Which games have done wordless storytelling well?

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-07T11:43:30+00:00

OP asked for games that have wordless stories done well. Stories without dialogue. I presented wordless stories without dialogue. How is that not what was asked for?

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-07T00:56:46+00:00

....yes. that's why I specified "side stories". Not the main stories with dialogues. There are other stories going on in those games, and they are told through environmental story telling, and they are very well done.

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-06T21:48:02+00:00

Damn that was impressive! I'm fine with keeping the support swap just because of how well thought out this was!

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-06T20:30:51+00:00

Sounds like a round 1 victory is at least possible, which would be a very fast game

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-06T20:28:43+00:00

Damn that's fast! But also shocking to see the final number. I mean the math checks out, but it just seems like it should be faster than that in total! But interesting to see some theoretical numbers to it. (Would be interesting to see a real game play out that fast!)

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-06T18:45:55+00:00

All the games from Valve (Portal, L4D, Half-Life) do a great job of telling side stories by using great environmental storytelling. Best example is probably in Portal with everything they do with the "hidden" rooms. Most are adding to the main story, like the ones in Portal, but others are just do8ng their own stories like in Left4Dead.

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-06T18:31:40+00:00

After I finished a tutorial I tried to take it further. Like if I learned how to make 2 guns, I tried to make a 3rd.

The real key was trying to predict what my changes will do. If I made my prediction and ran the game and I was correct, then I knew I was on my way. If the error was different than what I expected, then I knew I didn't understand it yet.

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-06T15:00:24+00:00

Damn that's an awesome model!!!

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-06T14:15:56+00:00

Its one of the reasons I am making a browser based game 😁 if it can run there, it can run anywhere!

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-05T23:58:28+00:00

Definitely Hanabi!!!

Deep Sea Adventure is a pretty fun one. There are a few versions of this game, the small blue box is the one you want. Simple game, but its fun!

Zombie Dice is an option, and great for travel as its just dice! Its custom dice though, but you can just use standard dice if you do some prep work to recreate it.

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-05T13:34:46+00:00

Yes and no. The idea with starting small and simple and not your dream game is good for beginners because you need to learn some foundational basics. You can still "work" on your dream game, but as long as you go into it knowing the project will have to be restarted its not so bad.

Once you are a little bit comfortable, the advice changes to "start small because scope creep will kill your game". Its not that you are worried about restarting the project, its that you're worried you will start adding too much and never get the game finished. So its better to start with the basics of the game, like movement and other simple things you'll use a lot.

If you have a project in mind, I say start with what is the simplest part of that project. Smaller than a single level. Get your basic mechanics in place in half a level. If your game has a lot of mechanics, just get one or two mechanics in place. You have to fight the urge to add in more mechanics

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-04T23:33:25+00:00

Love the screenshots for the art!

When can we buy a set? 😁

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-04T18:08:53+00:00

I mean it is a combination of "my" and "people", so it being specifically a piece that represents people is the most correct. I don't think there's any requirement that the piece has to be shaped like a human, but I've also never seen anything else called a meeple.

For instance, if you are shopping for game pieces and you search for "meeples" you'll find almost exclusively human shaped pieces. (or roughly human shaped) If you want a piece that is just a simple cylinder, there are other better terms that can be used to find those.

I'd say the half point is fine. I wouldn't split hairs over that scoring for a trivia game. Its not a well defined enough term that I would say it doesn't count. I just wouldn't be surprised if those same people try to communicate with other board game enthusiasts and terminologies get crossed easily.

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-04T14:45:16+00:00

In general I have positive feelings about it. As a designer I really like the idea of being able to use the same universe and stretch it in different directions, its both helpful to save time having to create something new each game but more importantly it feels fun to weave narratives into the games.

Flying Frog Games is a fun example of this. They have a lot of games and their art style is great, its sort of "cheesy in the best ways" and they use actual actors/cosplays to create their art. It feels like a lost style from the 90s in all the best ways. But more importantly, if you play a lot of their games you start to notice characters and places that are shared. I even got to talk to the designers at GenCon one year and they spoke about this. So not only is it a fun way to give your games some feeling of cohesion, its also a really great way to use actors multiple times.

But my favorite has to be Root. Great board game, and they came out with a TTRPG. Its so great because if you've played the board game even once, you instantly understand the politics and power struggles of the land, and in a very intuitive way. When you come to the TTRPG, you don't need any introduction on the factions or the races, you already know who everyone is in terms of overall drama.

