In this 2019 GDC session, Kitfox Games’ Jongwoo Kim presents a design postmortem of The Shrouded Isle and examines three techniques that designers can use to create emergent tragedies.
According to Kim, conventional management game mechanics were thematically imcompatible with The Shrouded Isle’s focus on telling the story of a dwindling, self-destructive sect, so the game instead revolves around systems that intentionally subvert players’ expectations and drive them to cause their own downfall.
It was a fascinating talk, and now you can watch it yourself for free over on the official GDC YouTube channel!
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