Good Game Design - Using All The Buffalo

[@siokedelic]

I commented during the premiere, but I love this video and analyzing elements of game design like this. Thank you for featuring Bunbun for this! - sio

[@snomangaming]

Tyler you are an amazing creator, truly! Thanks for inspiring the video :)

[@mr.needlestan2954]

@@snomangaming There is an entire series of games dedicated for "using all the buffalo". It's called "That level again?!" and it's a game where you play the same level again and again and again...except that each time the solution to the level is different.

[@razbuten]

it is kinda like how zelda 2 has you use the downward thrust for both combat and platforming

[@huglife3155]

Your mom thrusts

[@snomangaming]

I really need to make a video in which zelda 2 in no way can be an example to force you to comment something else

[@razbuten]

@@snomangaming try me

[@toooydoeur]

@@snomangaming bruh what?

[@Theraot]

@@snomangaming I bet the best you can hope for is for a different version of zelda.

[@amblefornow]

Level 99 Games, a boardgame company, calls this Flexibility of Use. Its crucial in boardgames since the more components you have the more fiddly the game feels. Combining mechanics so they share components helps make the game more approachable while also adding strategic depth since each move effects the other pieces in more ways. They talk about this more on episode 3 of their Level Cap Podcast if you want to hear them talk about it.

[@parchmentengineer8169]

As someone who just opened their copy of BattleCON Unleashed, I couldn't agree more. I love how each character has only a small number of unique cards, yet feels completely different in terms of design and strategy.

[@randomguyontheinternet7940]

Using all the Buffalo is required for any multiplayer game.

[@DarylTalksGames]

The possession statue temple from twilight princess comes to mind, you do the dungeon one direction, then when you do it in reverse with your new statue, it plays completely differently. Loved the video man!

[@benzenefire]

I believe Game Maker’s Toolkit calls this dual-purpose design? I do like “using all the buffalo”, though! When I saw the title, the first thing I thought of was the sentence “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo” - which is a functional sentence using three different meanings of the word ‘buffalo’ 😄

[@coyraig8332]

For anyone who doesn'y know, Buffalo is a city in New York, and to "buffalo" someone means to bully that person. So the sentence can be rephrased as "New York bison that New York bison bully bully New York bison."

[@shieldgenerator7]

@@coyraig8332 finally i get how that sentence makes sense! thank you!

[@shieldgenerator7]

this should be the new origin of the phrase "using all the buffalo"

[@coyraig8332]

@ILGVARSBOSS It might if they put in commas

[@portalMaster299]

@ILGVARSBOSS New York bison New York bison bully bully New York bison makes sense if you say it out loud, just not so much if you read it

[@danielwalker7494]

I think that a lack of this sort of thing is what makes people say that a game is "bloated". In big-name open-world games especially, there's a lot of "let's cram as much stuff in here as possible" in the design philosophy. So there's a ton of stuff to do, but often you don't do it very much. It makes the mechanics feel underutilized, and thereby the effort of learning them feels wasted. If you really liked a certain minigame or skill, well too bad, you only ever do it like four times and then move on to the next thing. Or you can do it as much as you want, but to no real tangible benefit. It's a case of having eighty different buffalo in the same game but only ever using 1/80th of any given one. Having so many different things to explore can be fun, but it kind of muddies the core of the game. It makes it less clear what this game is about and what you should be getting out of it. Usually a game has a "message" or purpose, maybe even just a feeling that it's trying to evoke. If the game is pulling you in many different directions all the time, it's a lot harder to hear what the game is trying to say. It's kind of like how mixing together a hundred different ingredients often produces a confusing cacophony of flavor with no one big selling point, even though doing so might sound better than using just six, well-chosen ingredients.

[@nikolasaaman]

Currently playing Assassin's Creed 3 and this comment describes the earlier games perfectly. Half of the game is tutorials on the different mechanic: stealing, free running, climbing, looting, bribing, crafting, trading, training assassins, sailing, hunting. But a lot of them you only do once in the main story and then you have no incentive to do them again because they get replaced for another. Why hunt if I can buy skin? Why steal if I can trade? Why craft bullets if I can loot them? It's good if a game has multiple ways to achieve the same objective but if it has too much it feels bloated and you end up focusing in only two or three main mechanics. I Still love the game though

Using all the buffalo its like: super multi-purpose design Great video! ✨

[@ninckmane]

GUUU!! You're here!!!! Oh my god i'd never imagine you watch Snoman You're awesome!

[@amberhide04]

Nice, didn't expect seeing you here!

[@Snacker6]

I was actually surprised not to see Castlevania Symphony of the Night on here. How much better is this principle used than with turning the entire castle upside down and seeing that the design of the ceiling in many if not all of the rooms was made for walking on? Seeing stairs turning into tracks for new kinds of enemies? It is really great

[@Alche_mist]

I was searching for this exact comment here.

