Latest Posts

The Question of Hoop
Big Questions For Hoop
Apocalypse Then and Now
Notes on Watching Apocalypse Now Redux
Looping Around Meaning
On core loops and meaning in games
Mazes, Snakelikes and Innovation in Video Games
Looking at 20 Small Mazes and Sibilant Snakelikes to consider innovation in video games.
Notes on GAMETHING
Notes on GAMETHING
Introduction to an Oleomingus Exhibit
Introduction to an Oleomingus Exhibit
Postcolonial Compilation
A compilation of all my postcolonial work.
Postcolonialism Missing From Syphilisation
Some postcolonial principles that I didn't get to implement in Syphilisation
Horticular's Overlapping Habitats
How the overlapping goals in Horticular lead to deep gameplay.
Citizen Sleeper As The Ludic Novel
How Citizen Sleeper showcases design nuances for ludic novels
Compost Game
Quick sketch of a composting game
Crafting Achievements
How the crafting systems of Vampire Survivors and Backpack Battles function as an achievement system.
Pocomon
A postcolonial analysis of Pokemon
Connections, Infinite Craft and AI
On how Connections and Infinite Craft show AI limitations
Notes on Against The Storm
Notes on Against The Storm
Notes on GAMETHING Season 6
Notes on GAMETHING Season 6
Notes on GAMETHING Season 5
Notes on GAMETHING Season 5
Postcolonial Failures of Syphilisation
The ways that Syphilisation fails as a postcolonial game
Notes on GAMETHING Season 4
Notes on GAMETHING Season 4
Feature Overview of Syphilisation
The unique features of Syphilisation
Notes on GAMETHING
Notes on GAMETHING
The Pleasure of Translation in 4X Games
Understanding translation in 4X games.
Meditation and Games
Meditation as gaming and gaming as meditation
The General Question of Postcolonialism
General approaches to making your game postcolonial
Postcolonial Breath of the Wild
Identifying and replacing colonial mechanics in Breath of the Wild
Camp Production
Moving production to the camps
Postcolonial Stardew Valley
Identifying and replacing colonial mechanics in Stardew Valley
The Big Question of Ideological Games
Understanding the big question of ideological games and what Syphilisation does in the space.
Postcolonial Monster Hunter
Identifying and replacing colonial mechanics in Monster Hunter
The Surprisingly Rewarding Experience of Building An Ideological Game
On how Syphilisation was rewarding to build.
Updating eXploitation in Syphilisation
Going over a major update to the eXploitation phase in *Syphilisation*
Solving ICS Through Postcolonialism
Using the lens of postcolonialism to solve ICS
Searching for Postcolonialism in Civilization 6
Going through Civilization 6 looking for postcolonial statements
Syphilisation Update - 2021-12-05 - Notifications
Updated notification system and more tooltips
Syphilisation Update - 2021-10-24 - Radha Storyline
A new storyline for Pahal Radha
Syphilisation Update - 2021-10-03 - Campaign Update
New win-con and updated campaigns.
Syphilisation Update - 2021-09-19
Preserves and Game Flow
Syphilisation Update - 2021-09-07
OOO
Syphilisation Roadmap - 2021-08-23
Planned features for Syphilisation
Syphilisation Update - 2021-07-18 - Streamlining
Streamlining Syphilisation for simplicity.
Florence
Thoughts on the many moments of Florence
Pokemon, Not Potemkin
Thoughts on the experience and game design of New Pokemon Snap.
Syphilisation Update - 2021-05-30 - Anti-Industrialization
Work to counter industrialization
Syphilisation Update - 2021-05-16 - Celebration Points and Covid Vaccines
Celebration Points and Covid Vaccines
L'etat, C'est Moi - Identity in Civilization
Understanding player identity in Civ and related games.
