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Case Studies

Sailor Moon meets Shakespeare: the design philosophies of magic girl RPG This Way Madness LiesSailor Moon meets Shakespeare: the design philosophies of magic girl RPG This Way Madness Lies

A Q&A with Robert Boyd and Bill Steinberg on the narrative and character development in this genre-defying turn-based game.

Nov 10, 2022

11 Min Read

A screenshot from Lil Gator Game

The exaggerated animations and tottering wobble bones of Lil Gator GameThe exaggerated animations and tottering wobble bones of Lil Gator Game

Nov 9, 2022

4 Min Read

Deep Dive: How to design for impact and narrative variance with RoadwardenDeep Dive: How to design for impact and narrative variance with Roadwarden

Nov 4, 2022

15 Min Read

Pursuing the "Aha!" moment with deductive reasoning game The Case of the Golden IdolPursuing the "Aha!" moment with deductive reasoning game The Case of the Golden Idol

Nov 1, 2022

11 Min Read

Deep Dive: The art of LEGO BricktalesDeep Dive: The art of LEGO Bricktales

byStephan Sossau, Nathalie Schuster-Gieb

Oct 27, 2022

11 Min Read

Shredding for Satan: how Metal: Hellsinger designed FPS harmonies in Hell Shredding for Satan: how Metal: Hellsinger designed FPS harmonies in Hell

Oct 25, 2022

5 Min Read

One Dreamer gamifies development by teaching the player how to code

One Dreamer gamifies development by teaching the player how to code

Deep Dive: Curating meaningful multiplayer narrative choices in Doomsday Paradise

Deep Dive: Curating meaningful multiplayer narrative choices in Doomsday Paradise

How knitting inspired the clone-based gameplay of The Last Clockwinder

How knitting inspired the clone-based gameplay of The Last Clockwinder

Curating the gritty, retrofuturistic art direction of Rollerdrome

Curating the gritty, retrofuturistic art direction of Rollerdrome

Deep Dive: Designing for spontaneity and non-linearity in alternate reality games with Acolyte

Deep Dive: Designing for spontaneity and non-linearity in alternate reality games with Acolyte

Key art for Beacon Pines.

How word choice transformed the exploration-driven world of Beacon Pines

How word choice transformed the exploration-driven world of Beacon Pines

Deep Dive: Narrative mapping and simultaneous storytelling in Wayward Strand

Deep Dive: Narrative mapping and simultaneous storytelling in Wayward Strand

How Cult of the Lamb's cute aesthetic allowed its developers to explore darker themes

How Cult of the Lamb's cute aesthetic allowed its developers to explore darker themes

How the "magic" of Immortality was informed, but not defined, by film technique

How the "magic" of Immortality was informed, but not defined, by film technique

Deep Dive: Using Exoscript to tame the "Narrative Octopus" of I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

Deep Dive: Using Exoscript to tame the "Narrative Octopus" of I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

bySarah Northway

Art Deep Dive: Optimizing the visuals of Glow Season in I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

Art Deep Dive: Optimizing the visuals of Glow Season in I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

bySarah Northway

Book Excerpt: How DOOM turbocharged the shareware revolution

Book Excerpt: How DOOM turbocharged the shareware revolution

A screenshot from the mobile version of Descenders

Deep Dive: Creating the touch controls for Descenders on mobile

Deep Dive: Creating the touch controls for Descenders on mobile

Deep Dive: Creating impossible spaces in Mind Palace

Deep Dive: Creating impossible spaces in Mind Palace

byMatthew Chovan

A screenshot from Perfect Tides. Two teenage girls look off into the skyline.

Octopus Pie creator Meredith Gran shares lessons from making Perfect Tides, her first game

Octopus Pie creator Meredith Gran shares lessons from making Perfect Tides, her first game

Deep Dive: Cultivating the soft art of Shumi Come Home

Deep Dive: Cultivating the soft art of Shumi Come Home

Deep Dive: Multiple menu systems & UI design in APICO

Deep Dive: Multiple menu systems & UI design in APICO

Experimenting with movement in squishy physics climb-em-up Klifur

Experimenting with movement in squishy physics climb-em-up Klifur

Sharing the stories of Ukrainian citizens amid war in What's up in a Kharkiv bomb shelter

Sharing the stories of Ukrainian citizens amid war in What's up in a Kharkiv bomb shelter

Three very good boys sat on a bench about to get snapped

Postmortem: Sundae Month's Pupperazzi

Postmortem: Sundae Month's Pupperazzi

A screenshot from Hyper // Echo

The design and philosophy behind ephemeral game exhibition HYPER//ECHO

The design and philosophy behind ephemeral game exhibition HYPER//ECHO

Key art from Infernax

Postmortem: Infernax

Postmortem: Infernax

Deep Dive: Evolving UI and difficulty levels in Cook Serve Forever

Deep Dive: Evolving UI and difficulty levels in Cook Serve Forever

byDavid Galindo

Shroomchitect's path to a "stress-free and wholesome" creative builder game

Shroomchitect's path to a "stress-free and wholesome" creative builder game

The rise of once-a-day games: Design lessons learned from Wordle's legacy

The rise of once-a-day games: Design lessons learned from Wordle's legacy

byDylan Woodbury

The Omaze title screen on a Playdate that's flanked by the original experimental title and an adorable black cat

Postmortem: Gregory Kogos' Playdate puzzle platformer Omaze

Postmortem: Gregory Kogos' Playdate puzzle platformer Omaze

Developing to 120 beats-per-minute: A Highland Song Q&A

Developing to 120 beats-per-minute: A Highland Song Q&A

How color scripting conveyed the emotional arcs of Beast Breaker

How color scripting conveyed the emotional arcs of Beast Breaker

An illustration of a billboard in a mock-metaverse, reading "Everybody works but the vacant lot"

Land value tax in online games and virtual worlds: A how-to guide

Land value tax in online games and virtual worlds: A how-to guide

byLars Doucet, Dan Cook

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