“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 Copy Share Image
“Economies about money are called market economies. But we use the term in a more abstract way to refer to any kind of system in which resources—of any type—can be produced, exchanged, and consumed.” — Ernest Adams Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
“Never forget that your ultimate goal is to create entertainment for the player—” — Ernest Adams Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
