Hi there! This week I’m returning to game design principles I picked up over the course of my career. The topic of the day is complexity budget. I first heard this principle clearly stated by Wizards of the Coast veteran Skaff Elias. He was part of a gang of Magic designers who played the heck …
Fixing the Perception Skill
Hello! Spring is well on its way here in southern PA, the baseball lockout is over, and it looks like the Phillies are putting together a lineup that might just be the best in baseball. And, yeah, there’s lots going on in the world, but I’m returning to game design thoughts today. I think we …
Ukraine: What Comes Next?
Five days into Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and things still seem to be in doubt. Russia dominates the “balance sheet” when you count missiles, tanks, aircraft, and ships. They may yet succeed in smashing through Ukrainian resistance with superior firepower. Or maybe President Zelensky’s luck runs out, and a Russian airstrike (or special …
Ukraine, the Time I Toured a Russian Warship
Welcome back! A change in topic today. I’ll get back to game design next time, but I have to admit I’m paying a lot of attention to what’s going on in Ukraine and trying to guess what comes next. It's fair to say the Ukraine-Russia relationship is long and complicated. In some ways, Ukraine is …
Continue reading Ukraine, the Time I Toured a Russian Warship
Design Philosophy: Excusing Aggression
Welcome to 2022! I took a few weeks off from my posting to enjoy the holidays with my family, but it’s time to get back in the habit. In professional news, I'm happy to report that the cinematic teaser for the new Elder Scrolls Online chapter I've been working on the last few months has …
Design Rule: Perverse Incentives
Hello! Not much news to report since last week, so I’ll jump straight into another Design Rules discussion. This is a design rule I formulated years ago, and express like this: When you create a system with perverse incentives, don’t be surprised when players act perversely. Now, I’m not saying players are perverts. I’m using …
Design Rule: Same or Different
As you can probably tell from the list of archived posts, I fell out of the habit of regular blogging in March of 2020. The short explanation is that I got really busy on a big writing project, so I let the essays slide while working on other stuff. Anyway, I think it’s about time …
53 Days In, the 5 Big Stories
Greetings! Today marks my 53rd day in Maryland after venturing eastward to join the excellent content and writing team at ZeniMax Online Studio. I’m happy to report that some of the first material I worked on at ZOS is now seeing the light of day: I wrote up a number of the antiquities that are …
Oregon Trail, in Reverse
Greetings from Baltimore! Boy, I picked a strange time to move across the country. After two short weeks in the ZeniMax Online offices, I was sent home (along with everybody else) to work remotely until further notice. While the caution is well warranted, it’s a little tough for me personally: I’m just starting to learn …
Eastbound!
I’ve been sitting on this for a few weeks, but here’s some big news: I’ve accepted a position with ZeniMax Online Studios to work as a senior writer on the Elder Scrolls Online game! So, what does this mean? First of all, I’m moving from the Seattle area to the Baltimore suburbs. In fact, I’ve …
Richard Baker 