Gameology

How does this playground game provide the basis for the best tactical game-play experiences? Mathew and Attila look into the widespread implementation of Type Advantage across games of all genres.

What makes a game feel good? What makes a control scheme feel good? What makes destroying an enemy satisfying? The answer to all of these questions is Game Feel! Mathew and Attila discuss the nebulous concept of Game Feel.

The elements that make The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild the masterpiece that it is are sprinkled throughout the Zelda series. Mathew and Attila speculate on the design decisions of Breath of the Wild and look at where some of its most interesting features draw their inspiration.

With all the hate surrounding games having too much "hand-holding" what's the right way to share information with your players? How can you strike a balance with sharing enough information so players know enough about how to play your game without them getting bored? Mathew and Attila discuss the surprisingly complex problem of sign-posting.

How are crazy Sequence Breaks and Memory re-writes even possible in the first place? Attila gives insight on the programming practices that gave rise to certain Speed-running tactics.

Non-stop overtime and slavish conditions seem to accompany the weeks leading up to the release date of most AAA games. Mathew and Attila discuss the slippery legalities of "Crunch Time".

Are game artists being lazy when they create red and blue versions of the same enemy? The devil is in the details; Mathew and Attila discuss everything from Shiny Pokemon, Overwatch Skins, and Paper Mario enemies to illustrate the best and worst use cases for palette swaps.

Checkpoints; the more the merrier? Do they even influence the difficulty of a game, or do they just save you from repeating content? Where is the best place to insert a checkpoint? Also, more discussion on save-scumming, save-states, and other ways players create their own "progress markers".

From the exceptional Loyalty Missions in Mass Effect to the mundane Fetch Quests in MMOs of years past, Side Quests provide some of the most and least memorable experiences in gaming. Mathew and Attila discuss what makes some quests more interesting than others, what the best quest rewards are, and more.

Make the numbers go up. You have to. You can make the numbers go up faster if you play every hour, on the hour, all through tomorrow, for the rest of your life. Progression Systems keep players engaged, but wouldn't it be better if your motivation was to play the game for the sake of enjoying the actual experience?