Designer Notes Designer Notes 76: Tanya Short
02:44:04
Mechanics Can Recast A Game's Genre
- Adding RPG progression to fog-of-war exploration naturally produced roguelike dynamics.
- Small design choices (like time limits) can recast an entire project's genre unexpectedly.
Design The Forest, Not Just Trees
- Design toward a coherent player emotion and the 'forest' of the game, not only the 'trees' of minute features.
- Define why players play your game and design holistically to support that core experience.
System Suspense Drives Curiosity
- 'System suspense' arises when players aren't sure how deep systems go and are motivated to probe them.
- Tanya intentionally prolonged uncertainty so players would explore traits and consequences across runs.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app 1 chevron_right 2 chevron_right 3 chevron_right 4 chevron_right 5 chevron_right 6 chevron_right 7 chevron_right 8 chevron_right 9 chevron_right 10 chevron_right 11 chevron_right 12 chevron_right 13 chevron_right 14 chevron_right 15 chevron_right 16 chevron_right 17 chevron_right 18 chevron_right 19 chevron_right 20 chevron_right 21 chevron_right 22 chevron_right 23 chevron_right 24 chevron_right 25 chevron_right 26 chevron_right 27 chevron_right 28 chevron_right 29 chevron_right 30 chevron_right 31 chevron_right 32 chevron_right 33 chevron_right 34 chevron_right 35 chevron_right 36 chevron_right 37 chevron_right 38 chevron_right 39 chevron_right 40 chevron_right 41 chevron_right 42 chevron_right 43 chevron_right 44 chevron_right 45 chevron_right 46 chevron_right 47 chevron_right 48 chevron_right 49 chevron_right 50 chevron_right 51 chevron_right 52 chevron_right 53 chevron_right 54 chevron_right 55 chevron_right 56 chevron_right 57 chevron_right 58 chevron_right 59 chevron_right 60 chevron_right 61 chevron_right 62 chevron_right 63 chevron_right 64 chevron_right 65 chevron_right 66 chevron_right 67 chevron_right 68 chevron_right 69 chevron_right 70 chevron_right 71 chevron_right 72 chevron_right 73 chevron_right 74 chevron_right 75 chevron_right 76 chevron_right 77 chevron_right 78 chevron_right 79 chevron_right 80 chevron_right 81 chevron_right
Introduction
00:00 • 2min
The Importance of Role Playing
02:11 • 2min
The Importance of Video Games
03:55 • 2min
The History of Mods
05:53 • 2min
How to Play Deku Meds
07:36 • 2min
The Differences Between Rolte and PvP
09:24 • 2min
Wheel of Time: A Beginner's Guide
11:15 • 2min
How to Befriend a Bunch of People as a 13 Year Old
12:54 • 2min
The Importance of Having a Second Phone Line
14:37 • 2min
The Importance of Character Types
16:19 • 2min
How I Got Addicted to MMOs
17:58 • 2min
How to Be a God in the Mud Pyramid Scheme
19:34 • 2min
How to Communicate With Servers
21:43 • 2min
The Ultimate Way to Come to God
23:17 • 2min
The Importance of Gender in Role Playing
25:02 • 2min
How to Be a Successful Game Designer
26:35 • 2min
The Path to Become a Game Designer
28:48 • 2min
How to Be a Successful Junior Designer
30:43 • 2min
How I Subverted the First Person Shooter to Make Something Other
32:33 • 2min
The Importance of Playing MMO Games
34:06 • 2min
The Importance of Learning the Roles Without the Pressure
36:30 • 2min
The Imposter Syndrome of a Game Developer
38:17 • 2min
The Importance of Game Design
40:36 • 2min
