Keith Burgun

JANUARY 4, 2023

For month after month, I tried fixing them with different supporting mechanisms, different ways that cards were obtained, different ways damage was dealt, and a lot more, but nothing really fixed the fundamental problem. Let me quickly explain how the game worked in broad strokes, and then I can explain the main problem.

Mechanics 52

Mechanics Game Design Game Designer Playtesting 52

Radiator Blog

MARCH 16, 2023

I assumed it was mostly for fans but after watching all 32 episodes (on 2x speed, skipping some parts) I've changed my mind and now I think it's essential viewing for all game designers / devs. Each level also had unique mechanics and art styles that all tied into a cohesive whole.

Art 59

Art Concepts Dev Studios 59

iXie gaming

MAY 24, 2023

AI-driven tools generate dynamic content, adapt game mechanics, and customize aesthetics, resulting in more engaging gameplay and new storytelling possibilities. Predicting the outcomes of complicated gaming systems is one area where AI is having a significant effect.

AI 52

AI Art Simulation Games 52

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 20, 2017

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the third of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? Game mechanics are how we bring the core engine of a game to life.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Games Game Design Game Designer 130

iXie gaming

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

With many games available today, gamers won’t hesitate to switch to a different game. But how can generative AI help in-game conceptualization and design? Generative AI tools can help game designers in different ways. This streamlines the early game development stages.

AI 52

AI Content Data Games 52

Grid Sage Games

MAY 8, 2022

Recently a player asked me a question regarding my game balance philosophy, and while I can often respond to queries by pointing to some previous article, despite all my writing and no doubt occasionally touching on related topics, I had yet to explicitly do any sort of summary of the philosophy behind my gamedev work. Difficulty.

Game Design 52

Game Design Game Designer Balance Games 52

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 23, 2017

Sarah: It was summer of 2012 that Will had the idea to make a board game for my birthday, but didn’t know how to go about it. We started designing games together. Early in 2013, our local game store owner mentioned that there were other designers in the area. Brandon: How I imagine teams as a solo dev.

Prototyping 130

Prototyping Playtesting Games Game Design 130

Game Dev Unchained

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

I sat down with John Krajewski , the man behind the unique and forward-thinking game, Eco. The conversation shifted from the nuances of game development to the larger, looming concept of the “metaverse.” But, beyond gameplay mechanics, Eco speaks to a much larger industry trend: the emergence of the metaverse.

Indy 105

Indy AAA Platformer Educational 105

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 13, 2021

Written by Michail Katkoff , games executive and founder of Deconstructor of Fun, and Niek Tuerlings , Senior Game Designer and author of popular game development blog Ludocious.com. Special thanks for the Hybridcasual design insights to Abhimanyu Kumar , founder of Naavik consulting. Nothing new really.

Mechanics 52

Mechanics Puzzle Advertising Studios 52

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 11, 2017

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the sixth of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? Rules provide directions on how to execute activities within a game.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Concepts Writing Games 130

Grid Sage Games

MARCH 10, 2022

Mechanics that are never quite worth taking advantage of, items that haven’t lived up to their potential, or were later superseded by other options but remained unchanged, or even long-term experiments that were included at some point but never updated/expanded/removed. Alien Artifacts.

Balance 52

Balance Mechanics Beta Prototyping 52

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 10, 2021

As is the whole Istanbul gaming ecosystem. Gone are the days where a reasonable attempt at a core mechanic and a saga map were all you needed for 6 figure revenue. This should lead to more of a focus on product USPs, theme and mechanic differentiation rather than the wild fever dreams that have been propagated during 2019/2020.

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Mobile Mobile Advertising 52

Deconstructor of Fun

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

And games haven't been the most value-driven industry in my opinion (referring to the abuse of addictive mechanics in games for profit, massive company layoffs to meet financial targets and the pressure on teams to deliver, leading to crunch and toxic behaviours, etc.). Industry peers asked me: “What games will you make?” “Do

Studios 52

Studios Build Puzzle Concepts 52

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 24, 2023

For a market game designer, revealing information should be an orchestrated event. For example, a balance patch to Skyweavers that changes the power (and thus price) of different cards will shake up the market considerably. Major balance patches should be a planned event, similar to the Federal Reserve’s monthly meetings.

Games 52

Games Point and Click Asset Balance 52

Deconstructor of Fun

MAY 20, 2020

It has a solid core game design, and a meta design that builds upon the successes we’ve seen in the market. The match 3 success trifecta generally consists of: a fun core match mechanic a good metagame with a clean sense of progression a new feature or innovation that brings something different to the space. Puzzle Pass.

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Mechanics Content Data 52

Deconstructor of Fun

DECEMBER 12, 2021

All in all, Axie Infinity’s growth spurt is decelerating (although still positive), and a majority of its player base treats the game like a daily job to make daily financial ends meet. Game Loops and Systems Overview Axie Infinity’s game design falls under the “Turn-based RPG” subgenre, according to GameRefinery’s taxonomy.

Mechanics 52

Mechanics Balance Games Game Design 52

Keith Burgun

NOVEMBER 18, 2022

Basically, numbers in a game that are influenced by randomness can kind of go wild sometimes. Some number might multiply some other number several times, and become way too big for game balance normally to handle. But then you have these “randomness absorber” mechanisms that cut all that off.

Balance 52

Balance Concepts Mechanics Games 52

Grid Sage Games

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

Overall Rogue doesn’t really have many different item characteristics to modify or games systems to interact with, which is a primary limiting factor in the extent of randomization a game can support. Find a Mechanic who may be hanging around a Repair Station. Cogmind’s Strictly Static Items. Low on treads or armor?

