Working in the german games industry has its quirks. The market here is quite specific, with the PC still standig relatively strong. A lot of german “hardcore” gamers play their games almost exclusively on the platform and they prefer titles of certain complexity – and severity of punishment!
Author Archive for Gustav Ziolkowski
11
Feb
10
the demon’s soul!
02
Jan
10
New Topic: Predictions for 2010
Hey there,
just in-time with the start of the new year, we decided to have a topic covering 2010
Predictions for 2010
Here we will take a look into our magic eightballs and discuss possible game design trends, game of the year contenders and all other things regarding the industry.
28
Dec
09
An open love letter.
Dear classic controllers,
I love you. I mean it. Every time I push one of your buttons, something happens. Every time I hold you in my hands, I feel empowered, in control, unstoppable. I feel good. I feel at home. When I first heard that skank “Motion Control” would come to the world of Videogames, I was excited. I dreamed of all the possibilities I would have. Now, I could not only hold the controller, I could move with it, even dance with it. I could not wait to have my first touch of next generation gaming.
Hey there,
we asked the facebook aboutgamedesign.com community what they would like to have as our next topic. Well, we got a few answeres and from those we chose:
Designing controller input
Congratulations Markus!
The first post will go up soon, so keep an eye open for updates.
25
Nov
09
i am a bad game designer
I have my problems with iterative design. Personally, iterative design is the way to go for me. Professionally it’s my biggest enemy.
23
Nov
09
Iterative Design
The next topic is about the iterative design process.
The first post will be up by Wednesday, 11.25.09
11
Nov
09
Why facebook isn’t “fun”
There has been a lot of talk about games and social networks lately. The Xbox 360 recently got its own share of facebook, iPhone games have been bolstering sales with facebook and twitter integration and blockbuster titles such as Uncharted 2 – Among Thieves can twitter the players game progress - if the player wants to. But what about the games that are integrated into facebook? What are they? What could they be?
28
Oct
09
What your design says about you.
This post is all about violence in videogames – and the responsibilties designers bear.
I am a game designer. And I have a glaring weakness: math.
Every time I balance games, I try to balance off of feeling alone. And of course, it does not always work. When this happens, I usually take a look at games with similar systems (resources, in-game economy, etc.) and retrofit their system into my game. Now, I know this is not the most elegant approach, but it has served me well so far.
Why am I telling you this? To me, a game designer should have a deep understanding of systems (whether it is designing or reading them) and all forms of interaction concerning those systems (whether it is system – system or user-system interaction). So, if we are talking about tried and true game formula, I do believe that any reasonably good game designer can design them.
If, on the other hand, we are talking about new, innovative game concepts, I doubt ANY good game designer can pull them off. Let’s take me as an example again. If I were to design a new, innovative in-game economy, I would miserably fail, since I lack basic and profound understanding of math.I am a game designer. And I have a glaring weakness: math.
Every time I balance games, I try to balance off of feeling alone. And of course, it does not always work. When this happens, I usually take a look at games with similar systems (resources, in-game economy, etc.) and retrofit their system into my game. Now, I know this is not the most elegant approach, but it has served me well so far.
Why am I telling you this? To me, a game designer should have a deep understanding of systems (whether it is designing or reading them) and all forms of interaction concerning those systems (whether it is system – system or user-system interaction). So, if we are talking about tried and true game formula, I do believe that any reasonably good game designer can design them.
If, on the other hand, we are talking about new, innovative game concepts, I doubt ANY good game designer can pull them off. Let’s take me as an example again. If I were to design a new, innovative in-game economy, I would miserably fail, since I lack basic and profound understanding of math.
I am a game designer. And I have a glaring weakness: math. I am also a trained musician.
Continue reading ‘Game Design – Designing the same old, same old’
Arcade
Arshak Ardeshir
Gustav Ziolkowski
Severin Brettmeister
Andre Beccu
