Matt Raithel’s Post

I recommend this great long blog post to everyone in the games' industry. Warren Spector 's strory entwines with the evolution of the medium. #games #gamedesign #gamedev

Rocksteady Studios Ltd Thank you for making such a fun and inventive game with #suicidesquadkillthejusticeleague! I know this game has been controversial for many from the gameplay to the Arkham series Batman's finale (also final performance of the great Kevin Conroy). I believe as Harley put it "Bats got the last last after all! Oh he would have WANTED this - the REAL Batman, I mean." With everything that has happened in the series and in this game I believe this is a great final act for the beloved character. And if this is the final performance from MY personal favorite Batman (really no other actor could ever compare to Kevin Conroy) it's well done. Rocksteady put so much time, effort, and heart into this story that I can't help be impressed! Yes the gameplay has some issues that people have addressed many times and it's a very big departure from the Arkham games despite being in the same world. But (in my opinion) that is the point. We aren't Batman anymore trying to fight and save everyone during some of his worst nights. We are a group of villains charged with saving the world from it's corrupted protectors and a literal endless army of alien invaders, it's going to be different. Yes it has live service aspects but not only would I not consider this a full live service game, my only complaint in that department so far is that I can't play offline which was an issue on day 1 with the deluxe edition. Yes the combat is tricky to perfect, it's very similar to one of my favorite games Sunset Overdrive mixed with some Arkham series staples like specialty enemies and counters. The story is awesome and well written, visually the game is great too! I love finding all these Easter eggs throughout the map or within the riddler challenges. Please try the game for yourself and not just like 20 minutes of a single mission but really give it a try. The reviews that keep popping up I know have been saying the game has been a disappointment or that it was not a good sendoff for the Arkham Batman or even saying that it's too much of a live service game. There are many great games out there that review amazing that people generally don't like, as well as games that review horribly that people love. Even games that start off almost unplayable and become amazing games. Please give this a chance and form your own opinion. And Rocksteady Studios Ltd I hope you continue to develop this world or elseworlds!

Cosy games are a hot topic in games in recent years with more and more amazing cosy games coming out. As games developers it's important we have an understanding of why players love certain types of games and what makes them stand out in this area. We love giving our in-house experts a chance to share their insight into different types of games and why players love them. In Game Developer's latest blog post, Auroch's very own Business Development Associate Jess Rutland shares the scoop on the history of cosy games and the science behind them. Check out the full article: https://lnkd.in/eaY8-CHN #gamedevelopment #gamedev

During my last quarter of university, Riot Games released Valorant, a 5v5 character-based tactical shooter game. It became one of my favorite games that I still enjoy to this day. Because of my post about Marvel SNAP, I became interested in core loops of games, so I decided to draw out the loop for Valorant below. I noticed right away that there was not a lot of incentives to play Valorant. A lot of the aesthetic rewards are locked behind payments. The free rewards can only be obtained through playtime, but they don't feel rewarding enough due to the huge amount of time needed to obtain them. For example, a gun buddy, a purely aesthetic attachment to your gun, is the reward for playing a whole six-month season of competitive mode. That doesn't sound very enticing. With this observation, I began to wonder why do I enjoy Valorant so much? What keeps bringing me back to this game when my time is not rewarded commensurately? Why do I still feel the need to play one more game even when I lose? It's because Valorant focuses on rewarding skill mastery. 🎯 There are many skills a player can improve on in this game. There's your aim, your understanding of each map, your ability usage, your communication with your teammates, working off of your teammates' calls and abilities, your game sense, etc. All of these skills factor into how well you perform each game. As you improve on them, the improvement becomes observable in game. This is the reward! You notice your headshot percentage getting better. Your reaction time is faster. Your calls and predictions are smarter. This translates to more kills per round, less time spent dead, more wins, and the admiration of your friends and enemies. I noticed other design details within Valorant that support this improvement feedback/reward mechanism. 1) The sound effect for getting multiple kills in a round sounds so satisfying that you will always want to hear it. It's even one of the major incentives to buy weapon skins because the sound effect changes based on skin design. 2) Players have the option to display their ranks in competitive mode. They can also hide them to avoid being judged. 3) The gun buddy example above actually changes in design based on your rank. The higher your rank, the rarer your gun buddy. Since all players understand the amount of skill to obtain higher ranks, the incentive to improve and get a rarer buddy is always present. 4) Your game history page is called your 'career'. The connotation of that word suggests that it's something to improve or manage. 5) There's a leaderboard near your career page showing you all of the players that are significantly better than you. There's also an Esports hub to remind you of the fame and glory you can also achieve if you just improve and get to their level. Do you guys agree or disagree? Are there other design features that you guys can think of that supports this? What are your reasons for playing Valorant? Comment below!