[@Companion__]

Personally when I got to this point I felt the ceiling was crazy clunky. It felt poorly designed to me and I stopped there :l

[@FindingsOfAnArmouredMind]

Laughs in Castlevania Curse Of Darkness]

[@Densoro]

@@Companion__ Yeah, as a first outing, it broke interesting ground, but it was hard to get into a flow. For me, wonder outweighed frustration, but that's totally valid too.

[@dmas7749]

@@Densoro my problems lie solely with the gameplay side where it is both tedious and unrewarding to explore

[@killakillua1]

This concept was a major part of Breath of the Wild's development. Condensing all the one-use dungeon items from previous Zelda titles into THREE abilities: Bombs, Ice Pillars and Stasis; gained during the tutorial. The incredible diversity that utilized during normal gameplay is astounding. I give props to the physics engine that allows the abilities to reach their full potential.

[@woahsea]

I love it when an early game boss becomes a regular late game enemy.

[@coralcrowglow]

Especially when it’s easier because you feel like you’ve made progress!

[@alanfennell4833]

@@coralcrowglow Looking at you, Capra Demon!

[@powertomato]

But only if it's now easier because you as a player became better or have new abilities and not because you now have better gear. The latter makes them feel stale and repetitive.

[@shanerpressley]

Does anybody have an example of a game that does this? i'd love to see it

[@woahsea]

@@shanerpressley The best examples I can think of are the wasps from Bug Fables.

[@o0LordMuffin0o]

Hey, this is my favorite "Good Game Design" in a veeeeery long time. I love how it focusses on game design principles again, instead of just "reviewing one game". However "Using All The Buffalo" seems a lot like "dual purpose design", maybe extended to multi-purpose design. I loved GMTKs original video on this topic and also very much enjoy the new examples you bring up in this video. Hope to see more videos like this in the future.

[@rukkario1]

During a talk at GDC, level designer Dan Taylor mentioned that one of the good principles of level design is being "Bi-directional". He described it as when developers reuse content and maps but either with a different context or literally just making the player doing it backward (He gave a Halo map as an example) to change the experience completely (essentially creating 2 levels without having to create more assets). I think that is a bit what Snoman was trying to convey here Link to the talk for anyone who is curious(it is really good, I recommend it): kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3-olmaBnbKpjq8

[@SuiteLifeofDioBrando]

The musical stages of Rayman Legends were lit. I would not mind a Rayman rhythm game full of these type of stages.

[@theportlandkevin597]

I would love a Rayman rhythm platformer

[@EnZo1rst]

@@theportlandkevin597 same!

[@David08225]

If you haven't already, play Bit.Trip Runner, it's basically exactly that - a whole game that plays like the Rayman rhythm platforming!

[@panampace]

Skyward Sword does a damn good job with this. Each of the areas of the game are revisited 3 or more times and each time the context is completely different. For instance, the forest area becomes an underwater area. Or the fire area becomes a stealth section. Not to mention the time shifting areas.

[@ricknaturalls2065]

My favorite examples of this are Celeste's B Side and C Side levels. They were so much fun to complete. Still working on those STUPID GOLDEN BERRIES though. Also, might I suggest a Good Game Design episode on movement? It's one of those things that makes or breaks a game for me.

[@snomangaming]

LITERALLY was just thinking about movement last night! I think I will do that in the near future

[@MartinPurathur]

Good movement is sooooo good

[@yowza9638]

@@snomangaming I'm thinking about movement too, since I just played Ori and the Blind Forest over break. Super-tight controls there!

[@Casanuda]

I've got a better term for it, "flipping the castle". Castlevania Symphony of the Night did this to near double the content of their game.

[@thegeekclub8810]

I like this idea.

[@ultimatemacchia]

Underrated comment

[@FindingsOfAnArmouredMind]

[Laughs in Castlevania Curse Of Darkness]

[@juanrodriguez9971]

Interesting name, I personally like to make a distinction between levels and mechanics when it comes to reusing the same things in different ways, and when it came to reusing the level layout from a different angle I started to call it "Recontextual Design" because of another comment here, and when it comes to reusing a mechanic I call it a "Swiss (/army) Knife Design", because is the same tool serving different uses. Now because of you I will start to call the first one "Flip the Castle" rather than "Recontextual Design"

[@doofs]

Haven't played symphony of the night, but, well _y'know_ My personal favourite example is shovel knight however, and how yacht club magically repurposes old enemies into clever platforming mechanics. Plague of shadows is the most blatant with reusing level designs, but Specter of Torment really feels like a constant _"ah ha!"_ moment.

[@flazdacalm3436]

I just finished playing the return of the Obra Dinn from your recommendation and that forces you to use every part of the book to your advantage! Whether it’s the person’s ethnicity, position on the ship or just what they’re wearing, every part of that book serves so many purposes!

[@danielemazzali9810]

Also, the thing the doctor sends you at the end. That leads to a good twist on an established mechanic!