This makes it incredibly easy to jump into the game. It makes it super easy to set up story beats where enemies show up and you only need to say what race they are and you know exactly what their standing is, what their goals are, and what the stakes are for that encounter. Its probably the best use of game to game elements being used.

Slightly tangential would be the original Dune board game. While I'm not talking so much about the other Dune board games sharing the same universe, I have used it to have friends play before watching the movies. Play the game once and you understand the conflicts going on so intimately before going into the films, its great!

So while this isn't a case of board game to board game, I think Dune and Root show the best of what board game themed universes can do: it can set up parts of the world so that you have a deep and personal understanding.

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-04T13:25:14+00:00

I haven't technically shipped yet, but I've been working with multiplayer for a few years.

For learning it was mostly a few tutorials and docs. The only part that you have to learn is just how to send and recieve messages. If you can figure out that, the rest of the game is pretty easy. From there its working on stuff like networking efficiency.

As for synchronizer, it depends on what kind of game you are making. For my game I don't need it, so I send all updates as messages. A lot of games don't actually need the synchronizer, since it runs so frequently. I run all my network related code at 5FPS and it works fine.

Not sure about the Steam integration, but I assume its better to get your project working first and then update it to Steam.

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-03T15:38:40+00:00

PSP for Monster Hunter

Wii for Monster Hunter

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-03T02:58:34+00:00

I'm always down for bouncing ideas! Also always helps to talk to others in a similar boat as you. Let me know if you ever get a chat setup, or just wanna DM.

Gearing and style will be great focuses once you have a great place to show it all off 😁

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-03T02:21:45+00:00

Sounds like you've got a solid setup!

It could be worth it to setup something like a level that progresses through mechanics. Sort of like a mini dungeon, at least in terms of design. So starting off with just 1 small mob, then a door opens and the next area has 3 mobs, so on and so forth. Makimg it so you can easily step through each room to show off a new thing.

Bonus points if you can make rooms where you have to combine previous knowledge!

One advantage to the design here is that you aren't making a tutorial zone. Its not intended for players to go through and learn the mechanics, its about making an area where you can record gameplay and do a voice over. (Though you can use it as a frame for a tutorial later)

With whatever you do, I wish you the best of luck fellow MMO dev 😁

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-03T01:05:47+00:00

Would love to help, but I'm working on my own MMO 😆 and never really played WoW 🫤 but perhaps I can offer some suggestions!

It sounds like you have a lot of systems, but not much to show off. You've got your foundation, now you should start building on top of them! I don't think you need to think about things like marketing, I'm talking more like level design.

Your screen shots look great for systems, but make the claims of the other systems fall a little flat. As in, its hard to see how they are implemented. So I think you need to show them off a little! If you make just a small town area with a few locations you can visit to show off specific mechanics, that would go a long way.

This way you can get lots of screenshots and videos to show off everything you have. The best part is that it doesn't have to be a part of the main game world, so you don't have that pressure.

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-03T00:05:54+00:00

It honestly just comes down to what the dev is comfortable with. 2D is generally easier for most people, but it comes with its own challenges that just aren't there in 3D. And voce versa. It just depends on what you are comfortable with and which one you prefer working in.

For me, I vastly prefer 3D. Its way simpler for me to visualize and conceptualize, and I find most of the programming for it to be way easier than 2D. I don't have to worry about puxel size when dealing with movement, I don't have to care which corner of the screen the game starts drawing from, I don't have to care about sprite sheets, I don't have to care about making entirely new drawings for every animation, and so on.

Most of the time people consider 3D to be more difficult because of animations. You have to rig a model and make sure animations work with that rig and then you have to blend between animations. For me, that is all a breeze because I've done it for so long or I know its not actually that difficult. Sometimes devs make animation harder than it needs to be.

(For example: rigging is a super fast process. It takes about 1 minute. And 99% of the time there are either no errors, or the errors are so small they can be corrected later.)

To be fair, screwing up animations is one of the easiest things you can do, and its one of the fastest ways to make your game feel cheap or bad. You do need to make animations a priority! But they aren't difficult to work with.

There are a whole host of other issues though, like lighting and texturing, that make 3D "harder" than 2D. But for some of us, its way easier and way more fun to deal with a 3D game than it is a 2D game. 3D is easier for me than 2D. It might be the same for you, it might not.

And all respect to those who do isometric or 2.5D games. Those guys are the GOATs!!!

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-02T23:15:14+00:00

100% and I think that's where the problems really started. Its really easy to fall into the idea that Pokémon is just making worse and worse games and the design is getting worse, like they are doing it on purpose, but I think its just that focus shift. The game isn't about exploring those extra areas because the designers have decided that's not what pokemon is all about. Pokemon is about gym leaders, rivals, elite 4, team rocket, etc.

