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

Designer Notes

AUGUST 2, 2021

In the original version, one player discovered that the optimum strategy was to cover every fourth tile on the board with a city, a mind-numbingly boring strategy that was always the best choice. In an empire-building game, more territory should be good, but more cities just for the sake of more cities simply adds busywork and frustration.

Tile 52

Tile Build Mechanics Prototyping 52

Brand Game Development

JULY 22, 2019

After all, he created the pattern building game that we call Tasty Humans , so it makes for a great case study! In each of the design diaries that I have written so far, I have focused on a specific game mechanic or isolated portion of the game. They have just a single Leader tile and their monster’s unique “personal craving.”

Tile 130

Tile Games Playtesting Balance 130

Big Games

JANUARY 8, 2024

Think AI that helps you build landscapes, real-time 3D sculpting like magic, and coding made accessible even for total newbies. We’re also zooming in on trends that’ll have your game soaring across platforms, rocking real-time multiplayer, and even letting players team up and build together. But that’s not all!

Game Developer 52

Game Developer Game Development Development Cross platform 52

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 15, 2023

That’s when I formed the idea of building a new colony sim from the ground up, centered around the idea of exploration and travel.” Without it, rendering the 800.000 tiles that compromise the game map became problematic, so the team had to spend a week on optimizing that. It looked really exciting to me”, he says.

Dev 117

Dev Development Prototyping Feature 117

Interesting Choices

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Not long after that I started working on a game (then called City Draft) that would be strongly inspired by a few key influences: 7 Wonders for the mechanics and structure, Carcassonne for the idea of placing tiles in a grid, and SimCity for the theme. Science is purely all or nothing. Few viable paths to victory.

Build 40

Build Tile Point and Click Games 40

Interesting Choices

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

And while overall I've been overjoyed with the response, I've seen a few comments from people who dislike the inclusion of the disaster tiles in the game, and I realized that I haven't ever sat down to write out my thoughts for why I included the mechanic despite knowing that those tiles would be controversial. Risk/Reward.

Tile 52

Tile Build Prototyping Games 52