PreMortem.Games

MARCH 13, 2024

Sound design, art direction, marketing, you name it. This isn’t a truly solo project, as I’ve had some contractors help out immensely in concept art, sound, and on the PR front.” It all started with wanting to tackle a small project that a programmer with limited art skills could tackle. And the biggest pitfalls?

Dev 127

Dev Prototyping Art Games 127

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

As an artist, I see games as works of art, not just as interactive entertainment. I sketch many times, not only my concept art but even game mechanics. It’s a new way to make art. “One of the biggest advantages is surely the freedom. It’s important to try many things that have never been done before.

Game Developer 136

Game Developer Game Development Dev Development 136

PreMortem.Games

MAY 27, 2024

Toronto, Canada based indie dev Thousand Stars Studio prides itself on being a culturally diverse studio. Art Director Sally Luc believes that every team member’s origin and unique perspective on the world help shape something that goes beyond solely what’s popular. Art Director Sally Luc then took the designs and added her own flavor.

Art 158

Art Studios Indy Content 158

Brand Game Development

JULY 14, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. But what about art? I don’t necessarily mean art as in pretty pictures, beautiful graphics, and appealing boxes. I’m talking about art for art’s sake. No, no, no.

Art 130

Art Dev Mechanics Game Developer 130

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

In this greyboxing phase I usually put a few people to play and observe if the results were positive and if the flow of the level worked as planned, and only then finish with the art.” For this, the more cartoonish art style of the world and characters seemed like a good option to achieve this result.” Beware of mutant scope.

Dev 162

Dev Advertising Internet Development 162

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 27, 2017

We’re picking up where we left off last week with How to Design the Mechanics of Your Board Game , so read that if you haven’t had the chance yet. Today, we’ll be focusing on testing game mechanics after you design them. A quick recap: game mechanics are how we bring the core engine of a game to life.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Games Balance Development 130

PreMortem.Games

AUGUST 9, 2023

I went through a Bachelor of Creative Arts, and then through Film School, all looking for bigger and better art forms. Painting or art I could work on everyday, but I felt it wasn’t broad enough. Is this mechanic fun? All advice for new game devs is to work on small projects, and make as many as you can.

Dev 104

Dev Art Concepts Film 104

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

Google “list of board game mechanics.” Find or make simple art for your game. Swap out any art that doesn’t reinforce the feeling you’re trying to evoke. Play the game with your first draft art and components. Attempt to fix issues you identified with art or components yesterday. Don’t overthink it!

Dev 130

Dev Writing Game Design Game Designer 130

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

I went through a Bachelor of Creative Arts, and then through Film School, all looking for bigger and better art forms. Painting or art I could work on everyday, but I felt it wasn’t broad enough. Is this mechanic fun? All advice for new game devs is to work on small projects, and make as many as you can.

Dev 104

Dev Art Concepts Film 104

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 15, 2023

This also meant we had less dev time to fix bugs or optimize performance. In the end we’d rather tone down some of our more ambitious features to get acceptable performance, and deliver a bug-free and polished release to our players.” “Ricky has his own unique art style that he brought into the process.”

Dev 117

Dev Development Prototyping Feature 117

PreMortem.Games

MARCH 11, 2024

Indie developer Chibig started in 2017 as a one-dev studio in Valencia, Spain. The name Chibig is a reflection of the cute Chibi art style which is used in all the games of the studio. We believe that this game has something special beyond the art and the flying mechanic, although that’s what really catches the eye.

Indy 104

Indy Mechanics Art Open World 104

Brand Game Development

JULY 28, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. This week, when trying to provide art directions to James, I remembered an additional pitfall that is an especially prescient and intense problem for self-publishers. The board art is nearly done.

Fighting 130

Fighting Dev Art Games 130

Brand Game Development

AUGUST 7, 2017

That, my friends, is the Art of the Play Test. ” Created traffic mechanic. 3: Nixed the traffic mechanic. Implemented construction mechanic. 4: Reduced board crowding and fiddliness of construction mechanic. A play test copy of my current project – Highways & Byways. 5: Added Vehicle Cards.

