Welcome to the hog's bog! My dumping ground game design blog & devlog
I'm biased in favor of coherence/honesty in games and against "soft" psychological incentives. But I write about whatever I feel like writing about and psych is interesting. So beware, consistency isn't guranteed! Also, I don't edit these posts all that much so expect spelling errors & awkward sentences everywhere.
If you wanna ask me something pls post here cuz cohost doesn't have proper DM's :
INBOX/Q&A thread
[My Personal Rules of Thumb List]
Staging Gameplay Mechanics
This is a concept I want to develop over time. Hopefully, it'll give developers of "hardcore" genres the tools to make their games more palateable to beginners, by understanding how beginners perceive & interact with the challenges of games.
Staging Gameplay Mechanics (& Discreteness)
Staging - Mechanical Contrast
Staging - The Power of JRPG's
Staging - Pre-Requisite Tech
Beat 'Em Up Design/Guides
Various notes on beat 'em ups, both for players & devs
Beat 'em Up Cheat Sheet - Enemy AI
Beat 'em Up Cheat Sheet - Player Moves
Beat 'em Up Cheat Sheet - Z Checking
WTF is Crowd Control?
What makes a bmup fg inspired?
Retreating
Combo counter - what are you testing?
Staying Natty - There Is No Such Thing As a Weak Jab!
Bmups - Proximity-based orbit size
Bmup Enemies - Stages of Engagement
Difficulty Design
Posts talking about various aspects of difficulty in games - how to make games more difficult, how to make difficult games more fun, how to avoid various pitfalls whe designing difficulty, how players learn to get good, etc. Mostly relating to shmups, but it should be fairly universal for singleplayer genres.
Difficulty Design - Why Fundies Matter
Difficulty Design - What Makes A Bullet Pattern Hard?
Difficulty Design - Fighting Restart Syndrome
Difficulty Design - Trapped In The Bell Curve
The Opportunity Cost of Skips
The Opportunity Cost of Quick Kills
The Opportunity Cost of Scoring Tricks
The Wiggle Zone (RNG vs Optimization Equilibrium)
Rethinking RNG
Notes On...
Personal notes (mental or actual written notes). Rewritten as something resembling proper articles, instead of a disorganized mess of bullet points. A variety of observations, usually stuff that I think will help my own gamedev in some way. Sometimes it's just the result of checking out stuff I'm interested in too, though.
Notes On Devil Blade's Amazing Visuals
Notes On God Hand #4 - Counter Hits >>> Parries
Notes On God Hand #3 - Random Dodges
Notes On God Hand #2 - Contextual Attacks
Notes On God Hand #1 - Cool Moments That Matter
Notes On Addictive Design #1
Notes On Boss Attacks
Rules of Thumb
Things that I think are good rules of thumb, simple ideas that steer my brain during development.
Game Design Is Scummy
Smallness Principle
Show Your Game's Thesis Upfront
Difficulty Design - Why Fundies Matter
Platformer Movement - Shmup Scoring With Extra Steps
Give Enemies A Game Plan (Natural vs Artificial Challenges)
The Cost of Retreating
Concepts, Distinctions, Definitions
Internal vs External Gameplay Depth
Jank = Depth Without Focus
The Kusoge Trap
Learning vs Applying In Platformers
The Death of Arcade Action Platformers
Looping Movement in Platformers
Burst vs Continuous Movement
The Opportunity Cost of Skips (Low vs High Opportunity Cost Skips)
Brutalist Game Feel
How To Be Good While Suckin' (Fuzzy vs Discrete skills)
Finding Exploits Is The Best Type of Exploration (Organic vs Inorganic Exploration)
Game Reviews
Devlogs
ALL POSTS IN ORDER
All Posts In Order : :
Staying Natty - There Is No Such Thing As a Weak Jab!
The Context of "Character Action Games"
Notes On Resident Evil 5 (Mercs) - Layered Scoring
Bmups - Proximity-based orbit size
Bmup Enemies - Stages of Engagement
Context sensitivity & roguelikes
Honest game design
Context sensitivity's amazing
Combo counter - what are you testing?
You're being sold fake "freedom"!
Soft incentives are game design debt
Boredom As Punishment
Arcade game designers should understand the speed up item
Armed Decobot Devlog #5 [Scoring Conundrum]
Physics games need momentum???
Challenge -> Main Input -> Adjustment Input
WTF is Crowd Control?
FUCK collecting
What makes a bmup fg inspired?
Retreating
Reproducible NaTuRaL BaLaNciNG
Arcade Scoring vs CAG Scoring
An Exploration of Caravan Spawn Systems
Notes On God Hand #4
Notes On Devil Blade
Notes On God Hand #3
Notes On God Hand #2
Notes On Addictive Design #1
Notes On God Hand #1
Action Games Need Time
Notes On Boss Attacks
Modular Attack Design
Metroidvania vs World Mastery
Depth vs Fun
Rethinking RNG
Idiot Companions
Shmups - The Vertigo Factor
The Friction ISN'T The Point
Shmups - Proximity, Range & The Waterfowl Dance
The Cost of Retreating
Staging - Pre-Requisite Tech
We're Not The Player's Parents
The Opportunity Cost of Scoring Tricks
Extrinsic Motivators for Arcade Games
Staging - The Power of JRPG's
Difficulty Design - What Makes A Bullet Pattern Hard?
Difficulty Design - Fighting Restart Syndrome
The Opportunity Cost of Quick Kills
Difficulty Design - Trapped In The Bell Curve
The Opportunity Cost of Skips
Finding Exploits Is The Best Type of Exploration
Staging - Mechanical Contrast
Beat 'em Up Cheat Sheet - Player Moves
Only Horror & Comedy Games Are Allowed To Be Cool
Don't Trust Speedrunners!
Interpolation Is Killing Animations
Low Skill Ceilings Are Good
Internal vs External Gameplay Depth
Jank = Depth Without Focus
Difficulty Design - Why Fundies Matter
Unreactable Attacks Are Good
Game Design Is Scummy
Making Game Design Theory Practical
The Kusoge Trap
Show Your Game's Thesis Upfront
Learning vs Applying In Platformers
The Death of Arcade Action Platformers
Platformer Movement - Shmup Scoring With Extra Steps
Looping Movement in Platformers
Penny's Big Breakaway Review
Burst vs Continuous Movement
How To Be Good While Suckin'
Smallness Principle
Risk/Reward Doesn't Scale
Brutalist Game Feel
Give Enemies A Game Plan (Natural vs Artificial Challenges)
Encourage Cheesy Strats
Resisting Claustrophobic Difficulty Design