Missing pieces

In my last post, I discussed our game’s lack of an engaging central challenge (or at least that was what I was getting at). Since then, I’ve been trying to figure out what that engaging central challenge could be.
There were a number of possible answers, the most obvious being to throw in a bunch of enemies to give the player an immediate threat to avoid. This is a tried and tested way of making games ”fun”, which, I […]

What seems to be the problem?

Games, generally speaking, are made up of problems. Or, as it is more commonly described, challenges for the player to overcome. These challenges can take many forms, from puzzles to solve to enemies to defeat. They also often come in different layers (defeating agents of the enemy before fighting the final boss) as well as in different combinations (solving a puzzle under time-pressure). A large part of game design is trying to make sure the player is always faced with […]

In the beginning, you know nothing.

In the beginning, you know nothing.
For our current game project, this is equally true for both the player and for the designers.
Our, as yet untitled, game lets the player take control of a moth, flying through a forest at night. Obstacles need to be navigated and enemies avoided in order to reach the goal: A light at the end of the level. However, the player can only see what is in a small part of the screen directly around them, […]