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Best Game design videos, as recommended on Hacker News

61 videos about game design that Hacker News commenters keep recommending, mentioned between 2011 and 2026. Mostly talk, commentary, explainer. Channels that come up most: GDC Festival of Gaming, Extra Credits, /noclip, Accursed Farms. Sorted by how consistently HN recommended them over the years.

The most recommended is Juice it or lose it - a talk by Martin Jonasson & Petri Purho: The go-to recommendation on game feel and polish, cited by HN as one of the best talks for anyone making interactive things feel good.

• talkJuice it or lose it - a talk by Martin Jonasson & Petri Purhograpefrukt · 12 HN recommenders · 2013–2025
• talkJan Willem Nijman - Vlambeer - "The art of screenshake" at INDIGO Classes 2013Dutch Game Garden · 10 HN recommenders · 2014–2025
• talkPreventing the Collapse of Civilization / Jonathan Blow (Thekla, Inc)DevGAMM · 14 HN recommenders · 2020–2025
• talkFailing to Fail: The Spiderweb Software WayGDC Festival of Gaming · 11 HN recommenders · 2018–2025
• talkExploring the Tech and Design of NoitaGDC Festival of Gaming · 7 HN recommenders · 2020–2026
• talk'Diablo': A Classic Game PostmortemGDC Festival of Gaming · 8 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
• talkJonathan Blow: Game design: the medium is the messageCreativeMornings HQ · 7 HN recommenders · 2013–2020
• commentaryManufactured Discontent and FortniteFolding Ideas · 6 HN recommenders · 2019–2025
• talkJonathan Blow: Video Games and the Human Conditionrubbermuck · 6 HN recommenders · 2011–2017
• talkDOOM: Behind the MusicGDC Festival of Gaming · 4 HN recommenders · 2017–2023
• talkClassic Game Postmortem: Sid Meier's CivilizationGDC Festival of Gaming · 4 HN recommenders · 2017–2021
• explainerPropaganda Games: Sesame Credit - The True Danger of Gamification - Extra CreditsExtra Credits · 7 HN recommenders · 2015–2018
• talkClassic Game Postmortem: Ultima OnlineGDC Festival of Gaming · 5 HN recommenders · 2018–2024
• explainerNintendo - Putting Play FirstGame Maker's Toolkit · 3 HN recommenders · 2017–2025
• interviewDwarf Fortress Creator Explains its Complexity & Origins | Noclip Interview/noclip · 6 HN recommenders · 2020–2022
• commentaryRoss's Game Dungeon: Deus ExAccursed Farms · 4 HN recommenders · 2017–2024
• talkPitfall Classic Postmortem With David Crane Panel at GDC 2011 (Atari 2600)GameSpot · 4 HN recommenders · 2013–2025
• talkSid Meier's Psychology of Game DesignGDC Festival of Gaming · 4 HN recommenders · 2016–2019
• talkPractical CreativityGDC Festival of Gaming · 3 HN recommenders · 2018–2026
• interviewHow Gamers Killed Ultima Online's Virtual Ecology | War Stories | Ars TechnicaArs Technica · 3 HN recommenders · 2018–2026
• commentarySpace Station 13 Review | AHELP: Clown Grief Pls Ban He™SsethTzeentach · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• commentaryWhat Games Are Like For Someone Who Doesn't Play GamesRazbuten · 4 HN recommenders · 2019–2023
• commentaryTUN: Un-Ruining the MMOMrBtongue · 2 HN recommenders · 2016–2022
• talkProcedurally Crafting Manhattan for Marvel's Spider-ManGDC Festival of Gaming · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2022
• talkPRACTICE 2018: Joseph WhiteNYU Game Center · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2022
• talk1,500 Slot Machines Walk into a Bar: Adventures in Quantity Over QualityGDC Festival of Gaming · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2026
• talkPlaying to Lose: AI and "Civilization" (Soren Johnson)Google TechTalks · 2 HN recommenders · 2011–2026
• talkClassic Game Postmortem: FalloutGDC Festival of Gaming · 3 HN recommenders · 2018–2025
• talkGDC 2010: Sid Meier Keynote - "Everything You Know is Wrong"GameSpot · 2 HN recommenders · 2014–2019
• commentaryGambling and the desire machine | Pay to WinJimmy McGee · 3 HN recommenders · 2022–2024
