James Margaris
@markymarg2.bsky.social
A perfectly harmless box. Game dev, half of Dark Roast Entertainment. Games criticism at http://jmargaris.substack.com
Pinned
James Margaris
@markymarg2.bsky.social
· Sep 16
2XKO's Control Scheme is Not It
And other concerns about 2XKO's reception
open.substack.com
open.substack.com/pub/jmargari...
2XKO's "intuitive" control scheme cannot be learned, only memorized, as it doesn't follow much apparent logic in terms of what result you get when you press a direction and a button.
And more thoughts on replacing motion inputs with dodgy alternatives.
2XKO's "intuitive" control scheme cannot be learned, only memorized, as it doesn't follow much apparent logic in terms of what result you get when you press a direction and a button.
And more thoughts on replacing motion inputs with dodgy alternatives.
I'm no VR expert but to me this is a big problem with Steam Frame:
I read a headline like "Steam Frame is a new approach to VR" and then all the bullet points are things like "it's comfortable" or "it also works with non-VR games." Hasn't every headset in the past 10 years said this?
I read a headline like "Steam Frame is a new approach to VR" and then all the bullet points are things like "it's comfortable" or "it also works with non-VR games." Hasn't every headset in the past 10 years said this?
November 13, 2025 at 5:03 AM
I'm no VR expert but to me this is a big problem with Steam Frame:
I read a headline like "Steam Frame is a new approach to VR" and then all the bullet points are things like "it's comfortable" or "it also works with non-VR games." Hasn't every headset in the past 10 years said this?
I read a headline like "Steam Frame is a new approach to VR" and then all the bullet points are things like "it's comfortable" or "it also works with non-VR games." Hasn't every headset in the past 10 years said this?
Almost got tricked into doing some discourse but cooler heads prevailed.
November 13, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Almost got tricked into doing some discourse but cooler heads prevailed.
I think one reason the Telltale style of game fell off is that over time players were trained not to believe this.
You can only see "X will remember this" so many times before you put together that X didn't actually remember anything in any meaningful sense.
You can only see "X will remember this" so many times before you put together that X didn't actually remember anything in any meaningful sense.
When I was writing my first professional game, I got advice from very important and brilliant narrative designers that they repeated to me whenever I began crashing out...
"The player only needs to believe the dialogue choices go to different places."
"The player only needs to believe the dialogue choices go to different places."
November 12, 2025 at 5:12 AM
I think one reason the Telltale style of game fell off is that over time players were trained not to believe this.
You can only see "X will remember this" so many times before you put together that X didn't actually remember anything in any meaningful sense.
You can only see "X will remember this" so many times before you put together that X didn't actually remember anything in any meaningful sense.
Revisiting an old opinion is fine but this video comes off as very weird:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtHq...
The narration, music and production is like it's a Ken Burns civil war doc. It doesn't really get into what prompted this change, and the use of "our" is...wrong?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtHq...
The narration, music and production is like it's a Ken Burns civil war doc. It doesn't really get into what prompted this change, and the use of "our" is...wrong?
Our Opinion Of Dragon Age: The Veilguard Has Changed...
YouTube video by Eurogamer
www.youtube.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Revisiting an old opinion is fine but this video comes off as very weird:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtHq...
The narration, music and production is like it's a Ken Burns civil war doc. It doesn't really get into what prompted this change, and the use of "our" is...wrong?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtHq...
The narration, music and production is like it's a Ken Burns civil war doc. It doesn't really get into what prompted this change, and the use of "our" is...wrong?
When Helldivers 2 released I was struck by how the loading screen is you shooting down to the planet - it's not a still image, it looks cool, and it plays heroic music. It doesn't offer real interaction but it's still SO MUCH better than a standard loading screen - people LIKE that screen!
I think the single most important design decision in the entirety of Destiny 1 or 2 was when they built the inventory/quest screens to be interactable during loading screens
Not talked about almost ever, but it was so damn important to the loot game
Not talked about almost ever, but it was so damn important to the loot game
November 11, 2025 at 2:21 AM
When Helldivers 2 released I was struck by how the loading screen is you shooting down to the planet - it's not a still image, it looks cool, and it plays heroic music. It doesn't offer real interaction but it's still SO MUCH better than a standard loading screen - people LIKE that screen!
