Category Archives: Classic Game Design

How Structured Exploration Turned “Zelda” Into a Worldwide Icon

by Brice Morrison

This week is the 25th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, one of video games’ most beloved franchises. From the NES to the Wii, Game Boy to the 3DS, Link’s adventures have taken him across dozens of titles and almost … Continue reading →

Posted in Classic Game Design, Level Design | Tagged , | 1 Comment


Returning to Retro Designs: Donkey Kong Country Returns

by Brice Morrison

Donkey Kong Country Returns has hit the Wii in a big way.  With a positive 87 metacritic score and great reception at retail, Nintendo’s Retro Studios has delivered a great, classic gameplay experience that a lot of veteran gamers enjoyed. … Continue reading →

Posted in Classic Game Design | 2 Comments

Design Lessons from Super Mario Bros. 3 – Part II

by Brice Morrison

This guest post is written by Radek Koncewicz, Creative Lead of Incubator Games.  You’ll find my (Brice’s) notes and bolded text throughout.  Part I can be found here.  I could have reproduced the entire thing as one post, but I … Continue reading →

Posted in Classic Game Design | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Design Lessons From Super Mario Bros. 3 – Part I

by Brice Morrison

This guest post is written by Radek Koncewicz, Creative Lead of Incubator Games.  You’ll find my (Brice) notes and bolded text throughout.  This post is broken into two parts.  I could have reproduced the entire thing as one post, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Classic Game Design, Punishment and Reward Systems | Tagged | 8 Comments

Investment and Birth of Levels: The NES Era

by Brice Morrison

Retro Game designs were not like today’s game designs.  But they did give birth to them. Most readers here at The Game Prodigy play indie games and current-generation console and PC games.  But only a small percentage play Classic or … Continue reading →

Posted in Classic Game Design, Game Design Canvas | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Meet Facebook Games’ Ancestor: Coin-Op Arcades

by Brice Morrison

Game designs built to keep players addicted.  Perfectly tuned difficulty to compel them to cough up more real-world cash.  Giving lavish rewards within the first 30 seconds to psychologically hook players.  Showing activity of friends and other players to keep … Continue reading →

Posted in Classic Game Design, Social Game Design | 15 Comments

Making Mind Blowing Puzzles in Your Game

by Brice Morrison

Photo by INTVGene Puzzles in games are the spice of life.  Not only Tetris puzzles but also Zelda puzzles, they can be sprinkled into games as fun distractions, or entire titles can be built around them.  Mini-game style puzzles give players … Continue reading →

Posted in Classic Game Design, Design Tools, Puzzle Game Design | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Epic Game Design: How the Incomparable Final Fantasy is Built

by Brice Morrison

I’ve recently been playing through a classic RPG, Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III when it came out in the U.S. for the Super Nintendo).  Some readers may remember this game fondly from their childhood, while others may have never … Continue reading →

Posted in Classic Game Design, RPG Design, Storytelling | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Defining the Dark Ages, or Why Your Childhood Favorites are Actually Horrible

by Brice Morrison

Have you ever heard of an NES game called “Kickmaster”?  It was an action sidescroller starring a dashing young hero, leveling up his magic and kicking his way to save a beautiful princess.  Fighting monsters and knights and ogres, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Classic Game Design | Tagged | 9 Comments

How Megaman 9 Resembles…Real Life?

by Brice Morrison

[Many of you haven't had a chance to see this.  I've been hard at work on my new book for students, and so for this week I'm reproducing an article of mine that ran on Gamasutra a while back.  Enjoy!] … Continue reading →

Posted in Classic Game Design, Opinion | 9 Comments