Daan | New To Narrative

Ex-technical artist, now narrative and game designer, writing resources for aspiring and experienced game makers alike.

Loves indie and experimental stuff, music, food and writing

Blog: https://newtonarrative.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NewToNarrative
Discord: https://discord.gg/rYRhYdaM3v
Ko-fi: Ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/turbohermit

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turbohermit_at_peoplemaking.games@momostr.pink

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Last Notes

2024-12-21 12:00:26

A jeongisu in Bukchon tells the story of the poor old man who tricked a dokkaebi to become rich in my traditional Korean narrative game Rumorweaver.
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev #solodev #madewithgodot #godot
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/690/700/989/219/346/original/5bda782ca108a1a7.mp4

2024-12-14 12:00:19

Things are really starting to come together for #Rumorweaver! Now for a round of art and sprite updates and we're good to start implementing content
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev #solodev #madewithgodot #godot
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/651/064/086/771/631/original/53ad227bf234b2e7.mp4

2024-12-11 11:17:16

Putting together all #Rumorweaver UI elements and cinematic sequences makes it feel like a proper game now!
#gamedev #indiedev #solodev
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/633/908/179/942/550/original/02def5fa5495b70e.mp4

2024-12-07 14:36:08

Trying some night-time effects out for #Rumorweaver. Not exactly there yet, but I like where this is going!
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev #solodev #madewithgodot #godot
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/612/040/907/565/722/original/6fb10fc1dd1b725f.mp4

2024-11-30 12:00:38

Reworked the dialogue UI in an effort to homogenize the interface. Inspired by Korean Najeonchilgi, mother-of-pearl laquerware!
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev #solodev #madewithgodot #godot
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/571/793/103/504/083/original/f2aa28f11c469d17.mp4

2024-11-23 12:00:45

Added functionality for cinematics. We can now have this cool screen wipe transition into different tableaus across the map quite easily!
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev #solodev #madewithgodot #godot
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/532/157/581/711/446/original/57c4c791616db0aa.mp4

2024-11-21 19:31:49

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I love creative solutions to technical limitations like this. If you do too, check out my YouTube channel, where I talk about this kind of stuff on my #devlog as well as narrative design thingies https://www.youtube.com/@NewToNarrative
#gamedev #madewithgodot #godot #indiedev #solodev
12/12

2024-11-21 19:31:43

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And voila, a prison for bad audio stream players 😈 The source now tries to reunite with the player but is restricted by its shape. If the player enters the zone, the source follows it around, so it seems unspatialized when inside, and spatialized to the shape when outside.
11/12
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/522/606/279/470/633/original/2c3a35520c5858b3.mp4

2024-11-21 19:31:36

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Luckily, for complex shapes, there's already the Path3D node. It's not meant to be used like that necessarily, but the editor tools are perfect for what we wanted to achieve. I then convert the path to a PackedVector2Array so I can use Geometry2D functions with it.
10/12
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/522/605/807/619/464/original/ff2119a8c13a9ae4.jpeg

2024-11-21 19:31:30

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Since I didn't know how to move the origin of an audio source, I opted for using a AudioStreamPlayer3D and make a new node that would reference it. That way, we could use all the functionality from the built-in node (max distance, attenuation model, panning strength, etc.)
9/12

2024-11-21 19:31:25

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That's waaaaay out of my expertise, so that idea got shot down. Then, my friend came with an interesting idea. What if we move around the audio source so that it's always the nearest point to the player on the shape we create. Genius!
8/12
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/522/605/080/519/350/original/0ec9265088554018.jpeg

2024-11-21 19:31:19

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Also, if we used the zone we made before, and stuck it to AudioStreamPlayer3D functionality. The spatialization would always be in the center of the shape, potentially leading to odd spatialization directions in complex shapes.
7/12

2024-11-21 19:31:14

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My first thought was to create a node that inherits from AudioStreamPlayer3D and add some sort of shape to it. I quickly found out that the spatialization functionality is not exposed. This meant I had to decompile Godot and reverse engineer spatialization code.
6/12

