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dmgregory.ca
Douglas
@dmgregory.ca
2.8K followers 1.4K following 740 posts
Game design professor, math and science geek.
Did spreadsheety stuff for Splinter Cell Blacklist, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, and Far Cry 6. Moderator on gamedev.stackexchange.com
Formerly @D_M_Gregory on Twitter (he/him/his)
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dmgregory.ca
Here's how I make the case for intentionally designing for specific emergent outcomes (as opposed to "throw a bunch of stuff in and hope players will find the fun") to students in my #gamedesign classes

(Not that I think you need this — just in case it's of interest to others finding this thread) 😁
What is Emergent Gameplay? ⚠ This is not the definition we'll use! Emergent gameplay is often described as "play that was not intended by the game's creators — something that was a surprise even to them". So if players find a new way to combo abilities that was never planned, or an exploit that bypasses a level's intended solution path, that's emergent! Consider for a moment why the version above might not be the most useful definition to guide our work as designers, before clicking to reveal an explanation below: Why We Need a Different Definition If being unexpected/unintended/surprising to the designer is what makes gameplay "emergent," then a surefire way to create lots of emergence is just to have no intentions or expectations! We'll just put things in the game at random with no plan and never think ahead about what might happen, nor test to find out. That way, whatever happens when players play is guaranteed to be a surprise, and thus emergent! 🙈 This is obviously not a good way to make a high-quality game. It's not even design, because design is conscious creation. While the "surprising" version is fine for players and reviewers to talk about, as designers, we need a way to think about emergence that helps us craft it deliberately. What we'll learn in this module is that emergent gameplay is not a lightning strike, something outside our control. With the right theory and tools, it's something we can design our games to maximize. The results can still be surprising, even to us, but they will come from our deliberate efforts to design systems rich in potential for surprising interactions. A Designer's Definition of Emergence Our textbook describes emergence as when "relatively simple rules create many different gameplay situations". To make that specific, for this class, we'll define emergence as "getting more play outcomes out of a system than we put in as rules". To do this, we need to create rules that interact, so that new outcomes can arise from those interactions between rules, rather than creating a new rule (or more complex rules) for each gameplay outcome we want to add. (Image of the cover of Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design by Ernest Adams and Joris Dormans, with the caption "Read Chapter 3: Complex Systems and the Structure of Emergence") Why Cultivate Emergence? • Create great depth without excess complexity. This can help us achieve a game that's "simple to learn, but a lifetime to master" by keeping most of the game's complexity in its dynamics, rather than up-front complexity in its ruleset. We can use this to make our designs "lenticular": approachable to a newcomer, while still satisfying and challenging for an expert as they notice the deeper implied strategy. This can vastly extend our game's replayability. • Make a lot with a little. If we only have enough time and budget to make a small set of mechanics and asset, we want to squeeze as much play from those as we can. Instead of each rule or asset supporting only one game outcome, we ideally want each feature we add to the game to multiply or exponentiate the amount of gameplay. This can help a smaller studio punch above their weight, and give more time to polish and tune a small set of content rather than stretch ourselves thin on a tonne of one-off work. • Support play experiences of discovery, invention, and expression. Emergent dynamics help create the subjective feeling of an unbounded mystery to be explored, rather than a finite story to finish. Players can learn to master your mechanics and invent their own uses, expressing themselves uniquely rather than following the same path as every other player.
February 14, 2026 at 3:20 PM
dmgregory.ca
Obligatory xkcd
m.xkcd.com/2932/
Driving PSA: Random drivers can’t grant you the right of way as a gift. [A T-intersection with a major road separated by a concrete median going from top to bottom, and a minor road coming from the left] [A car is stopped at the end of the minor road] First car [arrow pointing to car]: You, waiting to turn left [A second car is stopped in the dedicated left turn lane of the right major road, with a third car, a truck hauling cargo, and a fourth car lined up behind it] Second car [in a speech bubble]: You go ahead! I’m feeling generous. Second car [arrow pointing to car]: Time traveler pretending to be polite [In the second lane is a black arrow pointing upwards, with text below it reading 45 MPH, and a fifth car below the text] Fifth car [arrow pointing to car]: Car that they are waving you into the path of If someone waves you out, assume that they are an assassin sent from the future to kill you and make it look like an accident.
February 14, 2026 at 10:39 AM
dmgregory.ca
Those traits being (as near as I've mapped them out so far):
• Systemic behaviour (not bespoke/one-off)
• Modular components in varied combinations
• Interactions between rules, supported by...
→ Multiple sources / triggers
→ Shared channels of communication
→ Multiple outcomes / side effects
Diagram of traits that support emergent gameplay. At the top, "Systemic Rules", represented with an icon of meshing gears, envelops all other traits. Below that, "Modular & Local Rules" (puzzle pieces), "Varied Combinations" (shuffling), and "Rule Interactions" (falling dominoes) are linked by arrows in a cycle. Rule interactions unpacks into "Multiple Sources" (many arrows converging into...) "Shared Channels" (a single thick arrow connecting to...) "Side Effects" (multiple diverging arrows)
February 12, 2026 at 8:33 PM
dmgregory.ca
Haha, I was just showing one of my students a quick and dirty morph shader I cooked up for a StackExchange answer...
gamedev.stackexchange.com/a/185614/39518
February 11, 2026 at 12:23 PM
dmgregory.ca
Hmm... using the latest consumer Java runtime environment from java-dot-com (version 8 update 481, released January 20, 2026), I'm getting an UnsupportedClassVersionError:

