Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 22, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. In my quest to test Highways & Byways 100 more times before I release it to reviewers, I’ve found myself with relatively little to say. I’ve already play-tested this game a ton.

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Dev Games Mechanics 130

Brand Game Development

APRIL 21, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Most board game mechanics will not work as well as you intend them to. Good board game developers need to know when to drop mechanics and when to refine them. Click here.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Dev Game Developer Game Development 130

Brand Game Development

APRIL 7, 2017

I’ll be explaining my development processes for this game so that you can learn from them. My hope with the Dev Diary series is that by being really direct and transparent about my own development experiences, you’ll see how I respond to real problems. We’re in this together, game devs. Just get it playable.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Dev Simulation Games 130

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 17, 2018

Creating board games takes an enormous amount of time and effort. The simple fact is that there are a lot of distinct tasks that have to be handled to turn a game from an idea into reality. This is why I urge each new board game designer to share the workload , delegating tasks to a team instead of doing them all alone.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Development Games 130

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 4, 2021

Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Seeing Your Childhood Games with Older Eyes. What I didn’t expect, however, was just how well many of my childhood games held up. How Mario Party Works.

Game Developer 130

Game Developer Game Development Development Games 130

iXie gaming

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Nintendo, a household name in the gaming world, has a long-standing tradition of delivering high-quality, immersive gaming experiences to its fans. Thorough testing is a crucial part of the game development process to achieve this level of excellence. But what does Nintendo game testing entail?

Quality Assurance 52

Quality Assurance Platformer Communications Console 52

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 27, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Last Saturday and Sunday, I attended my first board gaming convention – Protospiel in Atlanta. Prototype of a beach volleyball game by Julio Nazario. Need help on your board game?

Prototyping 130

Prototyping Dev Point and Click Mechanics 130

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

Board games can be about all sorts of things. Games, at their core, might just be a series of mechanics and rules, but themes keep us from feeling like we’re playing out the logical conclusion of mathematical functions. Need help on your board game? “Your job is to stack blocks.”

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Communications Art Game Developer 130

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 19, 2018

For the last few years, we’ve been living through a glorious age: the Great Board Game Renaissance. In a world aglow with smartphones, tablets, and those annoying billboards that change every five seconds on the side of the road, analog gaming has become a welcome retreat for millions. Need help on your board game?

Games 130

Games Art Media Game Design 130

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. This week with Highways & Byways , I’ve been making little improvements to the game to make it more usable and easy-to-understand. Need help on your board game? Click here.

Dev 130

Dev Simulation Prototyping Games 130

Brand Game Development

JUNE 16, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. I’ve got some Gantt charts and knockoff Vizio diagrams explaining my approach to Highways & Byways as a holistic project and not just a game. Need help on your board game?

Communications 130

Communications Dev Point and Click Mechanics 130

Brand Game Development

MARCH 31, 2017

The highways exist so that players can move around the board between byways. In short: I have completed the first draft of the board. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Naturally, this game is nowhere remotely close to completion.

Dev 130

Dev Playtesting Simulation Editing 130

Game Refinery

MAY 4, 2023

We’ve been writing about the growth of ‘hybrid’ mobile games – when a title merges two or more genres to create an entirely new gameplay experience – since 2020, but hybrid games have evolved a lot since then, especially when it comes to the game genres that are being merged together.

Mobile Gaming 95

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Mechanics 95

iXie gaming

OCTOBER 3, 2023

The process of developing a game doesn’t end with coding and design. Testing the end product is crucial to ensure it delivers a seamless user experience (UX) and meets the industry requirements & standards. Several testing techniques are used to test the game’s readiness for release.

UX 52

UX Bug Code Games 52

Brand Game Development

MAY 14, 2018

This is part one of four in the Failure Recovery series in Start to Finish: Publish and Sell Your First Board Game. Understanding that and moving forward are critical to your success. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.

Game Developer 130

Game Developer Game Development Development Concepts 130

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. I’ve started the final 100 play-tests. This is a process I follow to ensure a game’s quality. Need help on your board game? On average, the game is average.