How to Design a Guild Leveling System for Age of Conan
42:13 • 2min
Age of Conan: A Review
44:31 • 2min
The Rise and Fall of Asia Conan
46:39 • 2min
How to Stay on With Asia-Konan
48:37 • 2min
How Age of Conan Recruited a Lead Designer
50:32 • 2min
The Secret World: A Narrative MMO
52:12 • 2min
The Path to Success
53:51 • 2min
The Indy Pad
55:51 • 2min
The Importance of Non-Commercial, Indie Game Creation
57:31 • 2min
The Origins of Puzzle Pirates
59:21 • 2min
The Distressing Mentor: The Free to Play Expert
01:01:29 • 3min
Shattered Planet: A Free to Play Mobile Game
01:04:30 • 2min
Shattered Planet's Shutdown on Steam
01:06:32 • 2min
How to Decide What Game to Make
01:08:15 • 2min
Shadow Planet: A RPG Fog of War
01:10:08 • 2min
Roguelikes: A Better Planet
01:11:41 • 3min
Moon Hunters: A Game That Succeeds
01:14:22 • 3min
Moon Hunters: A Beta Build
01:17:05 • 2min
Moon Hunters: A Procedural Design for a One to Four Player Game
01:19:29 • 2min
How I Found King of Dragon Pass
01:21:11 • 1min
King of Dragon Pass: A Novel
01:22:34 • 4min
Moon Hunters: A Storyteller's Guide
01:26:52 • 2min
The Effect of System Suspense on Players
01:28:44 • 2min
How to Unlock Constellations in Dungeons of Fate
01:30:41 • 2min
The Evolution of the Combat System
01:32:56 • 2min
The Problem With Combat in Moon Hunters 2
01:35:20 • 2min
Moon Hunters 2: A Guide to Survival Games
01:37:10 • 2min
The Importance of Multiplayer in Moonhunters
01:39:17 • 2min
Moon Hunters: A Survival System
01:41:07 • 2min
Seven Seasons of Gold
01:42:48 • 2min
Moon Hunters: A Game That Changed My Mindset
01:44:32 • 3min
The Dark Side of Multiplayer Design
01:47:11 • 2min
Moon Hunters: A Self-Publishing Indie Game
01:49:13 • 2min
Moon Hunters: A Kickstarter Story
01:51:12 • 3min
The Procedural Generation of Moon Hunters
01:54:19 • 2min
The Pity of Authored Game Designers
01:56:23 • 2min
The Joke About Dating and RPGs
01:58:06 • 2min
How to Date a Companion in an Action RPG
01:59:46 • 2min
Dream Daddy: A Shadow Drop
02:01:32 • 2min
The Importance of Character Design in a RPG
02:03:30 • 2min
How to Cap the Love in a Dating Game
02:05:49 • 3min
The Unsatisfying Truth About Moonhunters
02:08:53 • 2min
How to Overcome a Grindy Game
02:11:09 • 2min
How to Balance a Game
02:12:42 • 2min
The Importance of Diversity in Dating
02:14:51 • 2min
How to Write a Novel With an Antagonist
02:16:26 • 4min
The Unforgivable Sword Monster
02:20:37 • 2min
The Importance of Choice in a Game
02:22:14 • 2min
The Importance of Apologies
02:24:25 • 2min
The Dating Sims: The Age Old Thing
02:26:12 • 2min
How to Write a Game Without an Antagonist
02:27:55 • 3min
The Rules of Romance on Steam
02:30:40 • 2min
How to Be a Better Combat Designer
02:32:15 • 2min
How to Make a Game That Stands Out
02:34:05 • 2min
The Procedural Monotheistic Beliefs That Influence the Overlord
02:36:19 • 2min
The History of Religion
02:37:52 • 2min
The Joy of Making Games
02:39:27 • 3min
Moon Hunters: A Designer's Guide
02:42:05 • 2min
In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Tanya Short, co-founder of Kitfox Games and best known for her work on Moon Hunters and Boyfriend Dungeon. They discuss why her parents had to get a second phone like, how she accidentally made a roguelike, and whether Moon Hunters should have combat. This episode was recorded on March 23, 2023.