Syphilisation Update - 2021-05-02 - Economy
Updating the economy to have fewer, bigger decisions
Syphilisation Update - 2021-04-25 - History From Below and UI
History From Below and UI
Syphilisation Update - 2021-04-04 - Teamwork, Player Characters, Facts and Climate Catastrophes
Teamwork, Player Characters, Facts and Climate Catastrophes
The Recreation Commons of SMAC
How the recreation commons of SMAC help worldbuilding.
Syphilisation Update - 2021-02-28 - Trade, Special Events and Focused Cities
New Syphilisation features
Syphilisation Update - 2021-02-07 - Trade
Implementing a new trade system
10mg Is The Future We Need
On how the 10mg experiment can be a more sustainable model for game development.
Syphilisation Update - 2020-12-13 - Tooltips
Tooltips
Syphilisation Update - 2020-12-06 - Stocktaking
Stocktaking
Syphilisation Update - 2020-11-29 - Culture
Updates to culture.
Syphilisation Update - 2020-11-22 - Quests
Quest system improvements
Syphilisation Update - 2020-11-15 - District Currencies and the Storyline
Storyline support.
Syphilisation Update - 2020-10-31 - Combat
Working out combat
Syphilisation Update - 2020-10-18 - Biomes
Redesigning the biomes.
Syphilisation Update - 2020-10-11 - Pending Features
An overview of the pending features and a couple of small improvements.
Pending Syphilisation Features
A rundown of what's left to do for Syphilisation
Syphilisation Update - 2020-10-04
Ready for sale!
Syphilisation Update - 2020-09-27
UI and image fixes
Syphilisation Update - 2020-09-20
Full playtest.
Syphilisation Update - 2020-09-13
Second bookkeeping update
Syphilisation Update - 2020-08-30
Bookkeeping update
Syphilisation Update - 2020-08-16
Playtesting Work
Syphilisation and Big Questions In Game Design
Thinking through the big questions in game design that Syphilisation can answer
Syphilisation Update - 2020-07-26 - Colonization and Story
Colonization wars, story events and Kasturba's imprisonment and heart attacks.
Postcolonial End Games
Assorted thoughts on postcolonial end-games
Syphilisation Update - 2020-07-19 - Preserves and Playtesting
Preserves, playtesting and Linlithgow's racism
Syphilisation Update - 2020-07-12 - Citizens and Region Quests
Citizens, region quests, playtests and Gandhi's letter to Hitler
Syphilisation Update - 2020-07-05 - Params.
The parameter restructure and Gandhi fighting with young women
Syphilisation Update - 2020-06-21 - Diplomacy and Personal Projects
Diplomacy update, personal projects, parameters and parodies
Syphilisation Update - 2020-06-14 - Currency and Reports
Updates to the currency conversion and report systems
The Gameplay of Singing Along to Music
Examining what may be the most common interactive leisure activity in the world
Syphilisation Update - 2020-06-07 - Stock-taking
Stock-taking Syphilisation
Asking For Less Unexamined Games
Why I want games scholars to ask for games to better examine themselves.
Syphilisation Update - 2020-05-31
UI, playtesting and the protests in the United States
Syphilisation Update - 2020-05-24
Stable eXploitation, UI changes and Comrade Sak
Syphilisation Update - 2020-05-10
Major diplomacy revamp, some starting quests and some context for Lord of the Flies.
The Curious, Exogenous Degeneracy of Wilmot's Warehouse
How Wilmot's Warehouse ended up with an exogenous degeneracy.
Syphilisation Update - 2020-05-03
Syphilisation Update - 2020-05-03
Syphilisation Update - 2020-04-19
Syphilisation Update - 2020-04-19
Syphilisation Update - 2020-04-12
Syphilisation Update - 2020-04-12
Syphilisation Update - 2020-04-05
Syphilisation Update - 2020-04-05
Syphilisation Update - 2020-03-29
Syphilisation Update - 2020-03-29
Syphilisation Update - 2020-03-22
Syphilisation Update - 2020-03-22
Syphilisation Update - 2020-03-08
Syphilisation Update - 2020-03-08
One More Turn
Breaking Down The One More Turn Pattern
Syphilisation Update - 2020-03-01
Syphilisation Update - 2020-03-01
Syphilisation Update - 2020-02-23
Syphilisation Update - 2020-02-23
The 4X, Seen As An RPG
Analyzing the role-playing of 4X games.
