On Double Jumping (Day 23)

Here, “double jumping” refers to the act of jumping once, then jumping again (off nothing) while still airborne. It’s amazing. To me, it exemplifies the idea of splitting gameplay and narrative into two separate wholes. Only very rarely is the ability to double jump worked into the games narrative in any form, but most of

On Being Unable to Pause (Day 21)

Pausing is such a commonplace feature that only its absence warrants mention. It’s a necessary part of games; only a select few of us can play games without interruption and in those cases, the ability to pause can be a life saver. Some games opt to neglect this feature, usually because the game can’t be saved

On True Endings (Day 18)

Many games feature multiple endings, ranging from tragic to optimistic to downright bizarre. Typically, games will have a “best” or “true” ending that is especially hard to discover and unlock. If said game gets a sequel, it’ll almost certainly follow on from this true ending. I’m really conflicted about these. On the one hand, it’s

On Kicking Enemies Into Things (Day 9)

This’ll likely be a significantly shorter post than normal, and there’s a good chance that this will be the case for most weekdays from now on. I’m employed full time – hooray! – but that obviously gives me less time to blog. I’ll still do it daily, just be aware that on weekdays it’s generally

Binary Morality (Day 6)

Many games feature morality systems, used to showcase your character’s “moral alignment”. Typically, they’re on a scale of “Good” to “Bad” or “Light” to “Dark” and so on. Taking negative actions – like beating a puppy – will push your character further toward the dark side, and selfless actions – like beating the guy who

Overwatch and Negative Feedback (Day 5)

So, no name still – sorry! It’ll happen when it happens, hopefully sooner rather than later. If you’re wondering why I include the day number, it’s largely for my own benefit. WordPress records dates by a different time zone to my own, so it can be hard to figure out if I’ve done a post

Fixed Camera Angles (Day 4)

Still nameless, but I’m hoping to rectify that before the next post. Today’s post is on Fixed Camera Angles, most commonly associated with the earlier Resident Evil and Silent Hill games.  Most games give players a large degree of control over their cameras – whether first or third person, it’s intuitive that the player should

On Health Bars (Day 2)

Just to preface a bit, I’ve decided to scrap the original name (“Quotidian Contemplation”) entirely until I can think of something simpler and catchier. I was never happy with it, but after some feedback I think I’m better off just losing it entirely for now. It’s still the same series, and will have a catchy

Quotidian Contemplation: Day 1

Hey everyone, So, 2017 is here, and this is my new series: Quotidian Contemplation. I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of the name, but I couldn’t think of a better one in time (sorry!). It may change later on. Basically, it’s going to be a stream-of-consciousness post, once a day, about any

Daily Design: Post-Mortem

It’s over! Finally! I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel relieved, but it’s a (little) sad, too. It’s been a long, crazy year, and for many people – certainly myself – it hasn’t been a great one. I started this year unemployed, and began this blog as a way to keep myself busy