I’m not in Mass Creation anymore and when I was looking for a new job someone making Facebook games wrote to me that I’m not a good fit to design casual games. This made me thinking… Why not?

He wrote to me that I’m better for more hardcore games. So I’m wondering if there are types of game designers? Like for example: Casual and Hardcore GD? If so, can’t a Casual one be good at Hardcore? I mean, it’s just like wearing a good hat? It should be like this, because I designed many times games that I didn’t love, there were good games, but I wasn’t hooked by them. Just, I designed them for my audience not for myself.

I think for most of us it’s like a Utopia to have a freedom and design only games that we would love to play. And yep, I can wear many hats. I just have to play and understand the audience.

Of course there’s motivation. You’re more motivated if you work on something you would love to play, so our preferences could count. But I think that some kind of love is always there – if you lose it, your game won’t be good. For sure it’s harder to work on something you just don’t feel it’s good.

What’s more – I have my preferences both in Hardcore and Casual Games. I like many casuals and hardcores. And I am a game designer – certain game mechanics fascinates me more and I’m more fascinated by complex things… That’s why I love many board games.

I can learn my audiences – there’s some anthropology stuff to use! So I don’t agree, I can design casual and hardcore games

Popularity: 55% [?]

English · gamedesign · random rumblings

I don’t write so frequently, because…

1) I started to love running. I try to run everyday, in the morning. For now on, after about a month of running my record is: ~8km ran with two stops only That of course interrupts my other plans: a morning, about 6AM is a great time to work on something absolutely for yourself before working on something more serious… And that time was taken by my running sessions, but once my passion for them calms down I promise that everything will come back to normal!

2) I’m working on some cool game projects for Mass Creation Stay tuned, so you can play iDevices games I’m working on

3) I don’t know what to write about… I was pretty amazed by this post. Also if you’re looking for some great and different game experience check out this game. It really proves that games can be very powerful just experiences. You don’t need any high conflict, because there’s still a conflict in this game, but it’s good – without it won’t be a game. This game moved me a lot in this strange way… Maybe in the future I’ll write more about those artsy-experience-only-simple-games.

4) Ohh and BTW you must-read Understanding Comics. Really great book. Eye opener about many things not just in the world of comics, but our whole world and game world, too. It’s amazing to look at comics as a type of symbolic language. Maybe we should do the same with games to discover some usable stuff?

Popularity: 59% [?]

books · English · games · healthy ways · iDevices · random rumblings

Too long I have delayed writing this article, but during that time I analyzed the subject even more. Also, some interesting discussions were created because of the study.

In the previous post I tried to make you excited about why should we care about learning how climbing walls are designed.

(more…)

Popularity: 100% [?]

English · gamedesign · games connected

I found this movie by Twitter and I think it’s pretty impressive and disturbing for me. Is it the future? It could be… Play would be everywhere and dreams of some could come true: we would have just a big environment, world in which we can play many different games. Game nested inside a game nested inside a game… But then a player could just trapped himself just like with journeys in time. At some point a player could not know what he really is! But then… It’s not a game anymore, because a player isn’t in a safe environment, “magic circle”. For him it’s dangerous place, sometimes more like a nightmare… It’s like a work to reach the end… Well, I hope so that future of play will look more brightly… As I think now, I wouldn’t want to be in that game that takes place in the film. Not without the escape option.

Now I have to get and read Zimmerman’s “Rules of play”!

Popularity: 60% [?]

English · games connected · inspiring · videos

I just came across some videos, where Ira Glass, a man with 30 years of experience as a radio-presenter, talks about making good compelling stories. If you’re interested in making stories stop and watch it here!

OK. He is a radio presenter, but don’t you think that stories are everywhere? Whenever you talk about something to your friend you’re sharing a story with him! So let’s learn from all of the people who tell a lot stories and their stories has to be good, has to glue you to the medium, in this case to a radio.

For me the most important of what he says is:

1) Good stories share one important concept. They’re made of the same things:

1. Sequence of events which he calls the anectode. I think, for him it’s the purest form of a story – just bare bones, no flesh: one event leads to another event which leads to another event, etc. And everything has to be connected together somehow.

2. This anectode should make your viewer to ask a questions that will be, at one moment, answered in the story. These moments of answers he calls the moments of reflection. So it should go like this: One event leads to another event which leads to another… and during watching these events your viewer must have some questions that you’re going to answer as surprise in Moment of reflection. You just want to show your viewer why his watching all of the events, reward him. And the story will continue to unfold with more events and more questions and more moments of reflection.

