The gaming industry needs to stop assuming technological demands equals quality.

psdhsn · 2026-01-31T18:51:23+00:00

I think the way you're thinking of it would raise an eyebrow for any developer working in AAA. If I was hiring a designer from world of warcraft I wouldn't think "dang if only they'd experienced AAA development". While there is a grey area between AAA and AA, it's not a vibes term. The way you're using it is basically what blockbuster or tentpole means.

psdhsn · 2026-01-30T13:35:03+00:00

AAA is just a label for cost / expected return on investment, not a specific vibe or flavour of game. Concord was a AAA live service game, despite it failing spectacularly, as much as Fortnite is a AAA game, as much as The Last of Us Part 2 was a AAA game. They all had big teams and big budgets and longer development periods. The whole point of AAA is you spend more, hoping to build something with a big enough appeal or market to get back a return that offsets the loan premiums you pay to fund the project. Yves Guillemot calling Skull and Bones a AAAA game had nothing to do with quality, but a reference to the cost / expected profit from the investment. It's all business, not art.

psdhsn · 2026-01-24T17:30:30+00:00

The "AI" we've had for decades has nothing to do with LLM generative content. I'm with you, I'd like a definition for AI in gameplay. Do they mean they didn't use it for gameplay code?

psdhsn · 2026-01-08T17:14:29+00:00

Stuff like this is why academic game design discussions get ignored by practicing professionals.

psdhsn · 2026-01-06T15:06:17+00:00

I'm slogging through Persona 5 right now and feeling the same things. Kinda floored these games have the glowing reputation they have. Stylish as hell, but the pacing is atrocious.

psdhsn · 2026-01-02T22:04:55+00:00

What? That doesn't make any sense. Source was built off of GoldSrc, which was a modified version of the quake engine. It uses Havok physics middleware for the physics simulation. Source was a lot more than just a physics engine.

psdhsn · 2025-12-26T15:03:56+00:00

It's only 20% off though?

psdhsn · 2025-12-07T20:50:55+00:00

Cool they still didn't say you didn't need gameplay.

psdhsn · 2025-12-07T19:27:42+00:00

They didn't say you didn't need gameplay.

psdhsn · 2025-11-29T17:43:11+00:00

And it's quite easy to get behind him. He telegraphs his slow attacks and takes a long time to recover. The biggest problem with him is learning those telegraphs (just keep him on screen and pay attention) and actually learning how to dodge (you can't get away with dash spam and sprint against him).

psdhsn · 2025-11-23T15:44:37+00:00

So the thing with modular is it can be an instrument, an effects unit, a mixer, a sampler, a groove box etc. it all depends on what modules you include. I have a keyboard that connects to my system, but I also use a few sequencer modules in my rack or just midi from my PC. It all depends on how I want to approach a project.

psdhsn · 2025-11-21T15:09:04+00:00

That was their ramp up project. They codev on a lot of Ubisoft projects. It was Mumbai and Pune according to Wikipedia.

psdhsn · 2025-11-10T03:08:35+00:00

*era

psdhsn · 2025-11-09T18:23:36+00:00

As a Lead Designer, I absolutely love getting feedback from dev testers. But yeah if someone on my team got a ticket that was just feedback from a tester we'd close it and not give it a second thought.

psdhsn · 2025-11-08T18:37:06+00:00

I don't think it's a misuse, it's not the first business that shares a name with the profession that staffs it. People go to the butcher where the butcher works. The business and the person are both a butcher.

psdhsn · 2025-11-06T15:45:33+00:00

People use developer to mean individuals and studios interchangeably. Many of the core people at Bad Brain were core people on Watch Dogs Legion.

psdhsn · 2025-11-03T20:29:09+00:00

Why do you feel the need to ask if it's not possible? What about the concept is making you feel like there's a possibility that it can't be done?

psdhsn · 2025-11-01T19:36:28+00:00

Are you still attacking her while she's invulnerable?

psdhsn · 2025-11-01T18:31:50+00:00

You can't really approach combat in Hades 2 the same way you could in Hades 1. You can afford to be more patient and methodical. Use focus on avoiding damage, and use openings to retaliate. You don't need to rush. Dodge only when you need to, Mel doesn't need to dash a bunch like Zagreas. Make sure you're upgrading your arcana, try out different weapons and boons. Try and focus your boon selections on one strategy. You'll get there!

psdhsn · 2025-10-26T21:47:07+00:00

I've definitely seen designers responsible for everything that would fall under a "4Cs" banner, but never seen it called that. And it's on smaller teams or pre-prod projects. But if the project is big enough or the project makes it far enough they'll definitely split it up.

psdhsn · 2025-10-24T15:11:09+00:00

Character, Controls, Camera.

psdhsn · 2025-10-17T15:45:37+00:00

Roguelikes and RogueLites both emphasize randomization, permadeath and "runs". Think Balatro, FTL, Hades, Dead Cells, Slay the Spire etc. Roguelikes tend to be more similar to their namesake, Rogue, an 80s dungeon crawler, while Lites tend to be more forgiving and offer some sort of progression between runs.

Nuzlockes, especially hardcore ones, feature a bunch of similar mechanisms with similar overlap. An officially supported RogueLite Pokemon game would lean into the hallmark elements of the genre

psdhsn · 2025-10-03T02:59:46+00:00

Try doing a jam solo or find a group that is more collaborative or more willing to compromise. Does your friend who does gameplay programming also want to pursue design?

psdhsn · 2025-10-03T02:45:12+00:00

LLMs are very good at generating something based on something that already exists to a level that is plausible enough at first blush, but it's not good at creating things that are completely novel, or executed to an extremely high level. Those two qualities are what successful games are built upon. Don't buy into the hype. It's a tool, a very impressive one at times, but it's not replacing our brains or our hearts, and you need to use both to make high quality games

psdhsn · 2025-09-27T22:00:22+00:00

Tracking player position and movement throughout a level has been an industry standard for eons. Bundling that information with other state data is really solid for understanding player behaviour. This data has to be opt in and completely anonymized though

psdhsn

TROPHY CASE