Don't be the Box Dweller

The Box Dweller. Someone who immediately dismisses an idea because it wouldn't work within some other (often easily changeable) current constraint in the game. Example: "We could never let you throw more than one grenade! The explosion overdraw would kill the framerate!" That's one of the new "developer flashcards" published today on Gamasutra. Following on from Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski's original, which was published in August, Gamasutra compiled a list of terms submitted by readers in the comments section of the original article. Are you the Box Dweller, identified by Aaron San Filippo? No? What about The Puppet, contributed by Sean Watson: The Puppet. This particular developer has a role with responsibility to the game, but allows him or herself to be pushed around by people above them (who haven't played a game since Minesweeper.) Their team implements designs that no one agrees are even the slightest bit decent. Sometimes they've got a hand so far up their ass the design team can't even suggest alterations to improve an idea without getting snapped at. Whether you know, work with, or have been one of these developers, you'll recognize a behavior you've seen before in the new feature, which is live now on Gamasutra.