Sam Swicegood's Blog

In the evolving tapestry of video games, the intersection of gaming and coding has unveiled a unique niche where creativity meets logic. The 18th fragment, “Parser,” serves as a tribute to this fascinating confluence, offering players a minimalist graphics engine within Unity to manipulate a 64×64 grid through a custom scripting language.

This concept of minimalist engines and in-game programming isn’t new but stands on the shoulders of giants in the gaming world. Minecraft’s introduction of ...

Stripping away the layers of graphic detail that define modern gaming, this fragment challenges players to navigate a space devoid of visual cues, armed only with indicators of their position, rotation, and the identity of objects beneath their cursor.

“Grey Box” operates on the principle of implied presence, a concept where the essence of an environment is suggested rather than explicitly depicted. The soul of a space—its atmosphere, emotion, and narrative potential—can be conveyed through m...

This digital museum, with its ever-changing portraits, offers a unique canvas for exploring the multifaceted nature of human existence, the burdens we carry, and the value we assign to our memories and experiences.

The museum serves as a liminal space, a threshold between the known and the unknown, the conscious and the subconscious. It’s a place of transition, allowing players to explore the depths of their own psyche as they navigate through the shifting gallery of faces. These changing por...

Nostalgia plays a powerful role in our relationship with technology. As players interact with this fragment, they are transported back to different points in their personal and collective digital histories. These technologies, once cutting-edge, now serve as reminders of how rapidly innovation reshapes our world. The tactile experience of inserting a disk or a CD, the distinct sounds they make – all contribute to a sense of longing for simpler times, when digital life was more tangible and perha...

The concept of what constitutes game content has evolved significantly over the years. Special editions of games often include physical items – art books, figurines, or maps – that extend the gaming experience beyond the screen. These editions suggest that content is not confined to digital interactions but encompasses a broader ecosystem of tangible and intangible elements that enrich the player’s experience. “Conference” builds upon this idea, pushing the envelope further by integrating real-w...

In the world of video game design, the concept of distance plays a crucial role in shaping player experience. This fragment offers a unique opportunity to reflect on how distance, scale, and the sense of isolation are represented and perceived in games.

For a moment let’s talk about Fast travel. On one hand, it’s a convenient tool that respects the player’s time, especially in games with vast worlds like “Skyrim” or “The Witcher 3.” On the other hand, as highlighted in discussions on platform...

In the realm of video games, speedrunning represents a fascinating and unique subculture, a form of play that extends beyond the intended boundaries of gameplay. The accompanying fragment, designed with speedrunners in mind, serves as a testament to the intricate artistry and competitive spirit of this community. It invites players to not just play the game but to master and redefine it.

Speedrunning, at its core, is a playstyle that challenges participants to dissect a game’s mechanics, to e...

I recently played The Beginners Guide by Davey Wreden. It left such an impression that I wrote him a long, long email. It is reproduced below in its entirety. The letter below contains spoilers for the game. Please play the game first. Its free on Steam.

Mr. Wreden,

This is a very long email, so I would like to apologize in advance. I wanted to express how much The Beginners Guide meant to me and I tried really hard to be brief, butI couldnt. There was just so much to unpack.

(Im approaching...

Here’s my New Years resolutions, but to help make them a reality, I’m setting due dates on them: each of the four seasons. Feel free to steal them and make them yours.

First things first: I need to trim the fat. (And not just the bit around my waist earned from too many Christmas parties.) For example: I’m never buying another facebook ad. Its ROI was -100%. That’s right, I spent money and got 0 sales from it. But I’m not the only author with...

I’ve rubbed elbows with self-published, independent-published, and even vanity-published authors on a daily basis. I’ve gone to conventions and browsed the author’s alley, and I’ve spent countless hours scouring the web for new reads. One thing influences my decision to buy more than anything else—the cover.We all grew up thinking that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. And while that’s definitely the case when we’re talking about people’s internal, rather than external, qualities,...