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#game-design — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #game-design, aggregated by home.social.

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  1. I've been thinking a lot more about the idea that the player's build is them volunteering for specific experiences.

    Like, if they take lockpicking, it's not because they want to pick locks, it's because they want to feel like they're a thief.

    This means rewarding them for picking lockpicking by giving them locks to pick is not helpful, because a random box they can minigame open is not very thiefy

    But how can you create varied experiences without enormous bespoke content costs?

    #GameDesign 🧵

  2. Visual Note from the Past

    Der Stephansplatz in Wien bei Regen, Paul Kaspar, 1928.

    This is, of course, more than 100 years after the Congress of Vienna – but St. Stephen’s Cathedral is timeless, and the rainy atmosphere felt like the right way to begin this small visual research series.

    #ArtHistory #Vienna #BoardGames #GameDesign

  3. OK, let's talk about contiguousness in spacefaring video games.

    There's an obsession with always leaving the player in 100% realtime control in video games, even if it means the game has to make absurd time and space scaling choices.

    While I've mostly preferred the idea of player-triggered "time passes" mechanisms, spacefaring offers another option: changing seats.
    🧵
    #GameDesign

  4. Let's talk about eating! In video games!

    #GameDesign 🧵

    Yesterday I talked about using drinking, cigs, drugs, etc as a method of changing the interaction type for a short time to allow the player to do puzzles or advance the story in particular ways.

    But what about just plain ol' eatin'?

    This is one of the shittiest mechanics in modern games, where a timer counts down and you have to eat every 8.2 seconds in order to... not die, or continue regenning, or whatever penalty they threaten.

  5. I was thinking about the "agency inversion" lens when it comes to picking backstories in CRPGs.

    For example, if you pick a "farmer" background as opposed to a "space soldier" background, what sort of differences should there be in the game to reflect that choice?

    Common conception is that there should be mentions of it. Maybe one or two small alternate routes in certain quest lines.

    But let's consider what the player is doing:

    They are volunteering to be a specific person.

    #GameDesign 🧵

  6. Today I looked it up and I am convinced: #StarFox is a #shmup.

    In both #StarFox and classic #ShootEmUps like #RType, the #player controls the same two axes, left, right, up and down. The #game moves you forward automatically in both cases, whether the screen scrolls sideways or into the depth.

    A true "rail #shooter" would be something like #VirtuaCop, where you have zero movement #control and only aim. #StarFox gives you full freedom on two axes. The label "rail shooter" is simply inaccurate.

    #StarFox is a #3D shmup. That is all.

    #Gaming #RetroGaming #SNES #Nintendo #GameDesign #Arcade #LinuxGamer

  7. Gamification lets physical toys compete with screens by adding goals, feedback, progression, and replayability. hackernoon.com/how-game-design #gamedesign

  8. #ScribesAndMakers May 12 - Our next featured creator is a Table Top Role Playing Game designer. Do you play, or have you played, TTRPGs?

    Oh most certainly! I mostly Dungeon Master games.

    I like doing board game design for fun and I have injected some of my own design ideas into a session or magic item along the way.

    My best was the Pirate’s Parlay. Built out a social encounter with some skill check elements that made things interesting and fun. Grog was involved 😁
    #ttrpg #gamedesign

  9. I would love to explore more mechanics that might be able to accomplish this.

    I have a few that miiiight work, like tend-and-befriend setups where you have to manage the locals in various ways.

    But I would love to hear your ideas if you have any.

    #GameDesign 🧵

  10. #ScribesAndMakers 8. Leviathan?

    My cat is Leviathan! We call him Levi for short. He’s a little sea monster (especially if we’re taking him to the vet).

    If you ever see a leviathan in something my partner or I have created, chances are it has some reference back to our cat.

    Pictured: our cat and an early version of a card from a game I made.

    #caturday #blackcat #gamedesign #boardgames

  11. Belki oyun içinden kitap satışı diye yeni bir kazanç kapısı açılır! ツ

    Çok işe yarayacağını düşünmüyorum, ama iyi bir pazarlama tekniği ve uygun ürünler ile mümkün olabilir!

    #gaming #games #gamedesign

  12. Oyunlara kitap okuma seçeneği neden konmaz hiç anlamıyorum.

    The Witcher ve Mount&Blade gibi içinde kitap okuma kültürüne selâm duran oyunlar var.

    Fakat içinde böyle sayfayı çevirerek baştan sona kitap okuma seçeneği sunan bir oyuna hiç rastlamadım!

    Oyun kitabı zorla okutsun demiyorum!

    Belki oyuncu oyunu bitirdiği zaman bu kitapta ne yazıyor diye okumak ister.

    Kitap oyuna özel ise ne güzel olur.

    Yoksa oyunda okutmak için telif izni almak gerekir.

    ..devamı ..

    #gaming #games #gamedesign

  13. The next 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮 draw is taking shape. 🎲

    1 — Andorra
    2 — Finland
    3 — Austria
    4 — Serbia
    5 — Greece

    So only 𝟲 remain open.

    Which European country should enter the spotlight next? I need you guys on Mastodon to become more active. Let's have one vote from this network!

    #History #CongressOfVienna #BoardGames #GameDesign

  14. Interesting website: "The Visible Zorker: Zork 1 (watching the Z-machine execute the game, live, as you play)" eblong.com/infocom/visi/zork1/

    #retro #gaming #gamedev #gamedesign #programming

  15. Alright new month and new week! First entry for the month is getting my Kofi and Patreon posts, then blurbs continue.

    patreon.com/posts/week-18-that and ko-fi.com/post/Research-Log-Th.

    I've also started a monthly "Dev Log" or "Dev Blog" on my old portfolio site: gamersesoteric.com/2026/04/dev

    #TTRPG #GameDesign #GameDev #IndieDev #Bestiary

  16. In most cases, the two common ideas behind "I'm generating 10,000 realistic NPCs" are

    1) I want the world to feel lived-in and vibrant

    or

    2) I want the player to encounter new stories wherever they go, whoever they meet.

    These are very different objectives, let's cover them! #GameDesign 🧵

  17. If you love flashy colors and bold designs in games - the Psychodelic Festival on #Steam might be your thing!

    🎮 store.steampowered.com/curator

    The showcase is worth taking a look as well, as devs were encouraged to talk about the design - in their native language (we didn't 💀)

    🔍 youtube.com/watch?v=QHgvncHOgug

    #PsychodelicFestival #gamedesign #gamedev #indiedev

  18. I’ve always been curious about what goes into creating a game.

    Got a lovely peek into Midtown Mall, thanks to its creator, Romin!

    That story is at the center of my 89th issue:
    pnptime.beehiiv.com/p/behind-m

    #printandplay #sologames #gamedesign #indiegames #boardgamegeek