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Case Studies

A dwarf in a cave with a sign that says "you won't get it up the steps"

Deep Dive: The making of Colossal CaveDeep Dive: The making of Colossal Cave

A behind-the-scenes look at the remake of the 1976 text adventure classic gives insight into how Cygnus Entertainment approached this ambitious revival.

byKen Williams, Contributor

Mar 7, 2023

49 Min Read

a person pointing at the corners of their mouth and telling us to remember to smile

How He Fucked the Girl Out of Me takes players through traumatic memories How He Fucked the Girl Out of Me takes players through traumatic memories

Mar 7, 2023

28 Min Read

two people balancing on specialized seats to play Unicycle Samurai

Unicycle Samurai jousts with a twisting, turning seat controller Unicycle Samurai jousts with a twisting, turning seat controller

Mar 7, 2023

14 Min Read

a red haired woman runs a shop counter, a knight speaking with her

How Potionomics turned price-haggling into a card game How Potionomics turned price-haggling into a card game

Mar 6, 2023

11 Min Read

a hand-crafted handheld game system with several crafts and construction paper characters

Creating the look of a child's hand-crafted game in RPG Time: The Legend of WrightCreating the look of a child's hand-crafted game in RPG Time: The Legend of Wright

Mar 3, 2023

8 Min Read

Deep Dive: How the atmospheric conditions of space inspired the music of Deliver Us MarsDeep Dive: How the atmospheric conditions of space inspired the music of Deliver Us Mars

bySander van Zanten

Mar 2, 2023

10 Min Read

people in monstrous masks stand around a room lit by light coming from a stained glass window

The Case of the Golden Idol used frequent testing to sharpen its mystery-solving

The Case of the Golden Idol used frequent testing to sharpen its mystery-solving

byJoel Couture, Contributor

cards with berries, rocks, coins, and villagers lie on a beige table

How Stacklands uses simplicity to create a compelling card-based village builder

How Stacklands uses simplicity to create a compelling card-based village builder

byJoel Couture, Contributor

a picture of a spaceship in a dogfight. A shooting controller and a hammer and panel controller are below.

In Cosmic Crew, different co-op controllers keep a starship intact

In Cosmic Crew, different co-op controllers keep a starship intact

byJoel Couture, Contributor

a person pushing a shopping cart while someone inside the cart works some pulleys

How tight deadlines led to a fun shopping cart controller in Grocery Trip

How tight deadlines led to a fun shopping cart controller in Grocery Trip

byJoel Couture, Contributor

the inside of an office is shown in a window on a computer screen

How Presenter Slides captures serious business stuff and isn't a silly game

How Presenter Slides captures serious business stuff and isn't a silly game

byJoel Couture, Contributor

A bird's eye view of a huge settlement with many buildings and structures

Deep Dive: Designing the dynamic irrigation and water systems in Timberborn

Deep Dive: Designing the dynamic irrigation and water systems in Timberborn

byMichal Amielanczyk, Kamil Dawidow

Strange growths on top of buildings at nighttime

How Against the Storm managed to mix city-building and roguelite play

How Against the Storm managed to mix city-building and roguelite play

byJoel Couture, Contributor

a butterfly sitting on a log in a bright marsh

Turning critter sounds into harmonious music in Paradise Marsh

Turning critter sounds into harmonious music in Paradise Marsh

byJoel Couture, Contributor

a person in an orange space suit stands before an array of twisting geometric shapes

Shutter solves puzzles by shifting the world's perspective

Shutter solves puzzles by shifting the world's perspective

byJoel Couture, Contributor

a large green character standing on a platform

How Skala surprised its own creator with its scale-shifting mechanics

How Skala surprised its own creator with its scale-shifting mechanics

byJoel Couture, Contributor

a person looking at an intricate pop-up book controller and game about a young child

Blossom explores childhood memories with a pop-up book controller

Blossom explores childhood memories with a pop-up book controller

byJoel Couture, Contributor

a lime floats between some spikes in a grassy environment

Designing world-spanning & momentum-based platforming in Sylvie Lime

Designing world-spanning & momentum-based platforming in Sylvie Lime

byJoel Couture, Contributor

A painterly image of a Glimmerwick character on a wooded path

Deep Dive: The innovative projected 2D workflow of Songs of Glimmerwick

Deep Dive: The innovative projected 2D workflow of Songs of Glimmerwick

byDanny Weinbaum, Contributor

Several people at a script reading. A woman looks directly at the camera.

