486 Index Fat Princess, 422 F.E.A.R., 112, 400 Feeding Frenzy, 368 fencing, 92–93 Field, Syd, 41 FIFA Manager series, 11 Final Draft, 411 Final Fantasy series, 175 Final Fantasy VII, 52 fingers (off of path), 228–229 first person camera, 127–129 first person shooters (FPSs), 8, 9, 128 Flash animated sequences, 408 “Flex-O-Fingering,” 156–157 Flight Simulator series, 11 fl ow, 342–343. See also game flow Fluid, 404 FMV (full motion video), 408 forced scrolls, 125–126 Force Unleashed (Star Wars), 214, 369, 374 foreshadowing, 211–212 form follows function, 83–84, 90, 118, 282, 329, 344n9 four-fingered characters, 422, 422n2 four-legged characters, 109 FPSs. See first person shooters Frogger, 48, 203 full motion video (FMV), 408 fun curve, 338 F-Zero, 126 Galaga, 359 Galaxian, 175 game bible, 72 game demos, 420–421 game design documents (GDDs), 59–82. See also one-sheet; pitch presentation; ten-pager game design document template, 445–458 Game Developer’s Conference, 25, 37 game over screens, 195, 277, 278–279 gameplay. See also multiplayer gameplay bi-dimensional, 127 “bite-size,” 46, 79 characters and, 92–95 conjugate, 382–385 mechanics, 69–70, 331–354 progression, 76 ramping, 338 repetitive, 10 speed of, 97 story v., 37, 42, 46 subject matter for, 42–43 walking v., 96, 227–228 “gamers’ thumb,” 159 games (video games) arcades, 4–7, 9 bad, 25, 429 defi nition, 3 diffi cult, 338 genres, 8–12, 22 history, 4–8 kids and, 29–30 length of, 48, 363 licensed, 54–56 objectives, 3, 22 stories’ role in, 46 themes, 200–207 titles for, 49–50, 446 as training level, 239 game world map, 209–210 Gard, Toby, 130n5 Gary Gygax Memorial mapping section, 217–223, 217n13 gating mechanisms, 388 Gauntlet, 140, 381, 382 GDDs. See game design documents Gears of War games, 49, 112, 199, 258, 263, 268, 269, 272 genres (game genres), 8–12, 22 gestalt, 68, 195, 195n15 Ghostbusters, 112, 276 Ghosts ‘n Goblins, 28, 110, 210, 260, 275, 338, 358 goals game, 447 players’, 212–213 God God view, 138–139 man v. God (multiplayer), 384 God of War series, 25, 66, 96, 136, 161, 178, 184, 322, 351, 371, 374, 375, 408 Goldberg, Rube, 350, 350n12 GoldenEye, 112, 129n4, 151 Gondry, Michel, 24, 25 The Goonies, 112 Graffi ti Kingdom, 90 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, 89 Grand Theft Auto 3, 177 Grand Theft Auto 4, 219, 223 Grand Theft Auto series, 10, 11–12, 59, 276, 427 Gran Turismo series, 11 graphical adventure games, 10 graphics, 5, 13, 14, 245 grapples, 253–254 The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia (Suits), 1n4 gray box level, 233–234 greed, 365–367, 378 griefing (MMOs), 389 grinding, 10, 387–388 GTA4, 177 guilds (MMOs), 389 Guirao, Paul, 328–329 Guitar Hero, 168, 213, 395, 404 gunplay/guns, 261–271 Gunstar Heroes, 217, 345 Gygax, Ernest Gary, 217–223, 217n13
Half-Life, 49, 367, 374, 409 Halo: Combat Evolved, 50, 172, 219, 261, 277, 368, 383 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 177 Hart, Basil Liddell, 243 Harvest Moon, 117n10 Haunted Mansion, 6n7, 136, 204n7, 271, 271n7 hazards, 70, 335–339, 465. See also mechanics Head over Heels, 112 health, 275–277 GDD and, 452–453 health bar, 172–173, 276 Heavenly Sword, 150, 167 Heavy Rain, 376 Heinlein, Robert, 74n8 Henry Hatworth in the Puzzling Adventure, 352 Hercules Action Game, 127 “Hero’s Journey” (Campbell), 41 Hitchcock, Alfred, 47, 48n6 hit points, 275 hoists, 104–105 Home, 385 horror/survival games, 10 horror theme (story theme), 459 House of the Dead, 136 House of the Dead: Overkill, 195n16, 271 HUD-less health system, 276–277 HUDs (heads-up displays) elements in, 172–178 fonts and, 195–196 placement of, 185–187 Ico, 113 icons, 179–183, 182n9, 276 ideas (game ideas), 23–36, 26n6, 80. See also Universal Truths and Clever Ideas idles, 99–100 Ikaruga, 217, 338, 345 illusional narrative, 232 imagineers, 209, 212, 221, 271, 393 The Incredible Machine, 11 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 321 Indiana Jones movies, 426 inFAMOUS, 88 intellectual properties (IPs), 54, 54n13, 425 Invaders from Space, 124 inventory items, 110–111, 174–175, 451–452 invisible walls, 236–237 island level designs, 219–220, 222–223 isometric camera, 138–139 isometric level design, 231–232 Jackson, Peter, 179, 181, 181n4 Jaffe, David, 25 James Bond movies, 47, 319, 320 Jones, Chuck, 104–105, 105n8 Jumping Flash, 102 Index 487 jumps, 100–103, 256 jump zone, 102–103 Just Cause, 49 Karate Champ, 383 Karoke Revolution, 404 “keep going” screen, 279 kids evil creepy, 306 games (for older people) and, 29–30 game stories for, 54 Kim, Scott, 346, 347, 347n10 King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, 179, 181n4 king of the hill/defending (multiplayer), 383 King’s Quest, 10 knockbacks, 274, 301 LAN gaming centers, 6 Langdon, Kevin, 1n3 LARPing (live-action roleplaying), 206, 206n8 leaderboards, 175, 368 LeBel, Hardy, 262, 265 LeBlanc, Marc, 30, 30n8 Lee, Stan, 378 Left 4 Dead, 42, 262, 383 left to right orientation, 95, 185, 236 legal/copyright screens, 194 Legend of Zelda series, 17, 87, 89, 112, 178, 213, 254, 276, 319, 364, 394, 399 Lego Batman, 112 Lego games, 340, 371 Lego Indiana Jones: the Original Adventures, 373 Lego Star Wars, 112 Leisure Suit Larry series, 10 leitmotifs, 398–399, 405 length (games/levels), 48, 228, 363 levels boring, 228, 363 definitions for, 197–198 long, 48, 228, 363 naming, 207–208 new (bonus materials), 374 other terms for, 198–199 worlds v., 199–200 level design, 197–241 level maps, 217–232 from Pac-Man World, 225 rough outline, 224 levers, 334–335 Levine, Ken, 46n4, 208, 208n9 licensed games, 54–56 licensed music, 394–395, 397 licensor points/concerns (GDD), 458 licensors, 22, 55 life simulation games, 10, 117n10 literal titles, 49 LittleBigPlanet, 49, 97, 152, 195, 385, 386
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Copyright Information Please note t
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This edition first published 2010
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments Some
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viii Contents Level 2 Ideas 23 Idea
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x Contents Level 8 Sign Language—
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xii Contents Level 15 Some Notes on
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About the Author After discovering
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xvi Press Start! You obviously don
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xviii Press Start! video games shou
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xx Press Start! to me. Why would yo
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T LeveI 1 Welcome, N00bs! This chap
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So, let ’ s ask this basic questi
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A Brief History of Video Games Earl
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A Brief History of Video Games A co
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Game Genres Game Genres Over the ye
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Game Genres 11 Puzzle: puzzle games
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Who Makes this Stuff? One programme
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Who Makes this Stuff? many, many sk
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Who Makes this Stuff? 17 problems (
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Writer Have You Thought about Publi
