Polaris Game Design

Polaris Game Design

@polarisgamedesign.com

Solving the toughest problems in game design. Mostly a yearly weekend retreat for professional game designers. https://polarisgamedesign.com/

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Polaris Game Design
@polarisgamedesign.com

We asked 167 pro game designers what games influenced their work, and aggregated the results into a top-100! I'll thread the list here, but if you wanna cheat, head on over: polarisgamedesign.com/the-polaris-... Podcast with more nuance: www.gamedeveloper.com/design/are-t...

polarisgamedesign.comThe Polaris ListPolaris is a non-profit committed to improving and refining the art and craft of game design. In order to get a snapshot of current game design thinking and reference points, we wondered — what do wor...
Polaris Game Design
@polarisgamedesign.com

Poly Fighter is out!! By (among others) Polaris veterans @osamadorias.bsky.social and @muselle.bsky.social of HeartLoop, we hope their design learnings from this single-player roguelike fighting game can be shared with the community in years to come! store.steampowered.com/app/3977340/...

store.steampowered.comSave 10% on Poly Fighter on SteamPoly Fighter is a single-player roguelike fighting game. Learn new moves from every opponent you defeat to build your fighter’s unique style. Battle through tense retro-arcade duels with beginner-frie...
Polaris Game Design
@polarisgamedesign.com

Wanna think more deeply about game design? Here's some reports on the latest systems analyses from Polaris Design Retreat, from social psychological-safety design to mechanical comedy to loss, and beyond! polarisgamedesign.com/reports/

polarisgamedesign.comReportsREPORTS 2022 2023 2023 Understanding Systems Suspense Why is it fun to learn the rules of a videogame? Not just to play the game, but to learn it; to travel from the state of unknowing to knowing, to ...
Polaris Game Design
@polarisgamedesign.com

Lucas Pope's @dukope.bsky.social top 10 influential games (unranked): Wizards & Warriors Dark Castle Out of this World / Another World Thief Digital: A Love Story Doom II: Hell on Earth Quake Shadowgate Flashback Goonies II The list of top influential games: polarisgamedesign.com/the-polaris-...

polarisgamedesign.comThe Polaris ListPolaris is a non-profit committed to improving and refining the art and craft of game design. In order to get a snapshot of current game design thinking and reference points, we wondered — what do wor...

Polaris Game Design reposted

Megan
@meganbeetle.bsky.social

I really liked this papers breakdown of virtual social interactions and the different needs and risks that should be considered. Great for game designers of course, and super interesting to think about as a community professional and digital anthropologist. polarisgamedesign.com/2025/toolkit...

polarisgamedesign.comToolkit for Cringe-Safe Social InteractionsWhat design elements provide permission for players to play together socially?
Polaris Game Design@polarisgamedesign.com

It's the Polaris 2025 reports! They've come! They're here! It's a bumper crop of five, count'em FIVE papers! We got comedy, we got death, we got cringe, we got trust... something for the whole team. Piping hot game design knowledge and insight await: polarisgamedesign.com/reports/

Polaris Game Design reposted

Konstantinos Dimopoulos
@konstantinosd.bsky.social

A new cohort of my Designing Cities for Video Games game urbanism class will be starting this March. Will be also doing a live course presentation on February 25: www.eventbrite.com/e/designing-...

Konstantinos Dimopoulos@konstantinosd.bsky.social

My *Designing Cities for Video Games* course for #gamedev professionals returns in 2026, with lessons beginning on March 4. ▶️ Find out more and enroll here: www.d6learning.com/course/gamec... [use coupon ASOCIALCITY10 on checkout for a further 10% off]

Polaris Game Design
@polarisgamedesign.com

"Rewriting the Player Contract" suggests 4 framings for managing high trust with your players: 1 - Tiered commitments (core pillars vs possibility spaces) 2 - Trust Reserves (over-deliver small promises) 3 - Provisional language 4 - Protect mysteries Read more: polarisgamedesign.com/2025/rewriti...

polarisgamedesign.comRewriting the Player Contract: Legibility and Trust in Game DevelopmentWhether you mean to or not, as a game developer, you will find yourself embedded in contracts with your players, of both explicit and implicit varieties.

Polaris Game Design reposted

Eric Ravenscraft
@lordravenscraft.bsky.social

"dry bones comes from the Bible" oh okay yes I am reading every fucking word of this, let's go

Not The A.V. Club Games@nottheavclubgames.bsky.social

When you defeat a skeleton in a video game, there's a very good chance it will quickly reassemble itself. What inspired this cliche? www.avclub.com/regenerating...

avclub.comWhy do video game skeletons put themselves back together?When you defeat a skeleton in a video game, there's a very good chance it will quickly reassemble itself. How did this trope start?

