PreMortem.Games

AUGUST 9, 2023

Making games is different to making anything else. It’s the combination of art, coding, music, sound design, graphic design, writing, acting, animation, sculpture, and then at the end you can play it! I feel now I’m a better game designer, because I had the time and space to work on it solo.”

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Dev Art Concepts Film 104

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

Making games is different to making anything else. It’s the combination of art, coding, music, sound design, graphic design, writing, acting, animation, sculpture, and then at the end you can play it! I feel now I’m a better game designer, because I had the time and space to work on it solo.”

Dev 104

Dev Art Concepts Film 104

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

A community manager and new game designer. A game filled with cute armoured babies on a brave mission to save their daycare from a goblin invasion. She explains, “Creativity ended the minute high school began, you had to do things a certain way and the only room for creativity was in writing English essays.”

Prototyping 165

Prototyping Code Engine Engineering 165

Ask a Game Dev

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Besides the leads, some specific disciplines tend to do more paperwork - QA spends a huge amount of time filling out bug reports, designers have to write design documents, and production have to create most/all of the non-bug tasks to be tracked.

Game Design 52

Game Design Game Designer Bug Dev 52

PreMortem.Games

AUGUST 30, 2023

AI affects game design The project’s trajectory shifted with the integration of AI tools. “To produce a point and click game, and to document the creation of a partly AI-generated game.” are answered in his regularly updated dev blog. It became a public AI research project.

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AI Game Developer Game Development Point and Click 190

PreMortem.Games

OCTOBER 18, 2023

The San Diego, USA based developer does however love the freedom he gets as a solo dev: “You get to make all the decisions. I love to see players’ reactions when they play my game. Ironically, my cousin hated game design and instead works in real estate.” This streamer is playing my game!’

Horror 104

Horror Simulation Dev Development 104

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.

Game Design 52

Game Design Game Designer Balance Games 52

Digital Ephemera

MAY 28, 2022

Development Updates: Snowman Dev Update (2.2: May 2022) Snowman Dev Update (2.2: 5 June 2022) Snowman Dev Update (2.2: 12 June 2022) Snowman Dev Update (2.2: 14 June 2022) Snowman Dev Update (2.2: 19 June 2022) Snowman Dev Update (2.2: 26 June 2022) Snowman Dev Update (2.2: Re-Writing History (API).

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Dev Point and Click Code Writing 40

Brand Game Development

MARCH 16, 2018

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. You need to make a great game. You need to play-test it a lot – alone, with friends, with family, with blind play-testers, and with game designers. Click here. Will this work?

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Dev Games Localization Fighting 130

Brand Game Development

JUNE 24, 2019

To celebrate the launch, I’ll be releasing a five-part case study on the development of the game every week for the next five weeks. I didn’t write these articles – Ryan Langewisch did. He is the designer of Tasty Humans. He won Panjam, a 48-hour board game design contest that Pangea ran in 2018.

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Tile Writing Fantasy Fighting 130

The Knights of Unity

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

After all, in a couple of hours that you would spend on writing all the ideas down, you might be coding and make these ideas come to live instead, right? If you decide to work on your design doc at the beginning of the project, your future self will probably thank your past self on many occasions. Well, not exactly. .

Game Design 40

Game Design Game Designer Games Writing 40

Ask a Game Dev

DECEMBER 14, 2022

As long as the “owners” and the bible remain consistent, the game content usually remains consistent. Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?

Writing 52

Writing Dev Content Art 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. In fact, at the moment I’m writing this article, it’s the third most popular website in the world, bested only by Google and YouTube.

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Dev Build Advertising Games 130

Ask a Game Dev

MARCH 2, 2023

Remember, the goal when writing a design document is to help provide a road map for the feature or system you’re working on. When I write a design document, I usually try to address the following: High level goal - What is this feature/system/puzzle/etc. supposed to do?

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Feature Puzzle Writing Engine 40

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? Be direct when writing rules. Playtest a Ton.

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Balance Games Communications Mechanics 130

Brand Game Development

APRIL 14, 2017

Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. The Dev Diary is about more than simple updates – it’s about sharing what I’ve learned through my personal experiences with you. Just like in a game of darts, if you don’t have a clear target, you won’t win.

Game Developer 130

Game Developer Game Development Development Dev 130

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 22, 2018

After it, you can hope to passively sell your game and reap the rewards in the form of sales. You could also use your success to launch multiple games, building a company in the process. Alternatively, you could dedicate yourself to game design, picking up 5-10% on every game you design for different companies.

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Advertising Build Games Point and Click 130

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 29, 2018

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the thirteenth of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. This week, I want to zero in on the subject of making the perfect board game rule book.

Writing 130

Writing Games Mechanics Balance 130

Game Dev Unchained

MAY 9, 2023

The Transformative Landscape of Game Development: A Deep Dive with Willem Delventhal As a digital ecosystem thrives and transforms at a rapid pace, a recent conversation with game designer and educator Willem Delventhal offered insights into the evolving realm of game development.

