Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 27, 2017

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the fourth of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.

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Mechanics Games Balance Development 130

PreMortem.Games

MAY 19, 2023

Wikkl Works , a Netherlands-based game studio, is working hard on the climbing game New Heights. By using photogrammetry the game offers real life locations like famous rock faces or even well known landmarks. Then we got the idea to scan real world cliffs and mountains into the game using photogrammetry.

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Indy Dev Studios Playtesting 104

PreMortem.Games

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

When Jonathan Barbosa Dijkstra lost his job, just before the pandemic hit, he decided to give his dream of making a game by himself a proper go. He took some online courses on programming and he was in business, as a solo dev operating under the name of Frambosa , only six months later. Why did you become a solo developer? “I

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Dev Puzzle Prototyping Playtesting 104

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

He started his career in advertising, but the world of video games always held his real interest. Making games was something that seemed very far from reality”, he says. Yet, with help from the internet and some classes in college, he realized that he too could create games. Why did you become a solo developer? “I’ve

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Dev Advertising Internet Development 162

PreMortem.Games

OCTOBER 9, 2023

They are both well aware of the irony of two engineers developing a parody engineering game, but that hasn’t stopped Cillín Farrell and Neil Mackenzie from devoting the majority of their spare time doing just that. With the game’s 100% physics-based building system, players can solve each mission in infinite ways. As long as it works.

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Engine Engineering Build Mechanics 127

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Studio owner and Lead Developer Max Hermann originally developed the idea for the game in the time when he was still a computer science student and active in the RimWorld modding scene. “I RimWorld is balanced around sitting on a single map, with everything easily accessible. It looked really exciting to me”, he says.

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PreMortem.Games

APRIL 17, 2023

Fresh out of school Kaighen Finley started his own web & game development company Team iNtuition. Game development is a natural medium for my range of skills and interests”, he says and so he ‘pivoted sharply’ into game development after two years. Staying motivated isn’t hard at all for the solo dev. “It

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Game Developer Game Development Development Games 197

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

This week while working on my current board game design, a lot of things have come into focus. Now it’s time to start tweaking board game rules. This is where board game design often becomes very tricky. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.

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Balance Games Communications Mechanics 130

Brand Game Development

JULY 17, 2017

After spending a lot of time last week talking about how to make games, let’s talk about how to make them well. When it comes to games, there are a handful of truths that are very important to realize. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.

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Communications Game Developer Game Development Development 130

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 13, 2020

That is by no means a small amount to raise, but what’s interesting is that Spirit Island has remained on the Board Game Geek Hotness list off and on for almost three years. Clearly, there is much more to this game than what immediately meets the eye. Need help on your board game? You’re next, agriculture games!).

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Game Design Game Designer Balance Games 130

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 22, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. After all, I’m checking to make sure there are no serious balance issues that come out of repeated plays. I’ve already play-tested this game a ton. Need help on your board game?

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Point and Click Dev Games Mechanics 130

Brand Game Development

JUNE 20, 2019

In fact, I’ve even said: “ don’t build a board game, build a business.” Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Allow me to introduce you to Jeff Beck of Grandpa Beck’s Games. Check it out and see what you think!

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Asset Mechanics Games Balance 130

Brand Game Development

APRIL 23, 2018

Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Much like my old staple How to Get Big on Twitter as a Board Game Dev , I’ll be covering everything you need to know to get started on Facebook as a board game developer. Getting Started.

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Dev Build Advertising Games 130

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.

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Game Design Game Designer Balance Games 52

Game Analytics

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

It’s about allowing players to lose themselves in more than just a game, but a new world. This goal is always top-of-mind for Schell Games. In this interview, we spoke to Schell Games’ Vice President of Product, Charlie Amis, to learn their story. This isn’t as true or a high priority in PC and console games.

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Dev Playtesting Fantasy Render 91

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 20, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. This week, I posted How to Work Alone in the Board Game Industry. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Click here.

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Point and Click Games Mechanics Dev 130

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Last week , I shared with you games I played during my formative years, and how those games made an impact on my taste in boardgames as an adult. I wasn’t expecting to discover the impact those childhood games made on my preferences as an adult. Need help on your board game? So…game plan change!

