Narrative in games

John Carmack once said that story in games is nice, but not really very important.  I disagree entirely--the narrative of a game sets up a players role and gives him/her impetus.  I consider story and role inhabiting once of my primary motivations for seeing any game to its conclusion--a good, solid intro that makes me believe in my mission gets my blood pumping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXLmDRwxAUU

Sensei Games

I've been playing a lot of HOTLINE MIAMI recently and am absolutely in love with it.  It's hard as nails, but, like Super Meat Boy, gives little to no penalty for failure.  As a result, it's what I like to call a "sensei game."  It is structured to teach you to become a master.  It is extremely challenging, but it wants you to succeed and helps you to achieve success.

Vitality in games

One thing I think has been truly lost in games as of late is "vitality"--by that, I mean the feeling that a gameworld is really alive, that it's a palpable place that can be visited.

Modern game development focuses its efforts entirely on what is likely to be seen and leads to a feeling of being towed through an amusement park ride rather than the feeling of wandering through a mysterious world bursting with possibilities.

End-Game Challenge Content

Thinking about Attraction, I believe it's very important that we add in some end-game super challenging content somewhat equivalent to Super Meat Boy's end-game levels.  It's tremendously satisfying to successfully apply all the skills one's learned throughout a game experience at a masterful level to cap things off.

Project Unknown Retrospective

So, Project Unknown did not get chosen, which is unfortunate.  I think the intense puzzle combat was a fresh mechanical blend that had some real potential.  Everyone was busy, and we didn't flesh out the mechanics as well as we could have to make the best pitch.  I think if we'd really expanded on the core concept with some richer gameplay, we could have shown something very compelling that would have reflected the final product more accurately.