Tristan and Oliver hop on their brooms and ready their wands together with self-proclaimed Slytherin narrative designer Sophie Walker as they cast Revelio on Avalanche Software’s Hogwarts Legacy, revealing these three bits:

• Big Robes to Fill - Threading the fine line between originality and nostalgia to build a compelling narrative and characters in an adaptation
• Expelliarmus! - Wand-based combat and versatile spell design
• Charting the Wizarding World - Bringing previously isolated iconic locations together into living breathing open world

Let us know what you think:

3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign

Oliver - @oliverwauters

Tristan - @theatrewalker

Or email - 3bitdesign@gmail.com

Leave us a review!

Some references:

An Inside Look at Hogwarts Legacy Unreal Engine Extensions | GDC 2024 - Unreal Engine, GDC Talk (video)

Why Avalanche worked to deliver a Hogwarts game with soul - Brian Crecente, Unreal Engine (article)

Level Design Lessons I Learned the Hard Way — And How Hogwarts Legacy Got Them Right - John Chasoulidis Abela, Medium (article)

Hogwarts Legacy Game design deconstruction - Irina Kurkina, Medium (article)

The art and making of Hogwarts Legacy - Jodi Revenson and Michael Owen (book)

In between seasons, Oliver takes the chance to reflect on some of the games we have discussed previously (Slay the Spire, Inscryption, and Balatro) to break down the genre of Roguelike Deckbuilders into three recurring bits:

• Building on Familiarity - Pick up and play simplicity, minimal onboarding, and complexity layering
• Meaningful Choices - Risk VS reward and the power of full information transparency
• Oozing Personality - Successfully translating the slow tactile form of playing cards to the audio-visual medium of videogames

Let us know what you think:

3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign

Oliver - @oliverwauters

Tristan - @theatrewalker

Or email - 3bitdesign@gmail.com

Leave us a review!

Tristan and Oliver pledge allegiance to mother nature and reclaim the polluted earth in Free Lives’ reverse city builder Terra Nil, cultivating it into these three bits:

• Tree Act Structure - Unpacking the three stages of the core loop and having clear objectives to a simulation game
• Leave No Trace - Subverting player expectations by relinquishing your creation to nature and recycling your structures
• Take It All In - The absence of pressure, threading the line between a game and a meditative experience

Let us know what you think:

Leave us a review!

3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign

Oliver - @oliverwauters

Tristan - @theatrewalker

Or email - 3bitdesign@gmail.com

Some references:

Developing 'Terra Nil': A Strategy Game About Nature, Not Expansion - Sam Alfred, GDC 2024 (talk)

Terra Nil Lead Designer On Lessons from Broforce & Designing Strategy Games - Shacknews Interviews (video)

Why a recycling mechanic saved Terra Nil's climate cleanup design - Bryant Francis, Game Developer (article)

Terra Nil: techno-fixes, nature for nature, and the importance of feeling ecological vibes - Joost Vervoort, Medium (article)

This Video Game Prioritizes Restoring An Ecosystem Over Profits - Science Friday (podcast)

FIRESIDE CHAT | Terra Nil - Sam Alfred, Jonathan Hau-Yoon, John Faciane, & Dominique Gawaloski - Games for Change (video)