3 Bit Design

Tristan and Oliver are joined by guest designer Ioana as they don their dateviators and graft to seduce their furniture in Sassy Chap Games’ Date Everything!Realising it in three bits:Laugh It Out - Sending a message about the ridiculous state of current events and corporate greed under an engaging veil of satire It’s a Match - The impressively creative roster of 100 characters and their boundlessly diverse appealDating is Everything - Contrasting the simple, highly functional 3D space with the elaborate 2D character artLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] us a review!Some references:Date Everything Review – The Most Unhinged Dating Sim You’ll Ever Play - Melika Jeddi, ScreenHype (article)Date Everything Lead Designer on their Ambitious Dating Sim, Large Voice Cast, and Embracing Weirdness - Sri Kandula, Respawn Station (article)Date Everything! Developer Interview | Game Overview Gamescom 2024 - SpottinGames (video)

Tristan and Oliver grab their notebook and hop on a ferry to get a glimpse into the extraordinary lives of Giant Sparrow’s What Remains of Edith Finch, coming away with these three bits:Character Anthology - Exploring the house as a narrative tool and building characters room by roomVignette Controls - Tapping into a variety of genres and playstyles to give each character’s perspective a unique personalityImpossible Architecture - Keeping the player actively engaged in linear exploration through unexpected spaces and defying limitationsLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] us a review!Some references:What Remains of Edith Finch and the UX of Storytelling & Immersion - ishikasoni, Medium (article)Dissecting Finches: A Critical Analysis of the Mechanics of the Unique Artistic Game What Remains of Edith Finch - Daniel Podgorski, The Gemsbok (article)Weaving 13 Prototypes into 1 Game: Lessons from Edith Finch - Ian Dallas, GDC talk (video)‘Edith Finch’ shows that more creative, thoughtful, and joyful games are possible - Jackson Wagner (video essay)The Distributed Art Direction of Edith Finch - Chelsea Hash, GDC talk (video)What Remains of Edith Finch writer and creative director Ian Dallas chats about making the game - Page One - The writer’s podcast (video)PlayStation Experience | Edith Finch: The Inspirations of Giant Sparrow Panel - Playstation (video)

Tristan and Oliver open their mouths wide and inhale as much as they can of HAL Laboratory’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land, before spewing it back out into these three bits:Accessible 3D - Bringing the most accessible Nintendo character into full 3D perspective with innovative solutionsMy Enemy Is My Friend - Turning enemies into opportunities with copy abilities and sustaining surprise with Mouthful set piecesWaddle Dee-scovery - Rewarding creativity and exploration through the Waddle Dee collection level-scoring systemLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] us a review!Some references:The Many Dimensions of Kirby - GDC 2023, talk (video)Student Level Design Analysis: Kirby in the Forgotten Land by Noah Meaker - Creative Technologies at Illinois State University (video)Ask the Developer Vol. 4, Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Nintendo (article)

Tristan and Oliver hop on their brooms and ready their wands together with self-proclaimed Slytherin narrative designer Sophie Walker as they cast Revelio on Avalanche Software’s Hogwarts Legacy, revealing these three bits:Big Robes to Fill - Threading the fine line between originality and nostalgia to build a compelling narrative and characters in an adaptationExpelliarmus! - Wand-based combat and versatile spell designCharting the Wizarding World - Bringing previously isolated iconic locations together into living breathing open worldLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] us a review!Some references:An Inside Look at Hogwarts Legacy Unreal Engine Extensions | GDC 2024 - Unreal Engine, GDC Talk (video)Why Avalanche worked to deliver a Hogwarts game with soul - Brian Crecente, Unreal Engine (article)Level Design Lessons I Learned the Hard Way — And How Hogwarts Legacy Got Them Right - John Chasoulidis Abela, Medium (article)Hogwarts Legacy Game design deconstruction - Irina Kurkina, Medium (article)The art and making of Hogwarts Legacy - Jodi Revenson and Michael Owen (book)

In between seasons, Oliver takes the chance to reflect on some of the games we have discussed previously (Slay the Spire, Inscryption, and Balatro) to break down the genre of Roguelike Deckbuilders into three recurring bits:Building on Familiarity - Pick up and play simplicity, minimal onboarding, and complexity layeringMeaningful Choices - Risk VS reward and the power of full information transparencyOozing Personality - Successfully translating the slow tactile form of playing cards to the audio-visual medium of videogamesLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] us a review!