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Key Posts on Game Design

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Key Interviews, Game Critiques, and Post Mortems

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Key Posts on Game Philosophy & Aesthetics

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Key Posts on Game Narrative

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Key Posts on the Games Industry

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Developing the DGD2 Audience Model

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Republished Blog Posts

Roger Caillois' Patterns of Play
Introduction to posts on Patterns of Play
The Challenge of Agon
Patterns of Play: Agon, or games of competition.
The Rituals of Alea
Patterns of Play: Alea, or games of chance.
The Imagination of Mimicry
Patterns of Play: Mimicry, or games of simulation.
The Joy of Ilinx
Patterns of Play: Ilinx, or games of vertigo.
The Anarchy of Paidia
Paidia refers to improvisation.
The Complexity of Ludus
Ludus refers to rules.
Strategic Play
Strategic play relates to mastering complex game systems and problem solving.
Logistical Play
Logistical play relates to following rules and pursuing acquisition.
Tactical Play
Tactical play relates to improvisation, and competence with all manner of tools.
Diplomatic Play
A brief discussion of what Diplomatic Play may entail.
Kinaesthetic Mimicry
What is the secret that makes the Wii such a hit? And how does it relate to earlier games?
Between Stories and Games
Where is the line between what makes a story and what makes a game?
Designing Rewards in Games
What makes a player keep playing a game? Why do they come back for more?
A Model of Game Designers
What does psychology tell us about the kinds of personalities suited to working in game design? This tentative model explores some of the different skills involved in designing videogames.

 

Republished Magazine Articles

Zen Game Design
What is the secret of game design enlightenment? First published Develop 27, April 2003 as 'My Karma Ran Over Your Dogma'
Just Who Are Our Consumers?
First published in MCV (Market for Home Computing & Video Games), issue 191 (21st June 2002)
Piracy is Not Black and White
First published in MCV (The Market for Computer & Videogames), issue 190 (14th June 2002)
The 40 Hour Millstone
First published in CTW (Computer Trade Weekly), issue 877 (1st February 2002)
Golden Rules of Interface Design
First published in Develop, issues 11 & 12 (October & November 2001)
Ban The Boss
First published in Develop, issues 7 & 8 (June & July 2001)
Cut Scenes - Friend or Foe?
First published in CTW (Computer Trade Weekly), issue 840 (11th May 2001)
Games Businessmen Play: Tokyo 2001
First published in Develop, issue 6 (May 2001).
Call in the Cavalry
First published in Develop, issue 4 (March 2001)

Downloadable Articles

Demographic Game Design: How to make game design as valuable as marketing
Available in online readable PDF format (3,442 KB) and also as a zipped PDF (1,792 KB) for those with narrower bandwidths.

Card Games

Guild of Thieves
Compete with other trainee thieves to open the jewelled box. It's like Cluedo (or Clue, if you're from the US) only you just need a deck of cards and a little stage magic to play.
Life
A simple but compulsive game for 2 or more players.
Underwear
A game of strategy and intuition for devious minds.

Old Surveys/Play Style Models

DGD2 Questionnaire: Ultimate Game Players Survey
Take part in an extensive study of how and why people play games - and win the game of your choice!
DGD1 Questionnaire: What Play Style Do You Prefer?
Learn something about your play style with this quick and simple quiz! (Please complete the DGD2 questionnaire first!)

Legacy CFAQs

CFAQs
These are ihobo's way of breaking a game apart and showing how things could have been done differently at a design level. These are ihobo's Critical FAQs