Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. As a Jewish person, I’m automatically attached to this and affected by it, directly and indirectly. Antisemites like to use this day to prove that the holocaust didn’t happen and that “even if it did,” it really wasn’tContinueContinue reading “International Holocaust Remembrance Day… and games.”
Author Archives: avivayalla
Krav Maga Teaching Templates
Yeah, I know, another post on teaching. But I love teaching! It not only validates that I know my shit, but it also reminds me of the nuances of a technique. There’s a very specific template when it comes to teaching Krav Maga (at least, from what I learned from Krav Maga Worldwide but you’llContinueContinue reading “Krav Maga Teaching Templates”
New Year’s #gamedev Goals
A goal isn’t a goal unless you have a plan. Before you create the plan, it’s only a wish or a dream. My dream is to work on independent projects and publish something. My goal is to work on independent projects for at least 5-10 hours a week and publish one of them by nextContinueContinue reading “New Year’s #gamedev Goals”
Analysis of a Krav Maga 360 Defense Drill
When my instructors say “Let’s play a game,” in my Krav Maga classes, I get excited. I love games! But, sadly, Krav Maga games don’t exactly match a game designer’s definition of game; there’s no winner, loser, or really even any kind of quest other than tapping someone on the shoulder while they try toContinueContinue reading “Analysis of a Krav Maga 360 Defense Drill”
Cheat Codes Podcast Episode 148: Light Gnawing
(My favorite thing I’ve done so far) [Listen to the podcast] Game editor at Lone Shark Games Aviva Schecterson helps us try to make “fetch” happen this week as we pick apart the fallout of Nintendo’s decision to discontinue the Miiverse, Acid Wizard Studio’s fight against free game key resellers, and the death of theContinueContinue reading “Cheat Codes Podcast Episode 148: Light Gnawing”
Getting the best out of your playtests
At Gen Con 50, I spoke on a panel with Jake Given, Carly McGinnis, and Matt Fantastic that focused on different aspects of playtesting. So, here’s a post about data tracking when playtesting your games, which is only a portion of the panel, but is that part that I felt most knowledgeable about. This appliesContinueContinue reading “Getting the best out of your playtests”
As white nationalism grows, how are Jewish game developers responding?
[Article] As the chair of the IGDA Jewish Developers SIG, I was interviewed by Bryant Francis during GDC 2017 about the Jewish gamedev community’s experience.
Game Design Grads Look Back on Group Internship Experience at Lone Shark Games
[Article] My alma mater features myself and my fellow Lone Shark interns in an article on their website! This internship was especially exciting for us because we’re all graduates of the Bachelor of Arts in Game Design program at DigiPen and we got to work with some of the best tabletop designers in the industry!
When you’re the least qualified person in the room
A few weeks ago, I was invited to my alma mater to speak as a DigiPen alumni to a College 101 class full of adorable aspiring game developers. I was a little scatter-brained that day, so while I wasn’t most structured guest speaker, most of the time this devolves into the students just asking questionsContinueContinue reading “When you’re the least qualified person in the room”
Level design & the grocery store
I recently had a conversation with my therapist about how I shop. Frequently I have found shopping to be an overwhelming experience, whether it be because of all the other people or simply because I am trying to find an item and I can’t. I expressed to her that when I get overwhelmed, like manyContinueContinue reading “Level design & the grocery store”
Aviva Schecterson 