In contrast, games of progression offer many predesigned…

“You should also make fresh supplies available to him immediately after he surmounts a challenge that costs him a lot of resources, as Chapter…

— Ernest Adams

“Players don’t mind getting money for free, but when they have to spend it, they want to know why. Explain your drains.”

— Ernest Adams

“Drains A drain is a mechanic that determines the consumption of resources—that is, a rule specifying how resources permanently drop out of the game…

— Ernest Adams

“Sources If a resource or entity can come into the game world having not been there before, the mechanic by which it arrives is…

— Ernest Adams

“A game concept is a description of a game detailed enough to begin discussing it as a potential commercial product—a piece of software that…

— Ernest Adams

“If the available power grows at exactly the same rate as the absolute difficulty goes up, the relative difficulty will be a flat line,…

— Ernest Adams

“To keep the absolute difficulty level constant, whenever you increase the time pressure on a player, you should also reduce the amount of intrinsic…

— Ernest Adams

“Unless your game is a just-for-fun simulation such as Super Mario Kart or Beetle Adventure Racing!, vehicle simulation is the most technologically oriented of…

— Ernest Adams

“People love to design and create things, whether clothing, creatures, buildings, cities, or planets. They also love to customize a basic template of some…

— Ernest Adams

“Never forget that your ultimate goal is to create entertainment for the player—”

— Ernest Adams

“Plan to throw away all sound, art, and code created for a prototype. That way your artists, audio people, and programmers can work quickly…

— Ernest Adams

“In the most general sense, a balanced game is fair to the player (or players), is neither too easy nor too hard, and makes…

— Ernest Adams

“Fundamental AI Technologies” in Core Techniques and Algorithms in Game Programming by Daniel Sánchez-Crespo Dalmau (Dalmau, 2004).”

— Ernest Adams

“Overused Settings All too often, games borrow settings from one another or from common settings found in the movies, books, or television. A huge…

— Ernest Adams

“Core Mechanics The core mechanics consist of the data and the algorithms that precisely define the game’s rules and internal operations.”

— Ernest Adams