[dxu]

Hi all, I'm starting a long-form game design analysis site to provide long-form articles on the topic for others to read, while exploring what makes great games so enjoyable.

I started with Cave Story because it was my introduction to indie games, and I played it at a time where my computer was too slow to run anything else. The game itself was made by a single person, and is incredibly well designed for a passion project that was released as freeware. I think it's a great example of the careful, intentional design in video games.

I'd love to hear any feedback, good or bad, on the content, on my writing, what you'd like to see, or even just the site design in general.

[alexleavitt]

I really liked this article. It reminded me a lot about Tim Rogers' Earthbound review, which is my all-time favorite game review article: https://web.archive.org/web/20080219052007/http://www.largep...

I think one easy improvement could be putting some headers throughout, so the reader has a better sense of the outline, structure, and flow of your argument. Personally, I'd also love to see more comparisons across games: like, why does Cave Story matter in the context of the other games of its time (or even games that have come before)?

[dxu]

You have no idea how much your comment means to me!! Thank you so much for your kind words.

You bring up really great points! The first, regarding the use of headers, was something that I did think of, but decided against. One problem I had with the usage of headers was the fact that I felt it's too sharp of a context switch while you read the article. While it does allow for newcomers to quickly glance over the content, I felt that it would be better to prioritize the reader that already took the time to read. I tried to make the concept to concept flow as clean as possible. Instead of headers, I wanted to use the images as a way to naturally delimit the content as you read, without breaking your attention.

I'm definitely not sure that what I chose to do is the best way forward! This is actually the first piece of writing I've really released or had anyone other than myself read.

Regarding the second, it was definitely brought up to me it would be interesting to bring more detailed comparisons into the mix! I did a little bit of it with the mention of rogue likes and the Supergiant games. One thing I'm still working on is balancing the content so that it doesn't detract too much from the Cave Story - at the end of the day, the article was meant to be a tribute to the hard work put into the game by its creator, and the amazing qualities of video games.

This was very hastily typed up (I'm actually traveling at the moment), so hopefully my intentions and logic behind the writing makes sense! I definitely plan on thinking more about the points you've brought up to incorporate into my writing in the future, so thank you SO MUCH for the honest feedback!

[joshschreuder]

Great work!

I've subscribed to your RSS as I've been on a real game design binge at the moment, with YT channels like Game Maker's Toolkit [1] and game array [2]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqJ-Xo29CKyLTjn6z2XwYAw

[2] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIr5cIzrkBIOwMCxJVJOx7Q/fea...

[dxu]

Oooh, I'm traveling right now, but I will check those out when I get the chance! Thanks for the suggestions.