Schell Games

[{"content":{"text":" Schell Games' commitment to education is something we live every day; in the products we create, the work environment in the office and the ways we share that knowledge with others. Each month, we'll be dissecting a different Lens from The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses by our CEO Jesse Schell and applying it to a noteworthy title. It's our hope that you use these as you develop your game or are looking to critically analyze what makes someone else's game successful. "},"id":"b672735e-540e-4dde-b9d2-f61a277d4275","isHidden":false,"type":"textBlock"},{"content":{"location":"kirby","image":["file:\/\/tjb8fm9xee4fzhpe"],"src":"","alt":"The Lens of Needs showing Maslow's hierarchy of needs","caption":"","link":"","ratio":"","crop":"false"},"id":"71eec1d7-8f65-4542-9210-a6968cfca5a8","isHidden":false,"type":"imageBlock"},{"content":{"level":"h2","text":"The Lens of Punishment","customid":""},"id":"279fe410-e550-4f12-a690-1c05d145c226","isHidden":false,"type":"headingBlock"},{"content":{"text":" How This Works: Use this Lens (full text below as well) and picture your game at the same time. See how you answer each question and how difficult it is to arrive at these conclusions. Repeat and refine until complete - how much different does your potential game look than when you started? Full Text: Punishment must be used delicately. Balanced appropriately, it will make your game more meaningful, and provide successful players with a real sense of pride. To examine the punishment in your game, ask yourself these questions: "},"id":"9b307f1f-f5b4-469c-8c52-0aa55592571f","isHidden":false,"type":"textBlock"},{"content":{"text":" What are the punishments in my game? Why am I punishing the players? What do I hope to achieve by it? Do my punishments seem fair to the players? Why or why not? Is there a way to turn these punishments into rewards and get the same, or better, effect? Are my strong punishments measured against commensurately strong rewards? "},"id":"714409d1-7e94-4e55-94ba-9b7b89849660","isHidden":false,"type":"listBlock"},{"content":{"location":"web","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6XGeJwsUP9c","video":[],"poster":[],"caption":"","autoplay":"false","muted":"true","loop":"false","controls":"true","preload":"auto"},"id":"a237d431-cb72-4792-a05f-de86cde9edf7","isHidden":false,"type":"videoBlock"},{"content":{"level":"h2","text":"Example - Hollow Knight: Silksong","customid":""},"id":"99b646d6-8218-4cb2-a381-81fb85f84b1e","isHidden":false,"type":"headingBlock"},{"content":{"text":" I enjoyed my time with Hollow Knight when I initially played it in 2018. But after I found all the secrets, I uninstalled and largely forgot about it. But a promise of Silksong has captivated the gaming community for nearly a decade, with promises of DLC, a WiiU release and even bigger ambitions. But when the game dropped on GamePass for free, and as a Metroidvania fan, I decided to give it a shot and see if the game hooked me. Nearly 40 hours later, I can say this game has its hooks, specifically Hornet's pristinely sharpened needle, in deep. "},"id":"a092870c-3c32-41c5-8218-b148b0704d11","isHidden":false,"type":"textBlock"},{"content":{"embed":{"input":"https:\/\/twitter.com\/eStarland\/status\/1963634757431902262","media":{"title":null,"description":null,"url":"https:\/\/x.com\/eStarland\/status\/1963634757431902262","tags":[],"image":null,"feeds":[],"code":null,"width":null,"height":null,"aspectRatio":null,"authorName":null,"authorUrl":null,"providerIcon":"https:\/\/abs.twimg.com\/responsive-web\/client-web-legacy\/icon-ios.77d25eba.png","providerName":"Twitter","providerUrl":"https:\/\/x.com","publishedTime":null,"license":null}}},"id":"ad6713f8-abd5-4f0d-974c-c7631a762d96","isHidden":false,"type":"embed"},{"content":{"text":" But alongside every conversation of the latest hit with Souls-like mechanics, the inevitable conversation turns to the concepts of the Lens of Punishment. Punishments in Silksong are nothing new or novel: if you don't make it back to where you died, you lose all of one of the currencies you gained. I'll admit, there were points where I was bordering on the edge of frustration with this. I lost 500+ rosaries more than a few times. Why was Silksong punishing me? Is this game unfair or was it a skill issue? Was the reward for getting through this going to be worth it? "},"id":"36a102d8-a537-4cfb-94af-4d961fb9be62","isHidden":false,"type":"textBlock"},{"content":{"location":"kirby","image":["file:\/\/nj2fmokikd5jwl9g"],"src":"","alt":"Screenshot of Hollow Knight: