*Game Design… one of my many passions. I’ve seen a good amount of conversations about games on the r1 and I would like to give my two cents. Edit, as this thread has gotten quite long. I have been continuously posting my thoughts on game design here, and am in the process of going through my backlog design documents. If you are at all curious about design philosophy for games, give it a read. I will keep adding to this megadocument until I get bored of game design, or make my game.* Setting Expectations: Hey all, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on game design for the r1, I wanted to make a post once the forum was live talking about the overall aspects of game design, specifically for the r1. Think about the greats in handheld gameplay… The year is 2004 and Nintendo releases a sleeping giant. The Nintendo DS, a best selling revolutionary handheld console. What made this device so successful? How were games designed for this device? Put simply, the DS was unique. It had a gimmick. The double screen design and stylus allowed for extremely unique games while maintaining a familiarity to handhelds like the Game Boy. In opposition to “safe” handheld designs like the PSP, the DS offered an experience that was entirely unique, it had a strong individual identity. I see the r1 in a similar light as the DS. It is entirely unique, no other device offers the same interaction and experiences you can have on it. It holds a lot of “gimmick factors” that make designs for the device unique and independent. The closest competitor (afaik) is the playdate, which still aims to do its own style of handheld play. Put straightforward, we have an analogue scroll wheel, a button, voice commands, a camera, a phone chipset, and a touch screen. To properly design a game for the device, we must act with these features in mind. Applicable Design So we understand what we can design around, lets get into the “types of play” we can design. A while back I got gifted the Art of Game Design, a Book of Lenses written by Jesse Schell. In the opening section Jesse talks about the venues of play, and how the location of play effects the types of games we enjoy. The type of venue that stuck out to me most was the public venue. Most notably, the half private/half public venue is explored with “The Gaming Table”, “The Playground”, and “Anywhere”. These venues of play are perfectly suited for the r1 as a pocket companion to everyday life. Additionally the idea of private venues are explored with “The Hearth”, “The Workbench”, and “The Reading Nook”. I could go on and on about the intricacies of game design and types of play, but to save myself from hours of rambling I will try to be concise. The r1 is the perfect device to quickly interact with, and then stow away until later. This can be applied to our game design as well. I know we currently live in a time where every piece of media is constantly vying for the attention of the user. Time is money, attention is money, and people become a means to profit. I’ve been trying to design games in a way that respects the player, and wishes the same respect for the world. I want games to bring people experiences that are unique to them. I want to create a game that can show the user their world, in a time where media tries to pull the consumer away from their present moment. The way I see it, the r1 is a perfect device for a low engagement, simple interface into a location based game. Using positive feedback gameplay loops we can encourage the user to explore their local region, much like PokemonGO. It’s getting quite late here, so I’ll make a comment on this post with my personal vision on how to build a game for this thing. Truth be told I’m having fun talking about game design, even if the project is out of the scope or capabilities of the r1.

Game Design for the r1 Superthread

MrPickles March 3, 2025, 11:31pm 21

Got it. quake on r1, confirmed

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