2024-11-21 19:31:09

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What we specifically wanted, is an area where you hear ambient when you're inside, but it's spatialized to that area when your outside. So if you stand next to an alleyway, you can hear the ambient coming from down the alleyway.
5/12
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/522/604/023/424/154/original/d500504157d87f18.jpeg

2024-11-21 19:31:03

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Our initial idea was to create an editable zone (polygon) that changes the volume of a bus based on your proximity. That works well and we stuck with that for other stuff (stems for music in specific areas), but that doesn't include spatialization. If
4/12
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/522/603/633/093/164/original/6d9d400f5e5d362c.jpeg

2024-11-21 19:30:57

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That being said, if you want spatialized ambient sound, your only built-in option is the AudioStreamPlayer3D, which is... a point source. Want rectangles? Any other type of complex shape? Tough luck. So we got to programming.
3/12
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/522/603/242/653/282/original/2cff918e830b57c0.jpeg

2024-11-21 19:30:50

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#Godot is quite limited in its audio department, that's why a lot of people use WWISE or FMOD integration. These tools however require licenses, money and expertise. My audio friend said they are overkill for what we want to achieve.
2/12

2024-11-21 19:30:40

In today's thread, I want to talk about a specific #audio problem we've been having in #godot, and how we ended up solving it. I present you, the Audio Cage!
#gamedev #madewithgodot #indiedev #solodev
1/12
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/522/601/212/025/285/original/0b1cc31bcbf9a401.mp4

2024-11-16 12:00:54

Added camera work to sequences, so I can easily create more dynamic scenes like cinematics and such.
#screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiedev #solodev
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/492/521/996/624/879/original/475e9c13d8f118c3.mp4

2024-11-14 19:30:37

New people keep flooding in, so I guess I need to keep posting my videos! I make educational content for narrative design, go check it out: https://youtu.be/FRcJcnul-q4?si=8nmpUR_ToFnWKcRz
#gamedev #gamedesign #narrativedesign #tutorial #indiedev #writingcommunity #writing

2024-11-09 12:22:41

No new content for my historical korean narrative game, but made this live audio monitoring tool for #Godot that people might find cool!
You can mix "snapshots" of buses, and this window show the live state of your audioserver.
#gamedev #screenshotsaturday #indiedev
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/452/971/493/674/148/original/f9f47edc35f68b11.mp4

2024-11-07 19:30:16

In story-focused games, do you prefer a silent protagonist, being able to choose a personality through dialogue options or a character with a personality of their own?
#gamedev #indiedev #narrativegames

2024-11-05 15:32:19

Godot is a little lacking in the audio department, so we're doing some custom tooling to fill the gap. Bus snapshot data for runtime monitoring, mixing, transitions and zones coming right up!
#godot #gamedev #indiedev
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/431/067/663/381/191/original/e2ef4c8713c4a8ee.mp4

2024-11-05 08:25:09

I've reached the anniversary of my weekly newsletter! A milestone in my journey as an independent creator. Go read some here, or even subscribe if you're interested in following my projects, mental health and creative process!
https://newtonarrative.com/newsletter/
#gamedev #indiedev #solodev

2024-11-04 07:00:52

New DeVlog on my historical Korean narrative game! I talk about my inspirations and the conception of the idea. Go check it out!
https://youtu.be/MI5l_eNdfgo?si=xTqWE-N5CECQYIr7
#gamedev #indiedev #korea #solodev

2024-10-17 19:30:37

What's the point of a 10% launch discount for indie titles? I can't imagine a 12.50 title being 10 something actually gets more people onboard on launch day?
#gamedev #indiedev

2024-10-15 15:30:40

And with that, my #Rumorweaver tooling era comes to a close... for now. I can now select one or multiple characters in my online Notion localization database, and with a single click, update character portraits directly in my #godot project.
#gamedev #indiedev #solodev
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/312/152/732/575/513/original/b0e5dc33ecfb5013.jpeg

2024-10-14 15:31:56

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Problem solved. It was a minor visual issue, but contributed to the visual cohesion of the whole art direction. The visuals are pretty noisy as is, so being able to fix this in just 20 minutes was a huge relief!
#gamedev #indiedev #solodev #madewithgodot
7/7
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/306/495/619/055/035/original/a061a9e6bad74e0b.mp4

