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19 months, 16 games, 13 videos, and 130 dungeons later, and we finally finish our breakdown of the dungeons in the Zelda series, by looking at 2017's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
And now I don't want to even think about Zelda dungeons for a looooong while!
2018-01-18 15:31:42 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
This year, I’m going to spread out the Patreon rewards a bit so you don’t get them all in one go at the end of the month. That means I’m going to try and get the reading list out in, roughly, the middle of the month.
This time I’ve got stuff from this year and last year, some look backs at classic games, plenty of design stuff, and some great videos on film making.
2017 in review
Hello! First episode of the new year is a look at a game I played over Christmas (the enchanting Pyre) and a breakdown of a pretty important bit of game design: feedback loops.
It's part of what I talked about at the end of last year, about wanting to do more stuff that can prove helpful to new designers.
This episode will go live for everyone tomorrow. And then the next episode is Breath of the Wild Boss Keys!
2018-01-09 15:03:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello! First episode of the new year is a look at a game I played over Christmas (the enchanting Pyre) and a breakdown of a pretty important bit of game design: feedback loops.
It's part of what I talked about at the end of last year, about wanting to do more stuff that can prove helpful to new designers.
This episode will go live for everyone tomorrow. And then the next episode is Breath of the Wild Boss Keys!
2018-01-08 12:08:07 +0000 UTC View PostHello everybody. Happy New Year - here’s to a brilliant 2018!
So, I took two weeks off work at the end of last year to recharge my batteries. But I made the most of it by working through my backlog, and finishing up a bunch of games I’ve been meaning to finish or play.
In this quick post I want to offer some muddled thoughts about what I played, and how they’ll be used in future episodes of the show.
Dark Souls (2011)
2018-01-01 13:31:27 +0000 UTC
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Hello everybody. Above is your playlist video for December, and below is a text version if you'd rather read than watch!
Something a bit different for you this month. I haven’t played anything new in December I don’t think, so what I’m going to do is talk about my 10 favourite games of 2017.
I’ve played a lot of games this year - not everything, I still need to get to a few games - but I’ve played enough to recommend some terrific games from the past 12 months. So let’s just ...
2017-12-29 17:59:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello! Welcome to the reading list, a curated collection of articles and videos I’ve enjoyed in the last month.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the lists this year - here’s to many more in 2018!
Design in detail
[Video | CC] Looking for Love on Pandora: Procedural Content Generation and Borderlands 2 - Tommy Thompson talks us through t...
2017-12-26 10:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostHi everyone! Just wanted to drop a quick note to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Hope you have a fabulous time.
I’m taking some much needed time off at the moment, but making the most of it by playing / finishing lots of games from my backlog including Dark Souls, Thimbleweed Park, MGS 3, and Yakuza 2. Plus, a little research and planning for next year’s videos because I just can’t help myself.
This has been an incredible year for me, and I have to...
2017-12-25 10:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey everyone!
So, every year I do a video in December where I highlight some cool bits and bobs from the year’s games. In 2015 I looked at bits of good game design, in 2016 I looked at innovative ideas, and for 2017 I shifted gears and did a video about 2017-12-19 12:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
For my final video of the year, I wanted to give a little love to a really cool game: the wriggly slither 'em up Snake Pass. In this video I talk about how the game came to be, how it works, why it's rad, and why it deserves to be celebrated
2017-12-13 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey everyone. Just wanted to write a quick note about some upcoming changes to your Patreon pledge.
From December 18th, Patreon will add a new charge on top of your pledge - specifically, 2.9% + $0.35. A $1 pledge, for example, will now cost you $1.38.
The idea is that Patreon creators like me will receive more money from each pledge. 95% instead of about 87%. Something to do with transaction fees.
Personally I'm not very happy about it and have sent an email to the compan...
2017-12-07 12:47:16 +0000 UTC View Post
This year's edition of my annual Top 5 list is here - this time, breaking down 5 great levels from 2017's games. Some obvious picks, some surprise inclusions.
I'll write about some good bits of game design / innovation from the year on Patreon, too, before the year is out.
2017-12-05 10:00:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello all!
So, every year I do a "top 5" list of cool things from the past 12 months. I've done "bits of game design" and "innovations". This year, it's levels.
I'll also do a Patreon post about some bits of game design and innovation, as I know people enjoyed those in previous years. So look out for that in the near future.
Video will go public tomorrow. Cheers!
Mark
2017-12-04 09:22:32 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey everyone!
I didn’t know what to do for this month’s insider. But with 2017 coming to a close, I thought it was maybe a good opportunity to look at what I’ve been up to this year. Here we go.
What did I make this year?
In 2017, I made 18 episodes of Game Maker’s Toolkit. You can see them all above.
(That’s smushing the Dead Space trilogy into a single vi...
2017-11-30 12:02:22 +0000 UTC View Post
Three interesting video games to get your teeth into! Next month: my game of the year list.