At the risk of vague-posting I think if you disagree with someone's take you can just say why and what about it specifically you disagree with, instead of purposely offering a bad summary of their argument or not even indicating that you read or understood it.
November 11, 2025 at 2:05 AM
At the risk of vague-posting I think if you disagree with someone's take you can just say why and what about it specifically you disagree with, instead of purposely offering a bad summary of their argument or not even indicating that you read or understood it.
I always go back to the example of that Youtuber who missed a tutorial shrine in Breath of the Wild and didn't know you could dodge until like 50 hours in.
That that can happen to some people is what distinguishes a true open world game from an effectively-linearized one!
That that can happen to some people is what distinguishes a true open world game from an effectively-linearized one!
Anyways... The other thing is people tending to portray the """problem""" that open world games have of some areas being too hard or too easy depending on when you get there and... Dude .. THAT'S THE POINT. That's a feature, girl. That was YOUR journey and you remember it because of that
November 11, 2025 at 2:01 AM
I always go back to the example of that Youtuber who missed a tutorial shrine in Breath of the Wild and didn't know you could dodge until like 50 hours in.
That that can happen to some people is what distinguishes a true open world game from an effectively-linearized one!
That that can happen to some people is what distinguishes a true open world game from an effectively-linearized one!
1. I'm very happy that Earthquake is in fact a ninja, I wasn't sure
2.A Texas ninja to boot! (Texas in "New Spain", lol)
3. Should a ninja ride a surfboard? THIS QUESTION IS THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING PLAYER FANTASIES!!
2.A Texas ninja to boot! (Texas in "New Spain", lol)
3. Should a ninja ride a surfboard? THIS QUESTION IS THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING PLAYER FANTASIES!!
November 10, 2025 at 5:24 AM
1. I'm very happy that Earthquake is in fact a ninja, I wasn't sure
2.A Texas ninja to boot! (Texas in "New Spain", lol)
3. Should a ninja ride a surfboard? THIS QUESTION IS THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING PLAYER FANTASIES!!
2.A Texas ninja to boot! (Texas in "New Spain", lol)
3. Should a ninja ride a surfboard? THIS QUESTION IS THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING PLAYER FANTASIES!!
Finishing up my blog post on player fantasies and I found one note I'd left for myself on my phone:
"Should a Ninja ride a surfboard?"
"Should a Ninja ride a surfboard?"
November 10, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Finishing up my blog post on player fantasies and I found one note I'd left for myself on my phone:
"Should a Ninja ride a surfboard?"
"Should a Ninja ride a surfboard?"
Me: "People don't seem that high on the concept of player fantasy so I don't have to go too hard on it"
Me also: Writing blog post about problems with the concept, lettering them, running out of letters.
Me also: Writing blog post about problems with the concept, lettering them, running out of letters.
November 10, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Me: "People don't seem that high on the concept of player fantasy so I don't have to go too hard on it"
Me also: Writing blog post about problems with the concept, lettering them, running out of letters.
Me also: Writing blog post about problems with the concept, lettering them, running out of letters.
If you look at the Youtube comments under Enya's Boadicea they're all about this movie!
Well, never a flop; it was the number one movie at the box office when it came out, but anyway…
collider.com/stephen-king...
collider.com/stephen-king...
Stephen King’s Forgotten Feline Flop Is a Free Streaming Hit
Sleepwalkers, one of Stephen King's most obscure movies, is a hit on streaming. Here's how to watch the Master of Horror's feline horror.
collider.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:38 AM
If you look at the Youtube comments under Enya's Boadicea they're all about this movie!
Watching the part where he talks about different ways of stitching together islands, identifies one approach as "garbage", and it's the approach I use. 🙃
(In my defense I have to stitch together islands that are procedurally generated at runtime so it's tough!)
(In my defense I have to stitch together islands that are procedurally generated at runtime so it's tough!)
With @briankaris.bsky.social winning this year’s SIGGRAPH Practitioner award, it’s a great time to repost his HPG 2022 keynote, which is one of the best talks I’ve ever seen. The tech is cool, yes, but what makes the talk is Brian’s approach to R&D and invention.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRnj...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRnj...
