korrents

Tynan Sylvester

@tynan-sylvester · 9 positions · 0 changes of mind

Game designer, creator of RimWorld and founder of Ludeon Studios, and author of Designing Games: A Guide to Engineering Experiences. Worked on BioShock Infinite before going independent. Writes occasionally about design method at tynansylvester.com.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

Tynan Sylvester did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

  1. Our reading

    Balancing a system elegantly is not the same as giving people what they actually came for, which is emotion.

    Their wordsThe problem with level 2, though is that it works on abstract, mechanical-level analysis of systems, which doesn’t relate directly to what players actually want from their games: emotions.

    ↗The three levels of designertynansylvester.com

    Interesting
  2. 15 months earlier

  3. Our reading

    In game development speed is quality, because the faster you can work the more times you can iterate.

    Their wordsIt’s my strong belief that in games dev, speed is quality.

    ↗Email dredging: Cutting polish and nonlinear resultstynansylvester.com 1st of 5 in this piece

    Interesting

  5. Our reading

    Quantity produces quality: the more work you put out, the likelier it is that one piece of it turns out to be the one that matters.

    Their wordsSpeed is quantity, and quantity is quality – The more stuff you put out, the more the likelihood that one part of it will turn out to be really, really important and good.

    ↗Email dredging: Cutting polish and nonlinear resultstynansylvester.com 2nd of 5 in this piece

    Interesting

  7. Our reading

    What a finished work is remembered for comes down to a few key pieces, and most of the work that went into it barely matters.

    Their wordsthe final experience often comes down to just a few key pieces or insights.

    ↗Email dredging: Cutting polish and nonlinear resultstynansylvester.com 3rd of 5 in this piece

    Interesting

  9. Our reading

    The way to find a hit is to experiment a lot, not to polish.

    Their wordsI don’t think the answer is “polish”. It think it’s “experiment”.

    ↗Email dredging: Cutting polish and nonlinear resultstynansylvester.com 4th of 5 in this piece

    Interesting

  11. Our reading

    A small studio’s advantage over a large one is the ability to change direction fast, not the ability to out-polish it.

    Their wordsOur advantage is agility and lack of corporate cultural encumbrance.

    ↗Email dredging: Cutting polish and nonlinear resultstynansylvester.com 5th of 5 in this piece

    Interesting
  12. 20 months earlier

  13. Our reading

    Narrative is not a real category; it is a cultural label for a cluster of emotional triggers games happen to share with older media.

    Their wordsThe concept of narrative is not absolute. It is merely a label for a cluster of emotional triggers which games happen to share with certain traditional media.

    ↗The Edge of Storytynansylvester.com 1st of 2 in this piece

    Interesting

  15. Our reading

    There is no sharp line between a game’s story and its mechanics.

    Their wordsThere is no sharp line between fiction, story, narrative, and mechanics.

    ↗The Edge of Storytynansylvester.com 2nd of 2 in this piece

    Interesting
  16. 1 day earlier

  17. Our reading

    The audience responds well to well-designed systems; it is the industry’s paymasters who undervalue them in favour of authored stories.

    Their wordsIt’s true that systemic design is often underemphasized by the paymasters of the game industry.

    ↗Response to Danc’s Loops and Arcstynansylvester.com

    design

    Interesting