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Entries Tagged as 'Design'

Heirs to Peter, Corrupters of Plans: The Pope as Game Mechanic

March 6th, 2013 · 9 Comments · Creative Assembly, Design, Paradox, Religion, Retro

I did not expect to wake up a couple of weeks ago to the news that Pope Benedict XVI had announced his abdication. As of last week, His Holiness retired to a monastery and the cardinals now begin convening to choose his successor. There hasn’t been a voluntary abdication since the 13th century, and the […]

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Peter Wept and Troy Scratched His Head

November 23rd, 2012 · 16 Comments · Design

Every other week there is something in PC gaming that makes me scratch my head and ask stupid questions. Usually these questions are answered to my satisfaction so, to not look like an idiot, I don’t post stupid questions here on the blog. The last month has been nothing BUT stupid questions, personal and professional, […]

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The Hostile Geography of Fallen Enchantress

November 2nd, 2012 · 13 Comments · Design, Stardock

Exploration is one of the central ideas in any empire building game, and Fallen Enchantress relies heavily on uncovering what resources and settlement locations are nearby. The problem with exploring is that things may follow you home. My scout was doing no harm, and in fact maybe a little good, when he moved outside the […]

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Three Moves Ahead Episode 190: The XCom Review Show

October 15th, 2012 · 8 Comments · Design, Firaxis, Podcast, Sci Fi, Three Moves Ahead

Just in case you aren’t quite tired of XCom chatter yet… We were lucky to have two of our semi-regular panelists (Dave Heron and Jon Shafer) join us on the show, though really we could have probably picked any of our friends at random and had a good chat. Spoilers: We all like the game […]

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XCom: Enemy Unknown – Some Thoughts

October 12th, 2012 · 13 Comments · Design, Firaxis

XCom: Enemy Unknown has taken over my Steam friends list in the same way that FTL: Faster Than Light did a few weeks ago. XCom is bigger, flashier and, I think, more important than FTL – largely connected to the reasons that Ben Kuchera laid out earlier this week in his essay at Penny Arcade […]

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Three Moves Ahead Episode 189: Through a Glass Darkly

October 9th, 2012 · 1 Comment · Design, Podcast, Three Moves Ahead

This week, we talk a little bit about Mark of the Ninja with Klei lead programmer Nels Anderson as an entree to a discussion with Firaxis’s Scott Lewis about how fog of war and hidden information are used in stealth, strategy and wargames. It’s a fun show, and a bit wide ranging. MP3 Link

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