the game design experience
I needed a circular range control to be for a project using Unity UI, and there seemed not to be one built-in, I created one. I wanted it to work on both desktop and mobile (touch). In building it I found out that to make it usable it requires quite … [Read more]
In this short post and video I try to discuss and clarify a few points about GameObject state in Unity with respect to game, scene and "runtime" scope. It is a bit more complex than one may understand initially, so bear with me a little. When you … [Read more]
Can you use the pervasive media "videogame" and this field's design techniques for communicating effectively with people? Can games be used for what you have in mind? How can a field specialist work effectively with a game development team to … [Read more]
This math puzzle was proposed on The Guardian: How to fill up the slots with the numbers from 1 to 9 and make the result 66? I proposed it to my kids, who are actually still too young to appreciate the algebraic solution. So I created a simple … [Read more]
In my frequent survey of games and research concerning learning through games, I've stumbled upon this cute post: Teacher Uses LEGOs To Explain Math To Schoolchildren, which actually is extracted from Using LEGO to Build Math Concepts. … [Read more]
How to create quickly a match 3 game in Unity? Or any kind of match game? I have been working on an original match 3 game (an applied game actually) together with Unity 2D guru Daniele Giardini and I took some notes, which I present in the video … [Read more]
Why playing some videogames leaves you with a sour taste, with the feeling of having wasted time and even that you have somehow debased yourself? A short reflection on post gameplay feelings, published on Medium here and then featured on … [Read more]
In this podcast Daniele Giardini and Pietro Polsinelli (myself) discuss story flow in games – and how game endings are told. We roam from The Witcher to Sunless Sea, crossing game genres. Hear us here: At the end of the podcast we read and … [Read more]
A little while ago I tried to understand what Behaviour Trees are about, as in a couple of games I'm developing I have sets of NPCs that I have to manage and I would like to somehow decouple their behaviour from the main game flow. Here you can find … [Read more]
There is a simple way to have complete backups of all your sources versions, at no cost; it’s the kind of solution a single, destructured, minimal budget indie developer may use. This without any server or complex setup: just use a couple of tricks. … [Read more]
Design A Game is a site on game design and development. It is curated by Pietro Polsinelli, who is a game designer and developer. See all his works here.
Here you find the site dedicated to Pietro's book on applied games: Explaining With Games.
