Where have I been? What’s the plan for 2021?

Hey everyone!

Long time no see! I hope you’re all doing well in 2021. Last year was kinda crazy for me (and everyone else) but this year I want to get back to writing design posts, I’m shooting for about a post a month. I don’t have the time I had before to make posts as often, but I think I can still do a good amount of research and put together a post every month. I’ll be starting next week with a look at some ways to do loot boxes without making them overly predatory (and still keeping the lights on at the studio). 

Oh also, before I forget, if you’re in Australia my new game just Soft Launched, NBA Ballstars! We’re working with Netmarble to bring our take on basketball to the Apple App Store and Google Play store. I’ll be running the LiveOps and the Economy for this title. I hope you enjoy it! And if you’re not in Australia, it’ll be available worldwide soon!

Thanks again, and I’ll see you next week!

Scott

SFGD Blog post update

It’s update time! I’ve been meaning to do this update for a while now, just never got around to it due to my new busy schedule.  I picked up a temporary position as an IT Tester/Trainer for the California Department of Insurance. Very exciting! Like I mentioned, it is a temporary position so it won’t last forever. But I hope it will sustain me until I can find a more permanent position in the Video Game Industry again.

Next on the agenda! As many of you know, I have been working on a choose-your-own-adventure app. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that app will be coming to fruition due to conflicting schedules. That’s not a problem for me because every end is a new beginning, and with that I can begin work on another app/game. Currently I’m split between doing a game, which I will try to monetize and make some money off of, or doing one which will just be fun all around but due to the nature and platform it will have a smaller audience.  The first is a match 3. I’ve always wanted to do a match 3 game because you can do a lot with the genre. Frozen Free Fall alone explored this idea incredibly thoroughly, so I may have to find a different hook if I want to be competitive in the mobile space. The other game I was thinking about doing was a game that explores the idea of exploring. One of my favorite things to do in games is to just explore the world. Seeing what danger or sights are around the next corner is an exciting concept to me. So this one would do just that, but I think I would be making it for PC as the mouse and keyboard controls seem to be a better fit for that style of game.

I hope to have an update and some initial shots of the chosen app/game next month.

As many of you may have noticed, I didn’t post last week. During the time I would usually be working on the weekly post, I focused on getting a new surprise together. In some of my previous posts, I have written extensive analysis about different mechanics in a variety of games. I was trying to figure out how I could take it a step further and really show readers some of these mechanics in action. So I got all the pieces together and very soon I will begin twitch streaming! I hope to record these streams and put them on YouTube and here as well. My hope with this is that I will be able to show my research off in better detail. Additionally, I will be able to better engage readers and get your opinions. We can turn these videos into even more of a discussion on game design! So please keep an eye out here and at my twitter @Scottmfine for when I finalize the times I will be streaming. I’m open to doing pretty much any game because I believe we can learn something from every game regardless of how terrible or perfect they are. If you’d like to see me tackle a specific Xbox One or PC game, feel free to comment on this post, or tweet at me, and I’ll see what I can do. In the future, I hope to do WiiU, mobile and PS4 games as well but I will need to pick up additional equipment before I can work on those platforms with the quality I’d like these videos to have.

And with that I bid you adieu! I hope you guys had a relaxing last couple of weeks. Next week we’ll be returning with a look at Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments. Being a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s works I am very excited to play this one!

I’ll see you guys next week,

Scott

A Letter to You

Dear Reader,

This week I wanted to scale back a little bit and just talk directly to you. First of all, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to read my work. I get a great feeling when I find out people are enjoying my articles. And I want to give an extra large thank you to those of you who have subscribed to my blog via RSS feed. I hope I am living up to your expectations and entertaining you weekly while at the same time broadening your horizons.

I’m writing this letter to you because I want to know about you. I talk about games, myself and my own projects regularly but this week is all about you. What kind of games do you like? What about game design interests you? Do you enjoy long walks on the beach? If you’ve been with me for a while, I’d love to hear about which of my posts you enjoyed the most. Which one was your least favorite? What about them did you like or dislike? What do you think I could better? What would you like to see more of? If you’re new to the blog, how did you find me?

I am constantly looking to improve the blog in every way possible. Just like in game design, the best way for me to improve (aside from practicing) is by receiving feedback and learning from it. Using your feedback, I hope to make this site even better!

Please leave a comment with some thoughts on my blog in the comments section of this post. If you’re shy or don’t want to leave a public comment, you can email me at Scottmfine@hotmail.com and title the subject “SFGD Feedback”. If you’ve read my previous posts, you’ll know that I value any and all feedback so I promise your words won’t fall on deaf ears.

Thank you and I’ll see you next week,

Scott Fine