Posted on September 15, 2009 by Doolwind

Test Driven Game Development

Test Driven Development (TDD) has steadily grown in popularity among non-game programmers.  Despite this, it has not been widely adopted in game development.  Today I’m going to discuss why TDD is suited to games development and how it frees developers and designers to experiment with “finding the fun” without breaking core gampelay.

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Posted on August 25, 2009 by Doolwind

Choice Driven Design

Sid Meier once said “A game is a series of interesting choices” [1].  By focussing on the choices made by the player, we can create better games through Choice Driven Design.  This focus on player choice should happen both at design and implementation time for best results.  I will discuss why the focus on choices is so important, how this fits in with agile game development and give some practical ways of mapping out the choices made by the player.

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Posted on June 12, 2009 by Doolwind

Edge Of Twilight Trailer

Edge of TwilightA bunch of my friends are working on Edge of Twilight at Fuzzyeyes (the first game studio I worked at).  They have a new video out which is quite impressive.  Check it out here.  I’m hoping to have an interview with a couple of the developers in the coming months.  Fuzzyeyes is one of the few game studios remaining in Brisbane so I hope things move along smoothly for them.

Posted on June 10, 2009 by Doolwind

Good Game GUI Design – What Do You Use?

I’ve previously talk about creating a good game GUI design.  Today I’d like to hear from you.  I’m interested in what people are currently using to mock up their in-game GUI’s and what they would like to see from a product to help them.  Please add a comment to this blog, or email me directly with your thoughts.  Below are some specific questions: Read More

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Doolwind

Is Your Game Underwhelming?

Have you ever played an underwhelming game?  It might be a lack of choice, depth, emergence or fun.  Today I’m going to discuss why many games lack that key ingredient to succeed, giving specific examples of how Dawn of War II (DOWII) and Battlefield Heroes (BH) both miss the mark.  I’ll finish up by giving you an exercise to find out whether your game is underwhelming.

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Posted on March 6, 2009 by Doolwind

How To Write Perfect Code

Have you ever written perfect code?  If so, how often does this happen?  If not, why not, and do you think it’s possible?  Perfect code is something that many developers strive for but few, if any, achieve.  In this entry, I will discuss the set of requirements that must be met for a developer to be in a position to write perfect code.

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Posted on December 19, 2008 by Doolwind

Game Damage – Better Than The Rest

Game Damage is a pilot for a new TV show about computer games.  It was created by Yahtzee (Zero Punctuation and infatuation of The Sneech), Yug (who worked with me at Auran for a bit) and Matt (creator of AustralianGamer along with Yug).  The show isn’t bad, and considering it’s a pilot is worth watching.  It’s better than any other offering out there so I encourage you to check it out and post your thoughts.

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