Game Analytics

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

It’s about allowing players to lose themselves in more than just a game, but a new world. You have to build VR experiences the right way to make this happen. 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.

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Dev Playtesting Fantasy Render 91

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. I would love to be part of a small team where you’ve got your peers and still have a big impact on the game.” For me, and for others I’m sure, making your own games is ‘the dream’.

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Dev Puzzle Prototyping Playtesting 104

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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Art Concepts Dev Studios 59

Grid Sage Games

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Some individual items take days or even weeks to build. Good ideas do come spontaneously, albeit inspired by random discussions among players, reactions to various situations in game, even playing other games and consuming various non-game media. They’re that crazy. Sample ASCII art from among the 100 new items.

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PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

For some, the idea of developing a game alone is daunting. Sadly, the reality of the business showed me that the type of games that pay the rent weren’t the type of experiences I wanted to create”, he says. After a five-year hiatus from game development, he returned as a solo developer to create his debut game Repunk.

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Dev Playtesting Art Games 156

Sirlin

OCTOBER 20, 2015

Codex is a new take on customizable card games. Last week I posted a new Raw Game Design podcast episode (for $10+ patrons) where I discuss "reset buttons" in Codex (cards that blow up the board so you can possibly come back from a very bad position). Finally, we discuss what Geiger's moves will be in the Fantasy Strike fighting game.

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Fantasy Fighting Balance Playtesting 52

Astral Clock Tower Studios

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

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. If you're a big lover of fantasy games (and we're betting you are!),

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Dev Animation Animation Concepts 52

Sirlin

JULY 22, 2015

"Former Street Fighter designer / Evolution staff member / writer of competitive gaming guide is working on a new fighting game focusing on easy execution, great online play, and will be free to play." Which game is it though: Fantasy Strike or Rising Thunder? As great as it is, it isn't literally a fighting game though.

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Fighting Fantasy Games Build 52

Rindoku

OCTOBER 7, 2016

Showing your game to strangers for the first time can be a little nerve wracking. Gabriel Tanko – Concept and 2D Art. What we learned about the game. The feedback about the game was better than we could have hoped. People liked the game but there was also useful feedback (and observation) of where we can improve.

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Point and Click Dev Demo Playtesting 52

Mnenad

JULY 8, 2018

But I can now proudly announce that a playable prototype for the video game GenoTerra is finished (and I graduated with the Master in Design *yay*). As you might know, and I repeatedly keep saying, this game forms the practical part of my Master thesis. This work deals with the development and design of an open world game with a high.

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Prototyping Terrain Open World Rigging 52

Ask a Game Dev

MAY 26, 2023

The player plays the game, reaches certain pre-determined requirements, and obtains discrete new rewards for doing so. This builds anticipation - leveling up should be something that the player looks forward to doing, and that isn’t possible if leveling up doesn’t actually do anything. Consider Dungeons and Dragons, the tabletop game.

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Build Playtesting Dev Fighting 52

PreMortem.Games

AUGUST 15, 2023

The Game Director has asked you to define the backend and infrastructure architecture that will support the game throughout development and live release. Are they building the backend themselves, or using a BaaS? Here’s another example: "You are the Lead engineer on a live game that's just been released.

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Studios Engine Engineering Communications 104

Grid Sage Games

MARCH 10, 2022

Cogmind began its life as a 7DRL , and a portion of items designed back when the game was overall a very different environment didn’t evolve at the same pace. Before doing a full item-by-item review, I started with two special categories of unique build-defining items: aliens artifacts and Exiles prototypes. That would be bad :P.

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Balance Mechanics Beta Prototyping 52

Grid Sage Games

OCTOBER 2, 2022

In fact, I was unsure throughout the entirety of building the system, which made it rather challenging to work up the motivation to power through a lot of what needed to be done (I normally need to see a clear goal to help with that!). Creating a construct and modifying one are two rather different processes. Construct Creation.

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Engine Engineering Mechanics Balance 52

Grid Sage Games

JULY 17, 2022

In the time since Garrisons were added, however, a combination of relevant changes to the game started putting pressure on their original design: Many more full branch maps were added, along with factions, each with their own enticing reasons to visit them compared to the weaker incentives for entering a Garrison.

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Beta Content Balance Mechanics 52

Deconstructor of Fun

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Written by Enrico D'Angelo Enrico was VP of Product at Activision Publishing running the Free to Play game portfolio and is currently a VP of Product at Roblox. The game was developed by Raven, one of the historical CoD mainline studios, and Activision Shanghai, a local team assembled for the project.

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Grid Sage Games

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

Cogmind generally has fewer such direct escape options, but teleport mechanics are out there, if an advanced tech not usually available until the late game. As a general concept teleportation technology exists in quite a few varieties throughout the world of Cogmind, though the player only has access to some of them.

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Mechanics Concepts Balance Terrain 52

Brand Game Development

JULY 20, 2020

Over the last four articles of Start to Finish: Publish and Sell Your First Board Game , I’ve talked about a lot of things that are more complicated than you’d think. That includes the unexpected depth of the board game industry as well as the surprising variety of responsibilities which a self-publishing developer must handle.

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Prototyping Games Playtesting Dev 130

Brand Game Development

JULY 15, 2019

One of the hallmarks of good board game design is being able to create hard choices. Let’s talk about how you can create hard choices in your board game. He, after all, created the pattern building game that we call Tasty Humans , so it makes for a great case study! Need help on your board game?

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Tile Mechanics Games Puzzle 130

Radiator Blog

JUNE 30, 2022

Zugzwang by Robert Yang This post details my process and intent for making my new release Zugzwang (pronounced in German like /ts'OOK-ts'VAHng/ ) a tactical sex dungeon roguelike cum ritual game. SPOILER ALERT: This post spoils what happens in the game. So this game too is set in a dungeon -- a divine sex maze dungeon.

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Code Educational Education Prototyping 52