Dali's take on Portal, and other gaming masterpieces By Tom Francis last updated 20 March 22 Gallery Is art games?
Introversion's surreal curio, Darwinia, could have changed strategy games forever By Tom Francis published 8 February 19 From the archives A strange war of tiny digital souls.
Why I love duelling with toilets in Half-Life 2: Deathmatch By Tom Francis published 23 January 19 From the archives Central heating will never be the same.
The Orange Box review By Tom Francis published 10 October 17 editor's choice Our original Portal, Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode Two reviews from 2007.
Prey vs. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided: why one intro works and the other doesn't By Tom Francis last updated 29 May 22 preyus ex An analysis of the opening minutes of two games shows why one succeeds and the other disappoints.
How a terminal cancer diagnosis inspired comedy crafting game Crashlands By Tom Francis published 7 March 17 Dragon slaying Sam Coster describes his tumultuous years of game development and cancer treatment.
How Rembrandt, Princess Mononoke, and an emu with arms inspired Inside's flesh potato By Tom Francis published 3 March 17 Blob story The story of Inside's very weird ending. (Spoilers ahead!)
The case for giving players less control, and NPCs more By Tom Francis published 18 March 16 GDC 2016 80 Days writer Meg Jayanth argues that players often have too much power, while NPCs are helpless to change their own lives.
The story of Battlefield 2’s tumbling ball of murderous medics By Tom Francis published 16 March 16 GDC 2016 A test of Battlefield 2's bot medics that took the 'I' out of AI.
Frozen Synapse devs on why Frozen Cortex was a conceptual failure By Tom Francis published 16 March 16 GDC 2016 Mode7 discusses the trouble it had convincing its fans to play a sci-fi sport.
Murder Incorporated: ten months of deception for one kill in Eve Online By Tom Francis last updated 9 September 22 best of When does being a bad person in a game make you a bad person in real life?
Doing your job in Metal Gear Solid 5 By Tom Francis last updated 3 June 21 MGS makes you feel like an operative instead of just a violent lunatic.
The killing decision in Metal Gear Solid 5 By Tom Francis published 3 October 15 Konami adds an interesting twist to the lethal vs. non-lethal debate.
Being someone else in Metal Gear Solid 5 By Tom Francis published 26 September 15 It's an unusual and welcome decision from Konami.
Metal Gear Solid 5's failure spectrum By Tom Francis last updated 3 June 21 Giving you more room to recover from slip-ups creates a better experience.
Galactic Civilizations 2 war report: part seven By Tom Francis last updated 14 April 20 diary The dramatic finale unfolds.
Galactic Civilizations 2 war report: part six By Tom Francis last updated 14 April 20 Diary A race for knowledge begins in the face of insurmountable odds.
Galactic Civilizations 2 war report: part five By Tom Francis last updated 14 April 20 diary Total defeat seems inevitable. But wait...
Galactic Civilizations 2 war report: part four By Tom Francis last updated 14 April 20 DIARY "Our nymphomania means we recuperate losses quickly."
Galactic Civilizations 2 war report: part three By Tom Francis last updated 14 April 20 diary The War Bastards meet their match.
Galactic Civlizations 2 war report: part two By Tom Francis last updated 14 April 20 diary Tom capitalises on a fatal flaw.
Galactic Civilizations 2 war report: part one By Tom Francis published 13 June 15 diary A tale of epic conquest and space bunnies begins.
Ken Levine outlines his system for replayable narrative in games By Tom Francis published 25 March 14