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Indy Educational Education Technology 97

Brand Game Development

APRIL 27, 2020

Play-testing is the most important part of board game design. It’s how you turn rough, raw ideas into polished, ready-to-play games. Write down everything they say and keep a good attitude even if you disagree. You may also be able to find a game design or play-testing group local to where you live as well.

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Demo Playtesting Simulation Advertising 130

Brand Game Development

MARCH 22, 2021

Many of you who read this blog know that I am self-publishing board game designer who uses Kickstarter as my platform of choice for funding the bulk of my projects. Certainly no surprise if you’ve read some of my articles like A Crash Course on Kickstarter for Board Games. Don’t write it off as an option.

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Games Localization Platformer Art 130

DameDev.tv

NOVEMBER 14, 2022

In this Livecast they talk about the story in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and Cloudpunk amongst other topics related to storytelling in video games. Rick has more than 14 years experience in the game dev industry, working on IP's that include Mario, Transformers, Captain America and Mortal Kombat.

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Content Media Mechanics Game Engine 57

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? What are some guidelines for writing good rules? Sean: Sure!

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Mechanics Concepts Writing Games 130

PreMortem.Games

JANUARY 19, 2024

And so, we quickly realised the potential to form a bit of a ‘Super Group’ by bringing Game Design and AI Tech together. The joy of the game is that the suspect rolls with whatever the player throws at them. ” “Ultimately, Dead Meat is designed so that no question is out-of-bounds”, explains Keane.

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AI First person Puzzle Scripting 127

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

Brand Game Development

JUNE 23, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. I’m going to talk the importance of timing when you’re developing a board game. Stages of a Board Game Project. Just here for Highways & Byways updates? His name is James Masino.

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Game Developer Game Development Development Art 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. I talk a lot about the business side of board game creation. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. It paid off.

Art 130

Art Dev Mechanics Game Developer 130

Brand Game Development

MAY 14, 2018

If the audience shows passion and interest, continue to game design. Game Design: The process of taking a game’s specifications and turning them into a functional game with mechanics, rules, and components. Play-Testing: Playing the game and refining it until it’s fun.

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Game Developer Game Development Development Concepts 130

Brand Game Development

APRIL 13, 2018

After a year of documenting the Highways & Byways development process through the Dev Diary, this is not the post I wanted to write. I would have much preferred to write a post about how Highways & Byways funded on day 1. This is the first filter in my new game development process and I will use it aggressively.

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Data Writing Dev Game Developer 130

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 2, 2017

I’ve been through it, as have many, many talented game designers, writers, artists, and CEOs. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Making a board game involves hundreds of play tests and a lot of subtle tweaks. You can do it.

Writing 130

Writing Game Design Game Designer Dev 130

Brand Game Development

MAY 11, 2020

Here are a few examples: How to Pitch Your Board Game to a Publisher How to Pitch (and Not Pitch) Your Game to Stonemaier Games Board game designers are bad at pitching games to publishers. In this article, I’m not going to write about how to specifically word a pitch. I can help.

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Games Fantasy Writing Build 130

The Bottom Feeder

AUGUST 9, 2023

If it looks good, you should write a copy of it. It was a fun cheap game that is still fun and cheap. It's also a charming, scruffy take on the classic Twin-Stick Shooter genre, great for mindless gaming, with a price that is effectively zero. Both about game design, and about the indie games biz as a whole.

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Co-op Indy Games Balance 76

Game Wisdom

MARCH 23, 2023

Josh Bycer josh@game-wisdom.com My current project is finishing up the writing of my next book on RPG design. One thing I didn’t think about when I first started writing was just how much the genre’s cues and qualifiers have proliferated out to everything … The post Why Did Everything Become an RPG?

Writing 52

Writing Games Fantasy Game Design 52

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. I’ll also be writing responses for Will. We started designing games together. Sarah: Looking forward to it!

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Prototyping Playtesting Games Game Design 130

Brand Game Development

MARCH 23, 2020

From it, I went on to write Why the Highways & Byways Kickstarter Campaign Crashed & Burned , which remains one of the most popular posts on this blog, even two years later. I don’t think people write about failure enough. It was a deeply personal project for which I had high hopes. I learned a lot from that experience.

Writing 130

Writing Point and Click Media Prop 130

Brand Game Development

APRIL 8, 2019

Wrong Reason to Make a Board Game #2: You Hate Your Job or Boss. It’s seldom these days that I see a person truly convinced that board game design will make them rich. I didn’t appreciate how hard making a board game was until this blog took off and I started getting calls from entrepreneurs.

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Games Game Design Game Designer Build 130

Brand Game Development

JULY 7, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. A lot of times, board game designers and publishers will create abstract games and add themes later. Just here for Highways & Byways updates? Win the Cold War before the Soviets take over.

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Communications Games Mechanics Point and Click 130