Category: Essay

How many times in games, movies, or novels does a plot beat hinge on the main character being unable to advance because of the actions of another character? Putting players into a situation where they must wait can be awkward, as we saw when Alan was trapped in a cabin during his dream or if…

There are always two conflicting goals in any roleplaying game: The Game Master or Designer has a story they want to tell and a series of wickets they hope the player will hit in a particular order. These  checkpoints might consist of talking a series of NPCs who will deliver story through dialogue as players complete…

Alan Wake is a game which operates on surrealism and dream logic, which is appropriate seeing as it is influenced by the surreal world of David Lynch’s early 1990s TV drama Twin Peaks as much as anything from the mind of Stephen King, whose words open the game. The combat and puzzles are awkward and…