I recently had a bit of an insight into game design.  Perhaps it’s something that other people know about, but I’ve never heard it articulated before.  In any case, it’s important enough to me that I’ve started thinking of it as “the Chaoseed Principle”.
First, let’s think about tabletop RPGs.  Specifically, let’s think about the Lumpley [...]

I recently picked up Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection in the bargain bin and I’m having fun with it.  I love games where you get to create and develop things, and Zoo Tycoon does its job well.  (It has isometric 2D instead of 3D, which means less processor load, brighter colors and more visibility!)  However, playing [...]

Recently I had an interesting insight, but I need some background to explain it.
First, let’s think about games. Single player games, for now. One of the definitions of games given in Rules of Play is that game players deal with unnecessary obstacles. Imagine Super Mario Bros., for example; there are all sorts [...]

Over at the Summer 2008 Game Challenge, I wrote a tiny RPG called Evil Twin. It’s not really that complete, but I think it has some good ideas. Well, one rather interesting idea. Anyway, check it out.
Apparently there’s a new TIGSource competition. I don’t really have any good ideas for this one…most of the games [...]