Articles

This portion of the site is dedicated to my writing about games and game design. Everything I write is grounded in a wide variety of experiences I’ve had in the games industry, but I also recognize that my viewpoint can hardly be universal. Games are more art than science, after all, and art is open to everyone’s own interpretation. Still, I’ve picked up a few things over the years, and I’m excited to share them with anyone who is interested!

Max Brooke 4/27/21 Max Brooke 4/27/21

Reflections on the Role of Community in Games

Max Brooke 4/7/21 Max Brooke 4/7/21

How to Give Great Feedback on Your Friend’s New Game

Max Brooke 3/31/21 Max Brooke 3/31/21

Complexity Pitfalls: The Weight of Learning

Max Brooke 3/22/21 Max Brooke 3/22/21

Agency and Futility: Three More Studies in Board Game Existentialism

Max Brooke 3/15/21 Max Brooke 3/15/21

Keeping Sisyphus Happy: Agency and Imagination

Max Brooke 3/1/21 Max Brooke 3/1/21

The Lethality Trick

Max Brooke 2/23/21 Max Brooke 2/23/21

Designing Wide: Viewing Card Viability across the Long Term

Max Brooke 2/15/21 Max Brooke 2/15/21

Regrets and Retrospectives

Max Brooke 2/8/21 Max Brooke 2/8/21

Life in the Margins: Three Stories of RPG Characters and X-Wing

Max Brooke 2/2/21 Max Brooke 2/2/21

Exploring “Bad at Games”

Max Brooke 1/25/21 Max Brooke 1/25/21

Playtest Design Lessons Part Two: Five More Lessons

Max Brooke 1/18/21 Max Brooke 1/18/21

Playtest Design Lessons, Part One: Scoping it Out

Max Brooke 1/4/21 Max Brooke 1/4/21

Whose Fun Is It Anyway? Part Two: Design a Healthy Pond

Max Brooke 12/28/20 Max Brooke 12/28/20

Whose Fun Is It Anyway? Part One: Too Much of a “Fun” Thing

Max Brooke 12/21/20 Max Brooke 12/21/20

Rediscovering the Magic: Fandom, Creation, and Games

Max Brooke 12/14/20 Max Brooke 12/14/20

Swimming with Sharks: Reflections on Competitive Players

Max Brooke 12/8/20 Max Brooke 12/8/20

The Heart of the Matter: Understanding What Makes the Game Tick