Tristan and Oliver pledge allegiance to mother nature and reclaim the polluted earth in Free Lives’ reverse city builder Terra Nil, cultivating it into these three bits:

• Tree Act Structure - Unpacking the three stages of the core loop and having clear objectives to a simulation game
• Leave No Trace - Subverting player expectations by relinquishing your creation to nature and recycling your structures
• Take It All In - The absence of pressure, threading the line between a game and a meditative experience

Let us know what you think:

Leave us a review!

3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign

Oliver - @oliverwauters

Tristan - @theatrewalker

Or email - [email protected]

Some references:

Developing 'Terra Nil': A Strategy Game About Nature, Not Expansion - Sam Alfred, GDC 2024 (talk)

Terra Nil Lead Designer On Lessons from Broforce & Designing Strategy Games - Shacknews Interviews (video)

Why a recycling mechanic saved Terra Nil's climate cleanup design - Bryant Francis, Game Developer (article)

Terra Nil: techno-fixes, nature for nature, and the importance of feeling ecological vibes - Joost Vervoort, Medium (article)

This Video Game Prioritizes Restoring An Ecosystem Over Profits - Science Friday (podcast)

FIRESIDE CHAT | Terra Nil - Sam Alfred, Jonathan Hau-Yoon, John Faciane, & Dominique Gawaloski - Games for Change (video)

Tristan and Oliver are joined by guest Marta Durand as they take on the role of the new director and unravel the surreal mysteries of the Oldest House in Remedy's mind-bending Control, locking it down into these three bits:

• Oldest House - Metroidvania storytelling housed in brutalist architecture
• The Force - The ultimate telekinetic power fantasy and progression in the combat system
• Business as Usual - Grounding the supernatural through mundane corporate activity

Let us know what you think:

Leave us a review!

3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign

Oliver - @oliverwauters

Tristan - @theatrewalker

Or email - [email protected]

Some references:

Control: A Masterpiece in Game Design - Faye Seidler, Medium (article)

The Secret Sauce of Remedy's Map Design - Game Design with Michael (video essay)

Control freak: Inside the narrative design of Remedy's least linear game - Diego Arguello, Game Developer (article)

Exploring the world-driven game design of Control - Bryant Francis, Game Developer (article)

Tristan and Oliver abandon this timeline and rethink tactics for the next, in Subset Games' mech vs kaiju showdown Into the Breach, breaking it down into these three bits:

• Strategic Simplicity - Making a turn based strategy game feel approachable
• Collateral Damage - Subverting player expectations by making them disposable and not the top priority
• Actions and Reactions - Designing the perfect balance of having all the information available to you but still getting caught off guard

Let us know what you think:

Leave us a review!

3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign

Oliver - @oliverwauters

Tristan - @theatrewalker

Or email - [email protected]

Some references:

Reimagining failure in strategy game design in Into the Breach - Alex Wiltshire, Game Developer (article)

Analyzing the Design of Into the Breach; or, Why Can’t I Stop Playing this Game? - Ian, Adventure Rules (blog)

Into the Breach Design Postmortem - Matthew Davis, GDC (talk)

The Secret of Into the Breach's AI: Power in Simplicity | AI and Games #72 - Dr. Tommy Thompson, AI and Games (video essay)

The Design of FTL & Into The Breach - /noclip (documentary)

Does Into The Breach Really Have Perfect Information? Why RNG Matters - Adam Millar, The Architect of Games (video essay)

Tristan and Oliver are joined by Kieran Reid as they inherit too much responsibility for their own good, and try to manage chaos in Colossal Order's hit sim Cities Skylines, planning it out in these three zones:

• Traffic as Emerging Puzzles - Breaking down the brilliant traffic systems and how they develop engaging challenges to the player throughout
• City Identity Through Roleplay - Looking at the little details and customisation tools the game offers that bring life and purpose to your city
• Hard to Learn, Easy to Master - Reviewing the daunting first time user experience, the delayed core loop hook, and the role of the community

Let us know what you think:

Leave us a review!

3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign

Oliver - @oliverwauters

Tristan - @theatrewalker

Or email - [email protected]

Some references:

Game Design Deep Dive: Traffic systems in Cities: Skylines - Antti Lehto and Damien Morello and Karoliina Korppoo, Game Developer (article)

Cities: Skylines dev: Don't punish your players; teach them - Alex Wawro, Game Developer (article)

Tristan and Oliver take an emotional journey through the watercolour wonders of Nomada Studio's spellbinding Gris, painting it in these three bits:

• Colour Theory - Emotive storytelling through colour
• Embodiment of Grief - Stages of grief interwoven into tangible mechanics and abilities
• Guiding Through Motion - Driving interactivity and tone through movement

Let us know what you think:

Leave us a review!

