Articles
Golem Mancer: Layered A.I
Golem Mancer: Layered A.I
In developing Golem Mancer, Im experimenting with a layered enemy AI system designed to scale difficulty dynamicallyeschewing traditional stat boosts for adaptive tactics. Inspired by RTS and advanced AI in games, this approach uses multiple AI layers that share data and learn over time, with persistence increasing by difficulty. Easy AI adapts only within a stage, while medium and hard AI persist across levels or the whole game, evolving strategies to counter player habits. The goal: create enemies that feel intelligent, forcing players to continually adapt without resorting to artificial difficulty imflation.
15 August 2025
Golem MancerChopping Block: August 11th 2025
Chopping Block: August 11th 2025
Aperture: Desk Job, Enotria: The Last Song, and First Class Escape: Train of Thought.
11 August 2025
Chopping BlockAssassin's Creed Rogue: Totem Puzzle
Assassin's Creed Rogue: Totem Puzzle
Assassins Creed Rogue bridges the narratives of Black Flag and Assassins Creed III, telling the story of Shay Cormacs shift from Assassin to Templar during the Seven Years War. Built on Black Flags framework, it delivers tight naval combat, engaging upgrades, and an intriguing moral twist, though it offers little innovation beyond its predecessor. The North Atlantic, River Valley, and New York provide diverse exploration, but the shorter runtime make it feel more like a refined expansion than a fully-fledged sequel.
9 August 2025
Games.designAssassin's Creed: Black Flag - Upgrade Pop-Up
Assassin's Creed: Black Flag - Upgrade Pop-Up
Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag refines the series' formula by combining strong naval combat, polished stealth mechanics, and a compelling pirate narrative. Set in the vibrant 18th-century Caribbean, players follow Edward Kenways rise from privateer to pirate amidst legendary figures and sprawling sea battles. The game improves upon its predecessor with smoother tutorials, immersive sound design, and dense side content. Despite some dated systems and defunct multiplayer features, Black Flag stands outboth as an Assassins Creed entry and a standout pirate adventure.
6 August 2025
Games.designAssassin's Creed III - Broadside Cannon Aiming
Assassin's Creed III - Broadside Cannon Aiming
Assassins Creed III marks the end of Desmond Miles arc and introduces players to colonial America through the intertwined stories of Haytham and Connor Kenway. While the game innovates with dynamic naval combat and refined stealth mechanics, it stumbles with clunky systems, rigid mission design, and an underwhelming conclusion to the overarching narrative. Despite its technical polish and excellent sound design, many elementslike tutorials, assassinations, and Desmonds finalefeel constrained or rushed. Still, the naval aiming system stands out, offering an intuitive mechanic worthy of deeper exploration.
3 August 2025
Games.designLord of the Rings
Lord of the Rings
Peter Jacksons The Fellowship of the Ring is a cinematic masterpiecebut even masterpieces arent perfect. This critical essay highlights overlooked plot contrivances in the first Lord of the Rings film, from the unquestioned plan to destroy the One Ring to the Fellowships vague route choices and the Ring wraiths lack of determination.
14 July 2025
Pond-eringsThe Sinking City: Lovecraft
The Sinking City: Lovecraft
The Sinking City is a Lovecraft-inspired horror mystery by Frogwares, following private investigator Charles Reed as he explores the flooded, monster-infested city of Oakmont. Blending detective gameplay with cosmic horror, the game features compelling storytelling, disturbing hallucinations, and a haunting atmosphere. While rich in world-building and atmosphere, it struggles with clunky combat, obscure puzzles, and tedious traversal. Despite its flaws, the game delivers a unique and unsettling experience.
29 June 2025
Games.designChopping Block: June 23rd 2025
Chopping Block: June 23rd 2025
Icarus, Killer Frequency, and Madness: Project NEXUS
22 June 2025
Chopping BlockNews Update: June 2025
News Update: June 2025
I'm shifting focus from broad game analysis to concise, code-centered content for Games.design articles. A small update regarding changes to the site Backend improvements, better tools, and SEO enhancements. Site search and organization issues were also addressed, aiming for a more efficient flow.
