A published Selection

Game design, explained by people who do it

10 videos, 3 h 22

10 videos on why some games feel good in the hand and others do not. Mechanics, level design, feedback, and the choices behind them.

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01
How To Think Like A Game Designer
Game Maker's Toolkit
The mindset first. Watch this and the other 9 videos land harder.
02
Secrets of Game Feel and Juice
Game Maker's Toolkit
Takes apart the small effects that make a button press satisfying.
03
What Makes a Good Puzzle?
Game Maker's Toolkit
Why some puzzles teach you something and others just block the door.
04
What Makes a Good Combat System?
Game Maker's Toolkit
Breaks combat into the decisions it asks of you, using several games as evidence.
05
How Level Design Can Tell a Story
Game Maker's Toolkit
How a room tells you what happened in it without a single line of dialogue.
06
Ten Principles for Good Level Design
GDC Festival of Gaming
A working designer's checklist for building a level, given at a developer conference.
07
Level Design Workshop: Designing Celeste
GDC Festival of Gaming
Celeste's designer walks through single screens and why each one is shaped that way.
08
The Two Types of Random in Game Design
Game Maker's Toolkit
The difference between randomness that makes a game interesting and randomness that ruins it.
09
Teaching Game Mechanics Well - Guidance VS. Hand Holding ~ Design Doc
Design Doc
How games teach you their rules without stopping to explain them.
10
When Difficult Is Fun - Challenging vs. Punishing Games - Extra Credits
Extra Credits
Separates hard games you want to retry from hard games that just waste your time.