Columns
Articles in this section are general discussions on gaming.
Articles
Ingenuity and failure in videogames -
23 May 2007.
A recurring problem with modern videogames is that they don’t handle failure well. The player has to complete level after level, mission after mission... and don’t have the possibility of being less than perfect. The flipside is that to beat such games, the player imagination is not challenged, and winning is not as significant than in games that require the players to be creative thinkers, like the Mortville Manor we are discussing here. Beyond that, we’ll see how allowing the player to fail can in fact add value to games.
A classification of game puzzles -
13 March 2007.
Videogames are one of the most marvelous mediums when it comes to creating a fancy layer around the intellectual challenges posed by abstract puzzles. Game designers work very hard to create new, innovative representations and interfaces ("gameplay") around ageless logical recreations, puzzles. In the old gamethink tradition, let’s take a few steps back to analyse what different kind of puzzles we are talking about and hopefully draw some interesting conclusions for budding puzzle/game (...)
Fiction is free -
6 November 2006.
Over the last 30 years, the price of creating the various game assets has increased at a mind-boggling rate. Except one: story. Still, considering how much impact a good story has on a game, game developers are not spending enough on this essential component.
For a new classification of game genres -
12 October 2006.
In previous articles we have mentioned the existence of game genres. The main issue with genres is that a handful of game creators are reckognized as geniuses because they have invented a new genre. Ever since, it seems that every publisher either sticks to a definite genre or tries to persuade the world that their newest game is the first of a new kind.
This highlights the true nature of the game genres: while the boundaries between the existing categories don’t mean much to game (...)
This highlights the true nature of the game genres: while the boundaries between the existing categories don’t mean much to game (...)
Open vs. closed games -
15 September 2006.
A comparison between open-ended games and closed games (with a beginning and an end).
From ideas to games -
19 July 2006.
What, exactly, is at the very origin of a game project? This article review six categories of ideas that can trigger a concept - game genre, theme, graphical style, activity, interface and technique.
Genre parallelism -
13 April 2006.
In order to challenge the game genre concept, let’s highlight how games from seemingly opposed game genres are actually very similar.
The "Next Big Thing" -
10 April 2006.
The "Next Big Thing", which will change the face of gaming forever, is the holy grail of every game professional. How to find it? Different strategies are discussed here.
Game heroes -
28 March 2006.
What makes a true game hero? This article defines a framework to analyse heroes based on 3 dimensions: heroes as toys, heroes as self-representation and heroes as idols.
Beyond violence: games for a mature audience -
28 March 2006.
The violence paradox is that while more than 25% of 11-16 years old identify a M-rated games as their favorite, such games represented only 16% of the market in 2004 (source: NPD). In addition, only 35% of gamers are below 18 (source: Hart Research).
This suggests that while games with violent content appeal to a younger audience, mature gamers are much less interested. Indeed, violence doesn’t sell to mature audiences!
Yet, it is critical to create content geared towards these gamers. In (...)
This suggests that while games with violent content appeal to a younger audience, mature gamers are much less interested. Indeed, violence doesn’t sell to mature audiences!
Yet, it is critical to create content geared towards these gamers. In (...)
Games and violence -
9 March 2006.
The debate on game violence is almost as old as gaming itself. What is violence and how does it affect gamers? Does it sell? Are ratings effective? These are the questions that this article attempts to answer.
Numbers and players: how gamers are represented -
24 February 2006.
It’s hard to have reliable, objective figures on gamers. Fortunately, what gamers tell of themselves is just as informative.
Existing game grading systems -
9 February 2006.
While the opinions expressed in the press certainly are worth listenting, there game evaluations scores, despite appearances of objectivity, are more entertaining to their readers than helpful to game authors.
The concept of attention -
31 January 2006.
In today’s society, games must battle with all kind of media and entertainment means to conquer an audience. The goal of the good game maker is not to present games that fulfill some publisher-friendly quality criteria, but to reach the player personally through the game and to create a strong and positive relationship.
Game consistency -
20 January 2006.
Consistency means that every aspect of the game, background, key features of gameplay, art direction and technical orientations, are all focused and coherent one with another. This is important because:
a consistent game is a better product,
incoherencies may harm the relationship between the player and the game,
and because the development of a well-defined product is less risky.
Game business 101 -
20 January 2006.
A quick overview of how this business works.
Tension -
3 January 2006.
- Just providing game content is not enough to keep players interested, especially as games become shorter and easier.
- Tension is an attempt to make each game moment a fine experience and to keep players into the game.
- There are several ways to incite players to keep playing, such as skill, story, diversity and rewards.
Fair games -
13 December 2005.
Since the invention of the "casual gamer", there has been an outcry against the outrageous difficulty level of games. It was assumed that most players, and especially the industry new darlings, the casual gamers, would not finish the games because they were too difficult.
Is that really the case? The whole point of this article is to challenge that huge misconception.
Factually, it is true that until the Playstation era, games were generally too hard to be fun. When a modern game is (...)
Is that really the case? The whole point of this article is to challenge that huge misconception.
Factually, it is true that until the Playstation era, games were generally too hard to be fun. When a modern game is (...)
Multi-level gaming -
11 December 2005.
The game experience can be tremendously enriched by the addition of new game modes. Those supplementary game options appeal to more demanding players. As they require very little specific content, this is a very efficient way to provide extra value and depth.
Fiction -
11 December 2005.
In any development shop, you’ll hear at some point a debate between coders and artists about what should be the most important aspect of a game. Coders argue that code is what makes a game cutting-edge, and is what structures the work of other departments. Artists tend to think that code is only here to showcase content, especially 3D art, and that it is the advances in 3D that pressure coders to increase their performance.
The conventional answer to that debate is to argue that both code (...)
The conventional answer to that debate is to argue that both code (...)
What’s a good game, anyway? -
14 November 2005.
This article describes a quality framework to evaluate a game as early as possible in its lifecycle.
Gamethink wants you to visit these fine websites:
Gamasutra the art and business of making games
GameDev All your game development needs
GameProducer.net Daily ideas, hints, and inspiration to new and aspiring game producers - from a game producer.
IGDA International Game Developer Association
Jay is games Jay Bibby’s flash and casual game reviews
Ludology.org game theory