23 articles
From Zero Wing's "All your base are belong to us" to renamed Pokémon, StarCraft's Korean text problem, dubbing, QA, and fan translation patches, a look at the history and methods of game localization.
The principles and history of procedural generation, where rules and random numbers rather than people build game maps and items, told through Rogue, Elite, Minecraft, No Man's Sky and the Wave Function Collapse algorithm.
How cloud gaming works, why OnLive, Gaikai, and Google Stadia stumbled, how Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce Now survive, and why latency matters.
Flow theory, dynamic difficulty, assist modes, and the cost of failure: game difficulty design principles from an indie studio, with famous examples.
From the 1972 Spacewar! contest to Korea's StarLeague, the Gwangalli finals, LoL Worlds, and Asian Games medals, we trace the path esports has taken.
How games make money, from boxed sales and subscriptions to free-to-play, ads and battle passes—plus the pros, cons and loot box regulations.
Barriers disabled players face, the Xbox Adaptive Controller, The Last of Us Part II's options, Celeste's Assist Mode, and the laws and guidelines.
From komi in Go, first-move advantage in chess, and StarCraft's three races to rock-paper-scissors design and buffs and nerfs, game balance explained.
How a one-line idea becomes a real game, step by step: planning, prototyping, production, alpha and beta testing, release review, and post-launch updates.
Faucets and sinks, inflation, EVE Online's economist, Diablo III's auction house, and dual currencies: game economy basics with real examples.
How game engines emerged and evolved, from id Tech behind Doom and Quake to Unreal Engine, Unity and open-source Godot, with key dates along the way.
How game graphics evolved, from vector displays and pixel art to 3D polygons, GPUs and shaders, PBR, ray tracing and AI upscaling.
The journey of game music, from 8-bit tunes on a few sound channels to CD audio, adaptive interactive scores and its own Grammy category.
How Korea's GRAC, North America's ESRB, Europe's PEGI, and Japan's CERO age ratings began, what they judge, and how they're changing in the digital age.
From Space Invaders' quickening beat and Koji Kondo's Mario music to Silent Hill's static, Dead Space, and Journey: the principles of game sound design.
How watching others play became an industry: Let's Plays, AfreecaTV, Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Korea's shift to CHZZK and SOOP after Twitch left.
HUD types, Dead Space's on-body health bar, Red Dead Redemption 2's contextual HUD, Fitts's law, and mobile touch design: the basics of game UI/UX.
The Oregon Trail, the 1980s edutainment boom, Minecraft Education, Discovery Tour, and Foldit's science: how games and education have met over the years.
From bedroom coders and shareware to Steam, console stores, and crowdfunding: a history of indie games and what successful indie hits have in common.
Thirty years of Korean games, from The Kingdom of the Winds and Lineage to StarCraft PC bangs, esports, free-to-play, mobile, PUBG, and console hits.
The basics of level design, from teaching order and wayfinding to pacing and playtesting, explained via Super Mario Bros. 1-1, Half-Life 2, and Portal.
Bartle's player types, self-determination theory, Skinner boxes, variable rewards, and Monster Hunter's loop: how games hold players, and the responsibility.
From Super Mario Bros. World 1-1, Half-Life, and Mega Man X to Zelda's fairy companions and Undertale: how game tutorials teach well without boring.