Hello everyone
Sorry I've been very quiet - the Game Jam has been taking up all my time! If you missed it, it was another record breaking jam with over 21,000 entrants and more than 5,800 games.
But it's almost over - the results will be given out later this evening - Premiere link above. Apologies, no early access to this one - otherwise the results would surely leak!
I'll be back here...
2021-06-22 17:36:36 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
So, I often give lectures at universities and game studios around the world. And I thought I could offer you lovely Patrons some more value for supporting me by sharing those lectures as videos!
This was a lecture I gave online for Breda University of Applied Sciences earlier in June. This was a practice run of the talk to make sure it fit within the hour-long slot.
It's about how I convey information in my videos, from abstract structural decisions to specific teachi...
2021-06-07 12:01:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello Patron people! New episode out very soon - it's about making better tutorials for games in genres like grand strategy and simulation. Hope you dig it!
My recommendation this time is Narita Boy - a trippy, retro-tinged brawler with a killer pixel art aesthetic. It's a minor Metroidvania with a bigger focus on fight scenes: which reminds me of Guacamelee. And the strange, esoteric plot makes me think of Sword &...
2021-05-31 15:55:20 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello Patreon people. It's time for the playlist, where I talk about some of the games I've been playing lately. You can watch it as a video or read it as an article.
Resident Evil VIII: Village
Okay, let's start with May's biggest new game: Resident Evil 8. This is a first-person horror game, that...
2021-05-31 14:29:37 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello again!
A new episode is here - it's all about the troublesome tutorials of complex games (such as city builders and grand strategy games), and ways to make them better. What can they learn from other genres, in order to make learning easier and more fun?
If you caught the $5 preview for the UI episode you might recognise some stuff about Mini Metro and Animal Crossing. I actually removed that from the final...
2021-05-28 17:25:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello everyone! Here's your reading list for the month of May. Let's start out with some Mass Effect-themed stuff to mark the release of the Legendary Edition remake. And then, onto a bunch more articles and videos I reckon you'll enjoy.
Commanding Shepard
[Watch | CC | 19 mins] Dynamic Level Design in Mass Effect 3’s "Cure the Genophage" Mission - Story Mode exp...
2021-05-28 11:15:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey everyone. I just finished Returnal, and wanted to give some thoughts about the game's design.
This is the latest game from Housemarque. Until now, the studio has made indie-level arcade games like Nex Machina and Super Stardust HD. But with Returnal, the studio has gone full on "Triple A", with a blockbuster new PlayStation 5 exclusive.
It's got big Metroid Prime vibes, with a female protagonist, a mysterious alien planet, ancient ruins, and a story that unfolds through scanni...
2021-05-23 08:17:39 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi everyone!
Today I'm revealing a new video series for GMTK. It's called "On the Level"* and is all about playing great video game levels alongside the designer(s) who made them. And then turning that interview into a video for y'all!
The concept is very similar to the Last of Us 2 video I made last year, where I walk through the museum level, alongside its designer, Evan Hill. I realised that I r...
2021-05-12 14:50:15 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
So, I'm starting a new video series on GMTK. It's called Level With Me, and in each episode I play an excellent video game level, alongside the designer(s) who made it.
The concept is very similar to the Last of Us 2 video I made last year, where I walk through the museum level, alongside its designer, Evan Hill. I realised that I really dig this format - a mix of live stream, director's com...
2021-05-11 07:10:53 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello everyone!
I had a wonderful response to the animation and visual style of my most recent video - on user interfaces and HUDs. So I thought I'd talk about how this episode was made and give you some tips on making similar stuff in your own project!
The idea
So, I've been working on a small game prototype in Unity - a platformer where you have a magnet that can ...
2021-05-10 07:06:22 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello Patreon people! I wanted to check in and talk to you about YouTube ads. There's a TL;DR at the bottom if you're in a hurry.
GMTK has historically never had YouTube ads enabled, almost exclusively because I don't like how adverts disrupt the viewing experience. I'm sure we've all watched a video where it cuts to an annoying unskippable advert just one minute into the vid. It's so annoying! I pride myself on not having that stuff, and appreciate that many Patrons support GMTK becaus...
2021-05-05 12:06:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello! It's Playlist time. Here's the video and scroll down for the article version.
Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima is an open world samurai game from Sucker Punch - the people behind the inFamous games. It came out last year, but I finally played it properly in April because it just got a very snaz...
2021-04-30 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello everyone!
After a quick break from GMTK, I'm back with a stonking great big video. This one's on the heads-up display, or HUD - and how they can change how a game works, feels, looks, and is made. I hope you dig the style - it's supposed to look like Adobe Photoshop!
If you caught the $5 early access video, you might notice that one small section (talking about Mini Metro and Animal Crossing) has disappeare...
2021-04-29 18:03:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey all! Bit of a leaner list this month (that's what happens when the games industry slows to a crawl, I guess!) but still got some fab stuff to read and watch. As always, recommendations in the comments, on Twitter, and on Discord are always welcome.
Designer Notes
[Read] What role does game difficulty play? - Accessibility awareness ...
2021-04-28 11:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello! Here's your early access look at the new episode of GMTK. We're all about heads-up displays in this one: how do they change the way games look, work, feel, and are made?
