PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

Throughout development, you may often be tempted to include incredible features and mechanics that weren’t originally planned, which can make the project’s completion elusive. Finally, maintain a healthy balance between work and rest. Beware of mutant scope. It’s preferable to cut elements rather than add new ones.

Dev 160

Dev Advertising Internet Development 160

PreMortem.Games

OCTOBER 9, 2023

What originally started out as a treehouse building simulator prototype, slowly evolved as the duo gradually added different mechanics. “It From the building mechanics, all the way to the third person character movements. Does it improve the mechanics of the game? We judge each feature based on three criteria.

Engine 125

Engine Engineering Build Mechanics 125

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

As I said last week , “rules regulate the way mechanics are implemented. A mechanic is the concept behind the game and the rule is the way that it’s handled to ensure balance.” ” Rules are really tricky to do right because you have to serve two purposes: balance the game and communicate clearly.

Balance 130

Balance Games Communications Mechanics 130

PreMortem.Games

APRIL 17, 2023

Staying motivated isn’t hard at all for the solo dev. “It But the morale and quality of life it can bring can be quite motivating, balancing & inspiring – if not all the above.” Balance your mental health. So for things like these, I take the above steps to counter balance. Why did you become a solo developer?

Game Developer 197

Game Developer Game Development Development Games 197

Game Analytics

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

That’s interesting and new gameplay for Among Us” There were plenty more features and mechanics the team considered adding. And many of the regular tricks that devs use to save on rendering costs are lost when building VR games. “It You wonder, can I trust them or not? It does take much longer to build a great VR game.

Dev 91

Dev Playtesting Fantasy Render 91

Ask a Game Dev

JANUARY 12, 2023

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?” Game mechanics, for example, cannot be copyrighted so game mechanics are fair to talk about.

Content 40

Content Mechanics Dev Balance 40

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 wish I could Photoshop as good as Brandon the Game Dev,” said no one.

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Dev Games Mechanics 130

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. If you balance things right, the choice isn’t always obvious and will depend on evaluating other factors at the time of the choice. That’s what makes it interesting.

Mechanics 52

Mechanics AI Racing Dev 52

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 13, 2020

Sure, cooperative play is not exactly some exotic unseen mechanic too. Balanced asymmetry leads to greater variety. The trick, of course, is to make sure all varying powers are definitely distinct while remaining balanced. Lastly, the variable player powers are balanced in such a way that the game stays fresh for a long time!

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Balance Games 130

Brand Game Development

JULY 14, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. When I talk about game design itself, I often talk about the relentless play-testing , balancing , and different levels of communication that you must master so that your game is understood and enjoyed.

Art 130

Art Dev Mechanics Game Developer 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. That includes popular games, mechanics, and themes; well-known designers; and how to run a successful Kickstarter. Key Takeaways for Game Devs. Just here for Highways & Byways updates?

Dev 130

Dev Balance Game Developer Game Development 130

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 6, 2017

rule book, I use visual examples to explain how the energy mechanic works. It’s a tough balance. Yet if you strike this balance, the reward is precious: you can prime a player’s experience. appeared first on Brandon the Game Dev. In my own game, War Co. , In the War Co. Make it visual.

Balance 130

Balance Concepts Mechanics Render 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.

Beta 52

Beta Mechanics Content Art 52

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.

Art 59

Art Concepts Dev Studios 59

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 12, 2020

In keeping with our theme of nostalgia, I will also talk about which of my four favorite nostalgic game mechanics it incorporates. These four nostalgic game mechanics are: Dynamic character roles Great art or colors Incorporates a clicking noise Tactile, but not needlessly fidgety. There just are not enough event cards! Final Thoughts.

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Games Mechanics Editing 130

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 20, 2017

The core engine is what’s left when you strip a game of mechanics and obstacles. The core engine is the bare minimum set of mechanics and concepts you need to have a functioning (but not necessarily fun) game. Game mechanics are how we bring the core engine of a game to life. What are game mechanics?

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Games Game Design Game Designer 130

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. With enough games, outliers tend to balance each other out. That’s not necessarily good or bad, but it’s something game devs need to be wary of. Just here for Highway s & Byways updates?

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Dev Games Prototyping 130

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 23, 2017

I’ve split it into five sections for your convenience: How Ben, Sarah, and Will Got Started How Working in a Team Feels The Downsides of Teamwork Communication in a Team Advice for New Game Devs. This is unusual for most game devs, I think. Brandon: How I imagine teams as a solo dev. Advice for New Game Devs.