• demo"Devs Play" S1E06 - Psychonauts "The SMK Speedrun" [1/1]Double Fine · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2022
• commentaryRoss's Game Dungeon: Deus Ex - Human RevolutionAccursed Farms · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2022
• talkLet’s go whaling: Tricks for monetising mobile game players with free-to-playPocketGamerbiz · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2026
• talkMeaningful Play: Getting Gamification RightGoogle TechTalks · 3 HN recommenders · 2012–2014
• commentarySequelitis - Mega Man Classic vs. Mega Man XEgoraptor · 3 HN recommenders · 2012–2020
• talkClassic Game Postmortem - Another WorldGDC Festival of Gaming · 4 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• talkHow to Survive in Gamedev for Eleven Years Without a HitGDC Festival of Gaming · 3 HN recommenders · 2017–2024
• talkDiablo: Original Game Developmentjon d · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• talkPut Your Name on Your Game, a Talk by Bennett Foddy and Zach GageGDC Festival of Gaming · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2025
• talkClassic Game Postmortem: Alone in the DarkGDC Festival of Gaming · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2023
• commentaryThe Addictive Cost Of Predatory Videogame Monetization (The Jimquisition)Stephanie Sterling · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2022
• talkRimWorld: Contrarian, Ridiculous, and Impossible Game Design MethodsGDC Festival of Gaming · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2026
• talkPitfall: A Classic Game PostmortemGDC Festival of Gaming · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2024
• talkThe Implementation of Rewind in BraidGDC Festival of Gaming · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
• commentary[Highlight] StarCraft Remastered RantDay9TV · 2 HN recommenders · 2017–2019
• interviewHow Localizing Return of the Obra Dinn Nearly Sunk the Game | War Stories | Ars TechnicaArs Technica · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• explainerGames Should Not Cost $60 Anymore - Inflation, Microtransactions, and Publishing - Extra CreditsExtra Credits · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2021
• commentaryThe Next Major RTS Will Fail. This Is Why.GiantGrantGames · 2 HN recommenders · 2023–2024
• interviewWe Play Doom With John RomeroIGN · 2 HN recommenders · 2016–2018
• talkTalk: Video Games and the Future of EducationJonathan Blow · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• explainerThe Skinner Box - How Games Condition People to Play More - Extra CreditsExtra Credits · 2 HN recommenders · 2015–2019
• documentaryThe Story of RollerCoaster Tycoon | Noclip Greatest Hits/noclip · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
• talkAntichamber: An Overnight Success, Seven Years In The MakingGDC Festival of Gaming · 2 HN recommenders · 2016–2024
• talkChris Crawford Dragon Speech "I Had a Dream"Chris Crawford · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2025
• commentaryThe Witness - A Great Game That You Shouldn't PlayJoseph Anderson · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2025
• documentaryThe Story of Super Mario Bros. 3Gaming Historian · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2023
• explainerDesign Club - Super Mario Bros: Level 1-1 - How Super Mario Mastered Level DesignExtra History · 1 HN recommender · 2016–2023
• talkCrafting A Tiny Open World: A Short Hike PostmortemGDC Festival of Gaming · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2022
• commentaryThe Immoral Design of Diablo ImmortalJosh Strife Hayes · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2023
• talkWill Wright GDC 2005 Spore (The Future of Content) RemasteredZeusmonomon · 1 HN recommender · 2023–2026
• explainerMMO Economies - Hyperinflation, Reserve Currencies & You! - Extra CreditsExtra Credits · 1 HN recommender · 2016–2020