Looking Back LinkDump: Post-Mortems

For my various jobs and roles, I write a lot of research reports. A lot of the time, there are really fascinating statistics and ideas that I come across when I'm compiling research which might not be directly relevant to the report, but which are still worth talking about. Periodically, I want to compile these into little link dumps which I can share. Today, I want to share a list of post-mortems. Post-mortems are one ways to get a really comprehensive and valuable insight into Production best- and not-so-best practice , as you're looking at the project in hind-sight from a top-down perspective. Here are a few favourites...

Hitman Go

I cannot express how much I love this game. It blew my mind when I first encountered it - it still does even now! The idea of reimaginaing a game into another genre and aesthetic, boiling it down to its core components in order to put a truly fresh spin on a known brand, is genuinely exciting. I hope for a day when established IP holders have the confidence to let new teams play with their properties like this, as it would be fascinating to see what would come out of that process. This hour-long post-mortem explores the journey of constraints and opportunities that resulted in the game we have today.

Deus Ex

Deus Ex is one of my favourite franchises. Right from the start, there was tremendous respect for the intellectual capacity of the player - highly complex concepts from moral philosophy, metaphysics and epistemology are woven unapologetically into the fabric of the game world. This post-mortem goes into the game's design, but parts of it are also structured a bit like a business plan, and the two combined together provide a pretty deep insight into the game as a whole.

Race The Sun

From the classic AA Deus Ex, we turn finally to a very different project, the small, and modern, indie game Race The Sun. This is an interesting post-mortem because it the game was a success even though it initially failed its crowd-funding goals. The takeaways are not ground-breaking; basic game business principles - test early and often, - find the fun, - don't overstretch your team by trying to publish on every platform - were born out by their experiences (!) Its a short and snappy read, fitting for a small and tightly focussed game.