Control in 3 bits

Tristan and Oliver carry the weight of a multitude of worlds on their shoulders as they scuttle through Geometric Interactive’s mind-bending Cocoon, unravelling these three bits:Alien Feel - Otherworldly soundscapes and expertly leveraging them for narrative escalationSuitcase Puzzles - Single button simplicity, yet a puzzling world of opportunityMental Management - Keeping the player sane through controlled pacing and trading off complexityLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] us a review!Some references:Jeppe Carlsen Details Puzzle Design Philosophy for Cocoon - Hank Whitson, gamerant (article)Cocoon shows the best puzzles aren’t always hard - Ana Diaz, Polygon (article)Mental staircases and paradoxical suitcases: Crafting the world-hopping puzzles of Cocoon - Chris Kerr, Game Developer (article)The challenges of laying worlds upon worlds in puzzle game COCOON - Joel Couture, Game Developer (article)How Cocoon masters the art of invisible game design - Human Computer (video essay)

Tristan and Oliver are joined by guest designer Ioana as they don their dateviators and graft to seduce their furniture in Sassy Chap Games’ Date Everything!Realising it in three bits:Laugh It Out - Sending a message about the ridiculous state of current events and corporate greed under an engaging veil of satire It’s a Match - The impressively creative roster of 100 characters and their boundlessly diverse appealDating is Everything - Contrasting the simple, highly functional 3D space with the elaborate 2D character artLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] us a review!Some references:Date Everything Review – The Most Unhinged Dating Sim You’ll Ever Play - Melika Jeddi, ScreenHype (article)Date Everything Lead Designer on their Ambitious Dating Sim, Large Voice Cast, and Embracing Weirdness - Sri Kandula, Respawn Station (article)Date Everything! Developer Interview | Game Overview Gamescom 2024 - SpottinGames (video)

Tristan and Oliver grab their notebook and hop on a ferry to get a glimpse into the extraordinary lives of Giant Sparrow’s What Remains of Edith Finch, coming away with these three bits:Character Anthology - Exploring the house as a narrative tool and building characters room by roomVignette Controls - Tapping into a variety of genres and playstyles to give each character’s perspective a unique personalityImpossible Architecture - Keeping the player actively engaged in linear exploration through unexpected spaces and defying limitationsLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] us a review!Some references:What Remains of Edith Finch and the UX of Storytelling & Immersion - ishikasoni, Medium (article)Dissecting Finches: A Critical Analysis of the Mechanics of the Unique Artistic Game What Remains of Edith Finch - Daniel Podgorski, The Gemsbok (article)Weaving 13 Prototypes into 1 Game: Lessons from Edith Finch - Ian Dallas, GDC talk (video)‘Edith Finch’ shows that more creative, thoughtful, and joyful games are possible - Jackson Wagner (video essay)The Distributed Art Direction of Edith Finch - Chelsea Hash, GDC talk (video)What Remains of Edith Finch writer and creative director Ian Dallas chats about making the game - Page One - The writer’s podcast (video)PlayStation Experience | Edith Finch: The Inspirations of Giant Sparrow Panel - Playstation (video)

Tristan and Oliver open their mouths wide and inhale as much as they can of HAL Laboratory’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land, before spewing it back out into these three bits:Accessible 3D - Bringing the most accessible Nintendo character into full 3D perspective with innovative solutionsMy Enemy Is My Friend - Turning enemies into opportunities with copy abilities and sustaining surprise with Mouthful set piecesWaddle Dee-scovery - Rewarding creativity and exploration through the Waddle Dee collection level-scoring systemLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] us a review!Some references:The Many Dimensions of Kirby - GDC 2023, talk (video)Student Level Design Analysis: Kirby in the Forgotten Land by Noah Meaker - Creative Technologies at Illinois State University (video)Ask the Developer Vol. 4, Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Nintendo (article)

Tristan and Oliver hop on their brooms and ready their wands together with self-proclaimed Slytherin narrative designer Sophie Walker as they cast Revelio on Avalanche Software’s Hogwarts Legacy, revealing these three bits:Big Robes to Fill - Threading the fine line between originality and nostalgia to build a compelling narrative and characters in an adaptationExpelliarmus! - Wand-based combat and versatile spell designCharting the Wizarding World - Bringing previously isolated iconic locations together into living breathing open worldLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] us a review!Some references:An Inside Look at Hogwarts Legacy Unreal Engine Extensions | GDC 2024 - Unreal Engine, GDC Talk (video)Why Avalanche worked to deliver a Hogwarts game with soul - Brian Crecente, Unreal Engine (article)Level Design Lessons I Learned the Hard Way — And How Hogwarts Legacy Got Them Right - John Chasoulidis Abela, Medium (article)Hogwarts Legacy Game design deconstruction - Irina Kurkina, Medium (article)The art and making of Hogwarts Legacy - Jodi Revenson and Michael Owen (book)