Silksong","caption":"Ok I'll parry this guy then down stab the other guy then dash away and heal oh wait NO game over","link":"","ratio":"","crop":"false"},"id":"b090142e-7929-4e2d-903f-b57c526b9b42","isHidden":false,"type":"imageBlock"},{"content":{"text":" In my personal experience, I think Silksong excels at their punishments because of the way it answered the above questions I had. It turned out, I was being punished because I was in an area I had no business being in and needed to return to later. Although you do lose that currency like I mentioned, it ends up not being that big of a deal. There's areas later in the game when you get more rosaries than you could ever spend, and farming rosaries even in the early game isn't even that time consuming. But failing a boss battle and having to run through a difficult area to get back to the boss and fail again sounds brutal. But eventually for me, something clicked. I found that I was able to start routinely dodging once-deadly minor enemy attacks and get back to my body unscathed. Boss fights started to feel manageable and that I was in charge, instead of just reacting and praying. And, perhaps most importantly, it made my skills increase so that when I came upon the next difficult area, I was able to blaze through it and focus on uncovering secrets, not recovering my body. "},"id":"556e8bc8-44b7-4191-8359-74c29d8621b2","isHidden":false,"type":"textBlock"},{"content":{"location":"kirby","image":["file:\/\/nflplkdlxr37jkei"],"src":"","alt":"Screenshot of Hollow Knight: Silksong","caption":"Wriggling out of this mess takes me to the top of the Hierarchy of Needs","link":"","ratio":"","crop":"false"},"id":"e8c3cad8-c18c-4ddf-8032-761d101e02f5","isHidden":false,"type":"imageBlock"},{"content":{"text":" Maybe the best way Silksong tackles punishments is in the massive rewards the game gives you for overcoming the challenge. Take the wall jump ability, which requires precise platforming, difficult enemies and multiple boss fights to get to. But once you do it, the ability not only makes previous challenges a cakewalk, it opens up massive new parts of the map. Then, it's train with that new ability, master it, overcome a major challenge and get a new ability. And it's this progression of punishment and reward where I think Silksong truly master the Lens of Punishment In the New York Times review The Empty Masochism of Hollow Knight: Silksong, the author states that they are \"...finding far less magic than pain.\" But I don't agree. The magic is intermingled with the pain itself, what the pain is trying to communicate to the player, and the immense rewards for overcoming the pain. That being said, I would love to see a future path for Silksong that lets players experience the environments and story with many more, fine-tuned accessibility settings. Or, just give Hornet a gun like they did in Another Crab's Treasure . The blueprints are there, and everyone should be able to experience the magic of this game regardless of how much they can or want to interact with the punishments. "},"id":"f6fa9ef1-f5fa-441a-b722-9db496bb2146","isHidden":false,"type":"textBlock"},{"content":{"level":"h2","text":"The Art of Game Design","customid":""},"id":"0d883239-9628-4b2a-b02c-f851cbd51cb9","isHidden":false,"type":"headingBlock"},{"content":{"text":" This is just one quick example of all of the knowledge and expertise contained within The Art of Game Design . Learn more about the book, the 110+ Lenses that come with it and more about CEO Jesse Schell on The Art of Game Design website. "},"id":"d20c64ba-e079-4341-b8c7-b86c6101df96","isHidden":false,"type":"textBlock"},{"content":{"link":"https:\/\/schellgames.com\/art-of-game-design","text":"Read More","class":"","id":""},"id":"d83375af-b2e5-4f35-a026-239ad00239cc","isHidden":false,"type":"buttonBlock"},{"content":{"location":"kirby","image":["file:\/\/hxonirhhjVdS96jM"],"src":"","alt":"The Art of Game Design and Deck of Lenses","caption":"","link":"","ratio":"","crop":"false"},"id":"28d92694-0e36-4bf5-b855-ead2013bde3f","isHidden":false,"type":"imageBlock"},{"content":{"level":"h2","text":"View More Lenses","customid":""},"id":"f067b7d2-afdb-46cb-8f86-afad4e5398bd","isHidden":false,"type":"headingBlock"},{"content":{"text":" All Lenses can also be accessed digitally for no cost. Use the Deck of Lenses for inspiration when developing an experience, playtesting, brainstorming, and anything in between. 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The Lens of Punishment

October 3, 2025 · insights

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