words about videogames

[aeonofdiscord]

I think a problem that XCOM has is that its visual representation is a lot less abstract than its underlying system.

Compare it to something like Advance Wars (abstract representation, abstract mechanics) or Dwarf Fortress (abstract representation, detailed mechanics). Those games don’t have this kind of problem. (Dwarf Fortress has a different but related problem, which is that it’s hard to see what’s going on at all).

For a lot of players, XCOM’s graphical fidelity brings in a lot of real-world (or other-videogame) expectations that the rules don’t support. You kind of have to ‘unlearn’ the associations between what the units are doing on the screen and what’s happening inside the system; they’re supposed to be seen as pieces moving on a board rather than characters in a realistic environment. I saw a few designers on twitter expressing bafflement at this image, but I think it’s actually pretty common for players to initially misinterpret games as being more naturalistic than they are, then over time internalise the rules and/or get frustrated by the incoherence.

It certainly doesn’t make XCOM a bad game, but ‘the hit percentages don’t make any sense’ holds weight as a complaint: the systems are understandable on their own, but they’re not served well by the representation.

[aeonofdiscord]

I removed a post about narrative taxonomy because I realised that ‘authored narrative’, ‘systemic narrative’ and ‘environmental storytelling’ are terms that already exist.

[aeonofdiscord]

A well-designed arcade racer gives non-drivers an empowering, and most importantly, accessible experience.

But how do game designers make driving "on the limit" accessible, fun, and most importantly, empowering for non-drivers? The answer to this lies in analyzing the track design of two contemporary arcade hits:Initial D: Arcade Stage and Maximum Tune.

Was looking for some information about spacial representation in racing games and found this: really nice breakdown of some of the decisions that go into track design in arcade racers.

[aeonofdiscord]

Grease is evil juice. It's a kind of bad swoosh.

In-depth 2010 article by Tim Rogers detailing the different kinds of "friction" (which is kind of like "tactility of interactions", but not really).

[aeonofdiscord]

In the Souls games, the narrative is woven directly into the world of the game. There are three primary ways the player can access narrative information; through the dialogue spoken by non-player characters, in the descriptions of the items found strewn across the world, and from the visual design of the world itself. Only by engaging with all three of these narrative devices can a player begin to get a wider picture of the game's larger story.

Short article examining the storytelling in Dark Souls, advocating for more ambient storytelling in general.