2017-11-29 22:07:54 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello everyone!
You know the drill by now. 30-odd articles and videos that I discovered in the last month, ferociously curated for your intrigue and entertainment. Lemme know what you liked reading most in the comments below.
Odyssey! Ya see!
What are devs saying about the design of Super Mario ...
2017-11-27 09:28:18 +0000 UTC View Post
It was another very close GameClub poll, but Gunpoint won by a hair. I've been meaning to play this one so this will finally give me the push to try it out!
The Discord room is open now. You can get the game on Steam, or you can try the free demo (on the same page).
Cheers!
Mark
2017-11-25 16:45:45 +0000 UTC View PostWelcome back to the GameClub!
Each month, we play a game and chat about its design, story, development, strengths, and weaknesses, over on the GMTK Discord channel.
But first, we need to pick the next game. Here are your options, and they’re all currently on sale on Steam so you won’t have to spend much cash to participate.
What do you want to play, and talk about? I’ll be back with the winner, tomorrow.
LISA
2017-11-24 16:38:08 +0000 UTC
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Hey folks! I think this post got gobbled up on the way to your feed so lemme send it again!
New Boss Keys. The penultimate episode, with a detour to examine the games that started it all before we wrap up with Breath of the Wild. Probably in January.
Then, a break! And then season 2. Which, more than likely, will be Metroid.
2017-11-17 23:32:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Well, here it is. A look at how Zelda's designers stumbled over keys, obstacles, bombs, and difficulty while on their way to making the dungeons that would define the series.
Out for everyone tomorrow.
2017-11-16 16:32:41 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello everybody.
I recently finished Assassin’s Creed: Origins. This is the one set in Egypt, it’s a prequel to the rest of the games, and it’s made by the same team as Black Flag (aka The Best One).
My thoughts on the game are pretty mixed. I consider lots of things in the game to be pretty underdeveloped and uninteresting - but also found myself hooked on the game for many hours at a time!
To try and make sense of it all, I’m going to talk about some stuff I did and did n...
2017-11-15 10:39:29 +0000 UTC View Post
Okay, yeah, who was I kidding? Of course I had to cover Super Mario Odyssey on the channel. A big bold new Mario game doesn't come around very often and as I've built my channel on the big man's brilliant game design I felt like it only made sense to chat about the game's strengths.
2017-11-08 16:01:39 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello everybody!
This week marks the three year anniversary of Game Maker’s Toolkit.
It’s been a wild ride! I have released 59 videos, as well as 11 episodes of Boss Keys, and 3 bonus videos. I’ve run a game jam, given talks at events and universities, received wonderful messages from incredibly talented people, quit my job, received an award from YouTube (above), met new friends, and created a lovely community on Discord.
But this is also a good time to take a...
2017-11-08 13:55:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
Okay, yeah, who was I kidding? Of course I had to cover Super Mario Odyssey on the channel. A big bold new Mario game doesn't come around very often and as I've built my channel on the big man's brilliant game design I felt like it only made sense to chat about the game's strengths.
Lemme know what you think. The video will go live to the world tomorrow afternoon.
2017-11-07 15:59:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey everyone!
For this month’s Insider post, I’m going to talk about the videos in made in October, and - for the sake of transparency and learning - highlight the things I got wrong.
How Game Designers Protect Players from Themselves
So, my first video in October was all about ho...
2017-10-31 09:44:30 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey!
So, predictably, I’ve been playing a whole lot of Super Mario Odyssey this weekend. In fact, I finished the game! But I’ve still got a whole lot more to see and do.
If you haven’t played it, Mario Odyssey is a pure collect-a-thon platformer, like Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie. You explore densely packed sandbox levels, and look for hidden moons (this game’s version of power stars or jiggies) so you can power up your ship and fly to the next world.
...
2017-10-30 08:36:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Chattin' about some video games for my supporters! Enjoy!
2017-10-26 11:04:31 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello everyone!
Got some nifty things for you to watch and read this month.
As always, I’m fiercely curatorial with this stuff. I don’t just chuck in any old crap to bump up the numbers - it’s all stuff I think is genuinely cool and interesting.
As always, feel free to recommend stuff throughout the month. Tweeting at me is the best way to make sure I see it in time
News in Perspective
Hey everyone. Wanted to put together a quick tutorial to show how I did the motion graphics on my most recent episode, where I showed the path of the projectiles in Cuphead.
I used a combination of Premiere and Apple Motion (a sorta After Effects-style programme that I often use because it's so quick to get things done). But hopefully the lessons are more general and universal and will get you thinkin...
2017-10-23 08:58:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey everyone!
Ever wondered how an episode of Game Maker’s Toolkit gets made? Well, that’s what I’m going to reveal in this Patron-exclusive video (above, or article, below - whatever you prefer), which will explain the process behind my recent video - How Game Designers Protect the Player from Themselves.
And also answer some more questions from my Q&A post!