Fabian Fischer's Member Blogs
Story and game. A troubled marriage full of problems and misunderstandings. But what if instead of trying to mash "great narrative" and "great system" together time and again, we actually try to cautiously and deliberately support one with the other?
A transparent game's mechanics can be grasped in their entirety. They're not hidden in black boxes, or behind giant formulas. Instead, those games generate challenge via systemic and strategic depth. What's the exact role of transparency in this context?
Modern-day AAA games rely on traditional, linear storytelling. While they are rightfully praised for their cinematic qualities, the gameplay is consequently lacking in substance and dynamics. How can games tell stories without hurting their core identity?
The discourse about video games is shaped by varying degrees of "game literacy". In private conversations this is of course fine. But when it actually comes to pushing the craft forward, we should care about talking to (and not past) each other more.
Gwent not only features unique gameplay mechanics, but its design also manages to strike a delicate balance between chaos and determinism. Additionally, the game's round-based structure gives nuance to its strategic arcs in astonishingly elegant ways.
The draw of competitive games is tied to their ability to let players gain competence by playing. This iterative learning process is based on cycles of actions and feedback. Therefore efficient feedback is of utmost importance for those games.
The hype around No Man's Sky was not only fueled by shady marketing methods, but also by fundamentally flawed perspectives for evaluating games within the audience.
Interactivity is what makes our medium unique. In some cases it is used to tell stories or create virtual art galleries. However, if gameplay itself is the core tool for delivering value, shouldn't it then always challenge the player?
While losing in games, and specifically an avatar dying, are most commonly associated with frustration, some games claim the opposite to be true in their case. What kind of games can rightfully make this claim?
Uncertainty is of central importance for any interesting game. Without it, interacting with a given system will only be of highly limited value. What tools can be employed to generate or preserve uncertainty? And which ones demand a close critical look?
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