GameMakersToolkit

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's dungeon design | Boss Keys

This post is available 24 hours early to those pledging $5 or more

19 months, 16 games, 13 videos, and 130 dungeons later, and we finally finish our breakdown of the dungeons in the Zelda series, by looking at 2017's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. 

And now I don't want to even think about Zelda du...

Reading List (January 2018)

Hello! 

This year, I’m going to spread out the Patreon rewards a bit so you don’t get them all in one go at the end of the month. That means I’m going to try and get the reading list out in, roughly, the middle of the month. 

This time I’ve got stuff from this year and last year, some look backs at clas...

New episode - How Games Use Feedback Loops

Hello! First episode of the new year is a look at a game I played over Christmas (the enchanting Pyre) and a breakdown of a pretty important bit of game design: feedback loops.

It's part of what I talked about at the end of last year, about wanting to do more stuff that can prove helpful to new designers. 

This epis...

24 hour exclusive - How Games Use Feedback Loops | Game Maker’s Toolkit

Hello! First episode of the new year is a look at a game I played over Christmas (the enchanting Pyre) and a breakdown of a pretty important bit of game design: feedback loops.

It's part of what I talked about at the end of last year, about wanting to do more stuff that can prove helpful to new designers. 

This epis...

What I played on my Christmas break

Hello everybody. Happy New Year - here’s to a brilliant 2018!

So, I took two weeks off work at the end of last year to recharge my batteries. But I made the most of it by working through my backlog, and finishing up a bunch of games I’ve been meaning to finish or play. 

In this quick post I want to offer some mu...

Playlist (December 2017)

Hello everybody. Above is your playlist video for December, and below is a text version if you'd rather read than watch!

Something a bit different for you this month. I haven’t played anything new in December I don’t think, so what I’m going to do is talk about my 10 favourite games of 2017.

I’ve played a lot of ...

Reading List (December 2017)

Hello! Welcome to the reading list, a curated collection of articles and videos I’ve enjoyed in the last month.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the lists this year - here’s to many more in 2018!

Design in detail

[Video | CC] 2017-12-26 10:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Merry Christmas everyone!

Hi everyone! Just wanted to drop a quick note to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Hope you have a fabulous time. 

I’m taking some much needed time off at the moment, but making the most of it by playing / finishing lots of games from my backlog including Dark Souls, Thimbleweed Park, MGS 3, and Yaku...

Insider - 10 bits of good game design from 2017

Hey everyone!

So, every year I do a video in December where I highlight some cool bits and bobs from the year’s games. In 2015 I looked at bits of good game design, in 2016 I looked at 2017-12-19 12:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post

How Snake Pass Works | Game Maker's Toolkit

For my final video of the year, I wanted to give a little love to a really cool game: the wriggly slither 'em up Snake Pass. In this video I talk about how the game came to be, how it works, why it's rad, and why it deserves to be celebrated

A quick update on Patreon fees

Hey everyone. Just wanted to write a quick note about some upcoming changes to your Patreon pledge.

From December 18th, Patreon will add a new charge on top of your pledge - specifically, 2.9% + $0.35. A $1 pledge, for example, will now cost you $1.38.

The idea is that Patreon creators like me will receive more ...

5 Amazing Levels from 2017 | Game Maker's Toolkit

This year's edition of my annual Top 5 list is here - this time, breaking down 5 great levels from 2017's games. Some obvious picks, some surprise inclusions. 

I'll write about some good bits of game design / innovation from the year on Patreon, too, before the year is out. 

24 hour preview - 5 Amazing Levels from 2017

Hello all!

So, every year I do a "top 5" list of cool things from the past 12 months. I've done "bits of game design" and "innovations". This year, it's levels.

I'll also do a Patreon post about some bits of game design and innovation, as I know people enjoyed those in previous years. So look out for that in the near fut...

Insider (November 2017)

Hey everyone!

I didn’t know what to do for this month’s insider. But with 2017 coming to a close, I thought it was maybe a good opportunity to look at what I’ve been up to this year. Here we go.

What did I make this year?

2017-11-30 12:02:22 +0000 UTC View Post

Playlist (November 2017)

Three interesting video games to get your teeth into! Next month: my game of the year list. 

Reading List (November 2017)

Hello everyone!

You know the drill by now. 30-odd articles and videos that I discovered in the last month, ferociously curated for your intrigue and entertainment. Lemme know what you liked reading most in the comments below.

Odyssey! Ya see!

2017-11-27 09:28:18 +0000 UTC View Post

GameClub 6 - Gunpoint

It was another very close GameClub poll, but Gunpoint won by a hair. I've been meaning to play this one so this will finally give me the push to try it out!

The Discord room is open now. You can get the game on Steam, or you can try the ...

GameClub 6 - Pick our next game!

Welcome back to the GameClub! 

Each month, we play a game and chat about its design, story, development, strengths, and weaknesses, over on the GMTK Discord channel. 

But first, we need to pick the next game. Here are your options, and they’re all currently on sale on Steam so you won’t have to spend much c...

The Legend of Zelda / Zelda II's dungeon design | Boss Keys

Hey folks! I think this post got gobbled up on the way to your feed so lemme send it again!

New Boss Keys. The penultimate episode, with a detour to examine the games that started it all before we wrap up with Breath of the Wild. Probably in January.

Then, a break! And then season 2. Which, more than likely, will be Metr...

24 hour sneak peek - NES Boss Keys

Well, here it is. A look at how Zelda's designers stumbled over keys, obstacles, bombs, and difficulty while on their way to making the dungeons that would define the series.

Out for everyone tomorrow. 

Thoughts on Assassin’s Creed: Origins

Hello everybody.

I recently finished Assassin’s Creed: Origins. This is the one set in Egypt, it’s a prequel to the rest of the games, and it’s made by the same team as Black Flag (aka The Best One).

My thoughts on the game are pretty mixed. I consider lots of things in the game to be pretty underdeveloped and unin...

The Design Behind Super Mario Odyssey | Game Maker's Toolkit

Okay, yeah, who was I kidding? Of course I had to cover Super Mario Odyssey on the channel. A big bold new Mario game doesn't come around very often and as I've built my channel on the big man's brilliant game design I felt like it only made sense to chat about the game's strengths.

Q&A Part 3 - The future and identity of Game Maker’s Toolkit

Hello everybody!

This week marks the three year anniversary of Game Maker’s Toolkit.

It’s been a wild ride! I have released 59 videos, as well as 11 episodes of Boss Keys, and 3 bonus videos. I’ve run a game jam, given talks at events and universities, received wonderful messages from incredibly talented people, qu...

24 hour preview - Something something Mario Odyssey!

Hello!

Okay, yeah, who was I kidding? Of course I had to cover Super Mario Odyssey on the channel. A big bold new Mario game doesn't come around very often and as I've built my channel on the big man's brilliant game design I felt like it only made sense to chat about the game's strengths.

Lemme know what you think. The ...

GMTK Insider - 3 times I screwed up in October

Hey everyone!

For this month’s Insider post, I’m going to talk about the videos in made in October, and - for the sake of transparency and learning - highlight the things I got wrong.

How Game Designers Protect Players from Themse...