In between seasons, Oliver takes the chance to reflect on some of the games we have discussed previously (Slay the Spire, Inscryption, and Balatro) to break down the genre of Roguelike Deckbuilders into three recurring bits:Building on Familiarity - Pick up and play simplicity, minimal onboarding, and complexity layeringMeaningful Choices - Risk VS reward and the power of full information transparencyOozing Personality - Successfully translating the slow tactile form of playing cards to the audio-visual medium of videogamesLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] us a review!

Tristan and Oliver pledge allegiance to mother nature and reclaim the polluted earth in Free Lives’ reverse city builder Terra Nil, cultivating it into these three bits:Tree Act Structure - Unpacking the three stages of the core loop and having clear objectives to a simulation gameLeave No Trace - Subverting player expectations by relinquishing your creation to nature and recycling your structuresTake It All In - The absence of pressure, threading the line between a game and a meditative experienceLet us know what you think:Leave us a review!3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] references:Developing 'Terra Nil': A Strategy Game About Nature, Not Expansion - Sam Alfred, GDC 2024 (talk)Terra Nil Lead Designer On Lessons from Broforce & Designing Strategy Games - Shacknews Interviews (video)Why a recycling mechanic saved Terra Nil's climate cleanup design - Bryant Francis, Game Developer (article)Terra Nil: techno-fixes, nature for nature, and the importance of feeling ecological vibes - Joost Vervoort, Medium (article)This Video Game Prioritizes Restoring An Ecosystem Over Profits - Science Friday (podcast)FIRESIDE CHAT | Terra Nil - Sam Alfred, Jonathan Hau-Yoon, John Faciane, & Dominique Gawaloski - Games for Change (video)

Tristan and Oliver are joined by guest Marta Durand as they take on the role of the new director and unravel the surreal mysteries of the Oldest House in Remedy's mind-bending Control, locking it down into these three bits:Oldest House - Metroidvania storytelling housed in brutalist architectureThe Force - The ultimate telekinetic power fantasy and progression in the combat systemBusiness as Usual - Grounding the supernatural through mundane corporate activityLet us know what you think:Leave us a review!3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] references:Control: A Masterpiece in Game Design - Faye Seidler, Medium (article)The Secret Sauce of Remedy's Map Design - Game Design with Michael (video essay)Control freak: Inside the narrative design of Remedy's least linear game - Diego Arguello, Game Developer (article)Exploring the world-driven game design of Control - Bryant Francis, Game Developer (article)

Tristan and Oliver abandon this timeline and rethink tactics for the next, in Subset Games' mech vs kaiju showdown Into the Breach, breaking it down into these three bits:Strategic Simplicity - Making a turn based strategy game feel approachableCollateral Damage - Subverting player expectations by making them disposable and not the top priorityActions and Reactions - Designing the perfect balance of having all the information available to you but still getting caught off guard Let us know what you think:Leave us a review!3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] references:Reimagining failure in strategy game design in Into the Breach - Alex Wiltshire, Game Developer (article)Analyzing the Design of Into the Breach; or, Why Can’t I Stop Playing this Game? - Ian, Adventure Rules (blog)Into the Breach Design Postmortem - Matthew Davis, GDC (talk)The Secret of Into the Breach's AI: Power in Simplicity | AI and Games #72 - Dr. Tommy Thompson, AI and Games (video essay)The Design of FTL & Into The Breach - /noclip (documentary)Does Into The Breach Really Have Perfect Information? Why RNG Matters - Adam Millar, The Architect of Games (video essay)

Tristan and Oliver are joined by Kieran Reid as they inherit too much responsibility for their own good, and try to manage chaos in Colossal Order's hit sim Cities Skylines, planning it out in these three zones:Traffic as Emerging Puzzles - Breaking down the brilliant traffic systems and how they develop engaging challenges to the player throughout City Identity Through Roleplay - Looking at the little details and customisation tools the game offers that bring life and purpose to your cityHard to Learn, Easy to Master - Reviewing the daunting first time user experience, the delayed core loop hook, and the role of the communityLet us know what you think:Leave us a review!3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] references:Game Design Deep Dive: Traffic systems in Cities: Skylines - Antti Lehto and Damien Morello and Karoliina Korppoo, Game Developer (article)Cities: Skylines dev: Don't punish your players; teach them - Alex Wawro, Game Developer (article)