Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
This is a useful framework for thinking about games and game design.
Full lecture:
youtu.be/26HyHFTtPpM
From "Every Game is the Same Game " presented at Zenkaikon 2025 by Rym DeCoster, producer of the GeekNights podcast.
#gamedesign #gamedev #gametheory #zenkaikon
How often do you describe a new game as "X game crossed with Y game?" This is Dominion crossed with Chess. This is Quake crossed with Dance Dance Revolution. This is a Civilization-style game but with puzzle elements. If games are collections of mechanics, and genres are also essentially collections of mechanics, then we can dig deep into how games are described to find the deepest and most core patterns of game. In the end it's all just entertainment software!
This is a useful framework for thinking about games and game design.
Full lecture:
youtu.be/26HyHFTtPpM
From "Every Game is the Same Game " presented at Zenkaikon 2025 by Rym DeCoster, producer of the GeekNights podcast.
#gamedesign #gamedev #gametheory #zenkaikon
How often do you describe a new game as "X game crossed with Y game?" This is Dominion crossed with Chess. This is Quake crossed with Dance Dance Revolution. This is a Civilization-style game but with puzzle elements. If games are collections of mechanics, and genres are also essentially collections of mechanics, then we can dig deep into how games are described to find the deepest and most core patterns of game. In the end it's all just entertainment software!
