games, and the dichotomy between games which put story first with lacking gameplay and action games which don't bother to tell a good story. Games discussed in the show: Donkey Kong The Legend of Zelda Metroid Bioshock (series) Metal Gear Solid V The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Half Life Uncharted (series) The Last of Us Telltale Games (Walking Dead) Mass Effect (series) Braid (video game) Dark Souls Firewatch Mega Man (series) Bastion (video game)
Mathew and Attila discuss Shovel Knight, it's penalty for death, and whether instant-deaths make sense in a game where you have a health-bar. Games discussed in the show: Shovel Knight
Mathew and Attila jump on the Pokemon GO bandwagon and discuss the potential future of Nintendo games on smartphones. Pokemon GO
Mathew and Attila discuss Death and Energy Systems in games. Games discussed in the show: Street Fighter II Super Mario Land Super Mario 3D Land Super Mario Bros. 3 Robo's World: The Zarnok Fortress XCOM: Enemy Unknown When We Were Young Braid Stardew Valley Animal Crossing Final Fantasy 7 Paper Boy Dark Souls
Mathew and Attila discuss the ideal length of a gaming session. Games discussed in the show: The World Ends with You The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Robo's World: The Zarnok Fortress New Super Mario Bros. Deus Ex: Human Revolution Cliff The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess The Last of Us
Mathew and Attila discuss the length of games, both AAA and Indie. Games discussed in the show: Anatomy by Kitty Horrorshow Firewatch Journey The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt The Elder Scrolls South Park: The Stick of Truth Contra Mass Effect Trilogy The Order: 1886
Mathew talks all about the Shadowrun series and specifically his favorite entry in the series; Shadowrun for the Sega Genesis.
Attila heaps praise on one of his favorite games; The World Ends With You while Mathew listens patiently. A discussion on how the game handles Difficulty and an example of Mechanics as Metaphor.
Mathew and Attila discuss difficulty, fairness, and consistency and how this can be done well or done poorly in games. Games discussed in the show: Dark Souls Bastion Dark Souls II BioShock Robo's World: The Zarnok Fortress Final Fantasy XIII Super Mario World: Feather Cape Mega Man Boss Select The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Batman Arkham Knight
Mathew interviews Attila about his recent participation in a Game Jam and Attila shares his thoughts and experiences with Jams past. Games discussed in the show: Robo's World: The Zarnok Fortress (The Digital Environment) Stardew Valley HeliChopper (Made in 17 Hours) When we were Young Gentlemen Drop Dead Cat Daemon (Throw Away Games' Jam Game)
Mathew and Attila discuss how games can get off on the right foot; what makes a good tutorial? Games discussed in the show: Robo's World: The Zarnok Fortress Pokemon XCOM: Enemy Within Rayman Legends Batman: Arkham Knight Legend of Zelda, Fi Mario Galaxy 2: Cosmic Spirit Super Mario Bros. 1-1 The Witness Final Fantasy VII
Mathew and Attila discuss what makes a boss encounter memorable, looking at Mini-Bosses, Temple Bosses, and End Bosses. Games discussed in the show: Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Robo's World: The Blulite Rocks Halo: Combat Evolved (Warthog Run) Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Shadow Queen) Final Fantasy XIII Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess (Ganondorf) Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Bonetail)
Remakes and Remasters; Making games as good as you remember they were. Games discussed on the show: Call of Duty of Infinite Warfare The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker HD Starcraft II Mario Kart: Double Dash Mario 64 Final Fantasy VII Sega 32X
Mathew and Attila discuss the growth of AAA games and how they seek to satisfy a larger audience. Games discussed in this show: Final Fantasy XIII Star Fox 64 Deus Ex Star Wars: TIE Fighter Mario 64 The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Wii Remote VR: Vive and Oculus Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Attila and Mat discuss when a sequel goes off the rails. Why do beloved franchises try to fix what isn't broken? Games discussed: Command and Conquer 4 - Now a MOBA? Super Paper Mario - No longer an RPG! Star Wars Battlefront Final Fantasy Kirby's Epic Yarn Mario 2 / Doki Doki Panic Mario Kart NHL Series Rogue Squadron 3 Star Fox Adventures / Dinosaur Planet Pokemon Black / White
Mathew and Attila discuss games that build themselves! The pros and cons of procedural generation. Games discussed in the show: Rouge's ASCII World Shadowrun's Infinite Quests Speedrun - Free Arcade game Mario Maker Hotline Miami Metal Gear Solid 5 Borderlands Guns Galak-Z - Finding loot Sudoku - Solve them with Algorithms! Rubik's Cube - Can you solve more than one face?
