Uploaded December 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Dictionary, glossary, lexicon, taxonomy — we have many ways of structuring important information about language, jargon, concepts, symbols. The thesaurus is my favorite. There are many game design vocabularies — every game has its own vocabulary, moveset, mechanics. Communicating about games across genres and platforms (digital, tabletop, sports, politics) is really hard. What does "turn" mean in Chess, Civilization 2, NASCAR, Hide & Seek? What subtly distinct bouquets of meaning do terms like verb, mechanic, and rule have? How do we create a game design thesaurus?
BRICK 101 is owned and operated by Dave Pickett. Dave is fascinated by intersections of technology and creativity. As a child, he took apart his toys to build better ones. He still does as an adult. After a 15-year career producing and directing digital content (video, social, web), he went back to school. He is currently in the Game Design MFA program at DePaul University. He has designed award-winning levels in Mario Maker, co-authored the LEGO Animation Book, and is currently learning GB Studio.
The BRICK 101 channel was formerly named Nightly News at Nine (NNN).
Dictionary, glossary, lexicon, taxonomy — we have many ways of structuring important information about language, jargon, concepts, symbols. The thesaurus is my favorite. There are many game design vocabularies — every game has its own vocabulary, moveset, mechanics. Communicating about games across genres and platforms (digital, tabletop, sports, politics) is really hard. What does "turn" mean in Chess, Civilization 2, NASCAR, Hide & Seek? What subtly distinct bouquets of meaning do terms like verb, mechanic, and rule have? How do we create a game design thesaurus?
BRICK 101 is owned and operated by Dave Pickett. Dave is fascinated by intersections of technology and creativity. As a child, he took apart his toys to build better ones. He still does as an adult. After a 15-year career producing and directing digital content (video, social, web), he went back to school. He is currently in the Game Design MFA program at DePaul University. He has designed award-winning levels in Mario Maker, co-authored the LEGO Animation Book, and is currently learning GB Studio.
The BRICK 101 channel was formerly named Nightly News at Nine (NNN).
