KEKE STUDIO BLOG
Long reads on video game history, genres, AAA games and the classics that shaped how we play — written by an indie studio that makes games.
How game controllers evolved from paddles and joysticks to the D-pad, analog sticks and rumble, the Wii Remote, touchscreens, haptic feedback, and adaptive triggers.
How mahjong emerged in late-Qing China and spread to the West and Japan, the 136- and 144-tile sets, the four-melds-and-a-pair winning hand, regional variants, and computer mahjong.
How virtual pet games grew from Bandai's 1996 Tamagotchi through Digital Monster, Nintendogs, and My Talking Tom, and how the genre is designed around time, care loops, and attachment.
How hidden object games grew from busy picture books into Mystery Case Files, June's Journey, and Hidden Folks, why the genre is fun, and tips for finding things faster.
From Shinji Mikami's 1996 original to RE4's camera shift, RE7's first-person view and the RE Engine, the remakes, 2026's Requiem, and the films: the Resident Evil story.
How Taito's 1978 Space Invaders was made, why the aliens speed up as they thin out, bunkers and the UFO, Japan's Invader boom, the Atari 2600 port, sequels, and ways to play it today.
How Klaus Teuber created Catan in 1995, its Spiel des Jahres win, the core rules of hex tiles, dice, trading and the robber, expansions, two-player and card versions, digital editions, and its worldwide spread.
How Sonic the Hedgehog began on the Mega Drive in 1991, its speed-first design, the 16-bit console war, the ups and downs of 3D, life after Sega's hardware exit, and recent games and films.
Why the North American video game market collapsed in 1983, how E.T. and the Atari 2600 Pac-Man became its symbols, how Japan differed, and how the NES and Nintendo's quality controls revived the market.
From Zero Wing's "All your base are belong to us" to renamed Pokémon, StarCraft's Korean text problem, dubbing, QA, and fan translation patches, a look at the history and methods of game localization.
How German-style board games (Eurogames) spread worldwide after Catan in 1995, plus the Spiel des Jahres award, Eurogames vs. Ameritrash, crowdfunding, and digital board games.
How Nintendo went from a Kyoto hanafuda card maker founded in 1889 to toys, Game & Watch, the Famicom, the DS and Wii, and the Switch, told through the company's choices and design philosophy.
Adventure games explained: core appeal, subgenres from text adventures to walking sims, and classics from Colossal Cave Adventure to The Walking Dead.
How Dungeons & Dragons, born on a tabletop in 1974, created the tabletop RPG and shaped video game RPGs from MUD to Baldur's Gate 3.
How Nintendo's Game Boy was born in 1989, beat its color rivals and, together with the Game Boy Color, sold 118.69 million units, told through Gunpei Yokoi's philosophy and its key games.
A guide to classifying games by six criteria (platform, camera perspective, player count, business model, genre, and age rating), with a summary table comparing the main categories under each one.
Horror games explained: why fear is fun, subgenres from survival and psychological horror to jump scares, and a history from Sweet Home to indie hits.
The principles and history of procedural generation, where rules and random numbers rather than people build game maps and items, told through Rogue, Elite, Minecraft, No Man's Sky and the Wave Function Collapse algorithm.
Racing games explained: the thrill of speed, arcade, sim, kart, anti-gravity, and open-world types, and history from Gran Trak 10 to Forza Horizon.
Rhythm games explained: hitting the beat, key, dance, instrument, touch, and VR types, and history from PaRappa the Rapper to DDR and Beat Saber.
The simulation genre explained, from management and city-building to life, vehicle, and sports management sims, with classics like SimCity and The Sims.
Sports games explained: subgenres like simulation, arcade, and management, and a history from Tennis for Two and Pong to FIFA, PES, and Wii Sports.
The definition and appeal of survival crafting games, where you start empty-handed and hold out by gathering resources and making tools, plus subcategories such as sandbox, multiplayer, and story-driven, and a history running from UnReal World to Minecraft, DayZ, and Palworld.
How do AAA and indie games differ? We compare team size, funding, creative approach, and distribution, plus indie hits and the AA games in between.