[@stupidinternetman999]

When I first heard the term, I thought it was a nod to the idiomatic sentence 'Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo,' where the word is used in multiple tenses to make a complete thought only using the one word. Funny how it kind of still applies to the design trope

[@TheMoney9999]

I think a good term for this would be "Recontextual Design" maybe?

[@nibblesnbits]

I think that's perfect

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

Its certainly better than "using all the buffalo"

[@johannjorsh3334]

That sounds much better

[@boiwifeyasmr4U]

I prefer that term.

[@dragonmageddon8459]

that's so much better. it almost explains itself. here, you don't have to take a detour, explaining native americans relationship to buffalos.

[@poutinja]

You know I was hoping that this was going to be a new game called using all the buffalo. There goes my hopes and dreams

[@kubo407]

The spyro games were all about this and the reason why I loved them as a kid. You go through the level once in a linear fashion but at the end of every level there is something that you change that turns the level into a more open sandbox style game.

[@margaram78]

It's pretty similar to the idea of lenticular design, a term coined by Mark Rosewater who is the lead designer for Magic: The Gathering. He puts it as designs that "...appear on their surface to be very simple, but once you understand more about how to use them, they become more complex." The idea comes from lenticular images, those types of pictures that seem to move or show different things when you view them from different angles. It fits perfectly with your example of when elements of a level take on new uses when approached from a different direction.

[@JarrenCrist]

The example I had in mind back when the initial tweet about this video was Yoshi's Crafted World's "flipped" levels where the level path is reversed and you're seeing the entire level from the opposite side. I feel like in terms of mechanics, Celeste felt like it used it's buffalo quite well. It very often flips mechanics into alternate usages during any given level. The mission mode in Mario Kart DS almost works, as it uses tracks and battle courses in new re-purposed mission states, but that's sorta basic I guess.

[@plasmatize8494]

I nominate the character roster from Crypt of the NecroDancer as an example of using the whole buffalo. Each one substantially changes the gameplay, like turning gold from a collectible into a deadly hazard, or forcing you to play without missing beats or restricted to certain weapons, or having to constantly defeat enemies to survive. It forces you to significantly rethink how you play through the same set of 4-5 zones/bosses and all their enemies/hazards. It's not the only roguelike/roguelite to do this, but of the ones I've played, it's by far the best example of simple change --> gigantic gameplay implications, and this extends to all its different game modes and most of the in-game items as well. This example highlights another potential benefit to UTWB: it streamlines the tutorial process. If you split a player's learning of levels/mechanics into two stages, "learning how the thing works" (tutorial) and "learning how to work with the thing" (exploration, experimenting and mastery), UTWB lets you skip straight to the second (and by far more engaging) stage. You can remix mechanics or levels that the player is already familiar with, but adding one or more key differences that are simultaneously intuitive but also game-changing. As soon as players see what's up, they can immediately ask themselves questions like "how can I work with this/use it to my advantage?" or "What if I tried this approach?" In NecroDancer's case, each character or mode could take dozens of hours to truly master, even though they can all be explained and understood in 5 seconds!

[@JEZ346]

Kind of surprised you didn't bring up Symphony of the Night it literally repurposes the games entire world.

[@snomangaming]

I haven't played it! (Hate to admit that!) But I had heard about flipping the castle, that is super sick

[@Pedro_eqw]

@@snomangaming Oh my God!

[@FindingsOfAnArmouredMind]

[Laughs in Castlevania Curse Of Darkness]

[@Descro382]

@@snomangamingSnoman.. you gotsta

[@willvi4134]

I love how you sometimes in the different shovel knight campaigns sometimes you go through the same (or very similar) stages with some new elements or mechanics for the different characters.

[@19Szabolcs91]

I like when the same thing is used for story purposes in a new context to make a point. This can be showing your character's power growth, like in Wind Waker when at first you have to stealth your way through the Forsaken Fortress, and later on you can blaze through it with a sword and giant hammer.

[@dertswa687o]

I think the best example of this is 999. Once you complete the story and learn the main plot twist, the entire game takes on a different meaning. And it's only because it's a game that the twist works, so you know it was a very deliberate choice.

[@rtyuik7]

the first 'favorite example' that comes to mind for me is in Zelda:OoT, in the Spirit Temple...theres a door that can only be opened by a switch, and that switch has to be Held down (compared to other switches that can be Pressed down, and Stay down)...surrounding that switch are four Armos Statues-- heavy, stone figures that can be pushed or pulled onto a switch, to Hold it down...as long as its not a Living Armos Statue (and the only ways to tell them apart are touching them and memorization)...but in the Spirit Temple, you have to use the Armos' temper at being awoken while you stand in front of the barred door that youre trying to open (which means hitting it with a ranged attack) so that it will hop towards you, stepping on the switch, opening the door, letting you through, and youre in the next room... using an Enemy to Help you through a dungeon is a mechanic that ive seen pop up a bit more recently (especially in RubberNinja/Ross's SuperMarioMaker2 levels lol) but as far as i can remember, OoT was one of the first games i plated that used a mechanic like that...