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Point and Click Games Mechanics Editing 130

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? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Concepts Writing Games 130

Ask a Game Dev

JANUARY 12, 2023

We’re not taking content (or specific ideas for content) that the users created and incorporating that into the game. We can discuss mechanics and existing content (and what we might modify), but we generally won’t take suggestions on hypothetical new content in forms other than “Would you like to see X?”

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Content Mechanics Dev Balance 40

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 24, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Last week, I talked about how time-consuming and difficult it can be to get a board game working. It takes a long, long time for a board game to be fun. Just here for Highway s & Byways updates?

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Point and Click Games Dev Mechanics 130

Brand Game Development

MARCH 13, 2017

Brandon: The following is the second guest post by Burt Yaroch of the Healthy Gaming Network. Today he shares with us a game he really enjoys: Colony. Burt: I’ve fallen in love with Colony by Bezier Games, designed by Ted Alspach, Toryo Hojo, and N2 (the pen name for Yoshihisa Nakatsu). Need help on your board game?

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Mechanics Games Advertising Balance 130

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.

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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. Let’s talk about how you can create hard choices in your board game. Need help on your board game? When selecting a game mechanic, it is the most familiar solution.

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Tile Mechanics Games Puzzle 130

Brand Game Development

JULY 22, 2019

Perfect board game pacing is one of the most underrated aspects of board game design. Somewhere between overwhelm and ennui, there lies a middle ground where a game is perfectly paced. A great board game feels challenging and interesting throughout. Need help on your board game? But how do you do that?

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Tile Games Playtesting Balance 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. That would be bad :P.

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Balance Mechanics Beta Prototyping 52

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!

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Game Analytics

DECEMBER 5, 2022

One of the reasons why hyper-casual games are so popular is due to how quick and easy they are to make. Simple controls, artwork, and game design make it easy for any developer to pick up. There are other ways to build a game on a budget. Because choice is how you can differentiate a book from a game. Let’s dig in.

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Horror Games Mobile Mobile 109

Ask a Game Dev

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

However, I don’t want to leave things too abstract - game design is about taking an idea and translating it into real game rules and mechanics. This kind of choice tests the player’s ability to evaluate and predict the game state over a measure of time. That’s what makes it interesting.

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Mechanics AI Racing Dev 52

Brand Game Development

JULY 14, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. I talk a lot about the business side of board game creation. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. It paid off.

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Art Dev Mechanics Game Developer 130

Game Dev Unchained

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

This episode is sponsored by Autodesk AU 2023 | November 13-15 in Las Vegas ⁠ ⁠ My conversation with Brian Canary, a seasoned game designer, reveals the intricacies of the industry’s shifting dynamics. Collaboration and Single-Player Game Resurgence The discourse delves deep into the essence of game design—collaboration.

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AI Games Technology Film 52

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 6, 2017

The quickest way to turn a brilliant game into a mediocre game is by botching the rule book. The game itself may not be ruined, but the experiences of the players will be dramatically altered for the worse. At first, the purpose of a rule book may seem deceptively clear: it’s supposed to teach players how to play the game.

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Balance Concepts Mechanics Render 130

Brand Game Development

MAY 12, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Instead of focusing directly on game development, I’ve focused on learning as much as I can about board games. Need help on your board game? Want to learn game development?

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Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. This is a process I follow to ensure a game’s quality. This method may not be appropriate for every developer, every team, or every game, but it is one I like. Need help on your board game?

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Point and Click Dev Games Prototyping 130

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 23, 2017

I’ve talked about the benefits and challenges of working alone in the board game industry. Yet I’m a bit of an odd beast in the board game development world since most people prefer to work in teams. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.

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Prototyping Playtesting Games Game Design 130

Grid Sage Games

DECEMBER 3, 2022

First here’s our yearly dev collage showing off in visual form some of the progress and work since our last review, version 2022! This year’s major release was of course Beta 11 “Mechanical Renaissance,” in the works for 17 (!) months, and a massive set of new toys, challenges , revamped mechanics , and more.

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Brand Game Development

AUGUST 11, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. It took me a long time to get this game ready for blind play-testing.

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Point and Click Art Games Communications 100

Radiator Blog

MARCH 16, 2023

Last month, game industry documentary makers 2 Player Productions debuted a massive 32-part YouTube game dev doc series Double Fine PsychOdyssey , chronicling the development of Psychonauts 2 from its earliest glimmers of pre-production in 2015 to its final release in 2021.

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