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Reading List (October 2018)

Note: I failed to mention that two of the video in this Reading List - on Mario's Hair and Spider-Man 2's Web Swinging, were made by Nick Robinson: a journalist who was dismissed from Polygon due to the way he has treated women online. I'm going to keep them in and tag them clearly, but will be more careful about who I feature in upcoming reading lists. Sorry!Hello! Welcome back to you...

Thoughts on Shadow of the Tomb Raider (No spoilers)

Hello!So, I finally finished Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Which, I guess, also means I’ve finished the latest Tomb Raider trilogy! And I want to share some thoughts on this most recent game - and then the trilogy as a whole.More lootin’, less shootin’One of the most surprising things about Shadow of the Tomb Raider is how it’s almost completely devoid of combat. I don’t think it’s an exa...

Making Games Better for Players with Motor Disabilities | Designing for Disability

Hello! Back to Designing for Disability, this week. This time we're looking at options and design choices that will help out players with physical disabilities.I got lots of help from disabled players and accessibility advocates. Hopefully I did the topic justice! Next episode is on cognitive disabilities like motion sickness. It will probably be the most challenging one to get right.After tha...

Does Spidey's Web-Swinging 'Make You Feel Like Spider-Man'? | Game Maker's Toolkit

I wanted to explore Spider-Man's web swinging, and the phrase "makes you feel like Spider-Man", which keeps cropping up in reviews for this game.Hope you enjoy!Mark

Playlist (September 2018)

Three nifty games to check out, this month. Enjoy!-I’ve spent most of this month playing big console games like Spider-Man and Tomb Raider. As well as over 100 Game Jam games! But I found some time, here and there, to play some indie stuff. Here are three games of recent times you might have missed, but should definitely check out.Donut CountyMy brother and I came up with this genre: noodle ‘e...

Video essay breakdown - How to Animate a Smash Bros Character

Hey!Something I like to do, every now and again, is take a really close look at other people’s video essays. I think it’s important to look at what your peers are doing, and see what you can borrow from their approach and techniques.It’s not stealing, it’s just… sneaky learning.I recently watched the new video from Daniel Floyd. He was the co-creator and (squeaky voiced) host of Extra Cr...

How Overcooked’s Kitchens Force You to Communicate | Game Maker's Toolkit

Hello! This is like a blast from the past - a shorter video on an indie game! I just really wanted to talk about Overcooked, which I have been obsessed with over the summer, and how it's one of the best co-op games around.Thanks for your support. Lots more stuff coming soooooon.

Reading List (September 2018)

Hello! I've got some stuff for you to read and watch this month. Some bits and bobs on the new Spider-Man, and a handful of articles about YouTube. Should be interesting - have a look.Top Pick[Read] First Levels - A fantastic blog, using animated GIFs to show the first, crucial levels of puzzle games.Design Space[Read] Black Hole Heart - I definitely agree with this piece from Electron Dance, ...

Motion Graphics Tutorial - Turning Pages

Hello everybody!Haven't done one of these for a while. This is a video tutorial on an effect I've used a few times on GMTK: turning pages. Most recently, I used it in the video about Playing Past Your Mistakes, to show a passage in the Elder Scrolls 2 manual.For this tutorial I'm using a built-in effect in After Effects, and then using Premiere to composite things together.As ever, the...

The Best Games from GMTK Game Jam 2018

Hello everybody! As promised, I have made a video about my favourite games of the GMTK Jam. These games all carry a certain spark, and reveal interesting trends that emerged from the theme.Like: removing jumping means games need interesting new ways to get around. Removing combat means players will have to find creative ways to deal with foes. And removing direct control of characters leads to som...

24 hour exclusive - Playing Past Your Mistakes | Game Maker's Toolkit

Hello!So, I did this tweet recently. It's about a message in the manual for Elder Scrolls 2 about not reloading your save game when mishaps occur, and playing past your mistakes to see what stories occur.And, it's a lovely sentiment - but if games really want to discourage save scumming then they need to design for that. And I though, hey, that would make for an interesting episode!Which t...

How to Run a Game Jam (Insider, Sep 2018)

This weekend just gone, I hosted the second annual Game Maker’s Toolkit Game Jam.If you’re not aware, a jam is a game making marathon. You’re given just 48 hours to make an entire game from scratch - and it must fit a theme that is only revealed when the jam begins.Last year we had the biggest jam on itch.io with more than 2,000 sign-ups and over 700 entries.This year… we beat our record w...

The World Design of Super Metroid | Boss Keys

Holy moly! Did you see the Game Jam? We got over 1,000 entries. That's incredible. Please take a moment to try some games and give them ratings.To celebrate, here's the episode that just slipped past August - the Boss Keys episode on Super Metroid. I hope you enjoy it.

Weekend Early Access - The World Design of Super Metroid

Surprise! Juuuuuust got the second video of August out in time. Well, for you lucky lot at least! Everyone else gets it Monday.This was a huge job, as I had to walk step-by-step through the game to cover everything I wanted to say. And I still didn't get to say absolutely everything! But I'm pleased with the analysis and it holds lots of useful lessons for my eventual "Making a Metroid...

Playlist (August 2018)

Three games to check out this week! Two Metroidvanias (sort of) and one ball bouncing mobile gem. Cheers!

