I'm working on a video about the dungeon design in The Legend of Zelda series. Boss Keys is a series of videos on each Zelda game I play as part of my research, to chart the history of level design in this much-loved franchise.
I continue my exploration of The Legend of Zelda's dungeon design, with 1993 Game Boy game Link's Awakening.
I continue my exploration of The Legend of Zelda's dungeon design, with Link's 3D debut, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Boss Keys is an on-going research project to analyse the level design of the dungeons in The Legend of Zelda. This time, it's the turn of Majora's Mask.
Boss Keys is an on-going research project to analyse the level design of the dungeons in The Legend of Zelda. This time, it's the turn of Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons.
Boss Keys is an on-going research project to analyse the level design of the dungeons in The Legend of Zelda. This time, it's the turn of GameCube game The Wind Waker.
Boss Keys is an on-going research project to analyse the level design of the dungeons in The Legend of Zelda. This time, it's the turn of GBA game The Minish Cap. Note: There's an error on the graph for the Fortress of Winds. There should be a barrier icon before the locked door and boss key section. Sorry! I'll fix it up when I release the graphs properly.
Boss Keys is an on-going research project to analyse the level design of the dungeons in The Legend of Zelda. This time, it's the turn of 2006's Twilight Princess
Boss Keys is an on-going research project to analyse the level design of the dungeons in The Legend of Zelda. This time, we're looking at the Nintendo DS games Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks
Boss Keys is an on-going research project to analyse the level design of the dungeons in The Legend of Zelda. This time, we're looking at the Wii game, Skyward Sword.
Boss Keys is an on-going research project to analyse the level design of the dungeons in The Legend of Zelda. This time, we're looking at the 3DS game, A Link Between Worlds.
You asked for it! Before we finish Boss Keys season one, by looking at the most recent Zelda game (Breath of the Wild), let's take a detour to the games that started it all - Zelda 1 and 2 on the NES.
19 months, 16 games, 13 videos, and 130 dungeons later, and we finally finish our breakdown of the dungeons in the Zelda series, by looking at 2017's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
There’s a reason why we call these games “Metroidvanias”. After a bunch of largely linear games, Castlevania opened its doors for exploration in 1997’s PlayStation classic, Symphony of the Night. In this video, we look at how it’s world design works, as we learn what it means to make a good Metroidvania.
Metroid was lost in space for eight long years... but suddenly, Samus was back. Metroid Prime turned the side-scrolling adventure series into a first-person shooter. But how does it stack up as a Metroidvania? Let's find out.
Two years after Metroid Prime, Retro is back with an all-new game. Prime 2 is both loved and loathed in equal measure by fans - but let's take a close look at its world design to see what it can tell us about making Metroidvanias.
Metroid Prime 3 might be best known for its inventive pointer-based control scheme. But in this video, let's take a close look at its world(s) design to see what it can tell us about making Metroidvanias.
Hollow Knight takes place in the sprawling kingdom of Hallownest: an underground ant's nest of forests, mines, basins, and waterways. In this episode of Boss Keys, I look at the shape, structure, and sequence of exploring this masterpiece game.
My favourite Zelda dungeons are the ones that move, turn, change, and travel through time. After much research, I return from the depths of Hyrule with some Boss Keys and plenty of design details on how these puzzle box dungeons work.
Metroid Dread is a Metroidvania with a sprawling, interconnected map. So how come I always knew where to go, and almost never got lost?
The world of Dark Souls is a sprawling, branching, interconnected maze-like masterpiece. In this special, mid-season, spin-off episode of Boss Keys, I break down the world of Lordran and discuss the advantages and challenges of making non-linear worlds.