This is the vault for gaming design, titles released in the past that are still relevant today for design or plot choices.
There is something quite difficult in trying to explain certain aspects of game design, even harder when one is reviewing them and trying to make the reader understands how a game works (or doesn’t). The gameplay flow has always been one of my biggest problems in that regard. There is not a specific formula to…
In the 80s, the videogame market was very much different to that of today. While perhaps stating the obvious, it is important to keep mind considering this article will analyze an era which we could define, generally, as “pre-globalization”. Indeed, forty years ago, well before the digital revolution and on-line markets, each nation had a…
The Genesis Temple Podcast – Season 2 Since the first season of the podcast seemed to be appreciated by many people, I decided to soldier on and, well, did not expect to be able to talk to so many people that I had been following for a while. I think that, overall, I improved as…
In the early 80s, the industry was quite populated by women game developers, while not as many as their male counterparts, there were probably more than one might think today. Her names can be easily found in several of the magazines that, in the early 80s, would publish games sent in by programmers. Most of…
For some reason, the first time I fired up Grapple Dog, my mind wandered back to Wonder Dog, a quite obscure 1992 Sega CD platformer by Core Design, made to promote the failed Sega Genesis Karaoke/CD machine, the Wondermega. I wasn’t exactly sure why I went back so far in time, but I was on the…
Everyone can identify that one definitive moment, the tiny magic second when a game managed to turn them from a casual part-timer into a full-time passionate gamer. Perhaps that passion, over the years, has been replaced by something else, but that hardly factors in this discussion. What matters is that mystical moment where everything else…
2021 was a strange year for gaming. Well, to be fair, it was a strange year overall, but for me doubly so since it was also the first where I managed to be – for the most part – concentrated on the industry. In a way, it felt like a major step forward for the…
While playing games centered around illegal activities, especially ones that feel definitely very very far out in the underground world, I have found that the approach that works best for me is usually that of having a firm tongue-in-cheek, while also taking the situation at face value. Honestly, I have always found “realistic” approaches, like…
Sweltering summer of ‘92. Italian director Gabriele Salvatores is shooting Puerto Escondido, together with actors Diego Abatantuono and Fabrizio Bentivoglio. Taking a break from the set, the three sit around a table for a quick match of Soccer on NES. As the game is finished, the console turned off, suddenly Diego turns and exclaims: “I…
