Wireframe Magazine

Wireframe looks at how games are made and who makes them, and even guides you through making your own.

Voice acting? For crying out loud

WELCOME

WONDER FULL • Teen angst is replaced by mid-30s crises (and supernatural goings-on) in Oxenfree II

THE NETFLIX QUESTION

FAMILY TIES

Sea of shadows • How a fine artist and a former research scientist are making Sil t: one of the most beautiful adventure games of 2022

SHADOWLAND

2D OR NOT 2D

Octo-Ninja Hachimaru • Developer Aisosa Ugiagbe tells us about his 3D action-platformer demo, and his plans to turn it into a full release

REPRESENTATION MATTERS

And the beat goes on • Pacing to a rhythmic pace in Backbeat

PREVIOUSLY…

That was the month that was

Post Apocalypse • The looming threat of NFTs in gaming, and your favourite arcade memories. It’s this month’s letters…

Shortcuts • To complement this month’s duo of coin-op-related features (see pages 28 and 38) we asked our loyal readers on Twitter: what’s your favourite arcade game and why?

Incoming

ARCADE PERFECT • Three seasoned experts tell us about the highs and lows of running an amusement arcade in the 21st century

MOST WANTED • Which classic arcade machines of yesteryear are the most requested by visitors?

GAME OVER • Which arcade games are the most error-prone, no matter how much TLC they get?

BEST OF THE BEST

HI SCORE • Do expert players ever show up to put on a masterclass for those of us who still struggle to get past level 4 of R-Type, even if we have endless credits?

Trying to get back into the groove

Silt

ARCADE ONLY • Our rundown of the games that could only be fully enjoyed in their natural habitat: the dingy, noisy amusement arcade

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

The principles of game design • Video games overtook cinema in terms of revenue years ago. So why do games often look to the movies for inspiration?

Building a town fit for an RPG • Want to design a city or town worthy of The Witcher 3 or World of Warcraft? Konstantinos has the blueprint – and the pitfalls to avoid

Make your own retro platformer • Code your homage to Rainbow Islands in Python — a vertical scrolling platformer where enemies meet incredibly colourful deaths

Breaking the Lore • This month, an award-winning writer lays out how concentrated hits of lore can elevate an entire game

Essential data for Kickstarter success • Launching a Kickstarter campaign requires planning and a fair bit of analysis. Rob has some handy stats to get you started

How we remastered War Robots • How do you update a mobile PvP shooter to PC? Russian developer Pixonic lays out its process

Code your own landscape engine • Recreate The Lords of Midnight’s pioneering graphics technique

Loads of Midnight • Here’s Mark’s code, which will draw verdant landscapes wherever you look. To get it working on your system, you’ll first need to install Pygame Zero. Full instructions can be found at wfmag.cc/pgzero.

Octo-Ninja Hachimaru

BLAZING SADDLES • A quarter of cowboys were African American, meaning the wild west and black history are profoundly intertwined. So why are western genre games so whitewashed?

THE RANGER

THE GUNSLINGER

THE NUN

THE GANG

CUSTER

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Interactive / Grapple Dog • Joseph Gribbin talks us through the two-and-a-half-year process of making his canine action-platformer

DON’T QUIT THE DAY JOB

Online Diary GITTIN ’ GUD • Being on the bleeding edge of online gaming is hard: it’s Halo Infinite

Halo help

SONIC’S AMATEUR HOUR • With Sega’s handling of...