Data 52

Data Terrain Balance Mechanics 52

Grid Sage Games

JULY 17, 2022

I’m reminded of Beta 11’s spicing up the main complex with Heavies and Cargo Convoys , though in this case it’s not just adding one or two new mechanics but instead about turning Garrisons into proper branch maps in terms of content distribution… Encounter Architecture. Some concepts: More enemies could show up?

Beta 52

Beta Content Balance Mechanics 52

Deconstructor of Fun

SEPTEMBER 28, 2020

This analysis is written by Taras Koshelev (Lead Game Designer at My.Games Venture Capital) who focused on game mechanics and loops and Michail Katkoff (Founder of Savage Game Studios) who covered the market and marketability. When it comes to heroes Puzzle Breakers has the same concept as E&P.

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Tile Mechanics Build 52

Brand Game Development

AUGUST 11, 2017

You can choose to observe them while playing or elicit their feedback after the game has ended. I’ve play-tested the game a lot by myself, acting as 2-4 players at a time. Part of why game developer presence is so important in early play-testing is because of the possibility for games to completely break down.

Point and Click 100

Point and Click Art Games Communications 100

Grid Sage Games

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

Some roguelikes don’t go heavy on realism, in which case backtracking for this reason can be considered a non-issue and solely a decision to be made within the greater mechanical design, though this does mean progress ends up feeling gamier overall. Design Control. Architecture.

Point and Click 52

Point and Click Mechanics Open World Feature 52

Designer Notes

AUGUST 10, 2021

The game, a historical 4X set in classical antiquity, released on July 1, 2021, and is available for purchase here. The big change that always gets mentioned when going from Civ 4 to Civ 5 is one-unit-per-tile (1UPT), which is interesting as 1UPT is purely a mechanical – as opposed to thematic – change.

Tile 40

Tile Point and Click AI Mechanics 40

Radiator Blog

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

This is similar to my tactics games writeup and Enderal (huge Skyrim mod) writeup where I spoil some interesting game designer / systems design things. I don't discuss much of the game narrative. I assume general game design knowledge but minimal Deathloop-specific knowledge. Limited regen (e.g.

Fighting 52

Fighting NPC Puzzle AI 52

Sirlin

JULY 25, 2019

And even in the current days of e-sports, tournaments obviously do not run on this 50-50 concept. No, and in fact the concept of seeding exists specifically to prevent that from happening. The very specific way it works is actually innovative and is a general contribution to game design that many other games could use.

Fantasy 52

Fantasy Feature Fighting Point and Click 52

Deconstructor of Fun

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

It does a good job at solving the issues many of these games have, which is the One Deck Problem by forcing you to have multiple decks fully upgraded to finish the campaign. The game's complexity, especially for new players, is a significant challenge, with an overwhelming number of game mechanics introduced rapidly.

Mobile 113

Mobile Mobile Mobile Gaming Concepts 113

Deconstructor of Fun

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

It does a good job at solving the issues many of these games have, which is the One Deck Problem by forcing you to have multiple decks fully upgraded in order to finish the campaign. The game's complexity, especially for new players, is a significant challenge, with an overwhelming number of game mechanics introduced rapidly.

Mobile 52

Mobile Mobile Mobile Gaming Concepts 52

Deconstructor of Fun

OCTOBER 17, 2022

When CoDO development started, there was barely any successful 3D free-to-play shooter in the west and free-to-play design as a whole was fairly unexplored outside of Facebook games. The only examples of F2P shooters at scale were Korean (Crossfire) and Chinese (Assault Fire/Ni-Zhan), both focused on pay-to-win mechanics.

Content 52

Content FPS Mobile Mobile 52

Deconstructor of Fun

NOVEMBER 10, 2020

So this is this tough balance between being really super fast and building something really small and iterative and getting data soon and deciding what to do. Now it's moved to concepting. And that is usually the point where a game company start working when you stop being. And drives games like Fortnite.

Games 52

Games Point and Click Engine Engineering 52

Radiator Blog

DECEMBER 12, 2022

You can place this game in a tradition of walkie-talkie games like Firewatch or Wheels of Aurelia. Here my walking mechanic borrows some sensibility from Death Stranding, where terrain can seriously slow down the player's speed, so a skilled player should micro-optimize their route a little and avoid water / hills / obstacles.

Pixel 52

Pixel Film Art NPC 52

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 29, 2018

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the thirteenth of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. This week, I want to zero in on the subject of making the perfect board game rule book.

Writing 130

Writing Games Mechanics Balance 130

Brand Game Development

JULY 15, 2019

One of the hallmarks of good board game design is being able to create hard choices. Particularly when hard choices come from simple mechanics. Sounds easy enough to do, but it’s actually really tough from the designer’s perspective! Let’s talk about how you can create hard choices in your board game.

Tile 130

Tile Mechanics Games Puzzle 130

Game Dev Unchained

MAY 1, 2023

AI in Art: Balancing Creativity and Ethics In the realm of digital art, AI technology is stirring up a mix of excitement and controversy. Artists, game developers, and big companies alike are grappling with the implications of AI-generated art, raising questions about consent, copyright, and the value of creativity.

AI 98

AI Technology Content Art 98

Radiator Blog

JUNE 30, 2022

For balance purposes, I limit the number of voyeurs in the maze, otherwise it can enter a deadlock where there's only voyeurs but no one for them to watch. This points to a general problem with treating sexual moods like immutable video game character classes. Voyeurs work differently, they have sex by watching a couple have sex.

Code 52

Code Educational Education Prototyping 52