HPG 2022 Keynote: The Journey to Nanite - Brian Karis, Epic Games
YouTube video by High-Performance Graphics
www.youtube.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Watching the part where he talks about different ways of stitching together islands, identifies one approach as "garbage", and it's the approach I use. 🙃
(In my defense I have to stitch together islands that are procedurally generated at runtime so it's tough!)
(In my defense I have to stitch together islands that are procedurally generated at runtime so it's tough!)
Arcade cabinets with non-standard monitors pretty much all ruled - 3 screens wide, extra tall, etc.
November 9, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Arcade cabinets with non-standard monitors pretty much all ruled - 3 screens wide, extra tall, etc.
In the new Zelda Musou there are basic daily-like (though not actually daily) missions you can do like "kill 10 Moblins" and they're called "Aside Quests" which I find very funny. That naming feels like low-key trolling.
November 8, 2025 at 12:30 AM
In the new Zelda Musou there are basic daily-like (though not actually daily) missions you can do like "kill 10 Moblins" and they're called "Aside Quests" which I find very funny. That naming feels like low-key trolling.
I've always preferred "engrossing" to "immersive" in that they both imply that someone is rapt but the latter has weird baggage that the former doesn't, like the idea that visible UI is immersion-breaking.
I think "player fantasy" is a sort of similar concept to "immersion". And I don't think people are "immersed" by games. They "play" them (meaning they interact with them with a specific kind of self reflective and consentful attention).
November 7, 2025 at 8:04 AM
I've always preferred "engrossing" to "immersive" in that they both imply that someone is rapt but the latter has weird baggage that the former doesn't, like the idea that visible UI is immersion-breaking.
Interesting thing about the new Naked Gun (which I enjoyed) is that I was able to watch it without subtitles and there was only one word in the movie I didn't get the first time. Which is so incredibly rare these days.
November 7, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Interesting thing about the new Naked Gun (which I enjoyed) is that I was able to watch it without subtitles and there was only one word in the movie I didn't get the first time. Which is so incredibly rare these days.
I have to say this is a lot more interesting than people arguing about yellow paint for the 100th time.
It feels genuinely rare to have people weigh in with different well-considered opinions, rather than doing repetitive "discourse" or approaching game design topics from a culture war angle.
It feels genuinely rare to have people weigh in with different well-considered opinions, rather than doing repetitive "discourse" or approaching game design topics from a culture war angle.
I think fulfilling player fantasies is a bad and infantilizing way of referring to a more serious goal which is basically ludonarrative consonance in more academic terms. basically the goal of making the act of playing a role feel like what the player imagines it should feel like. This doesn’t have
Weigh in nerds!
Do you find it helpful to discuss "player fantasies"? Does the term fill you with disgust? Do you have a good handle on what it means?
Do you find it helpful to discuss "player fantasies"? Does the term fill you with disgust? Do you have a good handle on what it means?
November 7, 2025 at 2:38 AM
I have to say this is a lot more interesting than people arguing about yellow paint for the 100th time.
It feels genuinely rare to have people weigh in with different well-considered opinions, rather than doing repetitive "discourse" or approaching game design topics from a culture war angle.
It feels genuinely rare to have people weigh in with different well-considered opinions, rather than doing repetitive "discourse" or approaching game design topics from a culture war angle.
When I first played Tetris it was at a Mac store at the mall and I thought the idea was to build a structure that was big and impressive, so I kept losing in like 20 seconds.
Did an absolutely terrible job of delivering on my player fantasy!
Did an absolutely terrible job of delivering on my player fantasy!
I have one thing to interject: Tetris
November 7, 2025 at 2:34 AM
When I first played Tetris it was at a Mac store at the mall and I thought the idea was to build a structure that was big and impressive, so I kept losing in like 20 seconds.
Did an absolutely terrible job of delivering on my player fantasy!
Did an absolutely terrible job of delivering on my player fantasy!
I'm glad I posed this question (and got responses) because this line of thinking is more common that I would have expected.
Now that I consider that, it occurs to me that when I see people praise "fulfilling the player fantasy" it's rarely in a context that allows for back-and-forth.
Now that I consider that, it occurs to me that when I see people praise "fulfilling the player fantasy" it's rarely in a context that allows for back-and-forth.
I think it's useful as a navigational point, but being chained to the idea of what players expect leaves less space to surprise or challenge them.
Weigh in nerds!