Making an Impact (GMTK Insider, August 2018)

Hello everyone!August has been a bit of a funny month - I’ve been working like crazy but strange scheduling problems, waiting on people to get back to me, and organising the jam, has meant I only got one episode out. The next video (Super Metroid Boss Keys) is really close, though, and will be out next week!For now, though, I wanted to talk about this…When I started Game Maker’s Toolkit, I h...

Reading List (August 2018)

Hello everybody! It’s your favourite time of the month! Reading List time! I’ve got 30 articles and videos for you to check out, so get reading and watching.Top Pick[Read] The 10 Secrets to Indie Game Success (and Why They Do NotExist) - Making an indie game in 2018? Read this advice from the maker of Frozen Synapse. This isn’t super specific tips, but general game-making good behaviour to f...

Making Games Better for Gamers with Colourblindness & Low Vision | Designing for Disability

Hello! New DfD episode, this time looking at colourblindness and Low Vision. It was fascinating to learn about the former - it’s something I never really understood before this video, but it’s so interesting to see how this deficiency can change the way games are played.I’ve got lots more videos in the works. Next week will be a vid announcing the game jam, I’m almost done with the script ...

24 hour early access - Designing for Disability episode 2

Hello! New DfD episode, this time looking at colourblindness and Low Vision. It was fascinating to learn about the former - it’s something I never really understood before this video, but it’s so interesting to see how this deficiency can change the way games are played.There might be so errors in the video, which will be fixed before worldwide release. Any and all feedback welcome!I’ve got ...

How I make a dependency graph

This post is exclusive to Patrons for one week.Hello everybody! It’s been really interesting to see my graph system, which I developed for Boss Keys, being used by different people for different purposes.Here’s doctoral researcher Thomas Smith, using Answer-Set Programming to generate Zelda graphs.Here’s designer Sébastien Bénard using my Zelda analysis to help generate levels in Dead Cell...

Playlist (July 2018)

I’ve got three games this month that are all really interesting, cool, and worth checking out: but all have issues that hold them back from true greatness. Take a look.Bomb ChickenFirst up is Bomb Chicken, which is the latest game from Nitrome. That’s a UK indie studio that has previously done Flash and mobile games, and all their stuff is pretty inventive and well designed. They have an almos...

New Episode, and GMTK Insider (July 2018)

Hey everyone.First things first, here's your new episode. It will go out to the world in about an hour. But you get a sneak peek. It's the first episode of Boss Keys season 2.Thanks so much for your support this month. Here’s an update on all things GMTK.Designing for DisabilityThis is a topic I’ve been meaning to touch on for some time. Accessibility is important to me, and while ther...

24 hour exclusive - The World Design of Metroid 1 and Zero Mission | Boss Keys

Boss Keys is back, baby!This is the first episode of season two, which I'm internally calling "Making a Metroidvania". I'll be looking at actual Metroid games, and some Castlevania games, and some indie Metroidvanias, to see what makes these things tick.Hard to start at the start with Metroid 1, and its 2004 remake Metroid Zero Mission. Then next time, it's off to Super Metroid...

Reading List (July 2018)

Hello everyone! New video will be out before the end of July. But before then, here are 30 videos and articles I think you’ll enjoy this month. Get stuck in, and let me know what you found out.Top pick[Watch] Bomb Chicken's Dual Purpose Design - I’ve got to give this one the top spot. Skip The Tutorial saw Dual Purpose design (the sort I talked about in my Downwell video) in Nitrome’s Bo...

Making Games for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing | Designing for Disability

Video games are for everyone. But disabled people can be left out if developers don’t consider their needs.In this series of videos, I’ll be sharing guidelines and best practices for making games more accessible to a wide range of disabilities. Starting with auditory options, for the deaf and hard of hearing.I want to make sure I'm making the most of my platform, and the fact that many gam...

24 hour early access - Auditory Accessibility | Designing for Disability

Hello peeps!So this is the first episode in a new mini series I'm doing, where I share best practices and dos / don'ts of accessibility design. The first video is on auditory disabilities.I still need to run it by some people to get some feedback, and would appreciate anything you have to say.Some of the video clips are offset a little up: that's so the on-video subtitles don't cla...

Playlist (June 2018)

Let's chat about video games!

Reading List (June 2018)

Hello everybody! June was a big month - I made two videos and went on holiday. But I still found time to read and watch interesting stuff on games (and more). Here’s what I think you should sample this month.Top pick[Read] Playing Videos Games With My Son Isn’t What I Thought it Would Be - A really interesting look at how creative games, such as Minecraft, have changed the way children think a...

God of War Effects Breakdown [Lots of GIFs]

Hey, everyone.For this month’s Insider newsletter I wanted to talk about some of the effects that I used in my most recent video - about God of War’s Leviathan Axe.It was quite an editing intensive video, for lots of reasons, and so I decided to share some of the techniques I used.I made the video in Adobe Premiere, with a bit of help from After Effects. But hopefully the basic ideas will be a...

24 hour exclusive - Forging God of War's Leviathan Axe

Hello! I'm getting my schedule back in order, so have another video for June.This time, I'm breaking down the Leviathan Axe weapon from the new God of War. How it works both in and out of combat, why it feels so good, and how the team designed it.This was really fun to make, so I hope you enjoy it.I've also tried to make it as spoiler free as possible, though if you're a real stick...