The Masked Carnie

How long has it been?  Sorry for my absence, I've been flexing my writing energy on Monday Night Combat stuff.  On the side though, I've been taking another crack at Metroid 2.  I tried it once before and got stuck from my inability to find the next step.  Now that I actually did some wall-hugging, I managed to work through the game at last and my experience is untainted by nostalgia.  This should be a good read for Metroid fans.

I'm bored, so you're getting a triple dose of posts today.  This time, I'm tackling how I handle each of the items in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.  You can see the full review of items after the break.  For an overall statement, I read something from David Sirlin's commentary on the last Game Developer's Conference that really resonates with me.  Bad players are going to want more luck because it gives them a higher chance of winning.  Skilled players will want less chance because they want a 100% chance of winning.  A good game designer has to find the middle ground that keeps both sides entertained and balanced, a difficult feat to achieve.  My primary philosophy was to be very liberal on items, because the more items exist, the less chance any particular one is going to come up at any given time.