All Episodes
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 in total
13: Less is more in simulation games
Most games simulate some real world scenario. So how do you decide which parts of the real world to represent in game mechanisms? This is where the real artistry of ga...
12: Problem-centered design
Between each iteration of my game, I'll have dozens of ideas. But which do I actually implement? I find it extremely helpful to break my ideas down into problem statem...
11: Distribution is harder than making things
I've got a great game with great reviews. So how the heck do I get it onto shelves? Here's everything I've tried.
10: A board game with hundreds of players
Play the new prototype with us by joining our discord! I built a game that feels like a board game, but is secretly a social game that requires collaboration, deceptio...
9: Managing the player's cognitive load
How do you communicate complex rules to players? It's worth thinking about what kind of complexity you're communicating, how you communicate it, and when you communica...
8: AI is horrible at game design
LLMs excel at churning out sugar free vanilla paste. That's great when you're writing code. And it's awful when you're doing creative work.
7: Escape the mind palace
A game is only a game if it is playable. It is so hard for me to resist the temptation to retreat to the "mind palace" where my game devolves from a playable, testable...
6: Letting players decide the victory condition
My white whale (one of them, at least) is to let players decide how they want to win, and even decide whether it's a cooperative or competitive game. I haven't cracked...
5: Suspension of disbelief is a skill
There are two voices in your head. You don't know which is correct, but you do know that one is more useful.
4: High energy, low ego
Everything I learned at my first game conference. Buy Colossi now.
3: The prototyping machine
You can play "Hot Takes" in The Social Game right now!
2: Kill your darlings
When you love something, but it's confusing as heck.
1: What happens when you can't test a game
Links: The Social Game, my work podcast where we talked about this, and Videos of the event.
0: Intro
Test test.
