The "Bad" Game That Taught Millions About Life and Death

From Indian spiritual metaphor to children's board game: the surprising journey of Snakes and Ladders.

Jul 1 • 

Adam Mirkowski

8

1

June 2025

Moving beyond 'fun': A designer's guide to emotional granularity

How might game designers unintentionally encourage players to do evil? And can you feel gratitude in a racing game?

Jun 15 • 

Adam Mirkowski

7

1

November 2024

The tutorial is a lie

Or, how to help players learn your game

Nov 4, 2024 • 

Adam Mirkowski

9

3

August 2024

3 game design lessons from the world's most popular sport

What can you learn about games from watching football?

Aug 19, 2024 • 

Adam Mirkowski

6

3

June 2024

How to write a branching narrative and won’t lose your mind

What is the most challenging aspect of video game writing? Imagine that Harry Potter can decide not to go to Hogwarts. Or Frodo decides to keep the ring…

Jun 10, 2024 • 

Adam Mirkowski

11

2

May 2024

What do politics and game design have in common?

Should games be a politics-free zone? Or rather - all games are political, and there is no escape from it? And why you should care about it.

May 20, 2024 • 

Adam Mirkowski

3

Is your idea for the game worth making?

Before spending months or even years on making a game, it would be nice to know if all this blood, sweat, and tears is worth the result.

May 6, 2024 • 

Adam Mirkowski

5

April 2024

Can rewards demotivate players?

A story about how I’ve stopped being a god of war and become a rat in the maze.

Apr 29, 2024 • 

Adam Mirkowski

4

Could the game development be a good story to tell?

Being a game developer is my dream job, so talking about my job is usually a pleasure. There is one exception though – it’s the moment I need to talk…

Apr 22, 2024 • 

Adam Mirkowski

3

Don’t make the game for yourself!

If you don't believe me, listen to Sid Meier - he was on more covers of fantastic games than all other game designers combined.

Apr 7, 2024 • 

Adam Mirkowski

6

March 2024

How we play and why it matters

How much does the input method affect the game design and how can the controller affect the players themselves? And why blinking might be a good way of…

Mar 31, 2024 • 

Adam Mirkowski

4

Zen, supermarkets and the art of simulator games

Why are more people interested in playing a game about managing a supermarket than one about leading a team of supervillains? And what does this…

Mar 24, 2024 • 

Adam Mirkowski

4