[@ShadowHawk180]

My absolute favorite example (I think) is Nier Gestalt/Replicant's subsequent playthroughs. The enemies make sounds on the first playthrough, but it's not translated into dialogue. If you want to get other endings, though, you'll need to play again, only this time the enemies have on screen dialogue. It completely recontextualizes your experience, and makes playing it multiple times worth it for more than just an ending.

[@christosgeorgiafentis4825]

I see, using all the buffalo so that nothing is wasted? Yup, I agree with this, more games should use this philosophy. Some of the greatest games I have ever played are the ones that let me experience the world from a new perspective. It's one of the reasons why I consider them works of art. Turning a concept upside its head midway is the best way to keep the pace from sagging, or a reason to come back for more.

[@juanrodriguez9971]

I would call it the "Swiss Knife Design", because the same tool can serve multiple purposes.

[@carlbotdiscord]

Swiss Army Knife Design*

[@metawarp7446]

How about "spork design" lol (because with Swiss army knife it's not really the same tool, it's multiple different tools packed to a one tool)

[@carlbotdiscord]

@@metawarp7446 it's supposed to be something that's executed in a *good* way

[@metawarp7446]

@@carlbotdiscord Lmao I think you are right What about just calling it multipurpose design?

[@carlbotdiscord]

@@metawarp7446 that would work.

[@feistygandhi]

I am a big fan of the psychological effects of taking some familiar motifs and twisting them into a new challenge, where the context of the original version is important to understanding the new version. For example: games with alternate dimensions/"dark worlds" such as many Zelda titles, Metroid Prime 2, Super Meat Boy, Megaman 3, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and so many others. There are exciting/adventurous/dreadful feelings when you're wondering how the new world will distort places you're already comfortable with. I've used this type of thing in multiple personal projects, including a SMW romhack too. I love it lol.

[@ultimatemacchia]

I like how in Spore you can find your own creations in other campaigns, helps not re-using the default ones while making you somewhat proud of what you've done in the past

[@mcm3adows]

The first thing that came to mind for using the Buffalo was bloodborne. You can go to The Unseen Village twice in the game (one of those visits is optional), before and after the blood moon rises and the area is radically different depending on when you go. There is also some very interesting lore you can learn from seeing the area in its two different states in addition to playing differently

[@pixelator5312]

so essentially, this is just all of baba is you (especially the bonus levels, which make one change to an existing level and force you to completely rethink it)

[@c_brigante]

Cappy from Mario Oddyssey is a good example. It's a character, a weapon, a jumping tool and it even allows you to possess other characters

[@NorthernDruid]

One genre that has really strong potential for this kind of evocative design, is point-and-click adventure games. The best example I can come up with would be in Monkey Island 2, where the finale has you making a voodoo doll, which you spend the majority of Part 1 learning how to do. There's a lot of smaller examples here and there I could poke at where a puzzle solution is tied to something from earlier in the game or similar. Grim Fandango in particular re-uses ideas expertly, while it would be easy to point out the re-use of old locations in the finale it's much more interesting to me how it uses old puzzle solutions and outcomes as the foundation for new puzzles later on. There's also a pretty cool part in Tales of Monkey Island, where you end up having to solve the same puzzle twice in different ways. What's interesting to me about Point&Clicks in relation to this, is how they're more likely to re-use ideas than actual objects or mechanics. Especially how they can interleave points from the story into later gameplay (such as several examples from late-game Grim Fandango where the puzzle foundations & solutions are seeded early on from the narrative outcomes of your actions rather than from what you'd traditionally consider gameplay mechanics).

[@cyurle3940]

Supraland. I just got the game but god the puzzles are so amazing. At one point this character goes "almost 90% of our players forgot about this mechanic at the beginning of the game" But it makes sense, because they distract you with a solution that, although time consuming, seems feasible.

[@ZincFrog]

Some truly great platforms you talked about here. A non-platformer that I think does a great job of using all the buffalo is Paper Mario: TTYD with its badges. I did a badge points only play through for the first time this year and had a great time. I never would have thought to ignore HP and FP upgrades my first time playing it.

[@KevinCow]

I think the better example from The Messenger is how it completely changes the game's structure halfway through. It starts out with classic style linear progression and a focus on difficult platforming challenges. Get to the end of the level, beat the boss, move on to the next level. But then after beating the supposed final boss, the whole game is recontextualized. You return to those same levels, but thanks to the upgrades you've collected, they're no longer linear obstacle courses. Instead, they're now areas in an interconnected Metroidvania style map with a focus on exploration. That was just such a cool reveal, and the way they did it was hilarious.

[@awayname5008]

As a MarioMaker fan. This type of Level-Design should defenetly be called a Twice-Twice.

[@andrewborders5739]

Ah, a fellow DGR viewer!

[@awayname5008]

@@andrewborders5739 And Carlsagan42. I witnessed the original "Larl does everything Twice-Twice"

[@SuperGoomba554]

Thought the same thing xD

[@sabata2]

I second this motion. "Carl plays the level Twice Twice" defined a new genre of Mario Maker making you constantly guess "am I where I think I am?" And "do I really know what I thought I knew?"

