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nor @050nor.bsky.social · 3d

Never knew Sakaguchi wanted to make a tear-jerker game since FFI

#FinalFantasy #1980s #Famicom #DragonQuest

Final Fantasy I and the Making of a Cultural Phenomenon (Part II of II)

Part II of how Final Fantasy was born from a mixture of pop culture and technology in 1980s Japan. - The first step toward emotional storytelling in videogames

open.substack.com

nor @050nor.bsky.social · 28d

This is gold

NieR Gestalt & NieR Replicant Original Soundtrack

open.spotify.com

nor @050nor.bsky.social · Sep 18

The Unusual Rise of Fantasy RPGs in Japan
www.superjumpmagazine.com/fantasy-rpgs...

The Unusual Rise of Fantasy RPGs in Japan

Unlike in the West, developers in Japan had to unearth a new love for a niche genre

www.superjumpmagazine.com

nor @050nor.bsky.social · Sep 14

When I was 12, my friend asked me, ‘Will you still play Final Fantasy when you’re 30?’ …I’m well past 30 now, and I just picked up Final Fantasy I and wrote this piece.
#finalfantasy #ff

Final Fantasy I: Square's fluke(?) and the early era of Japanese console games.

Things I Read, Played, Watched: Final Fantasy I, Ultima I and Afghanistan in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

open.substack.com

nor @050nor.bsky.social · Sep 7

050nor.substack.com/p/grand-thef...

Grand Theft Hamlet and putting work into video games

Things I Read, Played, Watched this week

050nor.substack.com

nor @050nor.bsky.social · Sep 7

Things I read, played, watched this week

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nor @050nor.bsky.social · Aug 31

I always feel powerless, and I think this is normal. Not just normal everywhere, but also across time....
#Hypernormalisation #CapitalistRealism

Hypernormalisation, Capitalist Realism, and Game Economies.

Things I Read, Played, Watched this week

open.substack.com

nor @050nor.bsky.social · Aug 26

Local technologies, local wisdom against technology singularity.
lareviewofbooks.org/article/on-t... via @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social

On Technodiversity: A Conversation with Yuk Hui | Los Angeles Review of Books

A major philosopher of science on different paths to modernity, the openness of the future, and the fallacies of transhumanism.

lareviewofbooks.org

nor @050nor.bsky.social · Aug 22

I came across Ramin’s works last week, and I think they are one of the best (if not the best) about game economics out there. I’m on my quest to go through all of his writings right now 😅
#gamedesign #gamedev

61. Game Economics Defined

The explanation of economics you should have gotten in the university, but didn't. Game economics is not taught at the university, and is very different compared to conventional economics.

substack.com

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nor @050nor.bsky.social · Aug 7

I hopped back into FFXIV and couldn’t help but wonder… why is everyone so flashy now?! I felt like an old geezer stepping outside after three years 😅

I also played Time Flies, a game I fell in love with from the trailer, but playing it wasn’t quite as joyful as I hoped.
#FFXIV #eveonline #timeflies

What Do the Rich Buy in FFXIV and EVE? | Time Flies - The Eternal in Seventy Seconds

Update on MMO economic series and the joy of wasting time in a game that gives you so little of it.

050nor.substack.com

Reposted by nor

Panic @panic.com · Jul 31

Time Flies is OUT NOW!!

For Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Mac/PC. On sale for a limited time. Hand-crafted, delightful, short and sweet. And most of all: fun. timeflies.buzz 🪰

Spread the word!

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nor @050nor.bsky.social · Jul 31

One of my core childhood memories is hunting tigers and cooking BBQ to sell at Juno in Final Fantasy XI.

Fast forward 20 years, and those memories led me to my new series exploring the economic systems in current MMOs and how they shape the way we play.

#gamedesign #gamedev #economic #eveonline

EVE Online Economic System and Its Impact on How Players Play

The quest to understand the impact of economic design in MMOs

open.substack.com

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nor @050nor.bsky.social · Jul 24

My new post on Her Story with a behavioral lens. - How Curiosity Gaps, Surprise, and Ambiguity Pull Us Down the Rabbit Hole

#gamedesign #narrativedesign #gamedev #behavioral

Her Story and the Behavioral Design of Curiosity

How Curiosity Gaps, Surprise, and Ambiguity Pulls Us Down the Rabbit Hole

open.substack.com

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nor @050nor.bsky.social · Jul 17

Just played #LastReport, a short horror game where you’re a park ranger working alone behind a desk, filing reports as shadows creep up at your door. Great use of mechanics to build tension, though I wish the reports had more subtlety. Full thoughts below.
#gamedesign #narrativedesign #gamedev

My Friend Is Dying, But I Need to Finish This Report…

A breakdown of how a simple desk job turns into a tense horror experience

open.substack.com

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nor @050nor.bsky.social · Jul 10

Read on

Two upcoming games that turn life & death questions into playful design.

What a fly and a Japanese factory can teach you about life and death. Plus, The Last of Us Part II gets a Chronological Mode.

open.substack.com

nor @050nor.bsky.social · Jul 10

#InteractiveNarrative Weekly👀
-
🪰Time Flies - Because death is equal @timeflies.buzz
🏭Kaizen: A Factory Story - Design, Build, Optimize and get better every day (from @coincidence.games)
🔄 #TheLastofUsPartII gets new Chronological Mode
-
#gamedesign #narrativedesign #gamedev

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nor @050nor.bsky.social · Jul 10

Can't wait to be a fly🪰

Time Flies ⏳🪰🎮 @timeflies.buzz · Jul 8

I have a Release Date! 🖤

Reposted by nor

Coincidence @coincidence.games · Jun 9

The demo for Kaizen: A Factory Story is now live on Steam!

store.steampowered.com/app/2275490

This is the first demo that I have made for one of our games since... 2011? I've been operating under the assumption that Bulletstorm killed the PC game demo, but apparently that's not true anymore.

Kaizen: A Factory Story on Steam

Kaizen is an open-ended puzzle automation game from the original Zachtronics team, set in 1980s Japan. Design, build, and optimize production lines to create iconic products, like calculators, camcord...

store.steampowered.com

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nor @050nor.bsky.social · Jul 3

#InteractiveNarrative Weekly👀
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#HellMart – run a hellish supermarket
#MinistryofOrder – dystopian baby-matching sim
#PeraCoda – Disco Elysium X Istanbul
#DearMe, I was… – painterly fiction game
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❤️IDN this Week - Her Story is cleverly genius.

#gamedesign #narrativedesign #gamedev

Sim Games Week: Be a Clerk, Nurse and Investigator (Sort Of)

From horror supermarket to totalitarian maternity wards. Dive into life, death and memory. Plus a spotlight on Her Story, a modern classic of curiosity.

open.substack.com

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nor @050nor.bsky.social · Jul 2

What have we here 🤔 #HellMart

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nor @050nor.bsky.social · Jun 28

This is the best session on game design I’ve ever watched.

A MUST WATCH🥲

#gamedesign #narrativedesign #gamedev

Designing Journey

It took thatgamecompany three years to develop a two-hour long video game. Many high-level experimental ideas were tested and failed, and many lessons were learned during the design and production of ...

www.gdcvault.com

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nor @050nor.bsky.social · Jun 27

Interactive Narrative Weekly:
- Great essays by BFI on @mrsambarlow.bsky.social's FMV
- Open-world pirate adventure, #SeaofRemnants, released a new gameplay.
- The Doomsday Glacier, a scrollytelling website about melting glaciers.
- #NoImNotAHuman Demo from Trioskaz
- IDN game of the Week #Road96