Chris Crawford on Game Design

Conclusions

More thought went into Excalibur than into any other game I have created. While its interpersonal aspect was completely new and quite innovative, the true achievement of the design lay in the tight integration of multiple subgames. The player had to juggle economic factors, diplomacy, military strategy, tactics, and the loyalties of his underlings. Before Excalibur, computer games were single-task challenges that required intense concentration on small, specific problems. Excalibur required much more in the way of global thinking, of integrating a large number of disparate variables into one's thinking. This gave the game a “symphonic” quality the achievement of which is the most esoteric challenge of game design.

Most games feel ...