 “Put simply, games are fun! Playing them is fun and making them is fun. Getting to make games that provide millions of people with entertainment is a worthwhile endeavour." Well said Simon Iwaniszak of Red Kite Games A good reminder of why working in games is great. Full article here https://lnkd.in/d8x7sZ2p #gamedevs #videogames #gamedevelopment #worklifebalance 😊

"Once we started doing life sims and cozy games, every became easier." This quote - from my recent interview with Spry Fox Creative Director and bonefide game design guru Daniel Cook - absolutely floored me. And it wasn't the only time in the course of my hour talking to Danc that I was just stupefied by a simple, incisive, surgical insight and how it could help me make better games. Here's the longer segment from my return to the mic for Deconstructor of Fun. Ethan "When you talk about your most recent Spry Fox period, you wrote that 'the pain of the previous seven years convinced me I needed a new set of production and risk management tools. And we bounced around from genre to genre excessively and weren't able to build team momentum. So my next set of designs tried to lean into all these factors.' When you hear that, how far do you feel Cozy Grove has taken you on this journey?" Daniel 'Danc' Cook "Cozy Grove has been a revelation. We knew the team liked making cozy games. We knew the vibe. We have a very high trust, awesome set of people here who aren't really into action games and violent games. A lot of what attracted them to work at Spry Fox were games like Alphabear and Triple Town. "So knowing who you are as a studio is really important. And we realized 'oh, wait, we're not the team that can make anything. We actually do have a groove!' And so we had been trying to make a Animal Crossing game for ages, and I just hadn't quite clicked in on the design. So I finally understood the design well enough make a pitch around it. "Once we started doing life sims and cozy games, every became easier. "The art became easier. The game design became easier. The business model became easier. We're in a space where we can actually build up knowledge that's in sync with what the team wants to do, and we can get better at this. And we can actually get better at this over many, many years. This is a space where I'm excited to invest in it and become world class at it over." This interview, covering Daniel's amazing 30 year career in game development, is not to be missed. Check out the full interview for yourself at the link in the comments below. Thanks to Michail Katkoff for passing me the mic and letting me share this amazing conversation with Daniel with all the Twiggies out there!

What are some of your favorite family game night games? Chances are, the ones you list are easy to learn, fun for the whole family, and offer unique gameplay. That's what you'll get with new games Sixem and Floats McGoats. I first saw these at Toy Fair last year, and I loved the strategy involved in both games. Plus, the game elements have cool designs. Both of these games are for ages 10 and up. https://lnkd.in/eCMdvAAp #toys #games #toyreview #ttpm #thetoyauthority #hootenannygames

There are games that have an end, and then there are open-ended games that just keep on giving and that is what we are going to discuss today. Open-ended games provide players with lots of different options to enjoy as they play the game and are perfect for children and adults. It may be creating different worlds, it might be exploring new levels, or simply just playing online with their friends and doing different things such as maintaining farms and making theme parks. The options are endless. So if you fancy playing an open-ended game then here are some of the best ones to try. Do you play games? What kind do you play? The Best Open-Ended Games You Will Want To Try https://lnkd.in/eg-KrYX6 #Gaming #OpenEndedGames

Mobile-first games developer OneTouch is taking players on a spine-chilling adventure, urging them to don their menacing masks for a chance to win big in its newest slot game, Halloween Hunt. In this article, we'll delve deep into the eerie world of Halloween Hunt, exploring its haunting features and the immersive gameplay that awaits you. A Ghoulish Delight: Halloween Hunt's Setting As you dive into Halloween Hunt, you'll be greeted by a bone-chilling backdrop of a mysterious cemetery. This ominous setting serves as the perfect stage for the 5x4 reels to come to life, promising players the opportunity to score major wins with an array of impressive features. Unmasking the Features Halloween Hunt is not your ordinary slot game. It's packed with thrilling features that can send shivers down your spine in the best possible way. Let's uncover some of the standout elements: Wickedly Wild Wins The base game is where the action begins. #BonusFeatures #FreeSpins #gamedeveloper #HalloweenHunt #Halloweenslots #Halloweenspirit #MobileGaming #OneTouch #SlotGame #spookyslots #stickywilds

Watermelon Game – How to Play, Fun Facts and Tips We’ll learn more details about this game in this article. We will discuss how you can play it, along with some tips and tricks. Let’s start #WatermelonGame #fruitgames #games #gameplay #GamingExperience #userexperience #onlinegame #freeonlinegames #SUIKA #userinterface https://lnkd.in/ddnQr5wt