3. When you invent these events you’re going to have questions, too. Ira Glass says that you have to answer them! It’s very important and well, I think it’s very reasonable to do this. Because I think that every story unfold itself that way or another. You just have to find these ways and asking questions every time you come up with a new event is a good idea.

2) And then in second video he makes a very important point. When you’re starting to write stories, and I’m still starting…, you think that inventing new stories is pretty easy. For sure you don’t think that just on planning one story you’re going to need a week or so. And in reality inventing stories is hard and it takes a lot of time. If in one week you will come up with a good story, you’re good or as says Ira Glass: you’re just lucky. What’s more, you have to invite many stories, so you have some to choose from. I think, that’s why good brainstorming techniques are priceless. Just watch this video, because he says many interesting, concrete things from his working field

3) You’re going to kill many of your stories. That point is also true about game concepts and every idea you will ever have. You have to choose the best and kill those that makes problem, that don’t feel great anymore. He says that they record many interviews, shows and then when they feel it’s not as good as it should be, they kill the story and then they make a new story, better one. One thing I like the most about what he says is:

It’s time to enjoy the killing, because by killing you will make something else, even better, live.

4) And again. Something really nice to know and it’s not only about making stories. It’s about creating things you love, like designing games. You started making this, because you really like what you do and you love this medium: games, books, movies… And you must have a good taste – you know what you love and probably every time you makes something your taste tells you: it could be better! I make games and try hard to make games that I would like to play and that I’m proud of. But in reality every my game that you can play now isn’t as good as I wanted it to be. And Ira Glass tells something important that this gap between making something that your taste will love it and the thing that could be better is always there. Every guy has to face it and has it. Ira Glass after 8 years of work wasn’t making good stuff – he says it openly and play us his old radio program. The only thing to cross this gap is to do a lot of work guys! And after some years, if you’re tough enough, you will make things that you will love! So don’t worry now and get to work!

Inspiring stuff, right?

Popularity: 58% [?]

English · inspiring · makingstories · videos

I’m planning to make this article mini-series, so in every post I’ll publish some techniques that I invented.

But what’s up?

We want our work to be as fun as possible, but often we get some hectic tasks. I can come up with couple of reasons:

1) Game design is iterative process. It means you have to do some things over and over. And it’s fine, because in this process, in every iteration you should have something better then before.

2) In every project you have some tasks that are really unpleasant to do. Even unrewarding for yourself, but you just have to do them. Someone has to. Otherwise for example you won’t have any content in your game. Someone has to add all of these names, numbers, etc. It’s schematic, it’s really boring, but better do this as good as possible!

3) Even if you continue something over many days you have to review you own work and work on it until you feel it’s good stuff. And you have to feel it, so if you will be tired then your won’t feel as clearly as if you would be relaxed.

And so on.

So my #1 Technique:

I’m working now at some adventure game, which storyline has to be very good and logical. And I didn’t even know that inventing stories can be so hard! Especially if it has to be told also by mini-games and some puzzles. But enough with that! Everyday I had to review and continue writing detailed story plan. I wrote it in Excel, so it would be easier to correct. But… reviewing everyday this spreadsheet became quickly very boring. So I thought and changed font to bigger size and printed a dozen of pages with my story plan. Then I glued them all together or you can staple them. You will get really long paper sheet Lay it on the floor, get some marker and read it from this perspective! In order to read everything you can slide this long page towards yourself or just walk alongs it. Every page stop and think. If you have some worries mark it with you marker and think again. Maybe you will come with the better idea Afterwards if you have some empty hooks on walls or ceiling then you can do something even crazier! Just hand this long paper on this hook. It would be even better if this hook is somewhere close to your PC. Then you can rewrite your corrections just looking at hanging paper, so you don’t have to stand up

For me it’s working. How about you guys?

Popularity: 54% [?]

English · funwork · gamedesign · mini-series · unscheme

Hello! I have couple of things to say

I’m glad you came! And…

You can access my old blog here: http://samur.pl/blog.old/

Last time my blog was mainly in Polish. Time for change. From now on I’ll try to write as much in English as I can. If I make many mistakes, then forgive me – it’s not my native language. Of course some posts will be only in Polish – maybe later, if they will be popular, I’ll rewrite them in English.

I’m having affair with game design since couple of years, so I’ll write mainly about games and stuff like this. Hope you like it.

I didn’t have time to write on my old blog for a long time, but now I have a plan and I think it’ll work out So tune for more!

Popularity: 47% [?]

English · Other