Shovel Knight
A retro-style platformer starring a knight with a shovel.
Where Shovel Knight comes up1 episode or test
- 1Love one mechanicZelda 2's down thrust
- 2Isolate itPull it out of its game
- 3Ask what fits around itA game built entirely on it
- 4Build the gameA knight with a shovel
From Yacht Club Games' design method, per the page
What was said about Shovel Knight
1Shovel Knight's origin in one borrowed mechanic
Yacht Club Games built Shovel Knight around the down thrust from Zelda 2. Yacht Club Games isolated the down thrust from Zelda 2 and built a knight with a shovel around it. The game grew from that single borrowed mechanic.
The source groups it with Braid, which began from the rewind in Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, and with Mind Over Magnet, which came from the magnetic glove in Zelda: Oracle of Seasons. The method is to isolate one mechanic you love and ask what a game built entirely around it would be.
How to find amazing game ideas
Yacht Club Games built it from the down thrust in Zelda 2.
Yacht Club Games built Shovel Knight around the down thrust from Zelda 2. Yacht Club Games isolated the down thrust from Zelda 2 and built a knight with a shovel around it. The game grew from that single borrowed mechanic.
The source groups it with Braid, which began from the rewind in Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, and with Mind Over Magnet, which came from the magnetic glove in Zelda: Oracle of Seasons. The method is to isolate one mechanic you love and ask what a game built entirely around it would be.
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