Polaris Game Design reposted

Bruno Dies
@brunodias.dev

done with "everything is gender". now is the time of "everything is game design"

Juliette Kayyem@juliettekayyem.bsky.social

I have begun to think that Minnesota pushback to ICE was unique and a model because it gave people something to do. It wasn’t about just going out in streets for rallying purposes. People had a mission: videos, whistles, information and communication flow to communities. They had something to do.

Polaris Game Design reposted

Tanya X. Short
@tanyaxshort.bsky.social

I worked with the irrepressible @jonremedios.bsky.social @tylermakesgames.bsky.social @rainysector.bsky.social @bravemule.bsky.social to write a paper on why permadeath (and other forms of loss in games) appeals, and what we lose when we try to paper over it with metaprogression. Check it out!

Polaris Game Design@polarisgamedesign.com

It's the Polaris 2025 reports! They've come! They're here! It's a bumper crop of five, count'em FIVE papers! We got comedy, we got death, we got cringe, we got trust... something for the whole team. Piping hot game design knowledge and insight await: polarisgamedesign.com/reports/

Polaris Game Design reposted

Julia Minamata
@juliaminamata.bsky.social

Hooray! 🎉 This year's ✨@polarisgamedesign.com✨ papers are live! I'm super pumped because I got attend the retreat last year and help write one. 😊 It's about trust and wonder. Check it out here: polarisgamedesign.com/2025/rewriti...

polarisgamedesign.comRewriting the Player Contract: Legibility and Trust in Game DevelopmentWhether you mean to or not, as a game developer, you will find yourself embedded in contracts with your players, of both explicit and implicit varieties.

Polaris Game Design reposted

Jon Remedios
@jonremedios.bsky.social

The new reports from @polarisgamedesign.com went up today! I had the pleasure of attending this year and got to work with some pretty nifty people on a pretty nifty paper about loss and pain in video games. Fun stuff! polarisgamedesign.com/2025/embraci...

polarisgamedesign.comEmbracing Player Pain: Designing for Permanent LossLoss and death are important, some would say essential, parts of the human experience. It's something that we all must, in time, come to accept in our lives. Why is it so hard to accept in our games?

Polaris Game Design reposted

austin_walker
@austinwalker.bsky.social

One year ago today, I released the ashcan of REALIS, my first TTRPG. Today, we've got a near-complete draft that's 50,000 words longer than the preview that so many of you checked out, with over 100 new pieces of art. Thanks to everyone who checked it out. And get ready for the KS later this year.

Polaris Game Design
@polarisgamedesign.com

Game designer @natloh.bsky.social Nat Loh's top 10 influential games (unranked): GTA 3 Megaman 2 The Legend of Zelda: BOTW The Legend of Zelda Star Control 2 Wolfenstein 3D Metal Gear Solid Lode Runner Civilization Shadow of the Colossus Runner-up: "Naruto [...] on Skylander ability ideation."

Polaris Game Design reposted

Julia Minamata
@juliaminamata.bsky.social

Happy Weekend! My tiny Over the Garden Wall adventure game has hit 10k plays on itch.io🎉! It's FREE to play https://juliaminamata.itch.io/otgw -- A nice way to spend a cozy half hour or so indoors. ❄️ There's also a walkthrough, no worries about getting stuck!

juliaminamata.itch.ioThe Round-about Orchard: A tiny Over the Garden Wall game by JuliaMinamataA two-room adventure game that takes about fifteen minutes to play
Polaris Game Design
@polarisgamedesign.com

Creative Director & Designer Michael Austin's 10 most influential games (unranked): Adventure Super Mario Brothers Legend of Zelda Oblivion Counter-Strike Assassin's Creed Stardew Valley Slay the Spire Civilization Satisfactory

Polaris Game Design
@polarisgamedesign.com

Ken Rolston's top 10 influential games (unranked): Little Inferno Civilization Baldur's Gate Myth II: Soulblighter Dragon's Dogma Daggerfall The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy Card Hunter Call of Duty Honorable Mention: Tunnels and Trolls tabletop rpg

Polaris Game Design
@polarisgamedesign.com

Menzel remarks: "These titles are unified by expressive mechanics set within whimsical or surreal worlds. They hand you a clear set of tools, then step back, inviting mastery, curiosity, and personal expression." (continued)

Polaris Game Design
@polarisgamedesign.com

Menzel remarks part 2: "Many use bright visuals or playful tones to draw you in, only to reveal something deeper, stranger, or more tragic beneath the surface. While they vary greatly in length, their game time is defined by short, impactful sessions that showcase the strong loops in their design"

Polaris Game Design
@polarisgamedesign.com

She says: "Looking at the chronological list, the games I'm drawn to show my evolution from an RPG player/designer toward deeper systems design and finally into the ways games tell stories through their mechanics. DOOM and Half-Life 2 are anomalies on the list, in a sense."