2024-10-14 15:31:31

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Look at just how easy that is? #Godot has a callback specifically for when you resize the viewport! Exactly what we need. So we update the pivot offset to just be half of the viewport size et voilà!
6/7
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/306/493/987/862/189/original/1a1ee13c6ffa03f3.jpeg

2024-10-14 15:31:25

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The UI element has a "pivot offset", exactly for this reason, but it's in pixels, not in fractions/percentage. Since we don't know exactly how big/which aspect the element is going to be because it's dependent on the monitor, I need to create a script.
5/7

2024-10-14 15:31:19

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Now we scale the UI element a bit so that the visual issue is out of screen. The camera still renders the issue, we just don't show it in the viewport by "zooming in" on the UI element. The only problem now is that the UI element scales from top-left, not from the center.
4/7

2024-10-14 15:31:13

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Back in #Unity I would have rendered to a texture and slapped it on a quad on the camera, so I tried something similar. In Godot, it's WAAAAY easier and faster to do that, and even has a built-in node for applying it directly to UI, which stretches better.
3/7
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/306/492/689/802/606/original/7959763962aec589.jpeg

2024-10-14 15:31:04

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So how can I fix this without having to dig into complex math problems? My first thought was to use some sort of render scaling, so I messed around with #godot built-in scaling, but nothing really came from it.
2/7

2024-10-14 15:30:56

For #Rumorweaver, I had this little shader problem + solution that you might find interesting. I'm abusing a Sobel shader to use way too many kernels, so I get this visual issue where outlines disappear when edges leave the screen.
#gamedev #solodev #indiedev
1/7
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/306/491/557/556/570/original/6b37c3b48fc432ad.mp4

2024-10-12 06:55:51

Check out this Bukchon market back in the Joseon Dynasty! Been trying out more detailed meshes and color palettes. It's a little noisy, but we're definitely getting somewhere with this art style.
#gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday #rumorweaver #solodev
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/293/138/225/939/613/original/1d4acf9b58c6172e.mp4

2024-10-11 07:47:48

Been messing around with the Notion API for tooling in #Godot.
I can now import all dialogue/localization data directly from my Notion tables, and it creates all necessary resources in Godot with a single click of a button. No more manual set-up!
#madewithgodot #gamedev
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/287/683/557/495/991/original/95a4bda6beb7e326.mp4

2024-10-10 07:05:23

Today's #Rumorweaver update: talking to strangers in #Bukchon. I made a very first build, to test if I can actually build stuff without error. Making builds in #godot is crazy, it only takes like 5 seconds!
#gamedev #solodev #indiedev #madewithgodot
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/281/853/898/599/841/original/37b04575e8090e95.mp4

2024-10-08 09:04:53

Today's #Rumorweaver update: the level layout concept on the left, versus the implementation on the right.
Turns out tight alleyways do not mesh will with the weird camera perspective I'm using, so I ended up going for wider roads for legibility.
#gamedev #indiedev #solodev
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/270/999/744/656/529/original/4f357b90ac3ab63b.jpeg

2024-10-07 07:00:49

If anyone on the internet is looking for "hidden gems" #YouTube channels: I make game and narrative design videos that people have found very helpful in the past.
https://www.youtube.com/@NewToNarrative
I'd love to grow but I'm not rich lol
#gamedev #indiedev #narrativedesign

2024-10-05 17:53:00

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Might as well shill my #youtube while we're at it!
https://youtu.be/E0G5XnSF-uc?si=UnSVNaiSCxeFoWTW
#gamedev #indiedev #narrativegames

2024-10-05 09:22:04

I've tweaked the art pipeline for Rumorweaver this week. Now I can easily mix 3D and 2D assets without having to mess around with sorting at all!
#gamedev #indiedev #solodev #screenshotsaturday #madewithgodot #godot
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/254/075/696/700/697/original/522aa2485ee5b700.mp4

