Game Developer

JULY 3, 2024

To fully integrate into a team and thrive, a game designer must develop soft skills and new skills that are not systematically offered in school training. This publication series aims to better prepare future game designers for their missions. I draw on my experience as a game designer, lead designer, and trainer.

Game Design 236

Game Design Game Designer Games Development 236

Game Developer

AUGUST 15, 2023

Game Design Documents (GDD) have a long history and a different place in many designers' toolboxes. Here's how to write a useful, up-to-date GDD.

Writing 246

Writing Game Design Game Designer Games 246

Game Developer

MARCH 25, 2025

Retora Games founder and adjunct professor Tyler Coleman held classroom exercises with game design students in order to help prepare them for the harsh current realities of the game industry.

Game Design 274

Game Design Game Designer Games 274

Game Developer

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

During her 30-year career in games, McWilliams worked on a number of games such as Gears of War 4, Free Realms, and Deal or No Deal.

Game Design 347

Game Design Game Designer Games 347

Game Developer

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Solo VR dev Zander Dejah, formerly gameplay programmer on Vader Immortal, explores finding the fun with Vendetta Forever.

Game Design 312

Game Design Game Designer Indy Dev 312

Game Wisdom

FEBRUARY 4, 2025

The Struggles of Studying Game Design Josh Bycer josh@game-wisdom.com It’s a new year and that means it’s time to once again ponder the nature of game design.

Game Design 76

Game Design Game Designer Games Indy 76

Game Developer

MARCH 24, 2025

'To achieve creative sobriety, you need to look into yourself and understand your own experiences and constraints.'

Game Design 265

Game Design Game Designer Games 265

Game Developer

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

Why over-designing your game can lead to an unfocused mess.

Game Design 265

Game Design Game Designer Games 265

Game Developer

JANUARY 10, 2024

The late Jaquays' decades-long tenure in games includes the Quake series, Age of Empires, and Halo Wars.

Game Design 348

Game Design Game Designer Games 348

Game Developer

AUGUST 13, 2024

Evolutionary algorithms can optimize game parameters by simulating various scenarios -- enhancing design, especially for complex games.

Game Design 240

Game Design Game Designer Simulation Games 240

Game Developer

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

The RITEC Design Toolbox was conceived as a means for designers to 'ensure their products are aligned with best practices for children's well-being.'

Game Design 294

Game Design Game Designer Games 294

Game Developer

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024

While 168 million global subscriptions present a significant opportunity for broader reach and steady revenue, developers are treading carefully.

Game Design 293

Game Design Game Designer Development Games 293

Game Wisdom

OCTOBER 28, 2024

Why Objective Game Design Doesn’t Work Josh Bycer josh@game-wisdom.com width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" The idea of creating a formula around game design is the subject for today’s post and why even though you need to understand numbers to build a game, there is no objective way to design amazing games … (..)

Game Design 52

Game Design Game Designer Games Build 52

Game Developer

JULY 10, 2024

In the first part of this series of publications devoted to training game and level designers, I discussed the importance of soft skills, essential complements to know-how. I presented two skills that are essential to me. In this second part, I present two others to you.

Game Design 250

Game Design Game Designer Games 250

Game Developer

OCTOBER 21, 2024

'If authored with intentionality and purpose, VFX can become an essential part of any game’s design.'

Game Design 334

Game Design Game Designer Games 334

Game Developer

MARCH 4, 2024

We set out to create a game that’s simple and fun to play while giving players the freedom to add whatever tweaks they’d like.

Game Design 317

Game Design Game Designer Games 317

Game Developer

JUNE 12, 2024

Join us in contributing to a groundbreaking collection of research and white papers aimed at exploring the intersection of games and sustainability.

Game Design 294

Game Design Game Designer Games 294

Game Developer

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

We decided to dig a little deeper into the similarities and differences between The Battle of Polytopia and chess to understand how it has proved a winning design strategy.

Game Design 258

Game Design Game Designer Games 258

Game Wisdom

MAY 21, 2025

How Football Culture Shapes Game Design Josh Bycer josh@game-wisdom.com Football isnt just a sportits a worldwide phenomenon that stirs passion, loyalty, and creativity on every continent. Its rich culture and traditions have inspired generations of video game developers to recreate the energy of the pitch in virtual form.