[@Zero_de_Nova]

YESSSSSSS!!!!!!

[@ShyGuyXXL]

Nice to see Wario Land get a mention. That's such an overlooked series. Which reminds me, The transformations in Wario Land fit into this concept. Sometimes they hinder you, sometimes you need them to advance. Sometimes they're used for puzzles, sometimes they are part of exploration. Sometimes they are a minor annoyance, other times they are a severe setback, depending on the level design. And they're even used as a fail state for bosses, since you're otherwise unkillable. So when you fight a giant Bee, its stinger makes you balloon up and float out of the arena instead of killing you.

[@Lugmillord]

It's really satisfying to see a mechanic or level used to it's full potential. Baba is you is one of the kings in this regard. Personally, I made some SM64 hacks that reuse and reconfigure existing levels to make them new again. I'm especially into rotating models into all kinds of configurations. Well, maybe a bit too much at times.

[@Orion_1]

Great video! I especially love the ones that focus on game design elements instead of specific games (both are great of course :)

[@snomangaming]

Glad you like them!

[@DieAntDie]

Always a good day when we get a new Good Game Design and this was easily one of the best yet! Great stuff as always!

[@snomangaming]

Glad you enjoy it! Thanks so much

[@mufasaiam7794]

I can't believe you made this video with only a 5 second clip of Yooka Laylee and the impossible lair. The whole game is using all the buffalo

[@ninckmane]

The first game I think about "using all the buffalo" is Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion. It's insane how much they take out of the vanilla game's mechanics to make new ideas

[@armogohma2]

Undertale is masterful at using this property in its writing. The game is infamous for remembering how you play and using it later, but some of the best written scenes don't change at all except for context. Several conversations, interactions, and NPCs hit completely differently depending on what you've done. One story I've heard was from someone who accidentally killed a random enemy in Snowden and didn't consider it worth resetting over. Then, much later in Hotland, they met the enemy's father, who always asks you if you've seen his son. For that one person, it was a moment of guilt like no other. My favorite example is Papyrus's final phone call in Waterfall. As long as you've left Papyrus alive, it's always the same phonecall, where he calls to tell you you and Undyne would be great friends. It's hilarious if you are running for your life with Undyne chasing you, but it's incredibly depressing if you've already murdered her. Same dialogue, totally different scenes.

[@hergggoor]

I think another good name for this concept would simply be the “recontextualization” of the game assets, and a key ingredient is subverting an interaction previously taught to the player.

[@thefilmfrontier6822]

I love this phrase because Brad Bird used this principle in the making of The Incredibles, and probably in every other production he’s been on. I’m a massive proponent for this.

[@Methrael]

I use this all the time in my design concepts, but you're right, it's really tough to pull off

[@TheFakeMnim]

true

[@skynes]

I'm recently replaying Breath of the Wild, so it's on my mind. So many of the mechanics are reused in interesting ways. In thunderstorms, your metal weaponry will have you electrocuted. But that applies to enemies too, in fact you can use that to your advantage either by having an enemy pick up your metallic weapon, or just throwing it at them to have them blasted with lightning instead. There's also a puzzle in one of the shrines where you have to put metallic cubes in the right spot to finish an electrical circuit to open the exit. Alternatively, you can use your metallic weapons to finish the circuit and skip the puzzle entirely. There's similarity with fire as well, wooden weapons burning to light torches, or deliberately lighting grass on fire to create an updraft to let you fly up. I can keep playing the game, because every encounter or location shows me all new ways I can use the same basic mechanics.

[@SapphireCarbuncle009]

There have been some good examples of this in recent Fighting Game narratives. If anyone's curious, SugarPunch's video on the topic covers them in more detail, but one of my favorite examples they used was the two boss fights with Shao Kahn, where the first fight has you play a character with a bad matchup against him, but when the game claims to have you fight him at the end "on level ground", all it does is give you a character with a better matchup, which makes him look pitiful.

[@RoninCatholic]

I think a good example of this is the Pokeflute in Pokemon being able to awaken your sleeping party members in battle and not _just_ wake up roadblocks. It consistently retains its in-game purpose in multiple contexts rather than being a one and done key item. Contrast with its most likely inspiration, the Fairy Flute from Dragon Warrior. That one is used to put a specific roadblock foe _to sleep_ so you can beat him more easily, but it doesn't work on any other foes in the entire game - not even the random encounters that are literally palette swaps of this boss. You get the flute in one corner of the world, use it for a single fight in the other, then put it in storage to never be seen again.

[@gamerinchrist]

This is one of my favorite things to do in Mario maker! Using on off and spawn blocking tricks to offer new challenges for the same room. It's such a fun idea to build around.

[@zOOpygOOpert]

A good example of "Using all the Buffalo" is BattleBlock Theater

[@dbgr9875]

I remember watching a video on Cave Story, might have been from this channel, but I remember it showing how much level the game can get out of a single room, when you enter and leave it.