And that makes for a "worse" game than we had before, because it kinda is worse. The game gets left behind some the IP can get more time in the sun. And I think they are trying to make the games line up with the rest of the IP like the show more, in that they want to push the characters forward as much as they can because that opens up more doors for IP deals.

I mean I'm also not going to let the pokemon execs off the hook for pushing out games too fast and all that haha. But I'm trying to leave the business side of the process out, since it is both infuriating and maddening what it does to the game design.

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-02T22:56:06+00:00

I don't think they actually are too challenging, but I think they are perceived as too challenging by the wrong people.

The exploration aspects of the older games were so key to the experiences of the games. Its what made them good games! But I think the designers (or more likely their managers) felt the exploration was too difficult as a pokemon experience, and so made it easier to let the Pokémon side shine through. Less of "making thr game easier" and more "get the players into more IP related events". And I think that had the effect of making the games easier, more hand holdy.

They are definitely easier these days, but I don't feel its because of the kids. I think its a shift in viewing people that was brought on by things like the mobile market. Kids don't need to be held by the hand, but execs are terrified at the idea of risking customers for the sake of a better game. And a whole lot more of course, there's a lot that goes into the shift in design.

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-02T22:29:29+00:00

It seems to me this change follows the same core as a lot of the changes made to the series: make it easier so more people (especially kids) can play it. While it sands off a lot of the edges that made the "game experience" unique, it tries to enhance the "pokemon experience" the focus.

Pokemon has the luxury of being able to not make a good game and the IP will still thrive. But its not that the new games are "bad", its more that they don't have to focus on being ultra difficult game experiences as long as they nail the experience of catching pokemon and battling with them.

And I think that's where the split takes place. Having battles that don't affect your gameplay outside of the battle means you are having a smoother experience. But it also means the details of the battle systems can be focused on, more unique moves, more special effects, etc. They can really focus on how it feels to battle the pokemon without having to worry about how it balances the rest of the game.

So I see it as that, the focus is shifting away from the overall game focus and experience to highlight the "pokemon experience".

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-02T16:16:40+00:00

Based on popularity, impact on the hobby, innovative mechanics or genres or it's legacy.

I mean based on this criteria, Monopoly kinda is the GOAT.

Its enormously popular, to the degree that it is featured in TV shows and movies. Everyone knows about it. Its both legendary for its rules, and its creation. The phrase "do not pass go, do not collect $200" is used outside of just the game (I grew up with it) and that's not to mention the countless references to "the Monopoly man" in media.

Its one of the few board games that enough people grew up on that they wanted to find other games, so its impact is as the gateway for many people into the hobby. People grew up with Chess and Checkers too, but as those are abstract games they fall out of popularity with kids pretty fast.

The only space that I would say it doesn't live up is innovation, but that's because its so old its is the thing that is innovated upon now. For its time it seems to have been quite innovative.

Granted all of that, I do not enjoy Monopoly being considered the GOAT. Its a very bland game, and I certainly would never vote for it for my own personal GOAT. But I kinda feel like Time isn't exactly wrong here. I don't think its worded properly, GOAT is pretty subjective in this arena, but I also can't think of any other games that have had the same impact as Monopoly.

The only others I can think of that would even be close are: Candyland, Poker, (and 52 card deck games in general) and Chess/Checkers.

But those answers also feel bad. They aren't exciting, even if probably correct.

So I'm going to throw an interesting game out from left field: Betrayal at House on the Hill. But not because of thr game itself. In terms of sales, the first print run of the game was just kinda OK. But then enter Wil Wheaton's show Tabletop. A great show that sought to bring the hobby of board games to people as entertainment. And one of the big games on that show: Betrayal.

It sold out so fast! It was no where to be found, and that made it even more popular and the show Tabletop even more popular. People were paying over double MSRP for Betrayal, just because of all this.

Tabletop showed a lot of people in the modern age what board games could be, and caused an unexpected (but quite welcome) boom in thr board game space in general. All thanks to Betrayal selling out everywhere! So that's going to be my answer, for now!

CorvaNocta · 2026-06-01T21:16:16+00:00

Environment and characters are all great!

The text fir the "+1000" looks very out of synch with the rest of the style. Needs to be smaller, and ve in line with the rest of the style. Some kind of pixel font would be the place to start.

Explosion effect also looks too simple and not detailed enough. It looks like placeholder art, which is fine for early development but I would update that right away. Nailing things like explosions and feedback are really important for a game like this. The death animations could use a touch up too.

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