Journal

Field Notes

Thoughts, lessons, and progress from completed quests

Latest posts:

Quick Skill Checks – Making Small Actions Feel Big
7/6/2025
Explores how quick skill checks—short, timing-based interactions—can turn simple in-game actions into engaging moments. Often used in fishing, crafting, or stealth, these mechanics add tension, reward mastery, and keep gameplay interactive without adding complexity. Learn how developers use brief button presses and minimal UI to make small actions feel meaningful.
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Test
7/7/2025
test
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The Tragedy of the Commons – Game Design Lessons from a Shared Pond
7/6/2025
Explores how the tragedy of the commons can be used in game design to create tension between personal gain and collective survival. Through shared resource systems, games can simulate environmental collapse, ethical dilemmas, and emergent player behavior with long-term consequences
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Zero-Player Games: When Systems Play Themselves
7/6/2025
Explore the fascinating world of zero-player games—games that run entirely on their own without player input. This post dives into how these systems-driven experiences like Conway’s Game of Life and Cookie Clicker function, why they’re engaging, and what makes them stand out in game design. From emergent storytelling to meditative simulation, discover how 0PGs turn observation into a form of play.
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