#indiegamede

Version 2.4 is out!

With the new update, we are happy to introduce new changes for Azzurrina.

A new level to explore: Infernal Skyline. Get lost in this new vertical area!

Portals between Infernal Skyline and Piazza Pentagramma

Introduction of fire traps and jump pads. Warning: can be tricky.

New redesign for Piazza Pentagramma. 

The demo is for Windows only

Download V.2.4.

You will need to listen to your team, since you will be building your game and making crucial game design decisions together with them. Remember that big list of skills in a previous video? Together, your team might have all of them. If you can listen deeply to your team and truly communicate with them, you will all function as one unit, as if you all shared the same skills.

You will need to listen to your audience because these are the people who will be playing your game. Ultimately, if they aren’t happy with your game, you have failed. And the only way to know what will make them happy is to listen to them deeply, getting to know them better than they know themselves.

You will need to listen to your game. What does this even mean? It means you will get to know your game inside and out. Like a mechanic who can tell what is wrong with a car by listening to the engine, you will get to know what is wrong with your game by listening to it being played.

You will need to listen to your client. The client is the one who is paying you to design the game, and if you don’t give them what they want, they’ll go to someone else who does. Only by listening to them, deeply, will you be able to tell what they really want, deep in their hearts.

What Is The Most Important Skill For A Game Designer?

Many people guess “creativity,” and I would argue that this is probably the second most important skill. Some guess “critical thinking” or “logic,” since game design is about decision making. These are indeed important, but by no means the most important skills.

Some say “communication,” which starts to get close.The word communication has unfortunately become corrupted over the centuries. It once referred to an exchange of ideas but now has become a synonym for talking. Talking is certainly an important skill, but good communication and good game design are rooted in something far more basic and far more important.

Listening.

The most important skill for a game designer is listening.

Game designers must listen to many things. These can be grouped into five major categories: team, audience, game, client, and self.

This may sound absurd to you. Is listening even a skill? We are not equipped with “earlids.” How can we help but listen?

By listening, I don’t mean merely hearing what is said. I mean a deeper listening, a thoughtful listening. For example, you are at work, and you see your friend Adam. “Hi Adam, how are you?” you say. Adam frowns, looks down, shifts his weight uncomfortably, seems to be hunting for words, and then says quietly, without eye contact, “Uh, fine, I guess.” And then, he collects himself, takes a breath, and looks you in the eye as he determinedly, but not convincingly, says a little louder, “I’m, uh, fine. How are you?”

So how is Adam? His words say, “He’s fine.” Great. Adam is fine. If you are just a surface listener you might draw that conclusion.. but if you listen more deeply, paying full attention to Adam's body language, subtle facial expression, tone of voice, and gestures, you might hear a very different message: “Actually, I’m not fine. I have a serious problem that I think I might want to discuss with you. But I won’t do that unless I get some kind of commitment from you that you really care about my problem, because it is kind of a personal issue. If you don’t want to get involved with it though, I won’t bother you with it, and I’ll just pretend that everything is okay.”

All of that was right there, in Adam’s “I’m fine.” And if you were listening deeply to what he said, you heard it all, clear as a bell, plain as day, as if he’d said it out loud. This is the kind of listening that game designers must engage in, day in and day out, with every decision that they make.

When you listen thoughtfully, you observe everything and constantly ask yourself questions: “Is that right?” “Why is it that way?” “Is this how she really feels?” “Now that I know that, what does it mean?”

Game designer Brian Moriarty once pointed out that there was a time when we didn’t use the word “listen,” instead we said “list!” And where did this come from? Well, what do we do when we listen? We tip our head to one side—our head literally lists, as a boat at sea. And when we tip to one side, we put ourselves off balance; we accept the possibility of upset. When we listen deeply, we put ourselves in a position of risk. We accept the possibility that what we hear may upset us and may cause everything we know to be contradicted. It is the ultimate in open-mindedness. It is the only way to learn the truth. You must approach everything as a child does, assuming nothing, observing everything, and listening as Herman Hesse describes in Siddhartha:

To listen with a silent heart, with a waiting, open soul. Without passion, without desire, without judgement, without rebuke.

For more about game Design please visit our YouTube Channel:

Always love representations of the Edo Period in mangas, novels, games and movies. Finally decided to start an action-adventure game inspired on this period of Japan's history. Would love some feedbacks or more references of medias that explore that era.

Some progress on the combat mechanics. Since we’re still in production stage, will mean a lot to us if you could leave us some feedbacks on the comments.

Play on the Bloodless itch.io page through browser or download to play offline.

Yojimbo and Harakiri (japanese 60s movies), Rurouni Kenshin and Lone Wolf and Cub (manga/anime) and Tenchi (video-game) are currently our main inspirations.