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Have You Thought about Publishing?
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T LeveI 2 Ideas Let ’ s talk abou
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Ideas: Where to Get Them and Where
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28 LEVEL 2 Ideas • Space Panic’
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30 LEVEL 2 Ideas them credit for. O
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32 LEVEL 2 Ideas 3. Something to wr
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34 LEVEL 2 Ideas Breaking Writer
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36 LEVEL 2 Ideas others are clear l
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38 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story 2. Our
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40 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story 6. An
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42 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story they s
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44 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story The Tr
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46 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story What d
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48 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story Howeve
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50 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story game.
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52 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story Death
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54 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story Comedi
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56 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story great
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58 LEVEL 4 You Can Design a Game, B
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60 LEVEL 4 You Can Design a Game, B
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62 LEVEL 4 You Can Design a Game, B
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64 LEVEL 4 You Can Design a Game, B
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66 LEVEL 4 You Can Design a Game, B
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68 LEVEL 4 You Can Design a Game, B
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70 LEVEL 4 You Can Design a Game, B
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72 LEVEL 4 You Can Design a Game, B
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The Game Design Document (and the A
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The Beat Chart The Beat Chart 77 Th
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Above All, Don’t Be a Schmuck 79
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Level 4’s Universal Truths and Cl
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T LeveI 5 The Three Cs, Part 1 —
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Personality: Do We Really Need Anot
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Personality: Do We Really Need Anot
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Let’s Get Personal 89 an internat
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Let’s Get Personal While video ga
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Finally, We Talk about Gameplay 93
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Why Walk When You Can Run? 95 The t
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Why Walk When You Can Run? 97 with
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The Art of Doing Nothing 99 When yo
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Might as Well Jump 101 1. The playe
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Might as Well Jump 103 The target t
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What Goes Up, Must Fall Down 105 Jo
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What Goes Up, Must Fall Down 107
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Be Kind to Our Four-Legged Friends
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We Are Not Alone 111 player, who is
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We Are Not Alone 113 While companio
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We Are Not Alone 115 Scout Engineer
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Who Are the People in Your Neighbor
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Level 5’s Universal Truths and Cl
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122 LEVEL 6 The Three Cs, Part 2—
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T Levei 7 The Three Cs, Part 3 —
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The Three Cs, Part 3—Controls 157
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Dance, Monkey, Dance 159 • While
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Dance, Monkey, Dance 161 • Clasp
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Dance, Monkey, Dance 163 Maximo ’
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Character or Camera Relative? 165 W
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Shake, Rattle and Roll 167 characte
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172 LEVEL 8 Sign Language—HUD and
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174 LEVEL 8 Sign Language—HUD and
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176 LEVEL 8 Sign Language—HUD and
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178 LEVEL 8 Sign Language—HUD and
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Icon Has Cheezburger? 181 The first
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Don’t Get QTE 183 • Red cross:
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HUDs, and Where to Stick ‘Em 185
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There Are Other Screens Than the HU
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The Pause that Refreshes 189 • Th
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The Pause that Refreshes 191 screen
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The Pause that Refreshes 193 • Fi
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A Final Word on Fonts 195 out of th
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T LeveI 9 Everything I Learned Abou
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Everything I Learned about Level De
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The Top 10 Cliché Video Game Theme
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The Top 10 Cliché Video Game Theme
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The Top 10 Cliché Video Game Theme
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The Name Game 207 While designing M
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Everything I Learned about Level De
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Everything I Learned about Level De
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Everything I Learned about Level De
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Relic Raider beat chart The Beat Ch
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220 LEVEL 9 Everything I Learned ab
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T Levei 10 The Elements of Combat E
