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John Harris

Contributor

John Harris writes the column @Play for GameSetWatch, and the series Game Design Essentials for Gamasutra. He has written computer games since the days of the Commodore 64. He also maintains the comics blog Roasted Peanuts.

Latest from John Harris

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Design
Behind Dawn of Man's style of 'ant colony' city-buildingBehind Dawn of Man's style of 'ant colony' city-building
byJohn Harris
Apr 22, 2019
7 Min Read
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Design
Exploring the secret depths of Bubble Bobble's designExploring the secret depths of Bubble Bobble's design
byJohn Harris
Apr 9, 2019
33 Min Read

All from John Harris

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Design
'Roguelike' from another planet: The big ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove interview
'Roguelike' from another planet: The big ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove interview
Apr 3, 2019
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13 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
Design
Designing for tough choices in cosmic horror game The Horns
Designing for tough choices in cosmic horror game The Horns
Feb 28, 2019
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8 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
Design
Designing unsettling 'hidden horror' with Layers of Fear dev Bloober Team
Designing unsettling 'hidden horror' with Layers of Fear dev Bloober Team
Feb 15, 2019
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7 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
Kingdom Two Crowns and the practical intersection of pixel art and roguelike design
Kingdom Two Crowns and the practical intersection of pixel art and roguelike design
Feb 6, 2019
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6 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
A closer look at the deck-building hack-and-slash success, Book of Demons
A closer look at the deck-building hack-and-slash success, Book of Demons
Jan 18, 2019
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5 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
More than a throwback: How Dusk nails the best parts of 90s FPS games
More than a throwback: How Dusk nails the best parts of 90s FPS games
Jan 10, 2019
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8 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
Cosmic Top Secret, and a path to autobiographical game design
Cosmic Top Secret, and a path to autobiographical game design
Jan 8, 2019
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11 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
Developing the stylish indie hit fighting game Lethal League Blaze
Developing the stylish indie hit fighting game Lethal League Blaze
Dec 21, 2018
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9 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
Making Project Hospital: A realistic approach to medical simulation
Making Project Hospital: A realistic approach to medical simulation
Dec 17, 2018
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6 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
Catching up with indie studio Tomorrow Corporation
Catching up with indie studio Tomorrow Corporation
Dec 12, 2018
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9 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Business
Developing the unique multi-genre murder-mystery The Hex
Developing the unique multi-genre murder-mystery The Hex
Nov 20, 2018
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5 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Business
Breaking fences, escaping dinosaurs?! Oh my, it's Parkasaurus' developers
Breaking fences, escaping dinosaurs?! Oh my, it's Parkasaurus' developers
Oct 5, 2018
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5 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
Number Punchers: How Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest handle combat math
Number Punchers: How Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest handle combat math
Oct 4, 2018
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18 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
RPG Maker and the value of the video game construction set
RPG Maker and the value of the video game construction set
Aug 3, 2018
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22 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
What game devs can learn from Japan's most interesting puzzle magazine
What game devs can learn from Japan's most interesting puzzle magazine
Jul 10, 2018
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16 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Programming
How classic games make smart use of random number generation
How classic games make smart use of random number generation
Jun 25, 2018
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12 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
How useful errors and evolving player skills shape Fortnite's UX
How useful errors and evolving player skills shape Fortnite's UX
Jun 19, 2018
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8 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Business
How Subset Games made the jump from FTL to Into the Breach
How Subset Games made the jump from FTL to Into the Breach
Jun 4, 2018
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13 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Production
How the BattleTech devs built an engrossing tactics game on a budget
How the BattleTech devs built an engrossing tactics game on a budget
May 24, 2018
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8 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Business
Q&A: Making microtransactions work for players in Guild Wars 2
Q&A: Making microtransactions work for players in Guild Wars 2
May 14, 2018
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12 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
Helping players relate to the heroine of Night in the Woods
Helping players relate to the heroine of Night in the Woods
Apr 5, 2018
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10 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Business
Frog Fractions 2 ARG co-creator reflects on what makes a good alternate reality game
Frog Fractions 2 ARG co-creator reflects on what makes a good alternate reality game
Feb 20, 2018
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9 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
Tips for building game dev tools and UX from Ubisoft's David Lightbown
Tips for building game dev tools and UX from Ubisoft's David Lightbown
Feb 13, 2018
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8 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
Why being trapped in a loop makes Reigns: Her Majesty so satisfying
Why being trapped in a loop makes Reigns: Her Majesty so satisfying
Feb 6, 2018
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6 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
How Trinket found the right recipe while designing Battle Chef Brigade
How Trinket found the right recipe while designing Battle Chef Brigade
Jan 11, 2018
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11 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
Q&A: Applying cubism and minimalism to game design in AER: Memories of Old
Q&A: Applying cubism and minimalism to game design in AER: Memories of Old
Jan 3, 2018
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8 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
Star Wars Battlefront 2 writer Mitch Dyer talks narrative design
Star Wars Battlefront 2 writer Mitch Dyer talks narrative design
Dec 27, 2017
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12 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Game Platforms
Q&A: Resurrecting the past with Outcast: Second Contact's Franck Sauer
Q&A: Resurrecting the past with Outcast: Second Contact's Franck Sauer
Dec 22, 2017
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4 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
Q&A: How Brawlhalla built a fighting game community from the ground up
Q&A: How Brawlhalla built a fighting game community from the ground up
Dec 7, 2017
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10 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Design
Dev Q&A: Jetpacking around in the apocalyptic open-world RPG Elex
Dev Q&A: Jetpacking around in the apocalyptic open-world RPG Elex
Dec 1, 2017
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7 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Business
Dev Q&A: Zachtronics team on building personality into puzzles
Dev Q&A: Zachtronics team on building personality into puzzles
Nov 14, 2017
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13 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
Design
Dev Q&A: How Bloober Team created 'hidden horror' in Observer
Dev Q&A: How Bloober Team created 'hidden horror' in Observer
Nov 2, 2017
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15 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor
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Business
Dev Q&A: A Mortician's Tale challenges how games depict death
Dev Q&A: A Mortician's Tale challenges how games depict death
Oct 27, 2017
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14 Min Read
byJohn Harris, Contributor

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Dec 20, 2024
11 Min Read
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