@dudeglove: ZombiePie does do something like this, but the idea behind this feature was to focus in on essays or blogs that have a critical look at either game design or game analysis. ZombiePie's feature has a broader focus. I will admit that they are similar, however, I think that the knowledge bomb is different enough that it can stand as a feature in and of itself.

@dudeglove said:

Uh... one of the mods does this already. Every week. For the past three years.

We've been trying to do something different. This is our fifth one. Check the others out too.

Welcome to Knowledge Bomb, where we highlight the articles that introduced us to new games we’d never found, allowed us to rediscover in new light ones we’d forgotten and inspired us to look differently at the medium, the industry and the world around us.

You Do Not Enjoy Playing Pokemon by mrburger

Though the Pokemon series holds a special place in the hearts of many players there are countless tiny annoyances that have undermined the series since its beginning over a decade ago. Be it the slow walk speed or the slow battle speed or the fact that every cave in the Pokemon world seems to be full of zubats (the most annoying of all Pokemon in my opinion), the Pokemon series has a number of small flaws that we often ignore when looking through nostalgic eyes. mrburger reminds us that while many love the Pokemon games, there are things about the act of actually playing a Pokemon game that are quite irksome.

Question: How to allow failure but maintain verisimilitude by RagingLion

Almost all games have some form of a fail-state, some situation where the player has failed at a puzzle or died in a battle and must be informed of their failure. However, most fail-states inherently break the narrative of the games in which they appear, for example an rpg hero dies but is allowed to continue on from a save point. The concept of a save point or a respawn flies in the face of verisimilitude for most games. in this blog entry, RagingLion tries to find some way to keep a game's story believable and consistent while still allowing the player to fail.

Fotonica Review by Gold_Skulltulla

Gold-Skulltulla provides a review of the one-button running game Fotonica and shows how the physical act of playing a game can mirror the physical actions which a game portrays, even if the game only uses one button. He shows that even the most abstracted of controls can enhance a gameplay experience if used properly.

How to Fix Random Encounters by thatpinguino

The random encounter has become something of a dinosaur in rpg design, few games seem to use the concept anymore. It seems to have been deemed an idea that is old-fashioned and flawed, something to be left behind. I, however, still love this old concept and think that with the adoption of a few small design changes to random encounter and monster design this gameplay concept can be modernized and brought back from obscurity. In my blog post I provide a few of those ideas.

If you like the essays in this edition of the Knowledge Bomb, please check out our last issue.

The Knowledge Bomb is a constantly growing and evolving community initiative, and as such we are always looking for new contributors. If you would like one of your essays to be featured in the Knowledge Bomb please send either Daneian or me a pm, or let us know in the comments that you would like to help out. We do not care how old an essay is, all essays are welcome.

Thanks to everyone for the continued support.