the game design of taskmaster: meaningful choices
In my previous post in The Game Design of Taskmaster series, I wrote about the probability of two contestants making the same choice. This post will take a step back and focus on the concept of meaningful choices. A game…
the game design of taskmaster: choosing the same thing as another contestant
While games typically reward players for making the most efficient choice to accomplish a goal, there are a few tasks in Taskmaster that penalise contestants for choosing to do the same thing as someone else. These tasks are interesting because…
the game design of taskmaster: indirect control
Indirect control is one of my favourite topics in game design, and it’s no surprise that it can be found in the tasks in the television game show Taskmaster. But, first, what is indirect control? Game designer Jesse Schell describes…
the game design of taskmaster: fun to watch vs. fun to play
Let’s start with this statement: Taskmaster is not a game. It is a comedy panel television show, with a format that lends itself to incorporating game elements in the form of tasks. This means that the audience for Taskmaster is…
the game design of taskmaster
Taskmaster. The incredibly popular British panel game show pits five comedians against each other in a series of ludicrous tasks, and has gained a massive following around the world. Going into its eighteenth series this autumn, the original television series…
shrine colours in zelda: tears of the kingdom and breath of the wild
Shrines are core pieces of gameplay in both The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and its precursor, Breath of the Wild. They are self-contained puzzle rooms that allow players to gather materials to upgrade their health and stamina…
real video games for readers of tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow by gabrielle zevin
Gabrielle Zevin’s novel Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow follows three young game designers as they start a video game company. The book refers to several real-world games, in particular retro favourites like Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong, which a…
diablo 4 does not need full character customisation
One of the most highly anticipated features of Diablo 4, due in June 2023, is the character customisation that the newest Diablo game promises. While creating and identifying with characters is important in video games, I don’t think an in-depth…
what root and other board games gain and lose in digital format
Modern board games suffer from the difficulty of onboarding new players. More often than not, players rely on one patient friend who has either played the game before or read all the rules prior to the gaming session. As the…
