Sleeping Dogs: Atmosphere in Game Design

What do we mean when we say a game has a good atmosphere? What does it mean to be atmospheric? And how does that answer help teach us good game design? Let’s look at a strong example of a game with a “good atmosphere“ and see where the answers take us. Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 7:09 - The Aesthetics 16:55 - The Overworld 24:22 - The Gameplay 31:30 - The Polish 37:47 - The Takeaway Resources: Barry Kramer’s Video Essay on Immersion: Greg Kasavin’s GDC talk: Sakurai’s Hit Stop Video: As well, shoutout to MrHammers’ video on atmosphere, it was the only above-average video essay on video game atmosphere I could find (and the way I found out about Kasavin’s GDC talk): Academic cited & consulted works: Collins, Karen (2013): Playing with Sound. A