Grid Sage Games

MARCH 10, 2022

A decade of development into a huge project is almost unavoidably going to accumulate some amount of cruft. Before doing a full item-by-item review, I started with two special categories of unique build-defining items: aliens artifacts and Exiles prototypes. Exiles Prototypes. ASCII art for Exiles prototypes.

Balance 52

Balance Mechanics Beta Prototyping 52

Deconstructor of Fun

MARCH 14, 2023

Peak Games boss Inonu said that Apple should help developers more by clarifying its privacy policies further and that Google’s approach seemed to be better thought out. Fun generates retention, he said, stating that game designers should think of their games as becoming a daily player habit.

Games 59

Games Cross platform Mobile Mobile 59

Interesting Choices

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

I've created an online prototype for playtesting that has seen almost 2000 games completed with at least a dozen players clocking in at over 100 games apiece. The rapid feedback and iteration cycles enabled by this level of playtesting mean that the game is currently in fantastic shape.

Build 40

Build Tile Point and Click Games 40

Deconstructor of Fun

OCTOBER 17, 2022

History Most people in the western hemisphere may not be familiar with Call of Duty: Online (CoDO), a project kicked off in 2010 and announced in 2012 as a partnership between Activision and Tencent, with Activision in charge of development and Tencent as the Chinese publisher of record.

Content 52

Content FPS Mobile Mobile 52

Brand Game Development

JULY 20, 2020

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. I’ve written about the five levels of communication game developers must master. Need help on your board game?

Prototyping 130

Prototyping Games Playtesting Dev 130

Tom Francis

AUGUST 20, 2019

I thought it would be an interesting game design challenge to come up with a single player game you can play with a regular deck of playing cards. In the video I both explain it and play a full game. If you’re going to charge for it, maybe think about if there’s something you’d like to add to the game.

Games 52

Games Playtesting Prototyping Concepts 52

Brand Game Development

JULY 22, 2019

Perfect board game pacing is one of the most underrated aspects of board game design. Somewhere between overwhelm and ennui, there lies a middle ground where a game is perfectly paced. A great board game feels challenging and interesting throughout. Need help on your board game? The Race to the Finish.

Tile 130

Tile Games Playtesting Balance 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. I first prototyped it back in 2019, but I didn't really know how to finish it. CONTENT WARNING 1: I mention a suicide from a century ago.

Code 52

Code Educational Education Prototyping 52