Explanation of recreating the classic snake game for QBasic called Nibbles in MonoGame.
Steps: Moving blocks. Add snake body. Limit snake length. Adding collectibles. Adding levels, Game States. Sound Effects. Title Screen, Options, Pause.

Links

• Demo source code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/snake_game
• Snake game genre – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_(video_game_genre)
• Blockade – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZJUoQBb8I8
• Nibbles QBasic – https://archive.org/details/NibblesQbasic
• IBM font – https://int10h.org/oldschool-pc-fonts/fontlist/font?ibm_vga_9x16
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

Snake Game - Knox Game Design, February 2026

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds

00:00 / 36:25

Design and implementation of a turn based real estate game in twelve steps using MonoGame and C#.

• Source code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/real_estate
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

Real Estate Game - Knox Game Design, December 2025

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds

00:00 / 58:25

Demo of using hinge joints in unity for doors and pinball flippers.

Links and Notes

• Source code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/hinge_joint
• Joints in Unity – https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.2/Documentation/Manual/Joints.html
• Hinge Joint component in Unity – https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/class-HingeJoint.html
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

Hinge Joints - Knox Game Design, November 2025

Play Episode


Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode


Rewind 10 Seconds

1x

Fast Forward 30 seconds

00:00
/

18:49

Overview and implementation of a 3×3 puzzle cube game using Blender, Unity, and C# code.

Links and Notes

• Source code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/3x3_puzzle_cube/3x3PuzzleCube
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

3x3 Puzzle Cube - Knox Game Design, October 2025

Play Episode


Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode


Rewind 10 Seconds

1x

Fast Forward 30 seconds

00:00
/

23:38

Overview of ten special weapons for a 2D platformer game, along with demos in MonoGame with explanation of C# code. The weapons covered are normal (buster), eight way, freeze, wave, boomerang, tornado, charge, orbit shield, roller, exploder.

Links and Notes

• Source code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/special_weapons
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

Special Weapons - Knox Game Design, September 2025

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds

00:00 / 43:23

Examples of the various types of gates used in the design of games.

Links and Notes

• The Level Design Book – https://book.leveldesignbook.com/process/layout/typology/gates
• What Games Are – https://www.whatgamesare.com/gating.html
• Mapcore – https://www.mapcore.org/topic/20013-player-gating-in-level-design/
• Gating in level design – https://shaunspalding.co.uk/gating-in-level-design/
• Technical Game Design – https://technicalgamedesign.blogspot.com/2011/04/gating.html
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

Gating - Knox Game Design, August 2025

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds

00:00 / 19:44

Design and implementation steps for creating a pellet eating maze game in MonoGame with C#.

Source code – https://github.com/levidsmith/KnoxGameDesign/tree/master/pellet_eating

Links and Notes

• MonoGame – https://monogame.net/
• Visual Studio – https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/
• Ghost behaviors – https://pacman.fandom.com/wiki/Maze_Ghost_AI_Behaviors
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

Pellet Eating Maze Game - Knox Game Design, July 2025

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds

00:00 / 44:59

Two demos for using the Gimp Perspective Tool to create textures from photos. The textures are then applied to a mesh in Blender which is exported into an FBX model. The model is then imported into Unity which can be used in a game.

Links and Notes

• Gimp – https://www.gimp.org/
• Blender – https://www.blender.org/
• Unity – https://unity.com/
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

Perspective Tool for Textures - Knox Game Design, June 2025

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds

00:00 / 29:15

Explanation of three methods for capturing screenshots for your game. 1. Print Screen key 2. Snipping tool 3. OBS with VLC (VideoLAN). How to use Gimp to crop and scale a screenshot image to the desired size.

Links and Notes

• Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) – https://obsproject.com/
• VideoLAN, VLC media player – https://www.videolan.org/
• Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program) – https://www.gimp.org/
• Podcast theme music – Ride by Pocketmaster

Knox Game Design

Screenshots - Knox Game Design, May 2025

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds

00:00 / 14:33