Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 28, 2016

“Theme-first or mechanics-first” might be the most asked “big question” in the board game community. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Theme and mechanics are inseparable parts of board games as a whole.

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Mechanics Playtesting Concepts Art 100

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

Ask a Game Dev

APRIL 29, 2024

First, doing personal game development projects earns top marks. There's no better way to stand out as a candidate than to have experience doing that work already and game development is no exception. Your personal public posts will likely be read and dissected by the game's fans and used as potential ammunition against your employer.

Communications 62

Communications Dev Mechanics Games 62

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

Today, I have a challenge for you as a board game designer. I want to see you make a board game in 28 days. That’s why I’ve provided a 28-day game design challenge for you. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.

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Dev Writing Game Design Game Designer 130

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

Getting started in board game development can be both intimidating and expensive. I’m almost certainly not the only blogger you’ve looked to for advice, and I can probably guess one thing you get told a lot: “play more games!” Need help on your board game? ” (Yeah, gee thanks, Sherlock.).

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Ask a Game Dev

DECEMBER 27, 2023

It’s usually easier to start with concepts from cut content, since we’d already started developing it before we realized it wasn’t high enough priority to finish. The concept behind the old stuff might not fit or might not be fun anymore because the game design went a different direction from when we originally came up with the cut content.

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Content Mechanics Dev Concepts 52

PreMortem.Games

AUGUST 9, 2023

As if developing a game by yourself wasn’t daunting enough, Pat Naoum decided to completely handpaint his debut game The Master’s Pupil. But the end is here, the game is out now on steam. Every man and his dog has made an indie game but no one has painted a game yet. A point of interest in the indie game sea.”

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Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 30, 2019

Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. With that in mind, I want to help you come up with some New Year’s Resolutions of your own, ones specifically related to board game design. Create your first board game. Card games count, too!

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Dev Prototyping Games Game Design 130

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

As if developing a game by yourself wasn’t daunting enough, Pat Naoum decided to completely handpaint his debut game The Master’s Pupil. But the end is near, the game will release on steam sometime in the foreseeable future. Every man and his dog has made an indie game but no one has painted a game yet.

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Dev Art Concepts Film 104

PreMortem.Games

MARCH 11, 2024

When the Kickstarter campaign ended, cozy adventure game Mika and the Witch’s Mountain by Spanish indie developer Chibig didn’t just achieve its goal. The team had asked for a modest €40,000 to complete the game’s development, but managed to raise a whopping €1,300,368. It pulverised it!

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Indy Mechanics Art Open World 104

PreMortem.Games

MAY 27, 2024

Toronto, Canada based indie dev Thousand Stars Studio prides itself on being a culturally diverse studio. Founded in 2017 by Parth Soni and Sally Luc , the company now has five full-time employees and an additional five contractors, all working on their latest game Aikyam.

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Art Studios Indy Content 158

Astral Clock Tower Studios

MAY 27, 2021

Welcome back to another exciting issue of the ever-enchanting Kristala dev blog! We'll be sure to keep you posted on all the sweet deets as we near our Patreon launch date, so be sure to stay tuned to our socials and public dev blogs for updates and announcements (including an exciting kick-off contest where you can snag a FREE PS5 ).

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Dev Concepts Demo Animation 52

Astral Clock Tower Studios

JUNE 29, 2021

Thanks for tuning in to another exciting issue of the Kristala dev blog! This is the place where we bring you a monthly peek into the development process for 3D dark fantasy ARPG Kristala, an indie game developed using Unreal Engine 4 by women-lead Astral Clocktower Studios. Astral Clocktower Studios x Game Raven Review.

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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 Designing

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

Video games today are far more immersive than ever, and that isn’t simply because consoles and PCs have gotten more powerful. A lot of the beauty and appeal in modern games comes down to a less quantifiable factor: Atmosphere. What Is Game Atmosphere? Compare two games Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring.

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Games Mechanics Fantasy Art 136

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 28, 2019

Last year, Everdell by Starling Games raised nearly half a million dollars on Kickstarter. It has remained a popular board game since, regularly topping out the Board Game Geek Hotness and showing up multiple times as a giveaway prize in Pangea contests. Everdell is a worker placement, tableau-building board game.

