Audio & Music
Audio Occlusion
The way sounds get muffled, filtered, and changed when walls, doors, or objects stand between you and the source.
Iconic Games
Mario Kart DS
Portable Mario Kart stopped being a compromise and became one of the series' defining peaks.
Genres
Puzzle Platformer
Jumping with your legs is easy. Jumping with your brain is the real ask.
Esports
Map Pool Dynamics
The strategic chess match of map bans, picks, and pocket maps that happens before a single round is played.
Psychology
The Peltzman Effect
Give players a safety net and they will play recklessly enough to need it -- safety features do not reduce risk, they redistribute it.
Based on infomaxxxing codebase