22 June 2025
NewsBuff Knight Game Design Document
Buff Knight Game Design Document
An on rails strategy based game that fully focuses on crafting items to buff the player in a series of automatic gauntlet battles. The player controls a knight and a gnome that crafts potions. The Knight drinks the potions continuously to enhance his abilities while the player modulates the consumption speed and type.
21 June 2025
Buff KnightStar Yards Game Design Document
Star Yards Game Design Document
Winning a derelict orbital ship yard at auction the player endeavors to build a thriving ship building business, Struggling against market forces, rival companies, shifting technologies, and the pitfalls of starship constructions.
21 June 2025
Star YardsGame Jammer Game Design Document
Game Jammer Game Design Document
Participate in Game Jams aiming for the top spot on the podium. Develop your skill over the year by practicing and participating in Monthly Jams before tackling the annual Jam. Using mixed minigames to accumulate points towards different aspects of you Jam game. Go through several rounds of: Build, Cut, and Refine as you craft your 10 out of 10 game entry.
21 June 2025
Game JammerTerra Farmer Game Design Document
Terra Farmer Game Design Document
A farming sim that divorces the classic grow crop - sell crops gameplay loop from the onset. Rather than being set in a dilapidated rural farm like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley. The player takes on the role of a colonist sent to an alien planet for the purposes of terraforming. Player's must manage their plot of land, cultivating their way towards production goals and planting and re-engineering plants to terraform the planet. Interacting with the fellow colonists through virtual reality, given the significant distance between the homesteads.
21 June 2025
Terra FarmerGolem Mancer: Strategy Options
Crysis 2: Power Systems
Crysis 2: Power Systems
Crysis 2 is a sci-fi first-person shooter set in a plague-ridden New York City during a full-scale alien invasion. Players control Alcatraz, equipped with a powerful nanosuit that enhances combat, stealth, and mobility. As hes mistaken for Crysis' returning hero Prophet, Alcatraz becomes central to the war between humanity, the alien Ceph, and paramilitary forces. With dynamic environments, strong narrative design, and groundbreaking visuals, Crysis 2 blends story and gameplay into an intense, immersive experience.
15 June 2025
Games.designStray: Random Noise Generation
Stray: Random Noise Generation
Stray is a cyberpunk adventure game where players control a stray cat navigating a decaying walled city populated by humanoid robots and hostile creatures called Zurks. With the aid of a companion drone, B-12, the cat explores richly detailed environments, solves puzzles, and uncovers the city's mysterious past. The game blends atmospheric storytelling, minimalist mechanics, and immersive worldbuilding. Though short and light on replay value, Stray stands out for its unique protagonist, visual polish, and subtle philosophical undertones.
12 June 2025
Games.designTrashers Game Design Document
Trashers Game Design Document
Trashers is a factory simulation game where players build and manage a recycling plant, processing trash into usable resources. Players lay conveyor belts, construct processing machines, train staff, and bid on contracts to expand their operations. The game features a story mode where players restore a rundown plant and manage various challenges, making it ideal for those interested in recycling and factory builder games. Trashers combines strategic planning with engaging gameplay.
30 May 2025
TrashersAlien Isolation 2
Alien Isolation 2
My take on a full sequel to 2014's Alien Isolation and the continuation of Amanda Ripley's story. I'll cover an in-depth summary of the story as well as proposed new mechanics.
28 May 2025
Pond-eringsSinking Logic in The Meg
Sinking Logic in The Meg
The Meg is a big-budget sci-fi action film that brings B-movie shark tropes to the blockbuster stage. The film explores a research team's encounter with prehistoric Megalodons in the Mariana Trench. While the film embraces genre clichs giving them new life, it deserves praises for its straightforward plot but criticism for several logic gaps the billion-dollar Mana One station and dubious physics of deep-sea ecology.
13 May 2025
Whole PlotsGolem Mancer Game Design Document
Golem Mancer Game Design Document
GolemMancer is a strategic RPG where players construct and command powerful golems to reclaim a kingdom overrun by monstrous armies. The game combines intricate golem-building mechanics with engaging side-scrolling combat in a richly detailed pixel-art world.