Designer Notes

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

Well, one part of the appeal of games is that they can theoretically simulate the real world and teach us about it, that we can make choices and see those choices be modelled accurately. But, to use just this one specific example, how could a game written before McCracken’s insight on pitching have any claim to accurately model baseball?

Simulation 73

Simulation Agent Game Design Game Designer 73

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 2, 2018

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the ninth of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? Games aren’t made by one person usually and definitely not in my case.

Playtesting 130

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that are never quite worth taking advantage of, items that haven’t lived up to their potential, or were later superseded by other options but remained unchanged, or even long-term experiments that were included at some point but never updated/expanded/removed.

Balance 52

Balance Mechanics Beta Prototyping 52

Deconstructor of Fun

MARCH 14, 2023

Kudos to Neil Long of Mobilegamer.biz for joining the event and writing the notes. State of the mobile game industry Eric Kress, Gossamer Consulting Deconstructor of Fun’s “chief outrage officer” Eric Kress was up first to offer what he called a “pragmatic view of what’s going on in the market.”

Games 59

Games Cross platform Mobile Mobile 59

Grid Sage Games

JULY 17, 2022

I’m reminded of Beta 11’s spicing up the main complex with Heavies and Cargo Convoys , though in this case it’s not just adding one or two new mechanics but instead about turning Garrisons into proper branch maps in terms of content distribution… Encounter Architecture. …alert level xD. That’s a problem.

Beta 52

Beta Content Balance Mechanics 52

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. In the video I both explain it and play a full game. Could just be theme/art/flash, or perhaps a mechanics change?

Games 52

Games Playtesting Prototyping Concepts 52

Brand Game Development

JULY 20, 2020

Garret is a sharp guy and a good game dev. 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.” We’re going to explore why that is so that you get a clear-eyed look at what you’re committing to.

Prototyping 130

Prototyping Games Playtesting Dev 130

Radiator Blog

JUNE 30, 2022

This points to a general problem with treating sexual moods like immutable video game character classes. So in hindsight, a better game design analogy for sexual roles would've been "stances" or "buffs" that freely change and/or stack. L loss or often worse, since cops can exploit the same chain reaction mechanic as the player.

Code 52

Code Educational Education Prototyping 52