Dan Felder's Blog
Dan Felder here. I'm a senior game designer at EA, previously a designer at Blizzard on Hearthstone and at Abrakam on Faeria. I've also worked freelance.
You can contact me at [email protected], @designerdanf on twitter. You can also track my activity at danfelder.net. Feel free to chat with me about design or connect on my linkedin.
Podcast: Remaking Magic
Weekly podcast examining game design through the lens of Magic: the Gathering
Podcast: The GM's Guide
Weekly podcast applying game design principles to pen and paper RPGs.
Video Series: Intelligent Design
Weekly video series, where I play incredible games and talk about what makes them so intelligently designed. Step by step analysis of how the games create their experiences, what works and why.
NOTE: Blog entries awaiting initial Gamasutra approval.
Member Blogs
Posted by
Dan Felder
on Fri, 11 Aug 2017 10:48:00 EDT
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My father enjoys classical music, stage-theater, and HBO. Here's how I got him into gaming.
Posted by
Dan Felder
on Mon, 19 Dec 2016 10:47:00 EST
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How Super Mario Run makes you forget you're playing a mobile game.
Posted by
Dan Felder
on Wed, 30 Mar 2016 07:54:00 EDT
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White Wizard Games gave themselves an impossible challenge. Here's how they're dealing with it.
Posted by
Dan Felder
on Thu, 05 Nov 2015 01:38:00 EST
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Playtesting seems simple. Don't you just play the game and see what happens?
Posted by
Dan Felder
on Mon, 12 Oct 2015 02:54:00 EDT
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What makes a broken game? How do you make a balanced one quickly and efficiently?
Posted by
Dan Felder
on Wed, 16 Sep 2015 04:54:00 EDT
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It's the dynamite of game design. A powerful tool, but if you're not careful it can blow up in your face.
Dan Felder's Comments
Comment In:
[Blog - 12/19/2016 - 10:47]
Didn 't see this comment. ...
Didn 't see this comment. It 's 8 months too late now, but if anyone 's reading this in the future - I 'm always happy to see my ideas spread around. Feel free to translate, repost, anything you want as long as you credit me with the original work.
Comment In:
[News - 06/28/2016 - 04:01]
The original zelda was designed ...
The original zelda was designed to capture the experience the creator had exploring the woods near his home. r n r nIt 's looking like these design choices are directly in line with the spirit of the franchise, not the artifice of what 's come before.
Comment In:
[Blog - 02/01/2016 - 12:59]
A note: Being able to ...
A note: Being able to predict the enemy doesn 't just mean understanding the AI pattern. In Dark Souls, as an example, move selection of many enemies is rather random - but is still telegraphed via a visual tell so the player can predict what 's about to happen. Point ...
Comment In:
[Blog - 01/20/2016 - 01:09]
Comment In:
[Blog - 11/06/2015 - 01:14]
It 's not even that ...
It 's not even that complicated. This card made other cards better. When this card got weaker, it affected ALL those other cards too. It 's like poisoning a resevoir. It 's going to affect the whole town. r n r nAlso, the relevant cardpool for competitive players isn 't ...
Comment In:
[Blog - 11/04/2015 - 08:58]
I agree that all forms ...
I agree that all forms of difficulty aren 't necessarily beneficial. I hope everyone would. But you 're slightly missing the point with the Dark Souls analogy. The game 's difficulty is the reason why the games require skill. If you don 't have to use your skill to overcome ...