Our new Steam Greenlight Campaign for Robo's World: The Zarnok Fortress is going VERY well! At least, much better than the original. We've already amassed 450 YES votes in under 2 days compared against 325 Votes over several months.
I believe the new artwork is a major contributor
To celebrate the campaign's progress, I've started a sale on Itch.io where you can now save 33% on Robo's World: The Zarnok Fortress. Plus, you can get a copy of the already Greenlit BGP Orbit for only 30 cents, for a total savings of over 50%! And if you preorder Robo's World: The Zarnok Fortress, you get a copy of the game's prequel Robo's World: The Blulite Rocks FREE!
MAKE GamesRobo's World: The Zarnok FortressAt the top of the week, the artist approached me with the intention of revamping the tiling (decoration) of the game's first zone. That being the case, I'm using the opportunity to redesign the physical layout of the zone as well. This is a huge change to be making this late in the development, but I wouldn't take on this extra work if I didn't believe in how important this change was.
The artist wanted to bring the beginning of the game in line with recent assets.
Originally, the player was taught how to shoot on level 3, and then enemies showed up on level 6. I structured the game this way with the idea of easing the player in. The controls of Zarnok Fortress are rather intuitive, but numerous. I figured it would be best to let the player get comfortable with jumping in the first level, then solve a few simple switch "puzzles" in the second level.
I eventually restructured the levels and made a new "level 4" which brought enemies closer to the start of the game, but after some additional play testing, even that felt too long.
TL; DR:I cut the first 2 levels of the game and modified the 4th, moving it into the place of the 1st, then added the necessary segment to teach the player how to shoot. This means on LEVEL 1 you learn how to jump, shoot and dash. That sounds like a way better start in my book.
Please YES vote for Robo's World: The Zarnok Fortress on Steam Greenlight!
PLAY GamesCheshThis week, I finally got my hands on Chesh by Damian Sommer for iOS. I've been looking forward to the iOS release ever since I played XYQ4 at TO Jam 2014, and it's very interesting to see the design revisions that have occurred since then.
For those not in the know, Damian created Chesh to counter the "first move advantage" in chess. This is accomplished by every piece being assigned a random move-set so the player who goes first has no inherent advantage in the game. This makes for a rather challenging memory game as you learn to associate each symbol with a move set for that game (of course, it will have changed by next game). This association is assisted by unique sound ques given to each piece as it is selected, both by you and your opponent.
Chesh has a bunch of other design considerations that I really appreciate as both a designer and a player. One that immediately caught my eye is the idea of "fatigue". Basically, if you move one piece too many times in a row, it dies. This prevents a single piece from dominating the game and forces you to think about how to use all your pieces to achieve victory.
Another design concept that jumps out at me is that of... "Hit Points" for lack of a more clear descriptor. Rather than having to capture a single piece in Chess, or defaulting to capturing EVERY ONE of your opponent's pieces, Chesh has you capturing a set number of pieces depending on how many are in play with certain "Royal" pieces worth extra points. It's a great way to prevent those long games that inexperienced chess players (such as myself) find themselves in when they've captured the majority of the opponent's pieces but then it takes WAY too long to properly put the King in Checkmate.
One thing I'd recommend is if you start a game of Chesh, prepare to finish what you start, human. Resuming a suspended game against an AI or human opponent can lead easily lead to forgetting how pieces move.
TL; DR:Chess is often cited as the ultimate game of skill, and Chesh serves to inject some much needed randomness. It's simply more fun for novice players! And besides, Damian is an amazing designer. Grab it for iPhone or iPad:
Chesh is available now on iOS at 40% off for a limited time!
Or try XYQ4, the PC game-jam game it's based off of.
Thanks for reading "Make Games, Play Games" if you liked what you've read and want to hear more of my design-centric analysis of games or you're curious to hear about the development of my latest titles, follow me on Twitter @BluishGreenPro to get notified about new posts!
- Bluish-Green Productions
[Live in 15 Minutes!] Getting started on my #TOJam2022 entry! Couldn't decide what to make, so I'm going to try clo… https://t.co/GpObXmtQ13 May 13, 2022, 7:15 PM