hogwarts mystery duels: rock-paper-scissors combat design
Make no mistake, there’s a lot I don’t like about the mobile game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Released in 2018 as the first game under the Warner Bros. Interactive label Portkey Games, it was widely panned for its micro-transaction-heavy gameplay1,…
visiting riot games’ lol park esports stadium in seoul
I played a lot of League of Legends last year, so it was a happy accident that I found myself at LoL Park, Riot Games’ esports stadium, during my recent travels in Seoul. Seriously, I saw a logo on the…
dissecting and designing dark escape rooms
There’s a specific group of friends I enjoy going to escape rooms with. I’ve got my puzzle enthusiasts, those who love Sudokus or a challenging level of Baba Is You. There are one or two who fancy themselves detectives and…
axe throwing, game design and zombies
It’s October, the spookiest month of the year, so I wanted to write about throwing axes. The truth is, I’ve wanted to write about throwing axes for a while now. I went axe throwing with some co-workers earlier this year,…
on wizards unite and games as fantasy fulfillment
When I started playing Harry Potter: Wizards Unite in June, I knew I would have a lot to say about it. I wasn’t wrong. My list of critiques for this game grew as I played it constantly for the next…
a shady trick for designing distinct video game characters
When I was playing Red Dead Redemption 2 the other night, I realized that I was having trouble recognizing the characters. Now, I don’t mean that the art wasn’t good – RDR2 is beautiful, with detailed character animations and cinematic…
stagecoach greens review: mini golf designed for interesting choices
Last week, I headed over to Stagecoach Greens in San Francisco with my teammates for an afternoon of mini golf under the scorching California sun. There’s a lot to like about the venue, such as the outdoor bar, the picnic…
worlds adrift review: struggles of the skyship mmo
On May 29th, Bossa Studios announced that it would be shutting down Worlds Adrift, the sandbox MMO where you build and pilot your own skyship through a sky of player-created islands. The game, which has been in early access on…
loot boxes should not be banned, and video games are not evil
Loot boxes have recently become a hot topic of the gaming world. In 2018, Belgium ruled that loot boxes were in violation of their gambling laws and banned them, citing concerns with a young audience1. This made waves across big…
