Kenneth on Games: Controls in “Vainglory”

Vainglory advertises itself as “the MOBA perfected for touch,” and to an extent, it’s true. Any MOBA player will immediately find themselves at home with the familiar minions-to-turret lane structure, a recall to shop button, and a jungle with a boss monster. Moving the genre to mobile actually seems to change very little about it, but is this truly the way to “perfect” a MOBA for a new medium? How can a new control scheme affect design?

Kenneth on Games: Temperatures in “CodinGame”

Every few months, a new “learn to code” game hits the frontpage of Reddit. This time around, it’s CodinGame, which advertises itself as a system that’s not just for beginners, but also for more experienced programmers who can learn from each other. There are plenty of integrated social networks embedded in the game itself, such as rating systems for every coding puzzle. One of the lowest rated puzzles is called “Temperatures,” and I got stuck on this one for days. But what makes this puzzle bad, not from a programming perspective, but from a game design perspective?

Kenneth on Games: Breach in “Deus Ex: Mankind Divided”

Considering that the latest Deus Ex is about being divided, people have reacted in a strangely harmonious manner. Everyone says that the level design is fun, the story is disappointing, the art direction looks great, and the microtransactions are horrible. But one aspect that the reviewers seem to overlook is Breach, an arcade-style minigame that shipped along with the base title. Breach offers a Deus Ex experience in controlled bursts rather than the sprawling campaigns we’ve come to expect, and this departure represents a fascinating new design direction, although perhaps not a good one.

WARNING: Spoilers for certain events in Mankind Divided.