Grid Sage Games

MARCH 10, 2022

Some roguelikes don’t strive for balance, but maintaining balance has always been important to me for Cogmind, since it fits better with my vision for this type of game, heavy on tough, complex, and consequential decision-making at multiple strategic and tactical levels. Exiles Prototypes. ASCII art for Exiles prototypes.

Balance 52

Balance Mechanics Beta Prototyping 52

Keith Burgun

JANUARY 4, 2023

We’ve only playtested it about 5-6 times – each time it was a blast , despite the balance being all wonked up – so I don’t want to get too deep into the details right now. work, is that life is too short to spend months or years trying to get a game concept working.

Mechanics 52

Mechanics Game Design Game Designer Playtesting 52

Deconstructor of Fun

DECEMBER 11, 2023

The podcast unfolds an engaging conversation that delves into the challenges aspiring entrepreneurs face, the distinguishing traits of successful founders, and the timeless topic of work-life balance. This means honing in on a single hypothesis, swiftly generating prototypes for immediate feedback, and meticulously collecting data.

Balance 98

Balance Prototyping Communications Concepts 98

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 11, 2017

This is where most of the rules have been ironed out and are acceptable enough to use during a prototype either in person or online through something like Tabletopia or Tabletop simulator. This is to make sure the game is – on some fundamental level – balanced. Where in an MMORPG world, that concept is very straightforward.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Concepts Writing Games 130

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 20, 2017

The core engine is the bare minimum set of mechanics and concepts you need to have a functioning (but not necessarily fun) game. I’ve listened to so many designers describe how through play-testing, a game came out dramatically different then their initial concept because the new version was more fun.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Games Game Design Game Designer 130

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

From scribbling your ideas onto the proverbial napkin, to actually crafting prototypes, play-testing, redoing it all, and finally getting your game to reviewers, there is no shortage of details and learning curves. It’s a tough balancing act! Need help on your board game? As you can see, board game fulfillment is pretty complex.

Game Developer 130

Game Developer Game Development Development Games 130

Designer Notes

AUGUST 10, 2021

Although I saw that Civ 5 ’s 1UPT had become the mainstream conception of a tile-based 4X game, Old World actually went through roughly a year of development WITH stacked units. Early on, the simplest way to prototype the game was to maintain a strict 1UPT rule (as stacking has the major downside of making the UI much more complicated).

Tile 40

Tile Point and Click AI Mechanics 40

Deconstructor of Fun

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Concepts like seasonal content, the introduction of event-based currencies, VIP stores are only a few examples of common practices in China in the mid to late 2000s, way before any western game started to adopt them. There was no concept of events or free/ earnable content.

Content 52

Content FPS Mobile Mobile 52

Radiator Blog

JULY 6, 2021

In her excellent book Narrative As Virtual Reality , Marie-Laure Ryan outlines some common understandings of virtual: virtual as "digital": inspired by computer concepts like virtual memory. The word "virtual" does a lot of work, so much that we rarely question what we even mean by "virtual." So should police exist in this garden?

Simulation 52

Simulation Art AI Internet 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. They get to a prototype level. Now it's moved to concepting. You're dictating that everything below them is going to be mediocre at best in your company.

Games 52

Games Point and Click Engine Engineering 52

Radiator Blog

DECEMBER 12, 2022

Back in 2019 I made an unfinished prototype for a Gay Western game jam to contemplate the anniversary of influential gay cowboy film Brokeback Mountain (2005). Balancing the weight of each system was difficult. Like many game prototypes, my initial sheepherding test began as something much grander and more complicated.

Pixel 52

Pixel Film Art NPC 52

Deconstructor of Fun

MARCH 22, 2021

Similar to Today’s: Current level setup (clear objectives in X moves or less) Mode: Balance Description: Collect 2 colors of gems roughly at the same pace. Developers must find the harmonious balance between ‘too easy’ and ‘pure frustration’. No similar exists today Mode: Avalanche Description: Gems fall randomly to fill the board.

Puzzle 69

Puzzle Mobile Mobile Mechanics 69

Radiator Blog

JUNE 30, 2022

I first prototyped it back in 2019, but I didn't really know how to finish it. Originally this was prototyped as "Saugzwang" and I made it for the 7 Day Broughlike Jam back in 2019. 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.

Code 52

Code Educational Education Prototyping 52