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How Indie Devs Use Subtractive Design to Make Better Games [Ad-Free Version] (Patreon)

Published:
2025-12-03 21:54:39
Edited:
2025-12-03 22:11:58
Imported:
2025-12

Videos

  • 574962222.mp4

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Content

Hi folks, here's the ad free version of the newest video essay... based on the book chapter draft I added earlier in the week. The aim was to illustrate how indie-specific genres emerge from approaches to scope which are pragmatic but still player-centric.

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Comments

SporeBloom

Great topic. It got me wondering if these points could lead to some awesome infographics...like a flow chart of decisions (stemming from your list of categories Mechanics & Levels etc.), that is about scope analysis and identifying subtractive potential. Wonder if that exists as a type of exercise to do

SporeBloom

Also appreciated the note on new genres coming from subtraction, rather than just a simplified version of an existing experience.

Adrian Marceau

Excellent video, and I appreciate the way you break the concept down into what it might realistically look like instead of just stating a blanket platitude and moving on. This was probably the single most oft-repeated piece of advice that I encountered online in the early 2000s, back when I first started getting into game-dev, and while I absolutely ignored it and dug myself into a 20 year hole, I think it's still good advice today and you've presented it in a way that might actually get through to people like me and prevent them from making the same mistakes. Great work, as always.