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…
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…
inventing new player types outside the bartle taxonomy’s four
In 1996, co-creator of the first Multi-User Dungeon game (MUD) Richard Bartle published his theory of four player types. With his theory outlining the motivations of and interactions between achievers, explorers, killers and socialisers1, Bartle set a standard for the…
breath of the wild 2: why a playable zelda is not good enough
Ever since I played my first Legend of Zelda game – it was Link’s Awakening, if you were curious – I’ve wondered why I was playing as Link in a series named for Zelda. Eventually, I stopped asking questions, because that was…
best travel video games for explorers, adventurers and experts
2020 has been a year of lockdowns, quarantines and social distancing. For travel enthusiasts, or even those of us who were looking forward to a drive away for the weekend or a trip home for the holidays, it’s been difficult. …
why i’m playing zelda: breath of the wild during the covid-19 pandemic
I’ve wanted to write about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for a long time, because of the profound impact it had on my life and the lightbulbs it lit up in my game design brain. In fact,…
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…
