Rather coincidentally, stumbled upon a few interesting reads/talks around Game design, almost the same time as the GameDevConf concluded in SF (though only one was written with GDC in mind). And featuring Combination Fatigue and Sore Palms!

Riding the Magic Escalator of Acquired Knowledge

Refreshing metaphor this one - and easy to visualise/remember. If there's only one quick thing you can read this weekend, make it this.

Gamified...

BIG ideas from Game Design You Should Know

Even thought it says 11 big ideas, there are actually 12 (and it may be changed by the time you get to it). But the great part is this shortish, handy reference is as useful for interaction designers, as it is for educators.

How Designers Engineer Luck Into Video Games

"Humans have taken the reins from the Gods, and luck has become a design tool capable of changing players’ experiences and expectations". So what are mechanics behind injecting luck? This fascinating read explains...

What your designs say about you

[TEDx Video] This isn't strictly game design stuff - but thats where the talk takes off from - in a world where we increasingly want to gamify experiences. But what does it say about us, and what of the unintended consequences?

& More...

The 7.5 things DesignSchool taught us — medium.com

DeSchool (or DesignSchool or rather Unschool) started with a simple thought and led to candid conversations (most don't feature here). But then there's the 7.5 takeways (and why the design team ended up with sore palms and happy faces)!

Why We Need Less Design “Alternatives”, but More Design Iterations

Expresses what many of us have come to strongly believe in. And I love the term: combination fatigue!

Until next week,@JDallcaps