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Game Design Game Designer Fantasy Mechanics 130

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 17, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. This week, I talked about How to Play-Test the Core Engine of Your Board Game. This is the process by which you confirm that the game you ultimately want to make is possible. Click here.

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Point and Click Mechanics Games Art 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

Astral Clock Tower Studios

APRIL 21, 2021

Welcome back to another magically entrancing issue of the Kristala dev blog. This is the only place where you'll receive a monthly, in-depth look into the entire development process for 3D dark fantasy ARPG Kristala, an indie game built in Unreal Engine 4 by the incredibly talented team at Astral Clocktower Studios. Concept Art.

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Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 6, 2017

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the first 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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Engine Engineering Mechanics Games 130

Astral Clock Tower Studios

NOVEMBER 9, 2021

Welcome back to another exciting issue of the Kristala Dev blog. This is the place where we break down the development for 3D Dark Fantasy ARPG Kristala, an indie game currently in development by the talented team at women-owned indie games studios, Astral Clocktower Studios. Concept Art. Hey there, gorgeous!

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Dev Concepts Animation Animation 52

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.

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Mechanics Concepts Writing Games 130

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.

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Dev Clipping Texture Concepts 52

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

Astral Clock Tower Studios

JULY 31, 2021

Hello, and welcome to the official Kristala dev blog, where we break down the development process for 3D Dark Fantasy ARPG Kristala each month. If you've been keeping up with our dev blogs already, you know that they're pretty hefty when it comes to content. Concept Art. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Kristala at Play NYC 2021.

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Dev Demo Concepts Animation 52

Astral Clock Tower Studios

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

We're so happy you're joining us for another epically magical installment of the Kristala Dev Blog! 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.

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Dev Animation Animation Concepts 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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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

Astral Clock Tower Studios

AUGUST 31, 2021

You just left reality and fell into a portal to the fantasy world of Ailur, the fictional planet that serves as the setting for 3D Dark Fantasy ARPG Kristala—an indie game developed by women-owned independent game studio, Astral Clocktower Studios (hey, that's us!). link] Concept Art. Kristala at Play NYC 2021.

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Dev Demo Concepts Animation 52

Brand Game Development

AUGUST 26, 2019

Self-publishing a board game is a long, drawn-out process. Some of this goes back to the process of creating your game, getting it manufactured, and raising funds. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. This concept is called product-market fit.

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Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 12, 2016

Much like theme vs. mechanics , separating people into gateway gamers and hardcore gamers is another persistent dichotomy in the board game community. Unlike theme and mechanics, though, I think this distinction is much more useful. Need help on your board game? You can make a game replay-able as well as easy-to-learn.

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Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 19, 2020

Brandon is humoring me with a mini game blog series where I give you MY perspective on board games. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Game Play Overview.

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Point and Click Games Concepts Mechanics 130

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

For the inaugural post in my series of Game Breakdowns, I want to talk about the perineal /r/boardgames choice for “2p game to play with my girlfriend.” It’s the perfect game to share with someone who only has a tangential interest in board games, or a “gateway gamer”. Need help on your board game?

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Games Mechanics Concepts Dev 130

Brand Game Development

MAY 13, 2019

Board game development is notorious for its trial-and-error approach. You may create dozens of versions of the same game until you finally find one you’re satisfied with. Everything can be scrapped at a moment’s notice – mechanics, rules, art, and even basic core concepts. Need help on your board game?

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Game Developer Game Development Development Art 130

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 10, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. This week, I posted the first article in my 19-part suite on game design. It’s called How to Design the Core Engine of Your Board Game. ” Need help on your board game? Click here.

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Game Developer Game Development Development Mechanics 130

Astral Clock Tower Studios

MARCH 23, 2022

You're currently tuned in to the official Kristala Dev Blog, a monthly compilation of all the development done on our first game, Kristala: a Dark Fantasy ARPG created by women-owned indie game studio, Astral Clocktower Studios (hey, that's us!). Concept Art. First, James worked on the concept for our Warp VFX sequence.

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Brand Game Development

MARCH 8, 2021

There are over 100,000 board games in existence. A handful have stood out head and shoulders among the rest, working their way up to the top 10 games on Board Game Geek. This is a truly staggering achievement because pleasing Board Game Geek users is no easy task! Need help on your board game? Source ).

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Mechanics Games Fantasy Tile 130