Compiled with class file version 61.0
Runtime version recognizes class file versions up to 52.0

Have I got the wrong runtime?
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError: com/marginallyclever/MetaGame has been compiled by a more recent version of the Java Runtime (class file version 61.0), this version of the Java Runtime only recognizes class file versions up to 52.0
February 9, 2026 at 9:47 PM
dmgregory.ca
Neato! Feeling like I'm in good company here... 😊
dmgregory.ca as a dot in the point cloud of the "Video Game Industry Professionals" neighbourhood
February 9, 2026 at 4:15 PM
dmgregory.ca
Got nerd-sniped into hacking together breadth-first search in a #spreadsheet 🤓

This one charts out all the possible move combos in a simplified fighting game, as an example for one of my #gamedesign students

My kinda Friday night #gamedev 😆
A table lists seven numbered fighting game moves, their damage values and stamina costs, and lists what other moves they can transition into. Cells below build possible move sequences from these moves, within an initial stamina budget. To the side, a bar chart plots the number of combos of each length, and metrics report the longest combo (8 moves) and the maximum damage achievable (13 damage), along with the 2 move sequences that achieve this max.
February 6, 2026 at 11:06 PM
dmgregory.ca
Shorty Squad Solidarity!
Steven, Peridot, and Amethyst from Steven Universe sit on a bench on a beach, captioned "Shorty Squad Style!"
February 6, 2026 at 2:34 AM
dmgregory.ca
Took a trip to Ottawa. Lots of skating.
⛸️😊
A man bundled up in a black coat and face mask, orange hat and scarf poses for a selfie in front of a marker designating the end of the Rideau Canal Skateway at 7.8 km. The Rideau canal at night, frozen over, with skaters gliding along. The parliament buildings and trees full of coloured lights are visible in the background.
February 1, 2026 at 2:47 AM
dmgregory.ca
This is one of those things that makes me think we need malpractice law for software development. 😱
Google Workspace > Apps Script > Samples - tutorial for how to use Google Sheets to "Fact-check statements with an ADK AI agent and Gemini model"
January 26, 2026 at 3:02 AM
dmgregory.ca
@atlassian.bsky.social I really didn't need one of these emails, much less three. 😑 I can't find any preference setting anywhere to opt out of them that I didn't already opt out of.
Inbox screenshot of three identical emails from Confluence, subject: Fuel 2026 with your Confluence Recap 🔥 Your 2025 Highlights Last year, you worked on: 0 Pages and live docs 0 Whiteboards 0 Comments
January 17, 2026 at 5:01 PM
dmgregory.ca
Aha, found it much later in this GDC talk from Tyler Coleman, who was quoting you as a testimonial for why spreadsheets rock:
www.gdcvault.com/play/1027454...
(Looks like it might have been from a now-deleted tweet)

Thanks for the help! I got to watch a new-to-me talk and learn a few more things. 😁
GDC vault screenshot about 4:23 into a video by Tyler Coleman, Founder, Retora Games. The slide reads: Spreadsheet Enthusiasts Literally all of Boyfriend Dungeon was written right into Google Sheets. Not just the numbers for balancing… Every single piece of text, in every language. Can you believe in word processing programs you can’t reference line numbers easily when bugfixing or playtesting? Pathetic! - Tanya Short @tanyaxshort
January 5, 2026 at 6:30 PM
dmgregory.ca
Got some tiny geese on my Toronto Games Week poster... but most of my birds are on apparel.
Close-up of Canada geese flying across a cartoony illustration of Toronto. A white collared shirt covered in a blue, red, and purple bird print. Three socks sit on top, with various bird designs. One features birds carrying protest signs, reading "this is my protest sock".
January 2, 2026 at 12:35 AM
dmgregory.ca
🐐
😤
Merriam-Webster: Your 2026 Word GOAT
January 1, 2026 at 6:40 PM
dmgregory.ca
So, Microsoft tried to stick me with a 46% price hike for Copilot stuff I neither use nor asked for.

