PreMortem.Games

MARCH 1, 2024

As we were prototyping there was still a feeling the game needed more action. Thus I make an effort to use purchased art assets only as a starting point to then be modified into something more unique and fitting of the aesthetic.” “We built a prototype in our spare time and saw the potential. But that’s not all.

Studios 104

Studios Prototyping Visual Scripting Art 104

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

I usually start with a location or concept from which I build a ‘mind map’. Then I write down everything I consider relevant into spreadsheets to compare them all. This finally leads me to prototyping and validation. This concept grew organically from a single idea. Which art and music will be needed? If yes – how?

Dev 158

Dev Playtesting Art Games 158

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. This guide comes in four parts: What are some guidelines for writing good rules? What are some guidelines for writing good rules? Brandon: What are some guidelines for writing good rules?

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Concepts Writing Games 130

Mnenad

APRIL 9, 2018

One is sketching a scene or character concept very rough and with a lot of gesture on a piece of paper (or digitally) but in the following steps, when it comes to outlining the shapes, the sketch becomes sort of stiff and loses its dynamic. We rather think of an ideal or prototype bird like this one over here from a kid's science book.

Terrain 52

Terrain Concepts Art Mesh 52

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 30, 2019

If you’re the kind of creator who has a few prototype board games in your closet somewhere, consider playing one of them with a few game designers. Order a professional physical prototype of one of your board games. Experiment with a theme or mechanics you’ve never used. Card games count, too! My first game, War Co.

Dev 130

Dev Prototyping Games Game Design 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Mechanics that are never quite worth taking advantage of, items that haven’t lived up to their potential, or were later superseded by other options but remained unchanged, or even long-term experiments that were included at some point but never updated/expanded/removed. Categorical Approach.

Balance 52

Balance Mechanics Beta Prototyping 52

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 19, 2018

It involves a mix of searching, managing, and writing good requirements. If you’re a designer seeking a publisher, you will essentially need a solid prototype, a great sales sheet, and an awesome pitch. Your theme is that critical in order to nail down some concepts first, before diving into game mechanics.

Art 130

Art Games Development Prototyping 130

Deconstructor of Fun

JUNE 12, 2023

But before you continue, I’d like to make a disclaimer: As you know, I always try to offer an exhaustive and impartial assessment of the games I write about. I find the comparison unavoidable: They share many similarities and core concepts. This seems to be Supercell's solution to avoid gacha mechanics in upcoming games.

Beta 52

Beta Fighting Build Mobile 52

Designer Notes

AUGUST 10, 2021

The big change that always gets mentioned when going from Civ 4 to Civ 5 is one-unit-per-tile (1UPT), which is interesting as 1UPT is purely a mechanical – as opposed to thematic – change. The game, a historical 4X set in classical antiquity, released on July 1, 2021, and is available for purchase here.

Tile 40

Tile Point and Click AI Mechanics 40

Deconstructor of Fun

NOVEMBER 10, 2020

They get to a prototype level. Now it's moved to concepting. And they were about to build a game around the concept of Amazon of Atlantis until one of the engineers said, Guys, you've got it all wrong. But even then, it's really interesting. They haven't yet shipped anything. And usually there's like an 80 20 rule on that.

Games 52

Games Point and Click Engine Engineering 52

Radiator Blog

DECEMBER 12, 2022

Back in 2019 I made an unfinished prototype for a Gay Western game jam to contemplate the anniversary of influential gay cowboy film Brokeback Mountain (2005). Like many game prototypes, my initial sheepherding test began as something much grander and more complicated. It's mostly "safe for work" even if the actual game is not.

Pixel 52

Pixel Film Art NPC 52

Deconstructor of Fun

MARCH 22, 2021

Royal Match Royal Match is a perfect example of finding success through improvements - not step-change innovation - cherry-picking the strongest mechanics from the best games to create a new top game. Even though Candy Crush Saga had roaring success with the match-3 switcher, King was not the first company to create the mechanic.

Puzzle 69

Puzzle Mobile Mobile Mechanics 69

Tom Francis

AUGUST 20, 2019

I’ll write the rules here, but they’ll make more sense when you see it played: If you’re following closely, you might notice I slip up and fail to kill the king of clubs when he should have died, but I re-kill him with the next play so it’s fine. Could just be theme/art/flash, or perhaps a mechanics change?

Games 52

Games Playtesting Prototyping Concepts 52

Brand Game Development

JULY 20, 2020

That’s why I hit him up on Discord with the following message: I’m going to be writing a post soon called “Let’s Set Expectations: Time, Money, Effort.” Although it took us 10 months to go from concept to delivery, it could have been done faster – but we were in no hurry to rush it out.

Prototyping 130

Prototyping Games Playtesting Dev 130

Radiator Blog

JUNE 30, 2022

I first prototyped it back in 2019, but I didn't really know how to finish it. Originally this was prototyped as "Saugzwang" and I made it for the 7 Day Broughlike Jam back in 2019. L loss or often worse, since cops can exploit the same chain reaction mechanic as the player. L of semen for each one.

Code 52

Code Educational Education Prototyping 52