What action RPGs and hack and slash games really are, where they came from, their subgenres, landmark titles, and key design points.
The story behind Innersloth's Among Us, how Crewmates and Impostors play, why it exploded in 2020, its 3D and animated spin-offs, and how to play it today.
How Rovio's Angry Birds was born, how its slingshot physics puzzles work, why it's a classic, the sequels and films it spawned, and how to play it today.
How Nintendo's Animal Crossing began, its real-time clock gameplay, the evolution of each entry, New Horizons' records, and how to play the series today.
The arcade golden age from Space Invaders in 1978, Pac-Man and Donkey Kong's character games, the post-1983 decline, and Street Fighter II's revival.
Go's history from China to Korea and Japan, its basic rules, the 2016 AlphaGo vs Lee Sedol match, and how the game has changed in the age of AI.
What battle royale games are, where the name comes from, and how the genre grew from Minecraft and Arma mods into PUBG, Fortnite, and Apex Legends.
Ten classic defense games that shaped and expanded the tower defense genre, in release order, with the new idea each one added, based on verified facts.
Ten space and sci-fi games that left a big mark on gaming history, in release order, with what each one introduced, based on verified facts.
How the Call of Duty series began, the multiplayer rules Modern Warfare changed, how the series evolved, and which entries you can play in 2026.
How King's 2012 hit Candy Crush Saga came about, its match-3 rules and "Saga" structure, why it's a classic, its sequels, and how to play it today.
Chess history from India's chaturanga through Persia, the Islamic world, and Europe, plus the basic rules and computer chess from Deep Blue to AlphaZero.
City builders and management sims explained: core appeal, subgenres from tycoon to survival, and classics from SimCity to Cities: Skylines and Frostpunk.
How Supercell's Clash of Clans was made, its village, attack, and Clan War rules, why it's a classic, its spin-offs, and how to play it today.
How cloud gaming works, why OnLive, Gaikai, and Google Stadia stumbled, how Xbox Cloud Gaming and GeForce Now survive, and why latency matters.
Console generations from the Magnavox Odyssey to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2, tracing cartridges, CDs, online play, motion control, and SSDs.
Devsisters' Cookie Run series, from OvenBreak and Cookie Run for Kakao to OvenBreak and Kingdom: origins, gameplay, why it's loved, and how to play.
Nexon's Crazy Arcade BnB from 2001: its origins, water balloon battles, why it's a classic, the KartRider series it spawned, and its 2026 shutdown.
The Dark Souls series: its origins, bonfire and soul-recovery gameplay, why it's a classic, its impact on the Soulslike genre, and how to play today.
What card and deckbuilding games are, how TCGs, deckbuilders, and roguelike deckbuilders differ, plus key titles from Magic to Slay the Spire and Balatro.
From the 1997 original to Diablo IV: the origins of Blizzard's Diablo series, how it plays, why it's a classic, and how to play the series today.
Flow theory, dynamic difficulty, assist modes, and the cost of failure: game difficulty design principles from an indie studio, with famous examples.
Released as shareware by id Software in 1993, Doom launched the FPS, deathmatch, and modding. Its origins, gameplay, series, and how to play today.
How Dragon Quest was born, its easy-to-play RPG design, why it became Japan's national game, and how to play it today, including the HD-2D remakes.
The origins of Neople's 2005 Dungeon & Fighter, its command-input and combo gameplay, why it's a classic, its success in China, and its impact on mobile.
Elden Ring's origins, open world and combat, why it's a classic, expansions like Shadow of the Erdtree and Nightreign, and how to play it today.
From the 1972 Spacewar! contest to Korea's StarLeague, the Gwangalli finals, LoL Worlds, and Asian Games medals, we trace the path esports has taken.
From 1970s boxing games and Karate Champ to Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Smash Bros., and Street Fighter 6: fighting game history and design.
The origins of Final Fantasy and its name, ATB and job systems, why it's a classic, and how to play it today, from Pixel Remaster to the latest games.
