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dennis.videogameworkshop.com
I make educational games! Currently making cool stuff at Twin Cities PBS I like to talk about game dev, design, programming, board games, pokemon and Magic the Gathering. (PhD, invited speaker Tedx GDC Lego)
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Apple TV has #severance listed as a thriller, but let's be pedantic - it's contemporary cyberpunk.

submitted 10 hours ago • 0 comments

In Yoshi's Island, all Shy Guys are the same object. A Shy Guy's color is decided solely by its initial spawn point in the level. I have taken the liberty to fill a level with Shy Guys to create a Shy Guy coloration matrix.

submitted 1 day ago • 44 comments

Wizards of the coast is already spoiling the space set?? Aren't we still on Final Fan... I mean, Tarkir Dragon... I mean, Aether drift???? #MagicTheGathering #PreviewSeasonNeverEnds

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

I'm not usually one for game taxonomy, but it's been interesting watching the discourse around cozy games. "Cozy games can't be hard" "That doesn't look like a Cozy game" Seems to be a split between what makes a game cozy, aesthetics or mechanics, and both groups feel that their side is right.

submitted 2 days ago • 3 comments

Next time you playtest, try taking your game away early. If you do, testers will usually say something like "wait, I just need to X" or "Can I finish Y?" Pay attention to what they want to keep doing, it's one of the easiest ways to see what's sticky about your game. #gamedev #playtesting

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

submitted 3 days ago • 2 comments

Konami's office memos read like world building lore you would collect in Konami games like Metal Gear and Silent Hill. #gamedev

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

and yet, many of you laughed when i unveiled my caffeinated soup truck

submitted 4 days ago • 38 comments

It's 2025, a live service game fails. Developers are fired. It's 2025, a live service game succeeds. Developers are fired. #MarvelRivals #gamedev

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

Did you know most people believe that the term "game engine" came from John Romero and John Carmack during the early id days? They were both big car guys and wanted a way to describe reusable code that makes your game work/go. Engine fit that bill, hence game engine. #gamedev a.co/d/hizGZk1

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

The year is 1996 and you're given $500k to promote the "boring" cereal Chex. What do you do? Apparently the right answer was: license the DOOM engine and make a fps to give away inside of Chex cereal boxes. #gamedev #doom #chexquest

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

Today we check out NESFab a new programming language for a very old platform, the NES or Nintendo Entertainment System. Giving C like abstraction with closer to Assembly level performance. gamefromscratch.com/nesfab-progr... #gamedev #indiedev

submitted 5 days ago • 0 comments

Sensational headlines aside, I always find the intersection of games and assessments interesting. This assessment, for example, measures the variance of movements from a baseline model (using Kinect skeletal tracking) in order to diagnose autism. www.iflscience.com/1-minute-dan...

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

Anyone who has done playtesting with their kids can probably relate to Miyamoto here. #gamedev #gamedesign #playtesting

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

I love the way SNES-era Rare designed levels for Donkey Kong Country! Designers used post-it notes which had some advantages. The levels could be designed even if parts of the engine weren't done, and to make edits post-its could just be added, removed or moved. #gamedesign #gamedev #leveldesign

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

A few years ago Mike Laidlaw gave a great GDC talk on creative direction / narrative direction, which had a side tangent into "why you should write your narrative bible like a ttrpg book" and I've been using that technique for side projects ever since and it's been a joy.

submitted 11 days ago • 9 comments

NATO used to have Software Conferences.
 In 1968, they had a wild idea.
 Establish software as an “engineering” discipline. Building software could then be approached with the same principles as other engineering projects. Structured methodologies were *new* to the field!

submitted 11 days ago • 1 comment

Working on developing UI? It might help you to know that people have a hard time visually comparing objects past the number 3. So try to display things as 1, 2, 3, and "many" (3+) #gamedev #gamedesign #indiedev I'll get a little into why that is 🧵👇 www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-na...

submitted 11 days ago • 1 comment

When you finish a quest and the game world updates: #gamedev #gamedesign #leveldesign

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

Environmental story telling: #gamedev #gamedesign #leveldesign

submitted 16 days ago • 10 comments

If you all are annoyed about EA saying #DragonAge would have been better as a live service game I have a thread about changes EA requested for DA2 ME3 and DAI #veilguard #gamedev #gamedesign 🧵👇

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

I've noticed a trend with creatives who make their own companies: Naming your first LLC: I have to get this perfect. The name is everything. After a few failed LLCs: idk name it something like "sinking ship LLC", "late rent LLC", is "moneypit" taken? #gamedev #indiedev #llc

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

Now that EA is on the record with some hot takes about Dragon age I get to share a story about what they said about inquisition / mass effect 3! 🧵👇

submitted 18 days ago • 1 comment

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments