Ryan – The Mechanics of Magic

Final Class Reflection

June 4, 2021

Before this class, I thought of game design with some vague conception that it’s a combination of aesthetic choices and details that when combined…

Critical Play: Theme Only Games

June 2, 2021

Name of game, creator, platform. I played Ironhide Game Studio’s Kingdom Rush and PONOS Corporation’s The Battle Cats on iPhone. Target Audience Both tower…

Mindmap: Terror in Subnautica

May 25, 2021

Critical Play: Is this game balanced?

May 25, 2021

I picked Blizzard’s Overwatch, which I’ve played on PC and PS4. 4 Kinds of Balance Balance in Single-Player Games This refers to if difficulty…

Sketchnote: Onboarding in Plants vs Zombies

May 20, 2021

Critical Play: Puzzles

May 18, 2021

Name of game, creator, platform. I played Scott Leach’s Able Black on iPhone. Target Audience The game appeals to puzzle solvers, specifically those who enjoy…

Mindmap: Puzzles in Games, Puzzles as Games

May 11, 2021

Critical Play: Mysteries

May 11, 2021

Name of game, creator, platform. I played Variable State’s Virginia on PC. Target Audience Virginia will appeal to fans of mysteries, surrealist films, and…

Sketchnote: Designer’s Notebook: The Role of Architecture in Videogames

May 6, 2021

Sketchnote: Escape Rooms and VR

May 4, 2021

Critical Play: Walking Simulators

April 29, 2021

Name of game, creator, and platform I played The Chinese Room’s Dear Esther on PC. Target Audience Its target audience includes casual gamers who…

Narrative Architecture

April 27, 2021

Sketchnote: Balancing Games: Chance and Skill

April 22, 2021

Critical Play: Bluffing, Judging and Getting Vulnerable…

April 21, 2021

Critical Play of Town of Salem In the deception game Town of Salem (a popular mobile and web version of Mafia), players assume roles of town…

Visual Design of Games: Cheese or Font, Pikmin 3

April 21, 2021

Elements of Cheese or Font Core 50 names presented to the player Players determines whether a name is cheese or font Can go to…

Sketchnote: Game Architecture

April 16, 2021

Critical Play: Competitive Analysis of Two Truths and a Lie

April 14, 2021

Two Truths and a Lie I chose this classic game because of its themes of conversation, deduction, invention, bluffing, interrogation, and storytelling. Mechanics In…

MDA of Breath of the Wild

April 9, 2021

I used to describe Super Mario Odyssey as more “fun” than The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and felt like that was an…

Sketchnote: What Games Are and Aren’t

April 7, 2021

Sketchnote1

Critical Play: “Yes &&”

April 7, 2021

A Critical Play of Inhuman Conditions When it was first conceived, the Turing test was called “the imitation game”, and Tommy Maranges and Cory…