Category Archives: Game Development

Game Blocks

Sheldon J. Pacotti has created a toolset for teaching game development, especially  for “constructing non-linear stories, which in my mind comprise more than talk trees and branching conversations.” The toolset is build on Byob (which is based on Scratch). Pacotti explains Game Blocks on video: Download and tutorials available at: http://www.newlifeinteractive.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=40:cell&Itemid=60&layout=default.

Difficulty Graphs (by Rafael Vázquez)

Rafael Vázquez writes about evaluating the difficulty level of games on Gamasutra in the feature How Tough Is Your Game? Creating Difficulty Graphs: They are graphical representations of how difficulty changes throughout the game. This is to say that they plot how challenge changes over time. There are two main types, time-based and distance-based. TheContinue reading “Difficulty Graphs (by Rafael Vázquez)”

Quick Intro to Spreadsheets for Game Designers

Claire Blackshaw gives brief intro to using spreadsheets in Opinion: Stop Being The Useless Designer – Excel and Formulas. Excel (and other spreadsheet programs such as Numbers and Open Office) has excellent tools to quick prototype game system behaviors, as Blackshaw points outs. For prototyping complex behaviors, writing simple computer programs in unavoidable, I think.Continue reading “Quick Intro to Spreadsheets for Game Designers”