The Seductive Sorcery of the Magikarp

Just like real life, sometimes the best things in games take a lot of hard work before the investment pays off. And just like in real life, sometimes this sucks. In this article, Adam Perry figuratively dissects the Magikarp and the pitfalls of designing one.

Anyone who was introduced to the Pokémon franchise in its first installment will probably remember a man who offers to sell you a MAGIKARP for five hundred Poké-dollars. If you had no outside exposure to the creatures, you might have reasoned (as I did) that anything with "magik" in its name had to have some pretty cool powers.

Meowskivich's Rules of Game Design

Making a game is a lot like playing a game where you get to define the rules. Meowskivich, developer of AR-PUH-GUH, shows us what his rules of design are, and why they're important.

Of all the rules I, as a designer, have, the only rule of mine that has a defined spot is the most important rule of all:

RULE #1 – FUN

This is something that many people don’t seem to understand very well; is the game fun? How do you tell just how fun it is?

This is something that matters greatly as it supersedes all other matters, as even ancient games with poor graphics and mediocre music that are fun are still some of the best games to spend time with.

There are a few subsections to determining fun, and they’re in the form of questions whose purpose I feel appropriate to fulfill.

Introduction to Maze Techniques in the OHRRPGCE

Here in the Hamster Burrow, we'll be feature game design tips from experts in the OHR field. In this design-focused article, Willy breaks down what it means to have a maze in your game, the pitfalls and dead-ends you're sure to encounter while designing them, and how to successfully navigate your way to a well designed maze.

Author: Willy Elektrix

Introduction

Mazes have been relevant in computer role-playing since the medium's infancy. Colossal Cave Adventure (1976) takes place within a maze of caverns and contains the famous "maze of twisty little passages". Mazes are prominent in Zork 1: The Great Underground Empire (1980), Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness (1981), Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (1981), and the numerous sequels to those games. The occurrence of mazes in modern games solidifies the depth of this classic form of puzzle. This article discusses techniques for utilizing mazes in computer role-playing games designed with the OHRRPGCE.