2024-10-04 15:00:20

Want to learn about Randomness for narrative games? I just dropped a new video about it!
https://youtu.be/E0G5XnSF-uc
#gamedev #indiedev #narrativedesign #gamedesign #writing

2024-10-04 07:59:56

Keep your eyes out for a couple of minutes: https://www.youtube.com/@NewToNarrative
Video incoming!!!
#gamedev #gamedesign #indiedev #gamewriting #narrativedesign #writingcommunity

2024-10-03 09:00:55

Shameless plug: I made a video about procedural narrative! Go give it a looksee:
https://youtu.be/FRcJcnul-q4?si=NlNmX2pd3YC9yDO0
#gamedev #gamewriting #narrativedesign #indiedev

2024-10-01 07:00:47

Oof seeing some forum posts from my early teens is rough haha

2024-09-21 12:01:30

Working on the vertical slice of a historical Korean narrative game. It aims to be educational about daily life in the Joseon Dynasty! I'm specifically looking to connect with Korean artists to collaborate potentially.
#gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/175/434/822/875/327/original/ecbf455a2ff83777.mp4

2024-09-19 19:30:45

I've been using LegendKeeper as my project organization tool for the past year. Its meant mostly for D&D campaigns, but the interactive map is also useful for blocking out levels in pre-production, I've found!
#gamedev #indiedev #rumorweaver
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/165/876/571/113/524/original/a1c84e613e880e53.mp4

2024-09-17 15:32:21

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Thought this was useful? Read the full blog here: https://newtonarrative.com/blog/procedural-narrative-and-how-to-keep-it-coherent/
It's free and you don't need an account or anything. Have fun proceduraling!
#gamedev #gamedesign #indiedev #gamewriting #narrativedesign
15/15

2024-09-17 15:32:16

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Hopefully, you can already imagine the possibilities of this kind of storytelling! If you have many of these events players will likely experience an entirely unique sequence of them. Just a quick disclaimer: this is just one implementation of procedural narrative.
14/15
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/153/614/278/634/849/original/66f4f768c2a992a9.jpeg

2024-09-17 15:32:05

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If we shuffle in another, different "event", we can create even more combinations. For example, Loki might hand you the heavy bag and you then get attacked by giants. How will you fight back while still holding that bag?
13/15

2024-09-17 15:32:00

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Or, alternatively:
You encounter Loki > he pushes you off of a cliff for no apparent reason > you later find Loki hanging off a cliff himself > looks like the tables have turned, Loki!
12/15

2024-09-17 15:31:54

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In addition to the original story, now it could follow this progression instead:
You encounter Loki > he gives you a heavy bag for no apparent reason > you later find Loki hanging off a cliff > you let him fall.
Now you have a free bag and it only cost you eternal guilt!
11/15

2024-09-17 15:31:49

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I also wouldn’t put it past him to hand you a heavy bag out of nowhere. Him plummeting to his demise and cursing you would not make much sense without any prior context. So we put that card aside and only shuffle it into the deck after you draw the event that precedes it
10/15

2024-09-17 15:31:44

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Naturally, not every plot beat still makes sense when it’s out of order. So, we take only the cards that make sense by themselves. We put aside the cards that don’t. Loki pushing you off a cliff unprompted is definitely something Loki would do.
9/15

2024-09-17 15:31:39

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In this case, there’s a deck of cards for the first choice and another, different deck for the second choice. The decks are still in order, however. In procedural narrative, we’d take all those cards and shuffle them together.
8/15

2024-09-17 15:31:33

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In a branching story, we could have the player choose to save Loki or let him fall to his doom. Naturally, that would take the story in a different direction. If the player lets Loki fall, he curses them as he plummets to his demise.
7/15

2024-09-17 15:31:28

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Finally, Loki pushes the player off the cliff. What a twist, nobody saw that coming! You could visualize each plot beat as cards, stacked into a deck, in consecutive order. The player then draws each card one by one. When they pull the last card in the deck the story is over
6/15

