Adam Millard - The Architect of Games

How Outer Wilds Makes Running Out of Stuff Fun

Man, Outer Wilds is great, but all the great exploration, compelling mysteries and space borne shenanigans can all be traced back to one thing: running out of stuff.

But including resource management in your game is a bit harder than you might think, as there's the potential for players to be pushed and pulled into playing in a way that you didn't intend. How? Find out as The Architect dives into the end of the universe to find out where all the frazzles went:

Take a look at First...

Architect Address- June 2019

Phew, this one was hard work to get up, hope you enjoy this belated Architect Address!

Putting The Players Back In Multiplayer

Multiplayer games are really interesting, because despite all the high-budget titles out there, I've found myself prefering smaller, more focused titles that put the spotlight on the players instead of the mechanics, but why is this?

Join The Architect on a trip onto alien worlds, spooky castles and a land filled with fowl as the multiplayer mystery is unravelled once and for all.

Duck Game Mods:

Grenade Pack: 2019-06-10 15:30:10 +0000 UTC View Post

How Terraria Makes You Feel Like A Master

Anyone remember Terraria? It was brilliant, wasn't it? Loads of bosses, loads of content and a really satisfying world to explore- but what's the secret behind Terraria's enduring success?

Mastery is an interesting concept, and one Terraria explores really well, so let's join the Architect and deep dive into how we don't just get better at games, we master them.

The Mods:

Calamity

Thorium

Terraria Overhaul

Magic Storage

Boss Checklist

Leveling Up Progression Systems

Hey All!

Sorry about this one coming out a bit late- it's essentially two videos worth of work. This was originally going to be a bout something completely different, but I didn't like how it turned out and I'm still not totally happy with the direction but I hope you enjoy this anyway, thanks for your patience!

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Progression systems are in just about every game nowadays- to the point that we're all getting a bit sick of them, but is there more to it?

Using a gr...

The Architect Address: April 2019

We're back with another installment of The Architect Address!

This time we go over hub worlds, weird games and some potential changes to how I run the channel that won't actually affect anyone!

Why We Need Weird Games

There are a million different kinds of games out there- but the most important one of all is weird games.

Weird games- aside from just being cool - help us appreciate much more normal games, and can even inspire some total classics. How? Join the Architect as they roll up the truth about weird games!

Video Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...

The Hidden Purpose of Hub Worlds

Do you think hubworlds are boring? That they're some sort of throwback level design artifact? Well have you considered that they've actually got a very important job to do?

Join The Architect as they uncover what being a hub is all about, using Dark Souls' Firelink Shrine to do it.

Video Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17kttpzNbPYks_POO7uk...

The Architect Address: March 2019

Where am I? What year is it?!

I'm back with another instalment of The Architect Address, where I give a quick rundown of some of the latest videos!

How DOOM became DUSK

There's been a real trend lately of bringing retro games back to life, what's up with that?

A lot of people are trying to create successors to the legacy of classic titles, but not everyone succeeds- what makes a good successor that can do the likes of DOOM proud? 

To find out, The Architect will need to journey to hell and back, picking up some game design wisdom along the way.

Video Script: 2019-02-26 03:57:34 +0000 UTC View Post

The Architect of Games Q&A Extravaganza!

After much deliberation, the questions - and answers, are in! 

Delve into the fractured remains of The Architect's mind as all the  banal and uninteresting mysteries that keep you up at night are put to  rest.  

Thank you for 100 subs! Normal service will resume in a bit. 

And a special Patron message seeing as I didn't do one for the last video:

Seriously, thanks so much for your support over the past 2/3rds of a year, it's been completely in...

100(k)

 Are you a fan of arbitrary numerical celebrations? Me too! Put your  questions in the comments and I may or may not get around to them!  

Real video coming in less than a week- took a few days off after the Undertale Extravaganza.

What Was Undertale Actually About?

Hi! This video is finally done- it's a long one so I may have made some editing errors. If you see any mistakes, please let me know so I can fix them!

Video Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FL0-Y6Y99Zke85jFyFYQUJDtxyZqnyfGB8sWgD2ZKtg/edit?usp=sharing

Undertale is a very strange game, and is perhaps one of the most culturally relevant ...

To whom it may concern - On the nature of Holiday Breaks and poorly-timed videos.

Greetings, delicious friends.

A small update to tell you that over christmas (after a short break) I started work on another BIG video in the same vein as What is a Sonic, anyway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqlnVjeXGf0 and the much more sensibly named A Comprehensive Reading of Nier Automata: https://www.youtube.com/watc...

Director's Cut 20(18) Games You Should Have Played

Hello! This video was a bit of a weird one, so instead of talking to you about cut content, let’s have a look at some more games I considered putting on the 20(18) games you should have played list but for whatever reason didn’t make the cut.

First up…

Celeste 

Celeste is probably this biggest omission from this years list, and the one I grappled with a lot. The game is a tricky, hardcore platformer that managed to challenge even veterans like mys...

20(18) Games You Should Have Played

Video Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qseAHEU57PuGH92eyKtw-sCbCPJVuCMS8YnjGpj9e9w/edit?usp=sharing

2018 was a weird year for games, for every great title that was released, there was a massive controversy, that meant that some great games went completely unappreciated. 