Fortnite's 2017 origins at Epic Games, how its battle royale plays, why it became so popular, the many modes it offers today, and how to start playing.
The history and design of first-person shooters, from Maze War and Battlezone through Doom and Half-Life to Overwatch, PUBG and Valorant.
How games make money, from boxed sales and subscriptions to free-to-play, ads and battle passes—plus the pros, cons and loot box regulations.
Collectible RPGs and gacha explained: origins, pity and rate-up systems, landmark titles, Korea's odds disclosure law, global regulation, and design tips.
Barriers disabled players face, the Xbox Adaptive Controller, The Last of Us Part II's options, Celeste's Assist Mode, and the laws and guidelines.
From komi in Go, first-move advantage in chess, and StarCraft's three races to rock-paper-scissors design and buffs and nerfs, game balance explained.
How a one-line idea becomes a real game, step by step: planning, prototyping, production, alpha and beta testing, release review, and post-launch updates.
Faucets and sinks, inflation, EVE Online's economist, Diablo III's auction house, and dual currencies: game economy basics with real examples.
How game engines emerged and evolved, from id Tech behind Doom and Quake to Unreal Engine, Unity and open-source Godot, with key dates along the way.
Definitions, origins, landmark titles and subgenres of the major game genres—action, RPG, strategy, puzzle, simulation, adventure and roguelike.
How game graphics evolved, from vector displays and pixel art to 3D polygons, GPUs and shaders, PBR, ray tracing and AI upscaling.
The journey of game music, from 8-bit tunes on a few sound channels to CD audio, adaptive interactive scores and its own Grammy category.
How Korea's GRAC, North America's ESRB, Europe's PEGI, and Japan's CERO age ratings began, what they judge, and how they're changing in the digital age.
From Space Invaders' quickening beat and Koji Kondo's Mario music to Silent Hill's static, Dead Space, and Journey: the principles of game sound design.
How watching others play became an industry: Let's Plays, AfreecaTV, Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Korea's shift to CHZZK and SOOP after Twitch left.
HUD types, Dead Space's on-body health bar, Red Dead Redemption 2's contextual HUD, Fitts's law, and mobile touch design: the basics of game UI/UX.
The Oregon Trail, the 1980s edutainment boom, Minecraft Education, Discovery Tour, and Foldit's science: how games and education have met over the years.
Genshin Impact's origins, elemental reactions and party-swap combat, free-to-play gacha, why it's acclaimed and criticized, and how to play it today.
From 1910s mini golf to early Atari and Nintendo golf, Everybody's Golf and Wii Sports, and physics puzzle golf like Desert Golfing and What the Golf?
The Grand Theft Auto series explained: its origins, gameplay, influence on open-world games, and how to play GTA V and the Trilogy today.
From Valve's 1998 debut Half-Life to Half-Life 2 and the VR game Half-Life: Alyx: origins, gameplay, why it's a classic, and how to play it today.
How Team Cherry made Hollow Knight, its Metroidvania exploration of Hallownest, why it's a classic, the sequel Silksong, and how to play it today.
How Portuguese cards became Japanese hanafuda and then Korean Hwatu, plus the 48-card deck, basic Go-Stop rules, and scoring, explained factually.
Idle RPGs grow your character while you're away. Origins in Progress Quest and Cookie Clicker, subgenres, key titles, and design points like prestige.
From bedroom coders and shareware to Steam, console stores, and crowdfunding: a history of indie games and what successful indie hits have in common.
Where janggi came from, its link to xiangqi, how each piece moves, palace rules and bikjang, basic strategy, and digital janggi today.
How the jigsaw puzzle went from a 1760s London map lesson to a Depression-era craze, die-cut mass production, and digital apps, plus tips to solve faster.
JRPGs, led by Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy: turn-based battles, fixed heroes, dramatic stories, how they differ from Western RPGs, and key titles.
The story of Nexon's 2004 Crazyracing KartRider, its drift and item-race gameplay, why it's a classic, and the Rush+ and Drift sequels that followed.
Nexon's 1996 The Kingdom of the Winds — its origins, Goguryeo-set gameplay, why it's a classic, its influence on Lineage, and how to play it today.