Prototyping 130

Prototyping Playtesting Games Game Design 130

Game Analytics

DECEMBER 5, 2022

This time, we’ll look at the top games that use storytelling as a core mechanic and show you that you don’t need sparkling design and intense gameplay to create a hit. Reigns does a good job balancing this information while leaving enough mystery for unexpected twists. Making choices can be the sole mechanic, and you still have a game.

Horror 109

Horror Mobile Mobile Games 109

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 15, 2023

RimWorld is balanced around sitting on a single map, with everything easily accessible. This also meant we had less dev time to fix bugs or optimize performance. The post Ascent of Ashes dev switches to Godot halfway development “Not as chaotic as Unity” appeared first on PreMortem Games.

Dev 115

Dev Development Prototyping Feature 115

Brand Game Development

JULY 1, 2019

Once you craft the basic concepts of your game and find the right mechanics to express them , you have to set rules. In my first Designer Diary post for Tasty Humans , I talked about the mechanics of dropping shapes (which represent the titular “Tasty Humans”) in order to fill up the stomach of the each player’s monster.

Tile 130

Tile Games Mechanics Build 130

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

Radiator Blog

MAY 5, 2021

WE SHOULD ALL DO THIS / STEAL THIS: Dev-owned wiki. The dev team "SureAI" operates the official Endreal strategy guide and lore wiki. It is much better than the boring shot reverse-shot cutscene stuff going on in AAA RPGs these days, and makes Skyrim's "sit" mechanic more meaningful. Anyway, here's my notes.

Open World 52

Open World NPC Cutscenes Terrain 52

Game Dev Unchained

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

But, beyond gameplay mechanics, Eco speaks to a much larger industry trend: the emergence of the metaverse. With it comes the challenging balance between financial backing and creative control. But publishers are not the only avenue. Krajewski hints at an industry that’s matured significantly in recent years.

Indy 105

Indy AAA Platformer Educational 105

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. Categorical Approach. Alien Artifacts.

Balance 52

Balance Mechanics Beta Prototyping 52

Greenheart Games

MARCH 8, 2018

As promised, to celebrate the release of the iOS and Google Play version of Game Dev Tycoon, we’ve now updated the Desktop versions of the game. We felt that the un-modded game lacked a few core topics that prevented players from re-making their favorite game in Game Dev Tycoon. Here are the goodies: Pirate Mode. Women in Tech.

Content 52

Content Point and Click Animation Animation 52

Deconstructor of Fun

OCTOBER 10, 2021

I spend most of my waking hours thinking about game mechanics and how they will make players feel. As a Lead Designer for LEGENDARY I invested a lot of time on creating and balancing our first few hundred heroes. And the reason for their uselessness is a familiar bane to devs and players alike: power creep.

Asset 52

Asset Fighting Games Mobile 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. Level Design.

Dev 52

Dev Clipping Texture Concepts 52

Brand Game Development

APRIL 23, 2018

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. New game devs: don’t write off Facebook because it’s expensive. You have strike a balance. We’ll get to that in more detail below.

Dev 130

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.

Game Design 52

Game Design Game Designer Balance Games 52

Brand Game Development

JUNE 20, 2019

The reason is that Cover Your Assets’ core mechanic is deceptively quite compelling. The core mechanic of stealing and defending sets of cards that increase in value is essentially the whole game. Wide audiences find the core mechanic of Cover Your Assets really compelling. Two Stacks Per Player.

Asset 130

Asset Mechanics Games Balance 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

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 20, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. I’m just adding another mechanic and a tweaking a few rules. Major issues are ones that involve sweeping changes to the game such as new mechanics or sweeping rule changes. Click here.

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Games Mechanics Dev 130

Brand Game Development

MARCH 13, 2017

In this breakdown, we’ll delve deep into the enigmatic balance of leaders running away and losers catching up. I’m going to use the term “runaway leader” to refer to a specific, purposefully included design mechanic. Colony has a “runaway leader” mechanic, but it reigns this in with different mechanics that act as counterbalances.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Games Advertising Balance 130

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 11, 2017

Game rules are how we regulate the mechanics of our games so that they are consistent with the messages we want to send to players. Short-term mechanic testing. Brandon: At the short-term mechanic testing stages, you’re really just using rules to help underlying mechanics manifest themselves! Private testing.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Concepts Writing Games 130

Deconstructor of Fun

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

This is a balance play to ensure players are completing the pass at a speed necessary to maximize player attention while reducing economic inflation from free pass rewards. That’s because these new tiered purchase options include an old fan favorite, luck mechanics!

Mechanics 59

Mechanics Content Feature Mobile 59

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 24, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Once the core engine and mechanics are in place, board games can be dragged down by easy-to-fix but hard-to-identify issues. I-4 comes with art applied, slightly simplified rules, and tighter balance.

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Games Dev Mechanics 130