[@shoegazeagenda8106]

I’m surprised no one’s mentioned the Stone Tower Temple from Zelda Majora’s Mask. First you play through the whole dungeon normally until you get to the light arrows, then you go back outside of the dungeon to hit a switch that turns the entire dungeon upside down. The rest of the dungeon then consists of solving puzzles by flipping the dungeon back and forth to clear obstacles and reach the boss. It’s one of my favorite Zelda dungeons.

[@random66849]

I've been playing too much Yakuza lately so I'm going to mention how much I like the way a lot of the games take place in the same 1 or 2 areas, letting you see the landscape change as the years go on from game to game.

[@TheFakeMnim]

oh, yeah, that's a really cool move from the devs! good mention, mate!

[@santi3574]

"Recontextualization". That's the word you wanted~ Do I get a Snoman statue or something??

[@PinkieOats]

Please never stop talking about Mario rom hacks ♥ If that's all this channel was, I'd be thrilled but I'm glad you can still tie it into other games to help explore the topic of your videos!

[@PVS3]

One additional benefit to a player - reuse means I have fewer things to learn. Reskinned or repurposed challenges mean I start off with most of the knowledge I need. I don't need to figure out what that new asset is (Enemy? Tool? Background art?) Or how I interact with it.

[@Flatternschuchtern]

I paid for all the buffalo, so god dammit I'll be Using All The Buffalo!

[@gringomoderfoquer8287]

I thought 'using all the buffalo' would be about levels that use almost or every mechanic the game teaches, like the last level of some Mario games

[@rpgfan1187]

Someone already mentioned the Inverted Castle from Symphony of the Night, but that's one of the first examples that comes to mind with this trope (alongside the end of Braid).

[@FindingsOfAnArmouredMind]

Castlevania Curse Of Darkness for the Ps2 has that, I believe. You got a few creatures you bring with you known as "innocent devils". These are basically like pokemon that can aid you in battle. They can also unlock new skills, level up and evolve. Their evolutions, however, are varied. Picture them as Eevee-sort of evolutions, where the appearance and skills of your innocent devils will change according to the types and quantity of orbs you take. Where do you attain these orbs from? From the enemies you kill. However, the types of orbs they'll drop is also dependant on the type of weapon you're using. If you use a sword, enemies will drop red orbs, if you use an axe, they'll drop blue orbs, and so on, meaning that in order to unlock each and every evolution of your devils, you must use and learn how to use all of your weapon types (which are 5 in total: sword, axe, lance, knuckles and random), making thd combat more dynamic and interesting. These weapons, however, are not available from the get go. You can find these inside treasure chests, killing enemies, or through the ability of alchemy. The latter allows you to create your own weapons (which are around 60 in total!), but it's not as easy as it might seem. You're gonna need materials/elements, which can also be found on treasure chests, found inside hidden rooms, dropped by enemies when killed or stolen from them. This is another ability of yours, the ability to steal from enemies. There are weapons that need certain rare elements in order to be created and the only way to attain them is through the stealing ability. Now this skill isn't easy to perform, when battling enemies and using the lock-on, a green circle will appear on them. The only moment you can steal, however, is when the circle turns purple, but for that, their (the enemies') weak spots must be exposed and the seconds you have in order to perform the ability are little to none, not only that, but you cannot be too far from your enemies nor too near but just at the middle and just in front of them, and you also take the risk of being attacked by them if you fail (sometimes they exposed their weak spots when performing an attack). So as you can see, all of the mechanics in this game are cyclical and at the same time each and everyone of them complement each other. Castlevania CoD is such an underrated Castlevania 3D game everyone should try (I really spent 65 hrs in that game lol).

Technical players in Minecraft do this all the time. For example cauldrons were originally meant to be used for getting water bottles by clicking on them with an empty bottles and a few other things. But their property of giving out different power levels when measured with a comparator AND being movable by pistons made them usable as 2-bit numbers in a data tape. And chests for example are slightly smaller than a regular block, which people use in the corners of item transport systems with water, to let their center still be on one block (ice, to speed them up), but part of their hitbox on another block (hoppers, to let them be picked up if they match the filter). End rods are mainly a light source, but I use them in my base for their hitbox, because they can have many small gaps in between them when placed vertically, so that I CAN fall through in between them if I want to, but usually don't, because the gap is so small, and I can still reach what's below them. Boats are nowadays used almost as much in hell (Nether) as in the ocean, because they can get extremely fast when used on a very slippery ice variant, due to the way they accelerate. I also use iron trapdoors on top of that ice in my Nether tunnels, because their hitbox allows players to just barely jump between them and get the forwards boost you get from jumping, but then you land again very quickly and can jump-boost again. Even datapacks do this. For example shulker boxes can be used to get items into player inventories in a more controlled way, jukeboxes were used to hold arbitrary NBT data, certain Unicode characters are often retextured to entire UI elements and then arranged in creative ways to make them overlap, …

[@ninjanate2244]

I think another example of a game using all of the buffalo is "big tower tiny square" the game is kinda like super meat bot and you are this square who scales a tower to rescue your pineapple (and I don't know if this is just in the cool math game's version) but once you get to the top of the tower you have to come back down again the tower is exactly the same the time you went up

[@jonwallace6204]

Assault on the Control Room and Two Betrayals are two of my favorite levels in Halo. The addition of the flood and the banshees makes playing AOTCR backwards totally different.

