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Pretentious Game Ideas

The monthly game design podcast that you haven't been waiting for! Join us as we discuss, explore, and get out of our depths in a new game design topic every episode.
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Now displaying: March, 2018
Mar 30, 2018

How do you open your game with a bang, hold the player's attention through hours of gameplay, and wrap things up in a way that feels satisfying and complete? We sure the heck don't know, but special guest Nina Freeman (Cibele, Tacoma, how do you Do it?) does!

In this episode, we discuss game introductions, how difficulty progression and story can both drive player engagement, the value of vignette-style storytelling, the way that sports tell stories, and whether games even need endings, plus lots more incisive and indecisive discussion about your favorite games!

 

Mar 5, 2018

More is always better, right? Wrong!

We're joined by games critic and all-around smart egg John Brindle to discuss his Waypoint article analyzing Frank Lantz's brilliant clicker game Universal Paperclips. Along the way, we cover why simple games are often the most impactful, how to make sure your game says what you want it to say, and the dangers of including mechanics without considering all of their implications.

We also talk about paperclips. Lots and lots of paperclips.

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