This week we take a look ghastly ghouls and malevolent robots. Both of these games tackle game platforming in interesting ways. The 2D and FPS camera perspectives challenge the designer to tackle platforming differently for each game. Timing of jumps and swift reactions to the games' environments are critical to the overall experience.

It's that time again for the Humble Bundle! Head on over to Humble Bundle website and support some awesome charities (and some awesome indie developers). This time around you'll find three games that I have been looking forward to playing.

When you think about 3D level design, odds are you think about building levels in 3D - width, height and depth - fairly common fare for those acquainted with game development. But that's not what I want to talk about. I put "3D character writing" in the heading because there is a good chance people have heard of this subject, and it helps us game developers get out of the mindset of three dimensions automatically meaning width, height and depth, which, for the purposes of this writing, they don't (although, to be honest, I'm not sure what they stand for, or even if there are exactly three).

Have you ever wondered why you really enjoyed that music album you just listened to? Or questioned why you couldn't put that novel down at 4 in the morning?. It's simple. We were deeply and emotionally invested in the content of that medium. When making design choices it is important to think about what elements will make our game unique, exciting, and fun to play. We need to discover that something special, that extra spoonful of sugar, that extra layer of styling that will provide your players with a sense of wonderment.

Each week we will try to offer up suggestions on what you should be playing. There will be at least 2 game suggestions; something from the past and a recent release. When you play these games try to think about the design choices the developers and designers have made. Think about level creation, game flow, narrative beats, challenges, etc. Step away for awhile and analyze a recent scenario you encountered in the game; what were the level assets, what were the scripted events, did you learn anything new? By delving into the designer mindset, you'll start to appreciate some of the tough choices that game creators have to make.

If you have had the opportunity to play Deus Ex: Human Evolution you may have experienced difficulty in defeating the main bosses. Nearly a month after the game's release, it was revealed that Eidos Montreal had actually outsourced the development of these encounters to another studio. The noticeable disconnect between the game's main gameplay and its overwhelming boss confrontations forced me to think about what I may have done differently. As we design games, we need to constantly evaluate the cohesiveness of our design choices. These five simple critique points can help you reevaluate your boss battle decisions.

Good day to all you fellow gamers, noobs, and wannabes out there! I am excited to launch this new site. My fellow comrade (Mike) and I will be churning out quality articles related to the gaming industry, and game design. We'll be looking at latest gaming trends and helping you figure out what works, what doesn't, and what could be done better. We'll offer you tips and tricks on how to improve your games. Better yet, we'll even help you figure out how to design a game from the ground up.