ff6

earthbound

sonic adventure 1 - screens

hl2 - bad

I wasn't criticizing you. I just went on a springboard. That was you.

^ shrug. General advice you gave. I give it too sometimes, but like, what do you do _then_? We are all game designers here. We try to design games. I think we cling to the DnD crap far too often, and I think we should iterate more, but also like, how interesting is a game that isn't interesting? Then you don't want to design that! You must design the fun, then it make it more fun. Then realize it's crap and start all over again, because then you will have self-confidence, or at least self-delusion. That's where real game design is found.

Anyway, I recommend two pronged approach. Just continue iterating _and_ sometimes develop from scratch on the side, in parallel. I love the cardboard stuff. Prototypes rock, and the physical approach is very valuable, especially when it happens beside the game itself. A game is beautiful - it represents a finished product - but a tactile experience (of playing with your hands) is freeing. Everything is worth the effort. Speed on good sir! I have nothing else to say.

Also, make more games. I'll do it too. That's our team cheer. Go games. Yeah! Hahahha...... boing. Now I can't stop.

I don't actually use nothing but my mind and I feel really weird for it, since I would really like to write to-do lists, but I feel really boring writing them D:

Sometimes this happens. What you need to do is.... I have no idea.

What bores you about them? I find the secret is writing them at the right time, and only writing about what you can think about clearly at that time. You can always add to it later, refine it etc.

Yes, it is illegal.

The key to poker is that every dollar matters. Be careful. Monopoly money means nothing. What's the difference between losing $10 and $100000. Nothing. The only difference is between winning and losing.

In poker losing twice as much is twice as bad. So betting becomes a statement of authority and risk. You have to get that element. Give the player something they don't want to lose, in proportion to its size, and there you go.

Some examples:
  . experience points - oh shit
  . things you paid real money for - obvious
  . things you paid hours for - oh shit (same as xp)

Losing is interesting when the player feels like he can do it again. It's all about the repetition.

In Mario I want to try again because losing is fun, and more than that, I like getting a little bit further. I don't mind replaying a section because it is fun. That's Mario.

i handle it by spelling it correctly (losing, not "loosing")

Watch out. Paul will emasculate you.

I want to see content output from you baconman, in ways that I can play it. I wait. ....   

Going by the title, make the game more fun. Find the meat of the experience and give it to the player right away.

Games always have a meat, then the devs train the player to access it, then push it back from the beginning. Grab that beef and shove it forward. You do this by stripping away the player's need to know things. Make the meat accessible, then push it forward. Then slowly give the player control, so that he earns the meat, with all his skill. That's how it's done.

For the record, I don't like health regen either. I was simply stating that people seem to short-change it. There isn't some magical debate about regen vs. not. Regen solves the challenge curve problem. _That's_ why it exists.

Non-regen provides more _variety_, almost by definition. Of course its better, if you handle the curve. The debate is all about controlling how the player is challenged. I challenge the world to come up with a better system. It can be done.

Did you say Robotrek?

I produce code at night, when I've been up all day. I'm more relaxed, and can hammer through.

Miyazaki is definitely against torture, but I'm not.

Games are whatever you want them to be, if you can make them so.