How Ironhide Game Studio created Kingdom Rush, its four-tower-and-hero gameplay, why it's a classic, the series that followed, and how to play it today.
Thirty years of Korean games, from The Kingdom of the Winds and Lineage to StarCraft PC bangs, esports, free-to-play, mobile, PUBG, and console hits.
From Super Mario 64 to Baldur's Gate 3: 15 landmark games that shaped 3D, open worlds, online play, and cinematic storytelling, with years and studios.
Riot Games' 2009 League of Legends: its origins, 5v5 gameplay, why it's a classic, Worlds and Arcane, and how to start playing today.
The basics of level design, from teaching order and wayfinding to pacing and playtesting, explained via Super Mario Bros. 1-1, Half-Life 2, and Portal.
The story of NCSoft's 1998 Lineage, its blood pledge and castle siege gameplay, why it's a classic, and the Lineage II, M, and W series that followed.
How Nexon's MapleStory began in 2003, its side-scrolling combat and Cash Shop model, why it's a classic, and the MapleStory 2 and M series that followed.
What "Metroidvania" means, how Metroid, Super Metroid, and Symphony of the Night built the formula, and how indies like Hollow Knight revived the genre.
How Minecraft, started solo by Markus Persson, came to be, how it's played, and why it's still loved today, from its alpha to the best-selling game ever.
MMORPGs, where thousands hunt, fight, and trade in one world: MUD origins, tanks, healers, raids, sieges, key titles, business models, and design points.
What MOBA and AOS mean and how the genre grew from the StarCraft map Aeon of Strife to DotA, League of Legends, Dota 2, and mobile, plus key design traits.
How mobile games went from Nokia's Snake and feature phones to the App Store, Angry Birds, free-to-play, Pokémon GO, and hyper-casual to lead gaming.
The history of modding, where players rework games into new ones: hacker roots, Doom WADs, Counter-Strike, Dota, battle royale, Auto Chess, paid mods.
How ustwo games made Monument Valley, its optical illusion and impossible-geometry puzzles, why it's a classic, its sequels and influence, and how to play.
The history and design of open-world games, from Elite and The Legend of Zelda to GTA III, The Elder Scrolls, Breath of the Wild, and Elden Ring.
How Blizzard's Overwatch rose from a canceled project, its hero, role, and objective gameplay, its awards, and its path through Overwatch 2 to today.
Pac-Man, the pizza-inspired yellow hero: the origins of Namco's 1980 maze game, the four ghosts' rules, why it's a classic, and how to play it.
What party games are, what makes a good one, subgenres from board-style to social deduction, and key titles from Mario Party to Jackbox and Among Us.
How PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies was born, its sun and lane-defense rules, why it's a classic, its sequels and 2025 remaster, and how to play it today.
Platformers explained: core appeal, subgenres from 2D and 3D to runners, and key titles from Donkey Kong to Super Mario, Sonic, Celeste, and Astro Bot.
Bartle's player types, self-determination theory, Skinner boxes, variable rewards, and Monster Hunter's loop: how games hold players, and the responsibility.
How the Pokémon games began on Game Boy in 1996, how catching, trading and battling work, why the series is a classic, and how to play it today.
The origins of Niantic's Pokémon GO, how it uses GPS and AR, why it's considered a classic, its social impact, and how to enjoy it today.
The origins of Portal (2007) and Portal 2 (2011), how the portal gun puzzles work, why they're classics, their influence, and how to play them today.
How PUBG grew from a mod into the game that popularized battle royale, how a match plays out, its records, and how to play it today.
From Sokoban, Tetris, Lemmings and Minesweeper to Bejeweled, match-3, Portal and The Witness: how puzzle games evolved through logic and physics puzzles.
The origins, gameplay, and legacy of Rockstar's Western series, from Red Dead Revolver to Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2, plus how to play it today.
What retro games are, collecting culture born in 1990s fanzines, grading and million-dollar auctions, mini consoles, FPGA devices, and preservation.