The Villages of Civilization
A brief thought on the villages of Civilization
Syphilisation Update - 2019-12-22
Syphilisation Update - 2019-12-22
THE NEW SYPHILISATION MANIFESTO
THE NEW SYPHILISATION MANIFESTO
The Quest Design of A House For Mr. Biswas
How A House for Mr. Biswas designed its epic quest.
Syphilisation Update - 2019-12-08
Syphilisation Update - 2019-12-08
Shallow Syphilisation Status Check
A shallow status check on the Syphilisation big picture
Syphilisation Update - 2019-11-30
Syphilisation Update - 2019-11-30
Syphilisation Update - 2019-11-24
Syphilisation Update - 2019-11-24
Syphilisation Update - 2019-11-17
Syphilisation Update - 2019-11-17
Syphilisation Update - 2019-11-09
Syphilisation Update - 2019-11-09
Syphilisation Update - 2019-11-03
Syphilisation Update - 2019-11-03
Syphilisation Update - 2019-10-26
Syphilisation Update - 2019-10-26
Syphilisation Update - 2019-10-20
Syphilisation Update - 2019-10-20
Preserve Like You Create
The implications of preservation being a creative activity
Syphilisation Update - 2019-10-06
Syphilisation Update - 2019-10-06
Cycles of War in Civilization 6
How the systems of Civ6 push you into war and then into cycles of war thereafter
Syphilisation Update - 2019-09-15
Syphilisation Update - 2019-09-15
Second Looks At Snowballing
A deeper look at snowballing
The Surprising Experiment of the Twin Campaigns of Yakuza Kiwami 2
How the Majima campaign of Yakuza Kiwami 2 illustrated the issue of pacing in open world games.
Syphilisation Update - 2019-07-21
Syphilisation Update - 2019-07-21
Tortured Video Game / Music Comparisons
Some unexpected comparisons between video games and music songs and genres.
Syphilisation Update - 2019-06-30
Syphilisation Update - 2019-06-30
Syphilisation Update - 2019-06-23
Syphilisation Update - 2019-06-23
Syphilisation Update - 2019-06-16
Syphilisation Update - 2019-06-16
Syphilisation Update - 2019-06-09
Syphilisation Update - 2019-06-09
Syphilisation Update - 2019-06-02
Syphilisation Update - 2019-06-02
Syphilisation Update - 2019-05-05
Syphilisation Update - 2019-05-05
Syphilisation Update - 2019-04-28
Syphilisation Update - 2019-04-28
Syphilisation Update - 2019-04-14
Syphilisation Update - 2019-04-14
Designing With Jallianwala Bagh
A history of Jallianwala Bagh and a bit on what it is to design around it
Syphilisation Update - 2019-04-07
Syphilisation Update - 2019-04-07
Extensions on the Burden of Optimal Play
Thinking about further implications of the burden of optimal play
Syphilisation Update - 2019-03-31
Syphilisation Update - 2019-03-31
Syphilisation Update - 2019-03-24
Syphilisation Update - 2019-03-24
Syphilisation Update - 2019-03-17
Syphilisation Update - 2019-03-17
The Colonial, Non-colonial and Decolonial in Video Games
Thoughts about what game mechanics and colonialism.
Syphilisation Update - 2019-03-10
Syphilisation Update - 2019-03-10
Syphilisation Update - 2019-02-24
Syphilisation Update - 2019-02-24
The Interactivity of Reading
Assorted thoughts on how to examine traditional media with game design tools
Syphilisation Update - 2019-02-17
Syphilisation Update - 2019-02-17
I Love The RPS Review of Foundation
The RPS review of Foundation compares it to a warm bath and I absolutely love that
Syphilisation Update - 2019-02-03
Syphilisation Update - 2019-02-03
Syphilisation Update - 2019-01-27
Syphilisation Update - 2019-01-27
Gold In The Haystack
How to seed info dumps with approachable elements.
