Daniel Primed

Author of GDC: A Critical Analysis of Wario Land 4, Speed Boost: The Hidden Secrets Behind Arcade Racing Design and Adventures in Game Analysis: Volume I.

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

My third book, Adventures in Games Analysis: Volume I is now available.

Purchase: https://t.co/Wm5oOwKIIt

Details: https://t.co/eboCYoBylS

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

@eurogamer Turns out someone responded to that comment saying they enjoyed the book. ^_^

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

I saw this comment on @eurogamer earlier. Yes, there is a book on Wario Land 4. I wrote it! You can buy it here: https://t.co/Wm5oOwKaSV #Warioland4

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

Awesome little title with great design chops. Great to stumble across this nugget of development insight.

[Riot Mort @Mortdog]

Aura-Aura Climber is probably the least well known thing I've worked on, but also one of the coolest things.

The DSi shop was coming, and we were asked to make something incredibly simple that would be in the $2 section. I was still relatively new, having only been hired full time for around a year, so the idea that something I pitched would be turned into a game for Nintendo was mind blowing. Originally the project was supposed to be a collection of boss battles from the MvDK series. However that was feeling very same-y and lame, so I took out a piece of paper and pitched to my boss a game where you jumped from thing to thing collecting items as you went.

It was a crazy high pressure project in the sense that I was the only designer (the whole team was like 7 people) which meant I had to do everything from level design to systems to feel of the character. It was the first time though I really got to cut loose and do more than just puzzle level design which was exciting. However it was also high pressure because every month we had milestone check ins where if the leads from NCL (Main Nintendo branch in Japan) didn't think it was good enough, they would cancel the project. Every month was a sprint to the next milestone, met with a "Hmmmm ok yeah it's not bad...you have another month."

I also got to work with some people who taught me a lot. Mr. Abe who was the director on the project had good design sense and was constantly pushing me to do better. He would shoot down my initial levels pushing me to do better, so I blew all my amazing ideas on the first level to get him excited, then when he was satisfied said "now do it 9 more times", which was overwhelming but pushed me to be so much better. Mr. Tanabe gave me one of the most traumatic meetings I ever had that still haunts me to this day, but also taught me about letting go as a designer to focus on fun.

The project did ship, and I'm still proud of it to this day. The few reviews that exist were all very positive which was satisfying. It didn't sell many copies (like 80k?) and is a forgotten piece of games history...but I'm still immensely proud of it and how much it shaped me. I don't even know if you can still get it since the 3DS shop shut down, which is a shame. But yeah, one of the things in my career I look back most fondly of. If you ever get a chance to play it somehow, let me know what you think.

Have a good weekend everyone, and take it easy :)

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

A footnote to the Steel Diver: Sub Wars chapter in Adventures in Games Analysis: Volume I. The early closure is perhaps fitting given this game's history. https://t.co/LK9y56owzl

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

The first piece, on Steel Diver: Sub Wars (3DS), is definitely my favourite. I discuss how SW was balanced around Nintendo's limited online infrastructure; how the community worked with highly limited communication; and what the death of Miiverse meant for the metagame.

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

My third book, Adventures in Games Analysis: Volume I is now available.

Purchase: https://t.co/Wm5oOwKIIt

Details: https://t.co/eboCYoBylS

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

RTs, likes, shares all very much appreciated. It's amazing to finally release this title since completing the initial manuscript 10 years ago.

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

Made a few minor changes to the blog design in preparation for something dropping soon...
https://t.co/MNXurNMDQ1

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

New Post: Adventures in Games Analysis – Original Art (Circa 2013) https://t.co/xmLWcdVgqY

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

This compilation clip is a highlight so far. https://t.co/qt92OxW30I

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

Recently beat Donkey Kong Country Returns and stumbled upon this amazing Youtube channel with hour-long interviews with ex-Retro staff on the MP Trilogy and DKC, game design, and working with Nintendo. I can't believe the channel isn't more popular. https://t.co/8N9cyQw4ue

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

Hi folks, pleased to say to things are moving forward with my next book, Adventures in Games Analysis: Volume I. It's been a long time coming (10 years?!). I'll have a blog post up in the coming weeks with more details. 🙏

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

@ishaansahdev From strength to strength, Ishaan. Congrats!

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

Random encounters, selecting psyenergy from menu, and watching animation play just draw out the puzzling. On reflection, Mario and Luigi did exploration much more elegantly with beans.

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

The Golden Sun games bake secrets into their non-dungeon settings, encouraging the player to scrutinise each unassuming village or crossing for environmental clues. This makes otherwise dull sections surprisingly engaging and Metroid-esque. Unique for an RPG.

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

Unfortunately, the game's (dungeon) puzzles don't really expand much beyond reading the environment.

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

I was looking up Dragon Quest IV on Wikipedia and came across this curious quotation. I guess I've made it? (The original article was pretty terrible, IMO).

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

@yakoma44 The whole series is of a consistent quality and so I recommend watching the whole thing.

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

@MadeByMelwing Awesome. Please enjoy. ^_^

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

We're live! My new book Speed Boost: The Hidden Secrets Behind Arcade Racing Design is available to purchase for USD$5.99. Thanks so much for your support. https://t.co/q72VUf624D

[Daniel Primed @DanielPrimed]

@MadeByMelwing Hi, thanks for the interest. I'm afraid not. :/