Jeff Lait

Darren Grey, Ido Yehieli, Jeff Lait, corremn, and Joe Bradshaw talk about creating a roguelike game in a week, defining success in the 7DRL challenge, the evolution of roguelike games, using LibTCOD for game development and the debate on color palettes, exploring aesthetics and game making programs, using T-Engine for game creation, focusing on game development without distractions, choosing one gimmick for a game, the importance of transparency in game design, providing instructions and bug fix releases, and making a successful game through uniqueness and planning.

Guests include Darren Grey, Tom Ford, Numeron, Eben Howard, Ido Yehieli, and Jeff Lait. They discuss creating a good 7DRL, defining and ranking roguelikes, the supportive game developer community, text in games and permadeath, death in video games, game experience and advice, using SquidLib for unique games, designing roguelikes, and the challenges of developing on mobile.

Guests on this episode include Darren Grey, Tom Ford, Numeron, Eben Howard, and Jeff Lait. They discuss topics such as implementing SmartCubold and balancing AI difficulty, differentiating creature behaviors in roguelike games, designing single hit point roguelike games, the importance of aesthetics in video games, creating urgency in a zombie apocalypse, challenges with drawing to the screen and framework preferences, and discussions on the roguelike game development community and procedural content.

David Ploog, former lead designer of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup and a mathematician-turned-game-designer, leads a fascinating discussion about game design philosophy. Alongside fellow experts Keith Burgun and Jeff Lait, they dive into the significance of design documents and the culture of removal in game development. Topics include the challenges of team communication, balancing innovation with tradition, and the delicate interplay between storytelling and replayability. Discover the dynamics of creating unique experiences in roguelikes as they share their insights.

Join Jeff Lait, a seasoned 7-Day Roguelike developer, as he shares his wealth of experience in designing traditional roguelikes. He delves into the significance of 'roguelikeness' scores and debates whether developers should conform to community expectations or innovate freely. The conversation highlights the trade-offs between art and mechanics, the importance of player learning through challenge, and clever design tips like using traditional tropes with a twist. Jeff also emphasizes the role of permadeath and immersive gameplay to engage players effectively.