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Adam Millard - The Architect of Games

Adam Millard - The Architect of Games

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Adam Millard - The Architect of Games posts

Why Videogames Want You To Fail

check out eli_handle_b.wav!https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUdZY_KRQndvMIPD-8_uXRw

Whether we want to admit it or not - sometimes, we lose at videogames, it's an inevitable part of doing something challenging and naturally, gamers everywhere want to avoid this happening as much as possi...

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EARLY ACCESS - Why Classes Are D&D's Best Idea

Dungeons and Dragons has been around for years, and in its many years of  influence, D&D has inspired a countless number of videogames. Experience points, a bunch of classic monsters, dungeons, and yes, even dragons as videogame staples can ultimately be traced back to the venerable king of roleplaying games - but there's one idea D&D  popularized that doesn't get anywhere nea...

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Architect Address September 2022

Well Well Well, look who we’ve got here, it’s a patron stumbling unawares into this, the architect address oh how foolish you must feel. - you’ve been trapped, you’ve been tricked! Now you’re going to have to listen to a few minutes of me talking about the videos that have come out recently and maybe whatever other stuff I can think of.

First of all, one thing I’ve seen people...

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EARLY ACCESS - Why The Hell Are There So Many Fishing Minigames?

Check out Pixel A Day!: https://www.youtube.com/c/pixeladay

No matter which genre of game you play, no matter which era of the medium is your favorite, one thing is inescapable - inevitable, and that  is... fishing minigames. From RPGs to Rogelikes to MMOs, fishing minigames are in just about everything, and ...

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EARLY ACCESS- Why Do We Love Hostile Worlds?

Check out Buried Treasure: https://buried-treasure.org/

There are few better feelings in games than being able to immerse ourselves in unfamiliar and hostile videogaming worlds, but quite often - they fail to deliver on their promise of presenting us with environments that challenge and surprise us at every turn... why? ...

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A NEW PATREON TIER APPROACHES!?

Hi! just a quick update ahead of the new video which is currently uploading that I'm adding a new patreon tier at $8! (Several people have told me to charge more than 10 but I want to do right by you lot so screw 'em). It's basically a middle ground between $5 and $10, whilst also serving as an overflow for the latter. You still get all the bonuses of the $5 tier, just with a bit extra if you w...

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Architect Address July 2022

Well hi there! Welcome to the architect address, a special series of videos just for you patrons where I natter on for a few minutes about the latest video to grace your youtube sub feeds, as well as whatever other topics I feel like talking about. On that topic, I was wondering about introducing a new patreon tier sort of in addition to the $10 one or between five and ten because the ten dolla...

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EARLY ACCESS: How Bad Balance Can Be A Good Thing

Check out classics of game! https://www.youtube.com/user/ClassicsOfGame 

Balance in videogames is a tricky thing, no-one can ever seem to get it quite right. From AAA studios to tiny indie games, you'll always find someone complaining about a game's balance, and in particular, about how ...

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EARLY ACCESS How To Design An Unsolvable Problem

Check out SokPop! https://sokpop.co/  

Sim City is one of the most important videogames ever made, but Will  Wright's magnum opus isn't revolutionary because it made architecture  fun, but in how it created an entirely new kind of videogame: the  problem solver. Problem Solving videogames are a unique collectio...

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Architect Address June 2022

Wait, who let you in here, I was supposed to be doing the Architect Address! Eugh! Typical. Well, seeing as you’re here, you may as well listen to me ramble on for a few minutes about the latest videos I’ve put out and what’s going on with the channel lately. It’s the least you can do.

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is the idea of several weird traditions that I do on...

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EARLY ACCESS - What's So Difficult About Alternate Endings?

Sorry this one's up so late, friends! I'll go into it more in the Architect Address in a few days!

Videogames are unique for a lot of reasons, but what makes them stand out amongst every other form of media is the simple fact that they can end in a variety of ways. From choosing who lives and who dies, the fate of the world, to simply what colour a big pretty ending explosion is - altern...

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EARLY ACCESS - How Nostalgia Can Hold Games Back

Go check out Yames! https://pantagruel.itch.io/

Everyone loves engaging in a bit of nostalgia - it's a way to enjoy the things we love from an entirely new perspective, adding some extra layers to our existing cherished childhood memories - from Mario to Pokemon to Dark Souls, everyone has something they're nostalgic abou...

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Architect Address April 2022

Hello everyone and welcome to the Architect Address, that extra special patrons only thing where I talk about some of the recent videos that have come out and what’s going on with the channel lately.

Before we get to the videos, I want to chat about length - and no, not that length you perv, video length! I’ve put out *exclusively* long videos so far this year and I think that’s why...

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EARLY ACCESS - Why Tunic Hides Its Tutorial From You

Over the last decade, videogames have gotten much better at communication. After so many years, we've finally got comprehensive tutorials, clear user interfaces and well-paced difficulty curves that never leave you overwhelmed or confused - but have videogames lost something in this transition to easy-to-play accessibility? The Architect thinks so.

After stumbling their way through forest...

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Why The Best Open World Is A (slightly) Closed World

Check out Codex Entry: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCseUB-78sF7MGcbl4mHhEng

Open World games have been in a bit of a rut for years now, ever since  Far Cry 3 set the tone for the genre more than a decade ago, every  single open world game has been held prisoner by a single featur...