Art 130

Art Mechanics Game Developer Game Development 130

Ask a Game Dev

APRIL 29, 2024

intro, outro, key art, transitions, etc.) There's a lot to be gained from doing personal game dev work and posting it publicly, but you don't need to go all or nothing. Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ That's basically the rundown.

Communications 62

Communications Dev Mechanics Games 62

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 30, 2019

Experiment with a theme or mechanics you’ve never used. Buy some board game art, even if it’s just one piece. truly became alive when I got the first art from James Masino. You can read more about that in my article here: Setting Up Social Media as a Board Game Dev: A Primer Course. My first game, War Co.

Dev 130

Dev Prototyping Games Game Design 130

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 12, 2016

Much like theme vs. mechanics , separating people into gateway gamers and hardcore gamers is another persistent dichotomy in the board game community. Unlike theme and mechanics, though, I think this distinction is much more useful. You can make complex games based on simple mechanics like Patchwork.

Build 130

Build Mechanics Art Concepts 130

Brand Game Development

JULY 17, 2017

The following excerpt is from Games Speak through Mechanics, Not Rules (Dev Diary: 04/28/17). If you strip out all the mechanics that put obstacles in your players’ path, what’s left? The core engine is the bare minimum set of mechanics you need to have a functioning game. That’s a mechanic. Chess tells a story.

Communications 130

Communications Game Developer Game Development Development 130

Ask a Game Dev

OCTOBER 16, 2023

That boss already has all of its mechanics locked down, all of the art done, all of the voice over recorded, all of the features designed, and so on. A good rule of thumb is to assume we on the dev team are working two or three patches ahead of whatever you're currently seeing in game.

Content 52

Content Fighting Dev Mechanics 52

Astral Clock Tower Studios

NOVEMBER 9, 2021

Welcome back to another exciting issue of the Kristala Dev blog. Here's how it works: each month, we share all the progress every branch of development has made as they collectively work towards completing Kristala's vertical slice—from stunning concept art and 3D models to custom animations, level design, and everything in between.

Dev 52

Dev Concepts Animation Animation 52

Brand Game Development

MARCH 1, 2021

Product-market fit takes into account your game’s mechanics and play experience, its art, its price, its components, and a whole host of different factors that gamers look for – consciously or unconsciously – before they buy. Anything that might make a difference in your game’s marketability, you can share.

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Media Art Build 130

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 17, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Only after your game is functional and has a few mechanics and rules do I recommend bringing in play-testers. Early play-testing feels more like science than art. I’ve got Event Card art.

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Mechanics Games Art 130

Astral Clock Tower Studios

MAY 27, 2021

Welcome back to another exciting issue of the ever-enchanting Kristala dev blog! We'll be sure to keep you posted on all the sweet deets as we near our Patreon launch date, so be sure to stay tuned to our socials and public dev blogs for updates and announcements (including an exciting kick-off contest where you can snag a FREE PS5 ).

Dev 52

Dev Concepts Demo Animation 52

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

Games, at their core, might just be a series of mechanics and rules, but themes keep us from feeling like we’re playing out the logical conclusion of mathematical functions. Internal narrative includes theme, story, art, components, and even box design. The inner narrative should reinforce the game’s mechanics and rules.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Communications Art Game Developer 130

Brand Game Development

MAY 13, 2019

Everything can be scrapped at a moment’s notice – mechanics, rules, art, and even basic core concepts. You come up with basic ideas, find physical pieces to represent those ideas, and come up with game mechanics. Then you regulate the expression of those mechanics through rules. Art direction is complicated.

Game Developer 130

Game Developer Game Development Development Art 130

Astral Clock Tower Studios

AUGUST 5, 2020

Hello, and welcome back to another issue of the Kristala game dev blog! Stay tuned at the end of this dev blog to get a peek at all the progress we've made on Kristala in the last 12 months. But first, let's dive into what the dev team has been up to over the course of the last sprint. 3D Asset Design. Check it out! Programming.

Dev 52

Dev Clipping Texture Concepts 52

Astral Clock Tower Studios

APRIL 21, 2021

Welcome back to another magically entrancing issue of the Kristala dev blog. Concept Art. As part of our demo overhaul, we recently welcomed a few new team members into our motley crew in order to help us better establish the dark-fantasy vibe we're going for—including the newest member to our Concept Art team, Harold.