3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign

Oliver - @oliverwauters

Tristan - @theatrewalker

Or email - [email protected]

Some references:

How Gris Made You Cry With Its Colors - Daryl Talks Games (video essay)

GRIS — Aesthetics First, Humanity Later (Or Never) - Kat (Pixel a Day), Medium (article)

Behind the Schemes: GRIS with Nomada Studio - Devolver Digital (video)

[Game Theory] Beauty and Melancholy in Gris - Nicole Lamerichs (article)

Gris mirrors the stages of grief through art, sound and design - Ashley Oh, Polygon (article)

Tristan and Oliver are joined by Jon Keevy as they emulate their minds into their new digital bodies to board the Eye in Jump Over the Age's modern classic Citizen Sleeper, tapping into these three threads:

• Cycles - The passing of time and how it makes the dynamic narrative tick
• Risk Assessment - Deep dive into the dice mechanics and other resource management
• Moral Ambiguity - How the game manages to deliver genuinely impactful choices by withholding information and avoiding judgement

Let us know what you think:

Leave us a review!3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign

Oliver - @oliverwauters

Tristan - @theatrewalker

Or email - [email protected]

Some references:

• Citizen Sleeper 2's narrative tools and "no-code" approach - Creator Spotlight - Unity (interview)
• Citizen Sleeper: How precarity and minimum viable design created this dystopian RPG | BAFTA - BAFTA (presentation)
• How Citizen Sleeper was inspired by tabletop RPGs and gig work - Joel Couture, Game Developer (article)
• "Game development is more accessible than ever": how Citizen Sleeper 2 was created without coding - Lewis Packwood, Creative Bloq (article)

Tristan and Oliver don laser wipe enemy gunk off their helmets and form up as they strategically infiltrate LucasArts's Star Wars: Republic Commando to rendezvous with these three bits:

• One Gun, Many Guns - Discussing the unique loadout and attachment system
• Squad Up! - All about the celebrated squad command systems, and the design choices that make it tick
• You Are a Commando - How the game immerses you into the job, from the diegetic UI to the narrative perspective

Let us know what you think:

3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign

Oliver - @oliverwauters

Tristan - @theatrewalker

Or email - [email protected]

Some references:

Making of - Star Wars: Republic Commando - NeoGamer - The Video Game Archive (video)

After 20 Years, Star Wars: Republic Commando is Still a MASTERPIECE | 2025 Review - TheNameBrand (video)

Storytelling Techniques Native to First Person Camera Games - Jiajun “Jeremy” Liu, Medium (article)

Tristan and Oliver are joined by systems maestro Scott as they germinate their army of Daughters to end Suffering in Lightbulb Crew’s Othercide, breaking it down into these three bits:

• Dynamic Timeline - Deep dive on the core which makes the action tick
• Evolving Customisation - Discussing the roguelike ruthlessness and the strong encouragement of failure
• The Surgeon - Analysing the first boss and how it acts as the perfect setup for the rest of the game

Let us know what you think:

3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign

Oliver - @oliverwauters

Tristan - @theatrewalker

Or email - [email protected]

Some References:

Crafting Nightmares - Othercide's Art Direction - Alexandre Chaudret, Game Developer (article)

A Coffee Break with: Alexandre Chaudret, Othercide - gofig_news, Turn Based Lovers (interview)

Going Rogue: Othercide - Gwen C. Katz, Medium (article)

Tristan and Oliver buckle up tight and blitz across the galaxy, pumping EDM as they break down 34BigThings’s antigravity racer Redout 2 into these three laps:

• Eyes on the Road - Maintaining awareness and control at 1000km/h
• Not yo mamma's Mario Kart - Drilling into the tight focus of the mechanics, pure racing without the usual frills
• Multisensory Experience - How the game requires your full focus and leverages music and visuals to induce players into a flow state

Let us know what you think:

3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign

Oliver - @oliverwauters

Tristan - @theatrewalker

Or email - [email protected]

Leave us a review!

Some References:

E6 - Redout 2 On Gameplay, Design & F-Zero Influence - Shacknews (video interview)

How the Redout 2 team created the follow up to the universe's fastest game - Miri Teixeira, RedBull (article)

The real engine driving Redout 2’s liquid-fast graphics - Brian Crecente, Unreal Engine Blog (article)

Redout 2 - Developer Feature - Team VVV (video interview)

Tristan and Oliver are once again joined by the insightful Amy Goodenough as they put on their best joker-face to break down LocalThunk’s viral phenomenon Balatro into these three blinds:

• Deck Rebuilder - The low barrier of entry presented by designing on top of classic playing cards offering high familiarity
• Cheating Encouraged - Designing systems that make players feel like they've broken the game and they’re the masters of it
• It’s All In The Movement - All about the extremely satisfying physicality and tactility of the game’s user interface

Let us know what you think:

3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign

Oliver - @oliverwauters

Tristan - @theatrewalker

Or email - [email protected]

Leave us a review!

Some References:

Getting to the Heart (of the cards) of Balatro - Josh Bycer, Game Wisdom (blog)

Balatro's 'Cursed' Design Problem - Mark Brown, Game Maker’s Toolkit (video essay)

The Making of Balatro - Video Game Story Time (video)

“There is a lot more design to explore within Balatro” an interview with Localthunk - Jess Norris, XboxEra (article)

Balatro creator unveils a few slick signposting strategies - Justin Carter, Game Developer (article)