3 Bit Design

Tristan and Oliver take an emotional journey through the watercolour wonders of Nomada Studio's spellbinding Gris, painting it in these three bits:Colour Theory - Emotive storytelling through colourEmbodiment of Grief - Stages of grief interwoven into tangible mechanics and abilitiesGuiding Through Motion - Driving interactivity and tone through movementLet us know what you think:Leave us a review!3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] references:How Gris Made You Cry With Its Colors - Daryl Talks Games (video essay)GRIS — Aesthetics First, Humanity Later (Or Never) - Kat (Pixel a Day), Medium (article)Behind the Schemes: GRIS with Nomada Studio - Devolver Digital (video)[Game Theory] Beauty and Melancholy in Gris - Nicole Lamerichs (article)Gris mirrors the stages of grief through art, sound and design - Ashley Oh, Polygon (article)

Tristan and Oliver are joined by Jon Keevy as they emulate their minds into their new digital bodies to board the Eye in Jump Over the Age's modern classic Citizen Sleeper, tapping into these three threads:Cycles - The passing of time and how it makes the dynamic narrative tickRisk Assessment - Deep dive into the dice mechanics and other resource managementMoral Ambiguity - How the game manages to deliver genuinely impactful choices by withholding information and avoiding judgementLet us know what you think:Leave us a review!3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] references:Citizen Sleeper 2's narrative tools and "no-code" approach - Creator Spotlight - Unity (interview)Citizen Sleeper: How precarity and minimum viable design created this dystopian RPG | BAFTA - BAFTA (presentation)How Citizen Sleeper was inspired by tabletop RPGs and gig work - Joel Couture, Game Developer (article)"Game development is more accessible than ever": how Citizen Sleeper 2 was created without coding - Lewis Packwood, Creative Bloq (article)

Tristan and Oliver don laser wipe enemy gunk off their helmets and form up as they strategically infiltrate LucasArts's Star Wars: Republic Commando to rendezvous with these three bits:One Gun, Many Guns - Discussing the unique loadout and attachment systemSquad Up! - All about the celebrated squad command systems, and the design choices that make it tickYou Are a Commando - How the game immerses you into the job, from the diegetic UI to the narrative perspectiveLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] references:Making of - Star Wars: Republic Commando - NeoGamer - The Video Game Archive (video)After 20 Years, Star Wars: Republic Commando is Still a MASTERPIECE | 2025 Review - TheNameBrand (video)Storytelling Techniques Native to First Person Camera Games - Jiajun “Jeremy” Liu, Medium (article)

Tristan and Oliver are joined by systems maestro Scott as they germinate their army of Daughters to end Suffering in Lightbulb Crew’s Othercide, breaking it down into these three bits:Dynamic Timeline - Deep dive on the core which makes the action tickEvolving Customisation - Discussing the roguelike ruthlessness and the strong encouragement of failureThe Surgeon - Analysing the first boss and how it acts as the perfect setup for the rest of the gameLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] References:Crafting Nightmares - Othercide's Art Direction - Alexandre Chaudret, Game Developer (article)A Coffee Break with: Alexandre Chaudret, Othercide - gofig_news, Turn Based Lovers (interview)Going Rogue: Othercide - Gwen C. Katz, Medium (article)

Tristan and Oliver buckle up tight and blitz across the galaxy, pumping EDM as they break down 34BigThings’s antigravity racer Redout 2 into these three laps:Eyes on the Road - Maintaining awareness and control at 1000km/hNot yo mamma's Mario Kart - Drilling into the tight focus of the mechanics, pure racing without the usual frillsMultisensory Experience - How the game requires your full focus and leverages music and visuals to induce players into a flow stateLet us know what you think:3-Bit Design: @3bitdesignOliver - @oliverwautersTristan - @theatrewalkerOr email - [email protected] us a review!Some References:E6 - Redout 2 On Gameplay, Design & F-Zero Influence - Shacknews (video interview)How the Redout 2 team created the follow up to the universe's fastest game - Miri Teixeira, RedBull (article)The real engine driving Redout 2’s liquid-fast graphics - Brian Crecente, Unreal Engine Blog (article)Redout 2 - Developer Feature - Team VVV (video interview)