Game Design 52

Game Design Game Designer Games Game Development 52

Game Developer

JUNE 8, 2023

If there's one aspect of the game industry that is as mysterious as game design, it is game analysis. There may be hundreds, or even thousands at this point, of magazines, sites, journalists, and YouTubers, all reviewing video games, but it takes a careful eye to analyze a game.

Game Design 163

Game Design Game Designer Games 163

Game Developer

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

The design of Baldur's Gate 3's Auntie Ethel encounter is a stellar example of open-ended quest design.

Game Design 278

Game Design Game Designer Games 278

Game Developer

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

In this article, we’ll analyze two mathematical concepts: Markov chains and random walks.

Game Design 269

Game Design Game Designer Concepts Games 269

Game Developer

APRIL 26, 2024

Veteran game designer Raph Koster thinks there's a lot of room to explore what "fun" is in game design.

Game Design 356

Game Design Game Designer Games Development 356

Juego Studio

DECEMBER 30, 2024

Game design is a fascinating blend of strategy and art. But this fascination comes to a halt, when a debate on game design fundamentals begins what comes first, the theme or the mechanics? This is the question that comes to all the game designers at the very first step when starting to create a game.

Game Design 121

Game Design Game Designer Mechanics Art 121

Game Developer

MAY 14, 2024

Continuing transcript of the uncut interview of game composer Winifred Phillips by Meena Shamaly, host of ABC Classic’s The Game Show (Part Two).

Game Design 226

Game Design Game Designer Games 226

Game Developer

AUGUST 6, 2024

The database is pitched as 'the ultimate reference tool for game designers.'

Feature 359

Feature Game Design Game Designer Games 359

Game Developer

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

The free repository relaunched a few weeks ago to provide 'the ultimate reference tool for game designers.' ' Then OpenAI came knocking.

Game Designer 363

Game Designer Game Design Games 363

Game Wisdom

FEBRUARY 18, 2025

Adventure Game Design With Krunchy Fried Games Josh Bycer josh@game-wisdom.com width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" For this perceptive podcast, I spoke with Dominic O’ Reilly from Krunchy Fried Games who is working on the adventure game Five Day Detective.

Game Design 52

Game Design Game Designer Games Writing 52

Game Developer

DECEMBER 10, 2023

Like many new ideas, Word Slots was not the start of a process but the very end of a long series of iterations.

Game Design 244

Game Design Game Designer Games 244

Game Developer

MARCH 21, 2025

'As game designers we always think that more is better, but it's not the case.'

Game Designer 347

Game Designer Game Design Games 347

CG Spectrum

APRIL 29, 2025

Games have the power to transport us to fantastical worlds through immersive storytelling and gameplay. Want to know what it takes to create enjoyable and captivating video games?

Game Design 52

Game Design Game Designer Games Animation 52

Game Wisdom

APRIL 11, 2025

The Economics of Free-to-Play: How Microtransactions Influence Game Design Josh Bycer josh@game-wisdom.com The free-to-play model has transformed the landscape of modern gaming, creating new opportunities for both developers and players.

Game Design 52

Game Design Game Designer Games Development 52

Game Wisdom

MAY 14, 2025

Balancing Challenge and Reward in Game Design Josh Bycer josh@game-wisdom.com In game making, creators match challenges and prizes to craft a fun and pleasing game for players. A well-tuned game keeps players hooked by ensuring tasks are not too complex or too simple, and that prizes feel worth earning.

Balance 52

Balance Game Design Game Designer Games 52

Game Developer

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Grasshopper Manufacture CEO and game designer Goichi “Suda51” Suda dishes on 25 years of toilet humor, ultraviolence, and his love for Takashi Miike.

Game Designer 364

Game Designer Game Design Games 364

Game Developer

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

Sam Lake will receive this year's Lifetime Achievement Award. Lucas Pope will be recognized with the Pioneer Award.

Game Design 216

Game Design Game Designer Games 216

Game Developer

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

Indie designers and artists discuss different ways to make sexuality and intimacy more common in game design.

Indy 354

Indy Game Designer Game Design Games 354

Ask a Game Dev

DECEMBER 24, 2024

Are there any fields of math that arent useful in game design? You really dont need advanced math knowledge for game design, but it is very useful to have some understanding of advanced math for game programmers (especially vector math and understanding of matrices, trigonometry, and quaternions).

Game Design 52

Game Design Game Designer NPC Games 52