Thanks!
Mark
2021-04-27 13:49:22 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
I'm excited to announce that the GMTK Game Jam will be returning, once again, for 2021. Here's the announcement video. This is our fifth jam, which is a nice little milestone.
The jam kicks off on June 11th, so pop that in your calendar now. You can join here, see more in-...
2021-04-09 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey all! It's your Playlist , which is three quick-fire reviews of games I've been playing in the last month. Let's jump right in. Watch it as a video or read it as an article, up to you.
Little Nightmares II
Little Nightmares II is best described as a Limbo-like. It's one of those side-scrolling cinemat...
2021-03-28 10:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
This month, the UK marked the one-year anniversary of its Covid-19 lockdown (I almost wrote "celebrated"). But hope is on the horizon, light is at the end of the tunnel, and other metaphors about good things being visible.
Until then, here's a handful of things to watch and read, handpicked by yours truly.
Designer Notes
New video!
Bit of a different topic this time: instead of talking about game design, let's talk about game designers themselves. How, exactly, do you get a job in the industry?
This was one topic where I have absolutely zero experience, so I relied very heavily on my expert interviewees. It was fun to Zoom a whole bunch of people and build up a huge database of shared knowledge - then dump it into a video.
Hope you find it interesting, even if you have no interes...
2021-03-22 17:39:50 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello super special Patrons. I've got a new video coming out next week, but as I needed to upload it early to get feedback from industry experts, you might as well watch it super early!
This is quite a different episode - it's about how to actually get a job as a game designer. I spoke to loads of people (designers, educators, employers, recruiters) to build up a massive knowledge base. And then squeezed it into a 15 min video.
Hope you find it interesting, even if you're already ...
2021-03-19 14:21:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello everyone! This is the Playlist, where I talk about three of the games I've been playing in the last month. I've been doing well to actually keep up with the new releases - let's see how long that lasts! Let's go. Watch it here, or read it below. Up to you, friendo.
Bowser's Fury
Bowser's Fury is, w...
2021-02-28 11:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
Time for another massive episode. This one is on a topic I've wanted to cover for quite some time: unique movement systems. From wingsuits to web swinging to wall runs. How do developers make movement that feels fun, satisfying, and interesting?
It was a tricky question to answer because the answer is very different depending on the game - what makes Mario good is completely different to Titanfall 2. But by looking at the individual elements, and then looking at their commo...
2021-02-25 08:48:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
Yesterday, the UK prime minister and scarecrow Boris Johnson unveiled the roadmap out of the pandemic. Also, the sun is out. And the new video is coming together for release this week. I'm feeling pretty good!
So, let's celebrate with a bunch of videos and articles I found this month.
Designer Notes
[Read] How IO made...
2021-02-23 15:07:47 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey everyone!
New video is coming along nicely, but I just wanted to chat about something else I've been doing. And that's learning Unity! It was my new year's resolution for 2021, and I've been doing a little bit every week all year.
I started with tutorials. I found Tom Francis's tutorial series to be pretty helpful, and enjoyed following along as we ma...
2021-02-19 15:41:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello! This is a quick behind-the-scenes article, looking at the creation of my most recent video: How the Nemesis System Creates Stories.
Idea
The initial idea for this video was to investigate the idea of games having a memory of the player's actions - and then issuing comment or consequences down the line. Things like the chaos system in Dishonored, cross-game choices in Mass Ef...
2021-02-01 09:45:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello everyone! This is the Playlist, where I talk about three of the games I've been playing in the last month. You can watch it as a video, or read it as an article. Have it your way, like Burger King.
Call of the Sea
Call of the Sea is a first-person adventure, set on a mysterious South Pacific Island in the 1930s. It's a mix of walking simulator - as you piece togethe...
2021-01-31 15:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello! Welcome to the first Reading List of the year. It's a big one! It's got all the best stuff I watched and read in January, plus all the delicious content I consumed over Christmas.
I'm starting off with some alternative "end of year" lists. Forget the "game of the year" stuff, we're looking at the year in accessibility, animation, blogging, and loss.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
Hello!
This is the first GMTK video of 2021 - a deep dive into the Nemesis System from Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War. It will be released to the masses in a couple hours.
I said in my 2020 wrap up that I wanted to work on some bigger projects in the new year, and that's exactly how I started. Playing the games, reading through all the published material, and working out the best way to descr...
2021-01-28 16:22:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
So, I've been a busy bee this January - working hard on a huge video about a topic that I've been meaning to cover for quite some time. I'm talking, of course, about the Nemesis System in Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War.
This system is able to create brilliant and unique stories using procedural generation, systems, random rolls, and lots of clever storytelling techniques. I try to explain it all in this video.
Do let me know what you think! 2021-01-26 16:13:57 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi everyone! It's that time of year again where I take a step back, dig into YouTube's analytics page, and figure out what worked (and what didn't) in terms of raw numbers.
So the headline news is that GMTK hit a pair of enormous milestones. And hit them back to back. This year the channel achieved one million subscribers and 100 million views. Which is absolutely amazing - thank you so much to everyone who helped make that happen!
And… it really shouldn't have happened. Subscri...
2020-12-28 15:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post