Game design occupies that softest and most malleable space that exists between developer intent and player understanding, so you generally shouldn't hear black & white qualifiers like that from an actual designer...

But people who play games and don't make them love saying "good" and "bad" design!

None of the above examples are good fits for Metal Garden or Hypogea specifically mind you, and brainstorming out specific gameplay-changing final mechanics is beyond the scope of a thread like this, but hopefully there's a spark there to inspire future final acts of pattern subversion!

🧵end

Valve's always been fond of this structure, meaning a lot of people's go-to example will be the empowered gravity gun from Half-Life 2, but whether it's a teleportation device, a BFG superweapon, or a space jump that's tantamount to flight, it should radically alter how you play.

🧵4/5

There's a "trick" I think might help imbue games like this with an increased sense of closure in the run-up to their final emotional beats and/or world reveals; a final act exclusive upgrade or mechanic that cathartically subverts what's come before...

🧵3/5

Reaching the end of short, focused experiences like these can be bittersweet; part of me wants to linger longer in the decaying brutalist morrowscapes, but runtime padding and content bloat are the LAST things single player indie games need to be mucking about with!

🧵2/5

Naturally!
FWIW I didn't find all the artifacts, but my playthrough was really smooth; didn't encounter anything gnarly.

...which reminds me, I should get a Steam review in for ya...

...it took me way too long to realize that this was in reference to the menswear guy, heh.

In my experience it's all too common for this very good practice to be in constant tension with the need for builds to visually communicate "art direction potential" to powerful stakeholders that lack the imagination and foresight to playtest without wasting time flagging up "placeholder looks bad!"

...then you might be blessed-cursed to be tweaking and polishing the same project while extending it indefinitely?

I don't know how to process this feeling that I entered the industry too late for a chance to work on games that have a beginning, middle, and end.
Gotta go it alone I suppose.

The effect on the surface where the platform moves, not the waterfall I assume?

Games are never REALLY done, at some point one has to focus on the next project because you could polish stuff like that for the rest of your life!

Unless you stumble into some sort of live service success...

Man, the concerned dog person in me is screaming internally about how most of those puppers show signs of being overweight, but at least everyone involved is happy I guess; I should try to be less judgemental.

Oh, man... would love to see some restoration work done on that thing; looks like it was beat up and stored in a garage for decades.

Is that, like, when you set up some round-robin frisbee golf and your opponents get a letter in H.O.R.S.E. when they can't duplicate your trick shots?

Pretty good!
Maybe add a female presenting Gen Z-er and Melinoe, just so the labelling reads less as "no, but his name's Zagreus!" and more like diverse examples of the form?

If this is parody, it's funny but needs to put ONE toe over an irony line somewhere to seal the wink...

If this is an actual Amazon ad, they've succeeded in producing some sort of Upright Citizen's Brigade sketch about themselves?

I definitely didn't appreciate it at the time, but the limitations of a broadcast schedule exposed us to so many different things!

I fear for the generations that may get railroaded into watching limited genres while only being aware of products and services they're likely to buy into.

My kneejerk reaction was, "well not the ads though..."

...But, upon reflection, I DO kinda miss commercials that aren't algorithmically targeted and tailored.
Little windows into other demographics; appeals to those older or younger than you, of other genders or socioeconomic backgrounds...

She needn't even be a reliable narrator.
"Federation scientists are idiots, other bounty hunters can't be trusted, I work alone and no one cares for me or can help on my missions."

The player should see it HER way. Mystery could even mean the above isn't true, but your perspective is limited!

1) Samus Aran
2) Sense of Mystery
That's it!

Tempted to over-characterize and flesh out Samus' past/motivations? *Taps Mystery Sign*

Tempted to over-worldbuild and flesh out a supporting cast? *Taps Samus Sign*