They don't let on until you try to cancel your subscription that the non-AI version is still available at the old price. 🙄

But nah, I don't like what MS is doing and they've had enough of my money.
There’s a change to the amount of your subscription payment | View it online Microsoft Logo Thank you for being a valued Microsoft 365 subscriber. To reflect the value we’ve added over the past decade, address rising costs and enable us to continue delivering new innovations, we’re increasing the price of your subscription. Effective 14 February 2025, the price for Microsoft 365 Personal subscriptions will increase from CAD 79.00* per year to CAD 115.00* per year. To continue with the new price, no action is needed—your payment method on file will be automatically charged. To make changes to your subscription plan or turn off recurring billing, visit your Microsoft account at least two days before your next billing date. By maintaining your subscription, you’ll enjoy secure cloud storage, advanced security for your data and devices and cutting-edge AI-powered features, along with all your other subscription benefits. Experience a whole new life for your favourite apps with Microsoft Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook, plus create stunning designs and edit photos in a flash with Designer. Thank you for choosing Microsoft.
December 30, 2025 at 2:07 AM
dmgregory.ca
Obligatory xkcd, visualizing a similar musing...
m.xkcd.com/988/
xkcd comic: the 20 most-played Christmas songs (2000-2009 radio airplay) by decade of popular release. The songs are visualized as alternating red and green boxes stacked on a timeline, showing a roughly bell curve shaped distribution centered on the 1950s. The caption reads "Every year, American culture embarks on a massive project to carefully recreate the Christmas of baby boomer childhoods"
December 26, 2025 at 12:21 PM
dmgregory.ca
Merry Christmas! ☺️
A Christmas tree lit in yellow and blue, with a stocking hanging by the mantle
December 25, 2025 at 2:46 PM
dmgregory.ca
My kinda festive!
A white guy with a short mohawk and glasses wearing a white and green ugly Christmas sweater that says "Ohhh... this calls for a spreadsheet" with the Excel icon and various spreadsheet error codes mixed in with the usual holly/snowflake/poinsettia/evergreen tree motifs. An LED Christmas tree hangs on the door behind him.
December 24, 2025 at 4:06 PM
dmgregory.ca
Gift wrapping complete! Ready to enjoy the holiday. ☺️
A pile of gifts wrapped in red, white, and gold paper and ribbons.
December 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
dmgregory.ca
A positive update:
Pinned YouTube comment from @moreperfectunion, 1 hour ago: BREAKING: Instacart is ending all price testing on its platform in the wake of our investigation. Reuters reported last week that the FTC initiated an investigation into Instacart, members of the United States Senate have told us they are going to investigate, and numerous state authorities (including in California and Illinois) have reached out to let us know they are going to challenge the company’s practices. Since this report was released Instacart's stock price has fallen. Investors in the company became skittish that they were now exposed to greater legal liability. 126 likes
December 22, 2025 at 6:20 PM
dmgregory.ca
I laser cut a few of these to hang on my family's tree. ☺️
A clear acrylic snowflake hangs on a Christmas tree, catching and refracting the lights. A clear acrylic snowflake hangs on a Christmas tree, catching and refracting the lights.
December 19, 2025 at 7:06 PM
dmgregory.ca
Game balancing spreadsheets too, sometimes!

I made this abstract art by accident this week while analyzing dynamics in a student's card game...
A filled area chart labelled "Share of Players in Each State" from 0-100%, with states represented by various colours / fill patterns, labelled "No Cards, S, I, SS, SI, II, SSI, IIS" The body of the chart is a chaotic mess of zig-zagging patterns.
December 13, 2025 at 8:15 PM
dmgregory.ca
One of my favourite examples of this, from the other site:
Joe Valenzuela: @jvalenzu - Jul 24 A gameplay programmer at Insomniac told me once that the biggest perceived improvement to game AI over his career was having NPCs shout what they were going to do before doing it. William Armstrong @WillWArmstrong - Jul 24 2023 Solved tuning feedback on a shotgun once by upping the bass in the SFX. Listen to people's problems, never their solutions.
December 13, 2025 at 8:12 PM
dmgregory.ca
This post is how I found out @milkbaggames.bsky.social has a bundle sale on Steam atm, so of course I had to pick that up. 😁
Steam Sale: SantaCraft -67%: CDN$ 3.79 Milkbag Bundle (FutureGrind, SideWords, Santacraft) -19%: CDN$ 27.26
December 10, 2025 at 12:19 AM
dmgregory.ca
I kinda like the little pat on the head I get when I use the word "lectern" correctly in my alt text. 😆
Liked By (2 likes) I'm a Lectern @notpodium.bsky.social A podium is a step, like a soapbox. It/it.
December 6, 2025 at 4:24 AM