Game Design
Ongoing coverage on Game Design.
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Final Fantasy 7 Director Kept 'Open World Fatigue' in Mind as New Remake Chapter Promises 'Bigger' World Than Rebirth
Naoki Hamaguchi, director of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, acknowledged the industry's struggle with 'open world fatigue' but assured that the upcoming remake chapter will provide players with sufficient guidance. Despite promising a larger world than Rebirth, Square Enix is focused on ensuring a well-directed player experience.
Final Fantasy XIV’s latest live letter gave us a detailed preview of the Beastmaster coming in September
Final Fantasy XIV is set to introduce its second limited job, Beastmaster, in early September. This job allows players to summon companions and unleash combination attacks, with a new roguelike mode called Crucible of the Unbroken that features progression through battles and mode-specific items. The Beastmaster job requires a combat job at level 50 or above and the Dawntrail expansion registered to the account.
One excellent, unforgettable expansion has fixed Doom: The Dark Ages
The Revelations expansion for Doom: The Dark Ages masterfully reintroduces the series' signature speed and mobility, addressing criticisms of the base game's shield-focused mechanics. The new Chain Spear weapon and reintroduced air dashes provide expressive combat options, making the expansion a significant improvement and justifying the game's concept. This 10-12 hour expansion is available on Steam.
Here's a closer look at the FF14 Beastmaster and The Crucible of the Unbroken, courtesy of Live Letter 93
Final Fantasy XIV's upcoming patch 7.56 will introduce the Beastmaster, a new limited job that utilizes captured beasts for combat. This job is tied to a new activity called 'The Crucible of the Unbroken,' a magic board game where players train their beasts. The preview detailed the Beastmaster's mechanics, including beast capture, skill borrowing, and the strategic elements of The Crucible of the Unbroken, which requires players to build teams based on enemy weaknesses and utilize special items and gear.
Final Fantasy 14's Evercold expansion brings aboard a Final Fantasy 7 collab and a job that's all about fighting with massive shields
Square Enix announced new details for Final Fantasy XIV's upcoming expansion, Dawntrail, including a new job called Bastion and a Final Fantasy VII Remake-themed raid series titled Beyond the Lifestream. The expansion will also feature new areas like Fargarth and Naglfar, system updates such as reorderable main story quests and auto content balancing, expanded character creator options, and a combat overhaul called Evolved.
Tamashika Review | TheXboxHub
Tamashika is a stylish auto-runner that blends the speed of Superhot with the flow of Ultrakill, offering vibrant visuals and a focus on making the player feel cool. While its core gameplay loop of shooting enemies and navigating obstacles is effective, the game's stage design lacks distinction, leading to a "style over substance" feel at times. Despite these criticisms, Tamashika's presentation and soundtrack are excellent, creating a sense of wonder and excitement.
Discussion time: Have you ever said goodbye to an MMO you've played for 1,000s of hours?
This article discusses the deep emotional and time investment players have in MMOs, using Destiny 2 as a primary example of a game that players eventually have to say goodbye to. It explores the unique bonds formed within these games and the difficulty of moving on, especially when a game doesn't have direct competitors. The author, Sean Martin, reflects on his own experience with Destiny 2 and poses questions to the community about their experiences with MMO farewells.
The Daily Grind: Do you routinely swap out your MMO main character?
This article discusses the common MMORPG player dilemma of repeatedly switching main characters within the same game. It poses the question to readers whether they tend to swap mains frequently or stick with one character.
Final Fantasy 14 reveals Nintendo Switch 2 release date and pricing, Final Fantasy 7 remake collaboration, more
Square Enix announced the Nintendo Switch 2 release date for Final Fantasy 14 as August 4, 2026, alongside details for the upcoming expansion, Evercold, launching January 2027. The expansion will feature a new job called Bastion, a crossover raid series with Final Fantasy 7 Remake Trilogy titled 'Beyond the Lifestream,' and significant updates to game systems and character customization.
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced director isn't ruling out a Mirage-style challenge system: "We've looked into this one quite a bit"
Richard Knight, director of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, is considering adding a challenge system similar to Assassin's Creed Mirage. While he finds the idea appealing, he notes that implementing it would require new technology and significant development time. Knight, who previously worked on Hitman, believes such systems enhance replayability and gameplay flexibility.
