On Small Games - Hackdot

Re:On Small Games by briangray on Monday November 23, 2020 @07:35PM (#25193781)

I believe the key benefit of small games is not the minimalism or short duration, but the forced condensing of core gameplay. Essentially bundling the fun without the excess fluff. I've heard developers constantly note that features will be dropped and your favorite implementation will hit the chopping block when making games. In the case of small games, you're turning this idea into a feature. Finding what can be stripped away to focus on engagement. Not what massive world can I develop to creature a robust experience, but what bits of the world can I shave to make a fulling experience.

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Re:On Small Games by silicon2401 on Monday November 23, 2020 @11:24PM (#25195245)

This is one of the reasons I personally enjoy retro games. Plenty of old games go for volume of features, but IMHO it's a lot easier to find games with a more condensed, focused in older generations. By the same token I think you're right, and small games like Pikuniku and Minit have re-kindled my interest in modern games after almost a half decade of not really keeping up with the scene, thanks to their condensed focus on fun and gameplay.

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Re:On Small Games by bokchoi on Monday November 23, 2020 @09:03PM (#25194460)

I feel the same applies to short stories -- with the constraint a lot of fluff is removed. It's been a while, but I used to subscribe to a few sci-fi magazines and loved it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction_magazine#Curre...

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Re:On Small Games by pcmaffey on Monday November 23, 2020 @11:09PM (#25195190)

Especially so for sci-fi. As Gibson put it, the short story is the quintessential form of sci-fi.

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Re:On Small Games by jyrkesh on Tuesday November 24, 2020 @03:07AM (#25196342)

If I wanted to get into these now, could you recommend any particular magazines (title and/or vintage) or time periods that are good starting points?

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Re:On Small Games by bokchoi on Tuesday November 24, 2020 @03:15AM (#25196380)

I enjoyed the long running "Asimov's Science Fiction" and "Analog Science Fiction and Fact" the most, but the newer "Clarkesworld" was also quite good. If you'd prefer a large tome, go for "The Year's Best Science Fiction" by Gardner Dozois. Ooh, and can't forget http://escapepod.org/

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Re:On Small Games by meheleventyone on Tuesday November 24, 2020 @08:45AM (#25198344)

The Year's Best Science Fiction and really all the collections edited by Gardner Dozois are fantastic. Sadly he died but there are years and years and years of great selections.

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Re:On Small Games by chrisweekly on Tuesday November 24, 2020 @07:12AM (#25197701)

Electric Literature

Also Ted Chiang (Your Life and Other Stories, Exhalation, ...)

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Re:On Small Games by mrec on Tuesday November 24, 2020 @07:51AM (#25197974)

*Stories of Your Life and Others

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Re:On Small Games by chrisweekly on Tuesday November 24, 2020 @10:20AM (#25199212)

whoops! yes, thanks for the correction

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Re:On Small Games by Tepix on Tuesday November 24, 2020 @06:37AM (#25197532)

The indie game Battle of Polytopia (iOS/Android/Steam) feels like that. It masterfully extracts the core gameplay of games like Civilization. It also has a matching graphics style.

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