Dev 52

Dev Concepts Demo Texture 52

Brand Game Development

AUGUST 4, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. In the wee hours of the morning last Friday night, James Masino delivered the first serious draft of Highways & Byways board art. James Masino delivered board art. I have play-testing on the brain.

Simulation 130

Simulation Point and Click Communications Dev 130

Astral Clock Tower Studios

JUNE 29, 2021

Thanks for tuning in to another exciting issue of the Kristala dev blog! Concept Art. Wanna know more about this baddies and get a glimpse behind our art process? Stay tuned for details on how you can get monthly comprehensive and even more detailed issues of the Kristala dev blog for just $1 a month!

Dev 52

Dev Demo Concepts Prop 52

Astral Clock Tower Studios

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

We're so happy you're joining us for another epically magical installment of the Kristala Dev Blog! This is the place where we break down all aspects of development for 3D Dark Fantasy ARPG Kristala—an indie game in developed by the wildly talented dev team behind women-owned indie games studio, Astral Clocktower Studios. Concept Art.

Dev 52

Dev Animation Animation Concepts 52

DameDev.tv

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

Industry veterans Rick Davidson & Tim Ruswick* are joined by Yasmin Curren, to play Cult Of The Lamb and discuss the gameplay mechanics and features of the game and what it means to be a technical designer. Does Art Influence The Success Of A Game (1:10:54 - 1:11:42) Aesthetics plays a big part in the success of a game.

Media 52

Media Art Dev Game Design 52

Astral Clock Tower Studios

JULY 6, 2020

Welcome back to the Kristala dev blog! We know we've promised you bi-weekly dev blogs, but in truth, there's been a lot happening lately here at ACS headquarters. We know we've promised you bi-weekly dev blogs, but in truth, there's been a lot happening lately here at ACS headquarters. We're happy you're here. We promise. ;).

Dev 52

Dev Rigging Texture Animation 52

Astral Clock Tower Studios

JULY 31, 2021

Hello, and welcome to the official Kristala dev blog, where we break down the development process for 3D Dark Fantasy ARPG Kristala each month. If you've been keeping up with our dev blogs already, you know that they're pretty hefty when it comes to content. Concept Art. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Kristala at Play NYC 2021.

Dev 52

Dev Demo Concepts Animation 52

Astral Clock Tower Studios

AUGUST 31, 2021

That's why we were super excited when we learned that this year's fifth-annual Play NYC convention would be held in person (with tons of awesome precautions in place to ensure all devs, speakers, and attendees were kept safe and healthy). link] Concept Art. We can't wait to go back again next year! Check it out! 3D Modeling.

Dev 52

Dev Demo Concepts Animation 52

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 18, 2017

It is true that games speak to players through gameplay – the core engine, mechanics, and rules. However, when people think of storytelling in games, they think of theme, story, art, components, and even box design. ” I’ll see a piece of art or hear an ancient myth and – boom – I’m inspired.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Art Games Puzzle 130

PreMortem.Games

JANUARY 19, 2024

Press B to express Doubt’, for example, is a classic case of mismatch between gameplay scenario and mechanical input. That’s where Script Compass comes in.” “But there is also a wider significance to the hand-crafted art style.” Using natural language and free-text input would clearly be a significant improvement.

AI 127

AI First person Puzzle Scripting 127

Grid Sage Games

DECEMBER 22, 2023

In previous years I’ve opened the review with a collage of dev images of varying themes and content, but approaching the end of this year we have one major theme that stands out, and that I’ll be writing more about below, so let’s hear it for the interface mockups! The first three years there are Alpha, followed by Beta.

Beta 105

Beta Alpha Mechanics Build 105

Brand Game Development

JUNE 5, 2017

Prior to becoming a game developer, I was an art thief. I pawned off all my art under a fake name at several pawn shops in a different state each time. I used the funds to pay James Masino to draw the art for War Co. I used the funds to pay James Masino to draw the art for War Co. Key Takeaways for Game Devs.

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Games Art Mechanics 130