Games can take different approaches to level-based skill systems, but they need to work with their core gameplay loops rather than against them.

Pokemon, Diablo 4, and Starfield are each examples that promote different types of interactions.

https://scottfinegamedesign.com/design-blog/2024/1/7/diabloxstarfield

#GameDevelopment #UserExperience #GameMechanics

Ugh. I knew to be suspicious of anything I read online *yesterday,* but our fragmented social media landscape means I fell for something stupid while catching up on newsletters today.

I should have paid closer attention to their publication date. Fucking April Fools Day.

In games, the story's effectiveness relies on the relationship between the gamer and the developer.

There are different ways that games can approach storytelling, and they each have their own risks: https://dannyhoman.substack.com/p/dont-wake-the-dreamers

#GameWriting #GameDesign #GameDev

Take revenge on the mob boss who killed your wife by burying him alive in his beloved Cadillac.

Dolan's Cadillac is a Pico-8 game of murder, vengeance, and poorly marked road hazards, loosely inspired by Stephen King

https://postgoodism.itch.io/dolans-cadillac

#Pico8 #IndieGame #StephenKing

A short list of storytelling ideas for implementing narrative choices in games: Express opinions, control access to content, and protect secrets.

https://pmjg.blogspot.com/2023/12/applying-and-improving-3-types-of.html

#NarrativeDesign #IndieGameDev #GameDesign