[@JGeMcL]

My first experience with this concept that blew my mind was with Jet Force Gemini from N64. You play through a set of levels to reach the first ending and get the jet pack power up. Each level is pretty straight forward. Then you go back and replay all of the levels again multiple times with each hero to find new endings, secret levels, and minigames.

[@jamiemccreath3959]

Outside of game design this sounds a lot like "leitmotif" so I would go for that term (or dual-purpose / multi-purpose design from GMTK).

[@crispycoded2479]

My first and favorite NES game I when I was younger was called Air Fortress. In every fortress there is low gravity. So when you fire your weapon you get pushed backwards when in the air. It was really useful while traversing the fortresses.

[@Venuz117]

I like how the end is nigh used this game design trick in the last level. You are in the underground level ruin, on your first play through, it should take you around 30 minutes or so to beat it. But when you get to the end, (story stuff happens) and you have to beat that whole level completely backwards in 6 minutes. some screens of it have new opportunities for collectibles and ways through them. That bit of design was so genius and it fit so well that it made up for the final level being the exact same thing you just did.

[@Kindrindra]

If I recall correctly, Magic The Gathering designers refer to this as “lenticular design”, where something has different ‘appearances’ depending on how you look at it.

[@minishwalker]

I think minecraft does this pretty well also. Its pretty fun when you use the low light conditions in which mobs can spawn to your advantage to create a mob farm that is a lot more efficient that simply hunting the mobs for their loot. And the developers expect you to do it and even give you the tools you need to better automate the procces. Or when you use the condition that your bed will explode if you try to sleep in the nether to create essentially freee tnt blasts, It feels as if everything is designed with multiple interactions in mind.

[@SpartanXVII]

Didnt GMTK call this Dual Purpose Design years ago in his video about Downwell?

[@ottersaurus]

BOTW is literally just a game where you have to figure out how to use all the buffalo. The Buffalo in this case is the tools the game gives you, a lot of open-world games should be like this.

[@gentleOx156]

In my field (design, but not game design) we usually use the term 'holistic design' when referring to elements, which serves multiple functions and enhances the theme, aesthetics or core concept. I think it could apply here as well for some of the things mentioned in the video. Another comment suggests 'Recontextual design', which I think is very fitting as well - especially in regards to the last level in Braid

[@fiestakaharriva]

Hideki Kamiya uses this in his games to great ends. Halfway through all his games (Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, The Wonderful 101 etc) 1 or 2 levels towards the end of the game consist of recycling levels from previous stages but repurposing them tonally. In Devil May Cry 1, the entire world turns dark with ominous atmospheric themes while you essentially repeat the same rooms in different order or different puzzle goals (a spiral staircase is turned to an underwater timed event), and there's a boss which has an attack which obblies you to fight previous bosses if it grabs you in exchange of making it lose health if you succeed. The wonderful 101 basically obblies you to replay a theme park stage, but the whole stage is destroyed and invaded by aliens and previously gimmicky fun sections (like a ferris wheel or a water slide) are used as obstacles to build up the tension towards the boss. And I could go on an on about it honestly

[@treymon3135]

Great video as always! Another example that comes to mind for me is Super Luigi U, which is pretty much a redesigned harder Mario U using the same design elements and similar mechanics.

[@alexmammoth2916]

You used a shot from Doom Eternal so I figured you would mention the Meat Hook. On the surface it's used to get armor but it helps the player completely flip the area and traverse at fast speeds to give them time and location advantages. Especially in later game situations.

[@ElmntFire]

Some see it as rehashing content for length, but I feel that the repetition of time plays into this concept in Bravely Default. You learn subtle new hints at the true nature of your quest and the world every repetition and the payoff for completing them all really felt earned by the end.

[@thonk7611]

I love this idea. I think baba is you has really amazing showing of this design. The elements in the map screen really reuse the buffalo, as does booby trap, masterfully, and does the scenic pond levels

[@GameDesignThinking]

Hey! amazing video! A coworker today talk me about your video and I found the idea of using all the elements an amazing concept to always take into account, and it is always easier with a catchy name!