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400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 245
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400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 247 C
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400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 251 Y
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400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 253 W
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On Moving On Moving 255 If you take
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On Moving 257 Many games allow the
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On Guarding 259 to decide whether a
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State of the Art Bang Bang 261 does
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State of the Art Bang Bang 263 •
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The Best Gun for You 265 Here are a
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The Best Gun for You 267 • Automa
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Run and Gun 269 to a main gun and a
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Not Just Shooting 271 Rail shooter
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Not Just Shooting 273 Wherever ther
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Dammit Jones, Where Doesn’t It Hu
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Death: What is It Good For? 277 the
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Level 10’s Universal Truths and C
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T LeveI 11 They All Want You Dead V
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They All Want You Dead 283 All of t
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A shooter is an enemy that fires a
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They All Want You Dead 287 A telepo
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• A guard and a bomber. While the
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They All Want You Dead 291 Medium s
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They All Want You Dead 293 Let ’
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Bring on the Bad Guys 295 You are w
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Bring on the Bad Guys 297 like a ma
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Bring on the Bad Guys 299 They ’
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Bring on the Bad Guys 301 ricochet.
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Bring on the Bad Guys 303 Leech: th
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I Love Designing Enemies 305 A is f
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I Love Designing Enemies 307 I hate
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I Love Designing Enemies 309 M is f
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I Love Designing Enemies 311 Spaces
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I Love Designing Enemies 313 Behold
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I Hate You to Pieces 315 gets a goo
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Non-Enemy Enemies 317 comes dialogu
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Who’s the Boss? 319 At first glan
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Size Matters 321 father in order to
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Size Matters 323 safe for them to a
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Size Matters 325 When the player gi
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Why Not to Create the World’s Gre
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The Nuts and Bolts of Mechanics 333
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Holy Death Trap! 335 Cranks are lik
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Holy Death Trap! 337 I was designin
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Time to Die Time to Die 339 we are
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The Music of Mechanics 341 Gaming w
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The Music of Mechanics 343 characte
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A Nice Little Calm Spot 345 The whi
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Riddle Me This 347 While Mr. Kim ha
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Riddle Me This 349 another player s
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A Short Word on Minigames and Micro
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T LeveI 13 Now You ’ re Playing w
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Now You’re Playing with Power 357
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Now You’re Playing with Power 359
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“Love Thy Player” 361 Most powe
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“Love Thy Player” 363 the playe
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More Wealth Than You Can Imagine! 3
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More Wealth Than You Can Imagine! 3
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More Wealth Than You Can Imagine! 3
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More Wealth Than You Can Imagine! 3
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More Wealth Than You Can Imagine! 3
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More Wealth Than You Can Imagine! 3
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More Wealth Than You Can Imagine! 3
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382 LEVEL 14 Multiplayer—the More
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384 LEVEL 14 Multiplayer—the More
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386 LEVEL 14 Multiplayer—the More
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388 LEVEL 14 Multiplayer—the More
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390 LEVEL 14 Multiplayer—the More
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T LeveI 15 1 Some Notes on Music Wh
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Some Notes on Music 395 the rights
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Some Notes on Music 397 game? A tra
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Some Notes on Music 399 • Warning
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Sounds Like a Game to Me 401 • We
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Sounds Like a Game to Me 403 Be car
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408 LEVEL 16 Cutscenes, or No One
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410 LEVEL 16 Cutscenes, or No One
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412 LEVEL 16 Cutscenes, or No One
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414 LEVEL 16 Cutscenes, or No One
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416 LEVEL 16 Cutscenes, or No One
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418 LEVEL 17 And Now the Hard Part
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424 LEVEL 17 And Now the Hard Part
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428 LEVEL 17 And Now the Hard Part
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430 Continue?
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432 Bonus Level 1 The One-Sheet Sam
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