Notes on You And Your Research by Richard Hamming
Notes on You And Your Research by Richard Hamming
Compost, Solar Cookers and Video Games
What a compost bin taought me about game design
Notes on The Spirit of Japan(1916) by Tagore
Notes on Tagore's lecture on the changing Japan of 1916.
The First Build Point in Syphilisation
Examining the first point where you can choose what to build.
Materials In Syphilisation
Raw materials and their conversions
Thoughts on Romance in System-Driven Games
Issues and solutions for building system-driven games about romance.
Start Expecting Games To Build Your Empathy
My response to an article asking that we stop expecting games to build empathy
The Quiet Sleep Is Not Punk
The distinction between punk and the DIY aesthetic of TQS.
Through Video Game Colored Glasses
How video games can affect how you see the world
A Quick Note on Chogue
A quick note on hybridized design.
4Xing Civ
Imagining a more 4Xy Civ.
Flavor Text Is Actually Red Meat
Further defense of flavor text
The Leaders of Civilization
Breaking down the other players in Civilization
An Extended Note on The Traitor Baru Cormorant
A lot of thoughts on a recent book that I read
A Final MDA Analysis of The Quiet Sleep
A Final MDA Analysis of The Quiet Sleep
Techs of Civilization
Breaking down the techs of Civilization
THE SYPHILISATION MANIFESTO
THE SYPHILISATION MANIFESTO
Units of Civilization
Breaking down the units of Civilization
Cities of Civilization
Breaking down the components of the cities in Civilization
An Early Note On The Aesthetics of Syphilisation
Drilling down into the core aesthetics of Syphilisation.
Syphilisation: Announcement
Announcing my new game Syphilisation.
The Quiet Sleep Playlist
The playlist I used when working on The Quiet Sleep
Thoughts on Getting Over It
A lot of thoughts on Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy
Putting An Emotional Moment In The Quiet Sleep
Analysing the addition of an emotional moment to The Quiet Sleep.
In Defense of Life-Like Games
What life-like games are and why they are worth defending
Interactive Article on Balancing Card Games
An interactive exploration of the basics of balancing card games.
The Fear and Allure of Pure Narrative Gaps
How missing a part of the interface of The Shrouded Isle led to an interesting difference in its gameplay.
The Evolution of Emotion in The Quiet Sleep
How the representation of emotion changed in The Quiet Sleep
Gutters In Video Games
What a video game gutter is and how
The Anti-Pattern of Optional Goals in Tasklists
How optional goals can conflict with the rest of your game
There Is No Reason To Be Against Non-Interactivity In Video Games
An examination of reasons to disapprove of non-interactive games in general.
Game Idea: High School Gossip
A design doc for a game about high school gossip.
The Quiet Sleep: Mechanical Parallels
A deep dive into an interesting design approach
The Quiet Sleep: Third Story
Introducing the third story for the quiet sleep.
Miscellaneous Thoughts on Designed Decisions
Assorted thoughts on decisions that are human-designed.
Mechanical Foreshadowing
Going over what mechanical foreshadowing is and how to integrate it.
A Moment Of Powerlessness In Photopia
Breaking down a specific moment from the 1998 IF Photopia.
Pull Algorithm Explorables
An interactive article on pull algorithms in games.
City: Refinements
Some refinements to city.
Notes on The Continued Influence of Misinformation in Memory - What Makes a Correction Effective
Notes on The Continued Influence of Misinformation in Memory: What Makes a Correction Effective
City: Interaction
A quick note on a failed feature.
Narrative-Based Jigsaw Puzzles
Thoughts on making narrative-based jigsaw puzzles.