What roguelikes and roguelites are, how they differ, and how the genre grew from 1980's Rogue to NetHack, Mystery Dungeon, Spelunky and Hades.
How RPGs evolved from Dungeons & Dragons through Ultima, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Diablo and World of Warcraft, plus the genre's core design traits.
What kinds of RPGs are there? JRPG, WRPG, action, MMORPG, gacha, idle, tactics, soulslike, roguelike, and survivors-like compared, plus how to choose.
What sandbox games are, how they differ from open worlds, subgenres like survival, creative, and physics, and key titles from Elite to Minecraft and Roblox.
Shoot 'em ups explained: what defines them, subgenres from fixed shooters to bullet hell and survivors-likes, and classics from Space Invaders to Touhou.
Skyrim's origins, free-form leveling and dragon Shouts, why it's a classic, its expansions, re-releases, and modding culture, and how to play it today.
High difficulty, learning through death, bonfire checkpoints, wordless storytelling. The Soulslike genre's definition, origins, key games, and design.
How did speedrunning begin? Doom and Quake demos, the rise of TAS, Speedrun.com and Twitch, GDQ charity marathons, and Super Mario Bros. records.
From kids' magazine hidden pictures, Where's Wally?, and bar touchscreens to mobile apps: the history of seek puzzles, why we miss differences, and tips.
How Blizzard's 1998 StarCraft came to be, how its three races play, its impact on Korea's pro leagues, and how you can play it today.
How Eric Barone made Stardew Valley alone, how its seasons, farming, and town life play, its sales and genre impact, and how to enjoy it today.
Strategy games explained: RTS, turn-based, 4X, tactics, and grand strategy, with key games from Dune II and Civilization to StarCraft and Age of Empires.
From the 1987 original and the Street Fighter II craze to Street Fighter 6: the series' origins, gameplay, why it's a classic, and how to play it today.
The origins of Com2uS's Summoners War: Sky Arena (2014), its summoning and rune gameplay, why it's a classic, its follow-ups, and how to play today.
How Shigeru Miyamoto's Super Mario Bros. came to be, how it plays, why it's a classic, its sequels and influence, and how to play it today.
Auto-attacks, swarming enemies, and upgrades at every level-up. The origins, key games, addictive appeal, and design of the Vampire Survivors-like genre.
Tactics RPGs (SRPGs) move units square by square on a grid. Origins, key games from Fire Emblem and Tactics Ogre to XCOM, and design points.
How Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris, how it plays, why it's a classic, its sequels and influence, and the best ways to play it today.
The origins of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us (2013), its stealth and crafting gameplay, why it's a classic, Part II, the HBO series, and how to play.
Nintendo's Legend of Zelda series, which began on the Disk System in 1986: its origins, how it plays, why it's a classic, and how to play it today.
How Will Wright's The Sims began, how it plays, why it's a classic, how it evolved through The Sims 2, 3, and 4, and how to play the series today.
The origins of The Witcher 3 (2015), its combat and quests, why it's a classic, its two expansions, remaster and sequel news, and how to play it today.
Tower defense history from Rampart and StarCraft custom maps to Plants vs. Zombies, Kingdom Rush, and Bloons TD, plus how paths, upgrades, and waves work.
From Super Mario Bros. World 1-1, Half-Life, and Mega Man X to Zelda's fairy companions and Undertale: how game tutorials teach well without boring.
Seventy years of video games, from Tennis for Two and Spacewar! to Pong, the arcade golden age, the 1983 crash, the NES, 3D, online, mobile, and indies.
Visual novels explained: their appeal, subgenres like sound and kinetic novels, and classics from The Portopia Serial Murder Case to Ace Attorney and DDLC.
From the 1960s Sensorama and Sword of Damocles to Virtuality arcades, the Virtual Boy, Oculus Rift's Kickstarter, the Quest, and Half-Life: Alyx.
What "AAA game" means, where the term came from, how big publishers make them, budgets and team sizes, terms like AA and AAAA, and rising costs.
How Blizzard's 2004 World of Warcraft came to be, how it plays, why it's a classic, and how to play today, from expansions to Classic servers.