Author Archives: avivayalla

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”

WIDOW’S WALK BRINGS THE BETRAYAL BACK TO THE HOUSE

[Playthrough video] I co-wrote and designed the bonus haunt Walk Among the Stars with Richard Malena for Game the Game to play on their stream. The stream features my coworker Elisa Teague. “Aliens are real and they’re coming to destroy the Earth. You might have a way to stop them, but someone on your team decidedContinueContinue reading “WIDOW’S WALK BRINGS THE BETRAYAL BACK TO THE HOUSE”

Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego (1997) review

Platform: Windows 3.1x, Windows 95, Power Macintosh Genre: Educational, Point-and-Click Adventure Developer: Brøderbund Designers and Writers: Jim Everson, Matt Fishbach, and Todd Kerpelman Overview “Chronoskimmer activated. History awaits!”- Carmen Sandiego Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? is an educational point-and-click adventure game for children ages 9 and up. Carmen Sandiego and her V.I.L.E. henchmen break into ACMEContinueContinue reading “Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego (1997) review”

Blackwall’s lie – Dragon Age: Inquisition

SPOILERS AHEAD! I recently finished the companion side-quest, Revelations, which involves finding out that your Grey Warden companion is actually an ex-Orlesian captain in Empress Celene’s army named Thom Rainier. These are my general impressions based on my first playthrough (and just finishing the quest, I have not yet finished DA:I at this point… somehow)ContinueContinue reading “Blackwall’s lie – Dragon Age: Inquisition”

Story mechanics in Assassin’s Creed

Like most stealth games, the Assassin’s Creed franchise is a prime example of the mechanical connection to the game’s subject, whether that be the characters, the story, or both. I have played the original Assassin’s Creed with Altair and through ⅔’s on Ezio’s storyline in AC: 2, AC: Brotherhood, and AC: Revelations. While I findContinueContinue reading “Story mechanics in Assassin’s Creed”

Portal: Cake, deception, & companionship

For the past few weeks, between school and midterms, I attempted to play Portal in preparation for a short essay I would need to write about companionship in games for my “Interactive Narrative and Character Creation” class at DigiPen Institute of Technology. I tried my best to play through the game, however, by test chamberContinueContinue reading “Portal: Cake, deception, & companionship”