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Architect Address March 2022

Hi everyone! It’s me, back with another Architect Address, that thingamabob where I talk about some of the videos that have been released recently, what’s going on with the channel and all that good stuff. After the bumper extra special architect address last time I’ll try and make this one a bit quicker but we do have two interesting videos to discuss so who knows.

First up is THE ...

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EARLY ACCESS - Is It Possible To Make Feeling Weak Fun?

Power fantasies are almost ubiquitous in games, from the absolute most casual experiences out there to the hardest of the hardcore - videogames LOVE making us feel strong and powerful, and why wouldn't they? Feeling powerful is loads of fun!

However, a feeling of strength and control isn't all games have to offer, and in our obsession with power fantasies, some equally good kinds of games...

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EARLY ACCESS - What Was Disco Elysium Actually About?

Check out ShayMay https://www.youtube.com/user/heyshaymay  

Disco Elysium is a weird game - that much is obvious. It's got high  minded philosophical commentary sharing space with childish jokes, it  mocks just about every political worldview ruthlessly, and it veers  drunkenly between blea...

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Big Video Update!

Hello Patrons!  This is just a small update to say that the next video I release might not be out when you'd expect (which would normally be about now), I'm finally getting off my backside and writing up another huge narrative breakdown video in the vein of the Undertale and Nier Automata ones - this time about the fantastic game Disco Elysium.  

That means that whilst you migh...

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Architect Address: 2021 In Review

Hello one and all and welcome to a very special 2021 wrapup Architect address, it’s time for me to go over the massive glut of videos I hammered out towards the end of the year as well as discuss the last twelve months in general to organize my thoughts about them and where I want the channel to go in future.

First up is How VideoGames Make the Ultimate Sacrifice - now, this video is en...

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20(21) Games You Should Have Played

(Hi pals! this video has been uploading since yesterday evening and it's only just finished because my internet sucks AND youtube is having issues. Given the time-sensitive nature of the video and the holiday sale deals within, I'm going to put this one up at the usual time today - don't worry though, I've got a bumper-sized Architect Address in the pipeline to make up for this shoddy upload!)<...

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EARLY ACCESS - How Videogames Keep You Playing

Check out FD Signifier! https://www.youtube.com/c/FDSignifire

You probably already know this, but video games are LONG - we pour hour after hour into not just our favorite videogames, but also ones we don't even like that much - and there is no better example of the sheer compulsive, time-sucking power of games...

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Early Access: Why Can Master Chief Only Carry Two Guns?

Check out the Yogscast Jingle Jam: https://jinglejam.tiltify.com/

How does Mario remain so infamously creative, without ever having to tell you how its new ideas work? Why do platinum games make your dodge move so powerful? And how does Halo create interesting strategic decisions by taking your guns away? the answer is...

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EARLY ACCESS - How Videogames Make The Ultimate Sacrifice

Check out GiantGrantGames: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdHKiETyuMbV6a86GRK-MWA

I'm back from a teeny tiny break with a new video! Hopefully the next one will be out a little sooner!!

Sacrifice as a concept has been a part of human culture since the very beginning - and as the conce...

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Architect Address October 2021

Well howdy there, welcome to the architect Address, an occasional video where I tell you all about what’s happened recently, talk about stuff to do with the channel and generally shoot the breeze.  Dunno why I’m using cowboy lingo there but I’m just going to roll with it.

Anyway, the first thing I wanted to ramble on about before we get to discussing the videos is the idea of w...

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EARLY ACCESS - Finding True Freedom In Videogames

Check out Hotcyder! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_r8gFeezEBZVnazvbv75pQ  

Is there anything better in videogames than that feeling of total freedom? Where you can go wherever you like, do whatever you want and  become whoever you want to be - probably not. However, as much as th...

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EARLY ACCESS - How Storytelling Saved Psychonauts

Check out Transparency!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwOConcPgxt3lIKIfBSNrTg

The history of Psychonauts is an interesting one, it went from promising project, to embarrassing failure, to fan-fave cult classic before  having a glorious return fifteen years later. What caused Psychona...

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Architect Address - September 2021

Look what we have here, if it isn’t an Architect Address moseying on into town. Hello! In case you aren’t aware, the architect address is a thing I do every now and again to sum up the last couple of videos I’ve released, my retrospective thoughts on how they did and some unstructured rambling about the state of the channel and the patreon.

On that note, hello new arrivals - thereâ€...

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EARLY ACCESS - Building Better Crafting Systems

NOTE: I've been having a little bit of trouble with my internet lately so I wasn't able to update my list of supporters, I'll have it fixed for the next video and I'll do a shoutout in the upcoming Architect Address but just to show I've not forgotten!:

A special $5 thank you to:
Ben Pace

Pet Pumpkin

Riley Peters

Ryan Mcadams

Crafting systems are one of the mos...

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EARLY ACCESS - The Ugliest Game Ever Made

What does it mean for something to be ugly? Is it when something is  repulsive, when it offends your senses, or is it when something is just  plain bad? Beyond that, is there any situation where ugly games can  actually be good?  

The Architect thinks so. They've torn and screamed their way through the  fleshpunk dystopia and come out the other side with profane v...

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