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…
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,…
visiting trickeye museum seoul: directions, tips, and review
Styled as the “world’s first AR museum”, Trickeye Museum Seoul is more a gallery of rather odd larger-than-life paintings styled for optical illusions in which the guest can take a photo as part of the scene. Even the “AR” label…
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…
“snow white’s scary adventures” ride changes its storytelling forever
“Snow White’s Scary Adventures” is one of those rides that I remember going on as a small child on my very first trip to Disneyland. It’s by all measures a classic. In fact, “Snow White’s Scary Adventures” is one of…
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…