Do you find it helpful to discuss "player fantasies"? Does the term fill you with disgust? Do you have a good handle on what it means?
Do you find it helpful to discuss "player fantasies"? Does the term fill you with disgust? Do you have a good handle on what it means?
November 7, 2025 at 1:47 AM
I'm glad I posed this question (and got responses) because this line of thinking is more common that I would have expected.
Now that I consider that, it occurs to me that when I see people praise "fulfilling the player fantasy" it's rarely in a context that allows for back-and-forth.
Now that I consider that, it occurs to me that when I see people praise "fulfilling the player fantasy" it's rarely in a context that allows for back-and-forth.
I can see how player fantasies can make sense in multiplayer games wrt things like different roles, but you can find reddit posts like "my player fantasy is to be stronger than everyone else and solo carry the game" which...hmm...
(Part of the problem there is players abusing dev lingo)
(Part of the problem there is players abusing dev lingo)
I feel like it is often at odds with things like balance and competitive play. Yeah I wanna be a multidimensional space lizard drawing on astral magic, but the person who wants to be a pirate with a pistol has to have fun as well.
November 7, 2025 at 1:06 AM
I can see how player fantasies can make sense in multiplayer games wrt things like different roles, but you can find reddit posts like "my player fantasy is to be stronger than everyone else and solo carry the game" which...hmm...
(Part of the problem there is players abusing dev lingo)
(Part of the problem there is players abusing dev lingo)
Weigh in nerds!
Do you find it helpful to discuss "player fantasies"? Does the term fill you with disgust? Do you have a good handle on what it means?
Do you find it helpful to discuss "player fantasies"? Does the term fill you with disgust? Do you have a good handle on what it means?
I am writing something about "fulfilling player fantasies" in games. I would appreciate any thoughts people have on the subject (positive or negative - is this a valuable concept?), talks or papers discussing or popularizing this sort of rhetoric, etc etc
November 6, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Weigh in nerds!
Do you find it helpful to discuss "player fantasies"? Does the term fill you with disgust? Do you have a good handle on what it means?
Do you find it helpful to discuss "player fantasies"? Does the term fill you with disgust? Do you have a good handle on what it means?
I am writing something about "fulfilling player fantasies" in games. I would appreciate any thoughts people have on the subject (positive or negative - is this a valuable concept?), talks or papers discussing or popularizing this sort of rhetoric, etc etc
November 6, 2025 at 2:07 AM
I am writing something about "fulfilling player fantasies" in games. I would appreciate any thoughts people have on the subject (positive or negative - is this a valuable concept?), talks or papers discussing or popularizing this sort of rhetoric, etc etc
Last night I dreamt that I met Alec Baldwin and told him that 30 Rock was my favorite comedy and that I thought he was the world's most underrated comedic actor.
Professional psychologists of Blue Sky: what does this mean?
Serious replies only please!
Professional psychologists of Blue Sky: what does this mean?
Serious replies only please!
November 5, 2025 at 4:13 AM
Last night I dreamt that I met Alec Baldwin and told him that 30 Rock was my favorite comedy and that I thought he was the world's most underrated comedic actor.
Professional psychologists of Blue Sky: what does this mean?
Serious replies only please!
Professional psychologists of Blue Sky: what does this mean?
Serious replies only please!
In video games it's really hard to cleanly separate out who is responsible for the best aspects of a good game, so the people who end up getting the credit or give keynote speeches and interviews, get investment, etc, are often the people who self-mythologize.
A core problem is that the ONLY people who let themselves be hailed as "great leaders", "genius" or "visionary" are people who're willing to steal credit from others.
At the same time, a lot of folks in leadership want "sure bets", and the people that look like sure bets to them are the geniuses
At the same time, a lot of folks in leadership want "sure bets", and the people that look like sure bets to them are the geniuses
November 5, 2025 at 2:33 AM
In video games it's really hard to cleanly separate out who is responsible for the best aspects of a good game, so the people who end up getting the credit or give keynote speeches and interviews, get investment, etc, are often the people who self-mythologize.
Me playing a narrative video game in which the hot female characters immediately fall in love with my main character, a loser with no appealing qualities: "this is great writing!"
November 1, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Me playing a narrative video game in which the hot female characters immediately fall in love with my main character, a loser with no appealing qualities: "this is great writing!"