How IMMORTALITY captures an "open world" feel with its narrative

How IMMORTALITY captures an "open world" feel with its narrative

byJoel Couture, Contributor

a pair of people work together to untie a super long necktie

inTIErrupted cooperatively untangles a tie filled with puzzles

inTIErrupted cooperatively untangles a tie filled with puzzles

byJoel Couture, Contributor

The outlines of two heads facing one another, with an option to reroll dice in between them.

Betrayal at Club Low uses dice to pull players into compelling, surreal narrative situations

Betrayal at Club Low uses dice to pull players into compelling, surreal narrative situations

byJoel Couture, Contributor

F1 racetrack with drivers and crews

Deep Dive: Recreating the high octane broadcast experience in F1 Manager 2022

Deep Dive: Recreating the high octane broadcast experience in F1 Manager 2022

byMatt Dickinson, Tim Bartlett

several people in 1950s dress hanging around a bar

How To Hell With the Ugly brought a fantasized 50's L.A. to life through color

How To Hell With the Ugly brought a fantasized 50's L.A. to life through color

byJoel Couture, Contributor

a person in a space suit floats through a plaid universe

Afterglitch Seeks to Stir Unknowable Emotions in Utopian Space

Afterglitch Seeks to Stir Unknowable Emotions in Utopian Space

byJoel Couture, Contributor

Several purple creatures are milling about while a blue one blends in. A person in a controller navigates using a puppet

YettiBebbis: Puppet in a Cult has players investigate a cult with a puppet controller

YettiBebbis: Puppet in a Cult has players investigate a cult with a puppet controller

byJoel Couture, Contributor

a long-legged man peers into the distance, a yellow house sitting in the waters behind him

Queer Man Peering Into a Rock Pool.jpg explores the unreliability of memory

Queer Man Peering Into a Rock Pool.jpg explores the unreliability of memory

byJoel Couture, Contributor

two people wearing a single colossal hat

Haber Dasher steers alien invaders with a massive co-op hat controller

Haber Dasher steers alien invaders with a massive co-op hat controller

byJoel Couture, Contributor

two children play with a turtle outside of a building

NORCO and capturing the spirit of Louisiana through sci-fi storytelling

NORCO and capturing the spirit of Louisiana through sci-fi storytelling

byJoel Couture, Contributor

RE:CALL screenshot two characters together

The memory-altering mechanics of adventure game RE:CALL

The memory-altering mechanics of adventure game RE:CALL

byJoel Couture, Contributor

a young black girl with multicolored hair looks at you

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist turns life experiences into a card game

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist turns life experiences into a card game

byJoel Couture, Contributor

a worker hides from warehouse supervising robots

Time Bandit is an idle game that examines how employers steal your time

Time Bandit is an idle game that examines how employers steal your time

byJoel Couture, Contributor

two people in racing helmets sitting back to back, each steering using a bicycle tire steering wheel

How constraints fueled Two By 4 Racing's co-op steering wheel controllers

How constraints fueled Two By 4 Racing's co-op steering wheel controllers

byJoel Couture, Contributor

A screenshot of The Block

Postmortem: Bitesize city-builder, The Block

Postmortem: Bitesize city-builder, The Block

byPaul Schnepf, Contributor

a humanoid fox holding a sword aloft on a grassy hill

How TUNIC weaves wondrous worlds inspired by inscrutable NES manuals

How TUNIC weaves wondrous worlds inspired by inscrutable NES manuals

byJoel Couture, Contributor

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