2024-09-17 15:31:23

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To illustrate this more clearly, let’s think of a small example. Let’s write a linear story, where we have the player encounter Loki, the Norse god of mischief, hanging off a cliff. Then, the player saves him. He hands the player a heavy bag as a reward… very suspicious.
5/15

2024-09-17 15:31:17

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We pile these "events" up in a big stack, like a deck of cards, and sort them by probability. Probability in this case refers to the likelihood of that card being picked next. Like in a lot of interactive fiction, the player’s actions and choices influence that probability.
4/15

2024-09-17 15:31:12

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I like to describe procedural narrative as a branching story of which the creators don’t know if or when a plot beat will show up. A popular approach of procedural narrative is chopping up the story into little pieces, that I like to call "Events"
3/15

2024-09-17 15:31:06

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Typically, when we talk about “story” in games or interactive fiction we think of either a linear story that the player experiences plot beat to plot beat. Or perhaps a branching story where the player’s choice influences the direction the story takes.
2/15

2024-09-17 15:31:01

When I talk to people new to #gamedev, I often get the question what IS procedural narrative? Let's dig into it!
#narrativedesign #writingcommunity #indiedev
1/15
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/153/609/368/094/050/original/74edb82a6302e976.jpeg

2024-09-16 09:04:21

I published a blog about procedural narrative today. Having trouble with making your procedural story coherent? Give it a read!
https://newtonarrative.com/blog/procedural-narrative-and-how-to-keep-it-coherent/
#gamedev #indiedev #narrativedesign #writingcommunity

2024-09-14 12:00:53

Latest screenshots for my historical Korean narrative game. Historically, the woodblock (mokgan) has been used to write quick notes. I'm still fiddling to get it right, because right now its uhm... not great yet.
#screenshotsaturday #indiedev #solodev
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/135/795/860/107/866/original/8390cdcce79cb780.jpeg
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/135/796/139/522/239/original/d979000255756a98.jpeg
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/135/796/348/006/318/original/2d7c79daf53aac3e.jpeg

2024-09-10 16:59:11

Opened unity to extract sources from a unity package. After a year of working exclusively with Godot, WOW Unity is bad. Slow like thick shite, flooded with update and license agreements messages, errors on a clean project. What a joke.
Use #Godot folks, it's free and as easy.

2024-09-07 15:22:24

Imported some external models to see how they fare with my shaders. There's still quite a lot of processing to do on models to make it feel good... Might have to make custom models in the end.
#screenshotsaturday #indiedev #solodev
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/113/096/952/461/383/785/original/47289dd16c4f1728.jpeg

2024-08-27 07:00:46

Posting blogs on gamedeveloper.com seems like a bit of a chore. Can anyone tell me if it's still worth it in terms of engagement? E.g. you had people reach out and say you're blog was useful.
#gamedev #indiedev

2024-08-03 12:00:50

Made quite a ways of progress in the past week! Dialogue system, systemic cause and effect and the core mechanic all implemented.
#screenshotsaturday #rumorweaver #indiedev #solodev 🎮
https://s3.wasabisys.com/pmg-media/media_attachments/files/112/897/979/099/311/213/original/bc4060e7cafe2004.mp4

2024-08-01 11:04:38

For games with autosave features, do you care about save slots? E.g. having multiple runs at the same time
#gamedev #indiedev #gamedesign 🎮

2024-07-31 09:44:44

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Oh yeah this one is also in video format if that's more your jam!
https://youtu.be/-NKKIDYU0sU?si=_1oTXg9Ridv2rH0w
#gamedev #gamedesign #indiedev

2024-07-30 07:00:41

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In this one, we talk about systemic game design. These are principles often used for simulation games, and sandbox games like the new Zeldas. We explain what systemic game design IS and how it can enhance your game's narrative:
https://newtonarrative.com/blog/systemic-game-design-and-how-to-apply-it-to-storytelling/

2024-07-30 07:00:35

New to narrative design? I've been steadily uploading educational articles about #gamedesign, #gamedev and #gamewriting. They're completely free, no subscription neccesary. Here's a little rundown for you:
#writingcommunity

2024-06-06 06:56:48

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i disagree, you should absolutely work less and try to do the same amount with as little effort possible haha