creating moments at chabot space and science center
Nestled in the Oakland hills, the Chabot Space and Science Center has educated the community as a non-profit institution for more than a century. It originally opened as an observatory in 1883, moved to its current location in 1915 and…
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…
maker faire bay area: tips, tricks, review
A couple of weekends ago, I attended my first ever Maker Faire in the Bay Area. Although I had previously exhibited a VR game called An Ant’s Life at the Pittsburgh Maker Faire, this was the first time I was…
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…
building a game about the berlin wall
When I visited Berlin, I was struck by how profoundly the city impacted me in the 2-3 days I was there. Wandering around on foot from the Brandenburg Gate to Checkpoint Charlie to the Reichstag Building, I was surrounded by…
toy story midway mania and carnival games: fun to play vs. fun to watch
Front of mind for most game designers is making games fun to play. But there’s another side to games, too. Especially with Twitch and online streaming, it’s more and more important that games are also fun to watch. But making…
how to make board games less painful: a game of thrones case study
On a snowy evening when winter was coming, I sat down to play A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (second edition) by Fantasy Flight Games, introduced to me with much excitement by my friend Emily. And then, as with…
