This is the vault for gaming design, titles released in the past that are still relevant today for design or plot choices.
How does on go about making a sequel to one of the most famous arcade maze games, basically the defining maze game, fourteen years later? But, weren’t there already sequels to the original game? Well, apparently not as such. Ms. Pac-man was considered a spin-off, Pac-mania was a “reimagining”, Pac-land seemed to be another spin-off,…
Since I’ve recently talked about Will Wright’s crazy helicopter sim that managed to save Maxis from bankruptcy, I’d say it makes sense to take a look at another of his helicopter titles. Apparently, Will took a trip on an helicopter when he was a kid and had been totally fascinated with them since. Raid on…
While the overall narrative on the importance of the release of SimCity 2000 might be a bit less impactful nowadays, it was a gamechanger, perhaps even more so than the original title. After its resounding success, Maxis seemed to be struggling to find a market for the remainder of their software library. Their line of…
Combining elements from different genres is – arguably – the basis for many modern indie gaming titles, especially ones with a message that consistently accompanies the gameplay. In the early eighties, there was no strict definition of genre, except for broad strokes like “arcade” or “adventure”. Innovation heavily relied on the game designer’s tastes and…
As a kid I hated Japanese RPGs with a passion. I remember saying to myself over and over how much I couldn’t stand the genre and reinforcing my intention of never playing a Final Fantasy title or anything remotely close to it. This was mainly because of my prejudice and of my upbringing with Western…
How many Pac-man inspired titles exist in the world? Well, one possible answer would be: as many Space Invaders and Arkanoid ones. These arcade classics were among the basic steps for anyone wanting to program an arcade-like title: (deceptively) easy to program and a surefire hit with gamers who, back then, didn’t really have a…
The Bitmap Brothers were one of the more (in)famous British developers of the early 90s. Their games instantly recognizable by the in-your-face “cyberpunk” style punctuated by aggressive techno beats. Unfortunately, with that style being outdated by 1994, they never managed to escape the “cyberniche” they dug for themselves with titles like The Chaos Engine. Nevertheless,…
Remember those miserable times when, as a small child, one had to suffer long school hours without nary a videogame in sight to pass the time? What better friend in misery than the thought of a computer/console waiting at home, ready to be fired up with that awesome looking game you bought yesterday and barely…
While playing and remembering various movie tie-ins products, there was one question I had no answer to: how did a publisher decide which movie to license to a game developer? Despite still not having a clear answer, for the sake of this article, though, my guess would be: box office success with teen and pre-teen…
Trolls and Tribulations is one of the earliest games I remember being fascinated by. In my early days as a “gaming journalist”, in elementary school, the teacher gave us a free essay theme so I decided to do a full write-up about the game, my (pirated) copy was called “Mario e i mostri” (Mario and…