A Couple of Points on Complexity
Thoughts on a specific point on complexity in game design.
City: The Difference Between Spending and Losing Pride
A look at some of the minutiae of making The Quiet Sleep.
City: Communication Through Systems
Talking a bit on the novelty of communicating through systems.
City: Surprises
Playing through the latest build of city.
City: Towers, Focus and Emotion
Looking to fix the issues with a few systems of city.
City: Moana
More detail on what this new story is trying to say.
City: Technology
Looking at a new approach to narrative in city stories.
On Rock, Paper, Scissors
Examining some of the features of rock, paper, scissors.
City: Second Story
Thoughts on the second story for The Quiet Sleep
Thoughts on Loose and Tight Choices
A deep look into loose and tight choices and alternate hypotheses for their effects.
City: Post IGF Submission
The state of The Quiet Sleep post-IGF Submission
City: A Quick Story
A quick anecdote of The Quiet Sleep.
City: Trains and Emotions
Adding trains and emotions to The Quiet Sleep.
Why Not? Ep. 1d - Pokemon Go: AR Games
On Pokemon Go and AR Games in general.
City: Playtest 2
Further notes from playtesting.
Why Not? Ep. 1c - Pokemon Go, Pokemon and Adding Value to Pieces
On how the Pokemon games make their pieces valuable.
Why Not? Ep. 1b - Pokemon Go: Nostalgia
On the nostalgia factor of Pokemon.
Why Not? Ep. 1a - Pokemon Go: The Future Is Now
On Pokemon Go and what it means for the future of games..
Pokemon Go: Raw Notes
Raw Notes from playing Pokemon Go.
City: Playtest 1
The results of the first playtest.
City: Focus Proposal
The proposal for a new focus system for city.
City: Playable Week 2
Getting the City systems to really come together.
City: Playable Week 1
The first week of work on getting City ready for a public playtest.
City: Story and People
Work on the story and people of City.
Article Notes - 2016/04
Notes on various articles from April, 2016
Article Notes - 2016/03
Notes on various articles from March, 2016
Article Notes - 2016/02
Notes on various articles from February, 2016
City: Story and Info
Work on the story and UI of City.
City: Info
Some work on cleaning up the information flow of City.
City: Further Analysis
A deep analysis of the mechanics of City.
City: Knots
Tying features together.
City: Iteration
Growth and pruning of existing city features.
City: Construction For Communication
Building out features to help communicate ideas.
Designing For Self-Expression
How to design your game to better support self-expression for your players.
City: Pieces of Mind
City: Consolidation
Work done on consolidating my game.
Article Notes 2016-01
Notes on various articles from January, 2016
City: A System Analysis of City So Far
Analysing the systems of city thus far and the aesthetics desired from the game.
City: The Core of the Game
A description of some situations I want to represent and how I plan on doing so.
City: Honing
Honing the systems of my game.
City: Content
City: Content
Article Notes 2015-12-31
Notes on various articles from December, 2015
City: Personal Information
The progress made on the player representation of my game.
City: Tower Life
The progress made on the towers of my tower defense game.
Drowning In Problems
How and why Drowning In Problems affected me so deeply.
City: First Playable
Description of the first playable version of my game.
Article Notes 2015-11-30
Notes on various articles from November, 2015.
City: Opening
Quick rundown of the game I'm working on and what I'm doing.
Renowned Explorers Combat
Examining the depth of the combat of Renowned Explorers.
Her Story Moments
A couple of examples of how Her Story deals with giving people the freedom to find content.
Depth & Complexity
Thoughts on depth and complexity in video games.
GDC Notes
Notes from GDC
This War of Mine Notes
Rough notes on the game This War of Mine.
Vainglory Notes
Rough notes on the game Vainglory
Banner Saga Notes
Notes on The Banner Saga
Gods Will Be Watching and Fun
I examine Gods Will Be Watching and analyze design decisions it made given that the game is not about having fun.
Road Not Taken Notes
Notes on Road Not Taken