The Game Design Lessons of 2023
At the time of writing this issue, Notion indicates that in 2023, I completed 25 games, of which 10 were worthwhile. With a few days left, there's a chance I might finish a game or two, but it's worth drawing some conclusions anyway!
Using the pair comparison method, I compiled a personal top 10 of 2023:
Pikmin 3 (9 points)
Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin (8 points)
Super Mario Galaxy (7 points)
Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology (6 points)
Xenoblade Chronicles (5 points)
Limbo / Super Mario Sunshine (4 points each)
Professor Layton and The Lost Future / Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask / The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (all with 1 point each)
Following them are 15 other games, from which conclusions can also be drawn, but we'll get to them in due time.
Pikmin 3 or RTS on a gamepad
I must admit that I can't imagine real-time strategy on gamepads. I'll confess I haven't played Halo Wars, which supposedly rose to this challenge, but Nintendo, in creating the Pikmin series, approached the issue by centralizing control in the hands of the protagonist (sometimes more than one), whom the player directs, exploring the world, fighting, and collecting resources. Incredibly engaging mechanics, one of those worth artistically borrowing!
Sakuna or do heroes dream of a full-time job?
What a brilliant idea! Make a game about rice cultivation in medieval Japan! And mix it with action platforming and epic fantasy. This theme enlightened me not only on this occasion. The Harvestella demo also drew me in for the same reason. Unfortunately, some jRPGs are grind fests (e.g. Final Fantasy X), which seemed only more cumbersome without similar mechanics.
RPG game creators, give your characters some side occupation! Or better yet, give them a profession, a serious, forward-looking profession, like a potter (The Adventures of Harry the Potter), and if they must travel, let them be some kind of traveling salesman.
Super Mario Galaxy or mastery among 3D platformers.
The least stolen idea for game mechanics (what a shame!) and the biggest amount of third dimensions in a 3D game!
Radiant Historia or when do choices matter?
Usually, RPGs promise that your choices matter, but Radiant Historia approached it differently. The player knows perfectly well that the main role in the plot is played by two parallel storylines, resulting from a single choice. Any other choice is a dead-end, immediately ending the game and showing a scene summarizing the unwanted sequence of events. The ability to jump back and forth in time, past, and future, makes it a gem among games (especially since it's only available on Nintendo 3DS, and now only physically).
Radiant Historia or puzzles as the secret to good turn-based combat
Usually, when it comes to turn-based combat systems, the talk is more about balance. Radiant Historia turns combat into a kind of puzzle. It arranges enemies so that you can position them in corners to achieve different effects, such as hitting multiple enemies at once, pulling them from behind shields, etc. Making combat a puzzle to solve! Radiant Historia is not the only one in this, but it highlights it very well and makes you rethink turn-based systems! I guess if the creators went back to this idea they might introduce enemies the possibility to arrange the player characters positions 😉
Honorable Mentions
Playing some Professor Layton recently inspired me to explore visual novels a bit more. They seem to be a good starting point for any story.
Epistory: Typing Chronicles made me realize with its mechanics (not necessarily the story or the Switch port) that typing games can be an interesting venture for young game developers.