Luckily for you, The Architect is here to right that wrong a...

Architect Address December 2018

What Makes HITMAN's Sapienza So Memorable?

Wow! This video was going to be a short one! Between premiere throwing a fit when trying to render and having to chop and change large bits because I'd unintentionally plagarized this vid took longer than expected, sorry!

Follow me on Twitter! https://twitter.com/Thefearalcarrot

Video Script: 2018-12-06 10:23:56 +0000 UTC View Post

Quick update about video scheduling

Hello friends and enemies alike.

Just a small update to tell you I won't be able to get the requisite two videos out this month, the current vid is very much in production, but I thought it'd be best to let you guys know that it will in all likelihood be finished in the early days of december.

I get really stressed about meeting the arbitrary deadline of two videos a month and to my credit, this is the first time I've not been able to meet it! Unfortunately, the fact that the average vi...

What Makes Video Game Stories Special? - Director's Cut

Hello, hello! it’s time for another installment of the Director’s Cut, this time for my video about what makes video game stories special.

Now, in a shocking twist, I didn’t actually have that much I needed to cut once I’d finally got the idea established, but there was one thing I wanted to squeeze in but couldn’t, and that’s how games as a Verisimilitudinous (Is that still a word? Who knows? ) artform that is dependant on someone experiencing them have been around for longer than...

What Makes Video Game Stories Special?

Video games are the new kid on the block when it comes to expressive artforms, and they've got a lot to learn. More specifically, they've got a lot to learn about themselves.

The Architect has journeyed to distant shores, plumbed the depths of knowledge and invaded more than one other medium to figure out what makes games tick, and why a 2-bit game about insurance can tell a better story than multimillion-dollar megahits.

Script: 2018-11-19 04:09:55 +0000 UTC View Post

The Architect Address- October 2018

The Architect's List of SpoOoOoOoOoky Steam Halloween Sale games

Hello Friends! I wrote this list of recommendations for someone I'm in a discord channel with and I thought I may as well post it here for all to see. Aren't I a nice guy?  Honestly steam is using the term horror pretty loosely here but whatever there are some cheap games up for grabs.  Go check out these sweet spooktacular games accessable here: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/halloween2018/...

Do Interesting Decisions Create Interesting Games? Breaking Down Sid Meier

Apologies for any small audio hiccups in the video, I've been under the weather lately and that made editing a bit of a challenge.

There's a very old quote from the creator of Civilization, Sid Meier "A good game is a series of interesting decisions" and despite how popular this quote is, an "interesting decision" is a pretty hard idea to break down.

It's time for The Architect to reboot history and go back to the basics of strategic games in figure out what an interesting decision is, h...

Architect Recommends: Monstrüous

Hi! My apologies if it's been a while, it's been a hell of a week what with getting over a cold, having my PC die for a bit and a few other things, but I'm back on track and the new episode should be finished tomorrow (meaning it'll be out for most people the day after).

In the meantime, let's talk about a very cool game I played during a lunch break, Monstrüous. Now you're probably not getting much from that picture, but let me explain how it all works. You play a team of four adventurers, a...

Shovel Knight's Secret Mode- The Challenge Run Formula

Thanks for your feedback about what you want instead of reviews, I'll reorganize a quick talking point about Dishonored 2's different challenge modes that got cut from the video and will write it up for tomorrow!

Also apologies for the lateness, between getting a bit sick and a video idea that didn't pan out, this one got a bit delayed.
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Shovel Knight was cool, but The Architect never really liked it as much as everyone else seemed to. That was until a brand new way to play was unc...

Thoughts on Patreon reward tiers

Hello!

I'm hard at work on another video but I've had a bit of a read though the suggestions on the comments of the latest Architect Address and I'd like to pick your brain about the $3 option specifically. I'm fine with where the other ones are, the Architect Address is fun and quick to make and I like the more expensive ones being related to kudos rather than withholding content.

The big sticking point has been the reviews which I feel don't naturally play to my style, a...

Patreon Questions + Architect Address- September 2018

Hi! In addition to this month's Architect Address, I'd love for some feedback on how the patreon is treating you.

I started this thing on a whim without much thought and I'd love to hear what, if anything, you'd like out of supporting me. Please let me know!

Why Games Lie to You- The Fallacy of Fairness

You are being lied to. Tricked. Deceived and Bamboozled. Surely that’s a bad thing, right? Well not always, video games are constantly tricking you, but keeping you in the dark is integral to the workings of not just the best games but nearly all of them.  

The Architect has traveled to the far future, an alternate present and the depths of Hel itself to confront some uncomfortable truths about the way we think about video games, and to shed some light on some very dark secrets.  2018-09-26 02:46:23 +0000 UTC View Post

Architect Recommends: HEARTBEAT

When doing these recommendations I always try to choose some interesting or unknown titles so here’s a real out of left field entry, HEARTBEAT, or at least it’s demo.

The full game isn’t out yet but the demo is insanely comprehensive with a good 2-4 hours of content to play so you’ve really got no excuse not to pick it up.

HEARTBEAT is in every way a love letter to classic JRPGs, as you might be able to notice from the screenshot up there, its artstyle and world filled with cute ...