Game Design

Random chance mechanics in video games can be frustrating. Missing a 90% shot in XCOM, when you really need it to…

It’s cool that many modern games include colorblind options, so that those who struggle to differentiate between…

Teamfight Tactics has been out for just over a month, and already Riot games’ entry into the auto-battler genre has…

I was only about 10 hours into The Division 2, a game that I expect I will play for dozens of hours when I realized…

Dreams, Media Molecule’s sandbox for people to create, share, and play one another’s games, has been in closed beta…

The Arkham games are Batman at his best, combining intense action sequences against an iconic gallery of villains…

The enemies in Echo copy any action that you perform until they’re highly dangerous walking death machines. Level…

Ever wanted a glimpse at what games like Uncharted 4 and Titanfall look like before they’re finished?

In the past, I’ve thought a little about making a game, but never got around to learning actual coding. Recently,…

Games lie to us all the time. Recently, some developers took to Twitter to share a few of their ones, revealing…

Sonic Mania’s a lot of fun but one of its most exciting features is a dangerous string of bosses. Reshuffling and…

People have been playing Super Mario 64 for years but few have plumbed the depths of how it was constructed and the…

“Magic is secretly, not really … it’s not one game,” head Magic: The Gathering designer Mark Rosewater told me. “It…

Nearly every open world game makes the player collect random garbage, and it’s almost never fun. Instead,…

The release of the former Wii U exclusive Yoshi’s Woolly World to the Nintendo 3DS demonstrates once again that…

Undertale creator Toby Fox took to social media yesterday to show off some early notes about the game’s creation.…

Final Fantasy XV has some wonderful boss fights. Aranea Highwind offers an memorable encounter thanks to an…

Dishonored 2 lives and dies by its level design. Tricky guard patrols and magical abilities don’t mean much without…

I’ve been thinking a lot about Rage lately. Last week, I dove back in. Minutes became hours, and I soon realized I…

“So what does a game designer do? Are you an artist? Do you design characters and write the story? Or no, wait,…