new plague inc. cure mode where you stop pandemics in response to covid-19
If there’s one game that has made headlines in the current COVID-19 crisis, it’s Plague Inc. The 2012 mobile game saw a tenfold surge in players as early as January, with more than a 100k downloads in 30 days1. As…
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,…
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…
puzzle game design: are you creating impossible puzzles?
I have always liked puzzles. There are few things that give me more satisfaction than putting my mind to a problem and solving it. A good description connects this to our relationship with pain. People solve puzzles because they like…
time is (micro) money: designing micro-transactions and waiting in games
Last Wednesday, I spent about three hours at the local DMV waiting to renew my driver’s license. During that time, I finished reading the book I had brought, had a lengthy conversation with my parents on the phone, and joked…
designing lightning quick game loops for replayability in video games
There’s a quote in showbiz, sometimes ascribed to P.T. Barnum, sometimes to Walt Disney: “Always leave them wanting more.” Whoever said this was probably not thinking about games, but about entertainment experiences as a whole. The Barnum and Bailey Circus…
1,001 levels of candy crush
I reached level 1,001 of Candy Crush this weekend. At this point, you stare at me incredulously, without even trying to conceal your ridicule, and ask the burning question, “Why?” You’re not the first person to ask this question. When…
we are addicted to progress: designing progression in games
On a car ride in the passenger seat, my friend handed me his phone and asked me to help him hatch some chickens while he was driving. He was talking about Egg, Inc., this game where you tap a red…