[@davidbrickey8733]

For an example of this, I'd like to point at Vision Soft Reset, a Metroidvania about time travel. At the end of the game the last challenge is to rewind time all the way to the beginning, then traverse almost the entire map in a route that's completely different from what you did when exploring it the first time to allow you to collect four items within your 20 minute time limit, using your last few movement upgrades to access shortcuts you previously couldn't interact with. The route isn't hand-fed to you, you have to figure it out yourself by noticing where those potential shortcuts are. And one of the last secrets in the game requires you to take an even longer and more convoluted version of that same route. The game has plenty of smaller examples too. There's a switch that activates power to the island, activating both platforms and extra hazards in every other area (with objectives which require both states). The weapon you get at the end of a certain area destroys all the doors in that level without solving their puzzles, which is vital when you later realize there's an item you can only get by racing through that area at top speed. There's a fancy door which is opened by solving a simple puzzle, but if you approach it from the back there's a secret you can only reach if the door is still closed. Those are just the ones which immediately jump to mind.

[@PJutch]

Slumbering Sanctuary in Dead Cells. You go through a blueish level woth a lot of fog makers to the switch that changes theme to more orange and energetic, spawns additional enemies including more dangerours ones and opens you the exit to wich you need to backtrack quite a lot

[@WhiteTigerShiro]

Untitled Goose Game is a decent example of this. The game has you traveling from location to location as you mess with the locals. Once you've completed the final area, you get to an area that's a small recreation of the village with a bell tower at the end. Upon acquiring the bell, you get a new objective to escape with the bell. You now have to backtrack through each zone, making sure to avoid the villagers so they can't reclaim the bell, and ultimately make your way back to the starting location to stash your prize. I'd say that having you retrace your steps through each area you just got done terrorizing, but now you're trying to avoid capture rather than just messing with everyone, is an example of using every piece of the buffalo.

[@woutmees]

First example I thought of was Pokémon Gold and Silver, where you can travel back to the Kanto region after beating the game.

[@Falkuzrules]

Isn't that exactly what he referred to when showing Tropical Freeze's DK Island levels and saying that's not what he means?

[@woutmees]

@@Falkuzrules I mean, I'm not exactly sure. I've never actually beaten Gold & Silver myself. I just know that it's a thing that happens. Does the Kanto region differ much from the one in Red & Blue? If it's not too different I'd say it counts.

[@Falkuzrules]

He's talking about going through the same level/area a second time but with a new perspective of it because of a change in the game, Kanto in GS is just a surprise nostalgia zone - before *everything* in new games was a nostalgia zone. (Also for your other question GS takes place two years after RB so there are several things that are different from the passing of time like Lavender Town being all cheery and boring.)

[@abbyamberhere]

Ori does this in a key way. The same enemies and obstacles that you encounter early in the game suddenly reveal a whole new side to them when you unlock Bash. Stuff you were previously only able to avoid suddenly become powerful platforming and puzzle solving tools, without actually changing anything about the enemies themselves.

[@tylerdulak9030]

Composer's Mario Maker music levels are the best example of this. Many times you're replaying through the same level 2-3 times but in a different way which creates a different song.

[@Lulink013]

I think the name you are looking for is elegance. Elegant design aims to give as much purpose (and depth) as possible with the smallest amount of added complexity (and variety) possible.

[@jakeburchill5623]

Halo 3 used this principal for the levels ‘The Storm’ and ‘Floodgate’. On the way to destroy an AA turret you fight the covenant but at the end of the mission the flood turn up and you have to backtrack the same level facing a different enemy, a very memorable moment for me

[@_infectedfury]

Use to have fun doing this on some games back when I was a level designer. Made many levels for De blob 2 with this sort of mentality. Most recent thing like this I've done would be a Mario maker 2 level where you go back through the level with many changes to it K6G-DPL-F56

[@rpgfan1187]

I'm not certain whether this completely fits the trope, but The Escher Labs from Dusk (2018) could be another example. In case you haven't heard of this overlooked indie FPS, Dusk is a throwback to classic FPS games like Quake and Blood but includes some downright fantastic level design concepts. My favorite is The Escher Labs, which starts out looking like a run-of-the-mill level until you press a switch part way through. You're then forced to backtrack through the same rooms you explored before, except they've all been distorted and inverted -- with staircases going in bizarre directions (like the works of M. C. Escher) and twisting hallways. This shift was impressive, and it was made all the more impactful on account of how standard the opening section of the map appeared. More games ought to have innovative levels like this.

[@rpgfan1187]

Yet another example (and I can't believe I forgot this) is the Stone Tower Temple from Majora's Mask. You end up using an item you obtain in this dungeon to flip it upside down and then traverse it in its inverted form.

[@CobaltCucco]

this is a great example

[@Jeffophone]

Just finished A Monster's Expedition, which does this super well with its "one" mechanic of pushing trees. I found myself continually surprised by the new ways it used that mechanic in different contexts.

[@rotellam]

Siege of Orgimmar in WoW is one of my favorite raids from a flavor standpoint because you basically raid through the capital city of the Horde, fighting its strongest heroes.

[@666blaziken]

Not sure about this being a "using all the buffalo trope" but the messenger is so good because it tricks you into thinking you're not back tracking when you are. You get all the power ups early, but the game doesn't have any obviously blocked paths, and by the time you realize they exist, you're already on your way to that path anyway.