snoopy – The Mechanics of Magic

Precision of Emotion – snoopy

October 7, 2026

I took notes while watching the lecture, then synthesized what I felt were important topics into a list with some drawings! I provided both…

Sketchnote: MDAO – snoopy

September 30, 2026

Attached is my sketchnote for MDAO. It was interesting to see how an outcome can guide the MDA process in making a game with…

Introducing Serious Games – snoopy

September 29, 2026

While I’ve played a few “serious” video games (i.e., games that follow the MDAO structure), I had the privilege of playing Daybreak as my…

Games, Design and Play: Elements – snoopy

September 27, 2026

1. Identify the basic elements in a game of your choice (actions, goals, rules, objects, playspace, players). In the game DEFCON (seen as the featured…

Final Review – snoopy

August 15, 2026

I can’t believe it’s all over! The class, at least. I feel like there is still so much to learn and make. Before taking…

Heteropsomys P2: Vineyard of Eden

August 15, 2026

A game by Aksel Kolasinski, Yifan Xu, Xatrik Bera, and snoopy Artist’s Statement: Vineyard of Eden is a dark fantasy, semi-tactical RPG which…

Sketchnote: Cursed Problems – snoopy

August 9, 2026

Here is my sketch note on cursed problems!

Critical Play: Mysteries & Escape Rooms – snoopy

August 6, 2026

This week, I was lucky enough to be able to attend an escape room – a unique and immersive puzzle where the player is…

Sketchnote: Onboarding – snoopy

August 4, 2026

I did this sketch note on note only onboarding in Plants vs Zombies, but also included a little bit of how we can spatially/visually onboard…

Critical Play: Puzzles – snoopy

July 30, 2026

Note, this article does contain some spoilers that aspiring Portal players should avoid. While most folks think of Portal 2 when prompted to envision…

Sketchnote: Puzzles in Games, Puzzles as Games – snoopy

July 28, 2026

Here is my sketch note on puzzles in games and as games! I thought it was funny how, in the article published in 1997,…

Critical Play: Worldbuilding – snoopy

July 24, 2026

For this week’s worldbuilding Critical Play, I played the much-beloved Deltarune: Chapter 3. Toby Fox has always been a fantastic worldbuilder in my eyes,…

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

July 22, 2026

Above is my sketchnote for architecture in video games. I tried to keep it simple, with more reminding little images!

Sketchnote: Loops & Arcs – snoopy

July 21, 2026

One game I really like is Jak 2, for the PS2. Because it features lots of different dynamics (platforming, shooting enemies, racing), there are…

Checkpoint 1: Concept Doc – Team Heteropsomys

July 20, 2026

Team members: Aksel Kolasinski, Yifan Xu, Xatrik Bera, snoopy Synopsis: We would like to pursue a story where the protagonist finds themself in a…

P2, Checkpoint 1 – Individual Team Member Deliverable – snoopy

July 20, 2026

For our team’s upcoming game, three emotions I wanted to evoke are: Tension – like the heightened state of awareness you feel when you…

Critical Play: Walking Simulators – snoopy

July 16, 2026

“Walking simulators” are games that are usually mechanically simple (i.e., the player may only walk and solve simple puzzles), but often are so in…

Mindmap: Narrative Architecture – snoopy

July 14, 2026

Here is my mind map on narrative architectures in games. I had fun drawing the game images at the bottom!

Critical Play: Competitive Analysis – snoopy

July 12, 2026

In the realm of social deduction games, I feel most games do not translate well to being online. While there are certainly a notable…