Final Fantasy VII: Revelation open world will be much bigger than Rebirth
Square Enix has stated that Final Fantasy VII: Revelation will feature a significantly larger open world compared to Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. The development team is focusing on guiding players naturally through the expansive environment to avoid overwhelming them.
The FF14 Bastion is our first new Evercold job - here's everything Yoshi-P announced in the Fanfest Berlin keynote
During Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest Berlin, Game Director Naoki Yoshida revealed the new 'Bastion' job for the upcoming 8.0 expansion, Evercold, set to launch in January 2027. The keynote also showcased new zones, a third raid difficulty tier, and collaborations with Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Diskutera – Vilket är ditt svettigaste extraktionsminne?
This article discusses the intense and memorable moments experienced in extraction shooter games like Escape from Tarkov, Hunt: Showdown, and Arc Raiders. It prompts readers to share their own most thrilling or disastrous extraction memories, highlighting the high-stakes nature of these games where a successful escape is never guaranteed.
Previous Call of Duty titles "got away from that 'big war' feeling." Treyarch promises that Modern Warfare 4 "goes back to its roots"
Treyarch studio co-head Mark Grigsby revealed details about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, emphasizing a return to large-scale warfare and a conclusion to the Makarov storyline. The game will feature three converging storylines across North Korea, South Korea, and Captain Price's rogue unit, with approximately 50% of the content dedicated to 'war' levels. The revamped DMZ mode will serve as a sequel to the campaign, offering dynamic gameplay and a new map spanning multiple regions.
Roguebound Pirates – Open Beta | Alpha Beta Gamer
Roguebound Pirates is an action roguelike where the player's grid-based inventory physically manifests as their ship's layout. Players embark on missions with varying objectives and rulesets, earning resources to build a pirate base, unlock new equipment, and design custom emblems. The game features multiple difficulties, diverse upgrades, and a large arsenal for high replayability, and is currently in open beta.
5 unpopular opinions about Nintendo and hot takes
This article presents several unpopular opinions about Nintendo games, including that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is good but not great, Mario & Luigi: Brothership has pacing issues, The Wind Waker wastes player time, and that Kirby does have some bad games. It also argues that Paper Mario: Color Splash is not as bad as its public perception suggests.
Find out How an Adorable Duck Drove us to Get Creative with Dodo Duckie
BornMonkie's creative director Samhith shares the story behind their debut puzzle platformer, Dodo Duckie, available on Xbox Series X|S and PC. The game features a duckling raised by chickens who can switch between 2D and 3D perspectives to solve puzzles. The studio faced challenges in India's indie scene, leading them to focus on a core concept and character-driven narrative, with art director Vincent Boichut helping to define the visual style.
Halo: Campaign Evolved Secret Ending Seems To Tease A Halo 2 Remake
The secret ending of Halo: Campaign Evolved appears to tease a potential remake of Halo 2. Leaks have previously suggested that remakes of Halo 2 and 3 are in development by the newly rebranded Halo Studios, which is also reportedly working on a live-service title. Halo: Campaign Evolved is set to release on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC on July 28.
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director says "open-world fatigue" is real, and since "the world is even bigger than it was in Rebirth," Square Enix specially focused on guiding players
Final Fantasy 7 Remake series director Naoki Hamaguchi acknowledges the reality of 'open-world fatigue' and discusses Square Enix's focus on player guidance in the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. He notes that despite Revelation featuring an even larger world than Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the team is prioritizing clear direction to ensure players can enjoy the experience without feeling lost.
It looks like we're getting a Halo 2 remake next, but is that really a surprise?
The article discusses the likelihood of a Halo 2 remake, citing a secret ending in the current "Campaign Evolved" game that directly teases the sequel. It explores how Halo Studios' approach to game design might better suit remakes of Halo 2 and 3 compared to the original game. The author also touches upon Microsoft's recent job cuts and studio closures within its gaming division, expressing uncertainty about the future of the Halo remake series despite its potential.