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Dev Games Prototyping 130

Brand Game Development

APRIL 28, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. The mark of a great game developer is to make great complexity and interaction come out of simple elements. I’ve come up with a theory which I call the Five Levels of Communication through Game Development.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Communications Games Engine 130

Brand Game Development

AUGUST 5, 2019

It’s a puzzle-solving, tile placement board game for 1-4 players where you play as a fantasy monster who’s hungry for villagers. We could not be happier with how the campaign turned out, and the game is available for pre-order now ! Need help on your board game? The Early Design.

Art 130

Art Games Tile Mechanics 130

Game Refinery

APRIL 6, 2023

With increased competition from IDFA regulation changes and new games consistently entering the market, two of the biggest challenges facing publishers and mobile game studios are acquiring new players (UA) and keeping those players in your game (player retention). Why implement minigames?

Mechanics 81

Mechanics Puzzle Mobile Mobile 81

Brand Game Development

MAY 6, 2019

Lately, I’ve been talking about the hard truths of the board game business. You can’t just make the board game you want. You have to make the board game other people want. Need help on your board game? Just look at some of these posts I’ve been publishing lately.

Games 130

Games Build Mechanics Console 130

Grid Sage Games

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

As I’ve stated many times before, my first influence for Cogmind was the original BattleTech board game , where my friends and I wouldn’t just take stock mechs, but designed our own based on the rules, selecting the right combo of weapons, heat sinks, armor, and special tech. A BattleTech loadout sheet.

Mechanics 52

Mechanics Build Point and Click Tile 52

Deconstructor of Fun

OCTOBER 23, 2023

This game, which combines Match-3 core with merge progression originally launched globally in the second half of 2020. Just when the market was becoming overheated with the lockdowns and merge mechanics were the all-new rage among the players. He taught you how to merge flowers and get nectar to unlock new zones for you to explore.

Mechanics 59

Mechanics Puzzle Tile Mobile Gaming 59

Brand Game Development

MAY 12, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Instead of focusing directly on game development, I’ve focused on learning as much as I can about board games. Need help on your board game? Why go to all this trouble?

Dev 130

Dev Balance Game Developer Game Development 130

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 27, 2017

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the fourth of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? When do you focus on one mechanic?

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Games Balance Development 130

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 17, 2020

When I was a neophyte game developer, I found an excellent article by Wizards of the Coast, creators of Magic: the Gathering , called Ten Things Every Game Needs. No matter what type of game you’re making, these 10 elements are critical to making a good game. Need help on your board game?

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Tile Games 130

Brand Game Development

JULY 28, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. This week in Start to Finish , I wrote Choose Your Own Adventure: Self-Publish or Not , an article dedicated to the benefits and pitfalls of self-publishing your game. Need help on your board game?

Fighting 130

Fighting Dev Art Games 130

Deconstructor of Fun

JUNE 6, 2023

This week, we jump into what it takes to design great Match 3 games and how we would improve Makeover Match. Case: Makeover Match Making games is hard. As player expectations rise and market conditions become more challenging, creating a successful game and maintaining that success is becoming increasingly difficult.

Balance 52

Balance Puzzle Mechanics Animation 52

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. So much of success in this industry is based upon your abilities as a project manager, marketer, promoter, and accountant.

Art 130

Art Dev Mechanics Game Developer 130

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 16, 2017

In order to self-publish a board game, you will have a lot of responsibilities. These responsibilities include marketing, sales, fulfillment, accounting, and…oh yeah…designing the game. It is a lot to organize and do no matter how many people are involved. Need help on your board game?

Games 130

Games Media Game Developer Game Development 130

Game Designing

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Lesson 7: Randomness Summary In this lesson, we explore the role of randomness in games, distinguishing between input and output randomness. Lesson 7 Transcript So what I want to talk to you about in this design talk is randomness in games. It’s more interesting and that way the game is more fun to play over and over.

Sprite 52

Sprite Mechanics Game Design Game Designer 52

Brand Game Development

MARCH 19, 2018

Welcome to the third unit of Start to Finish: Publish and Sell Your First Board Game. First came Game Development 101 and then came Designing & Developing Your Game. That’s why I’m especially excited to introduce you to unit 3: Marketing & Promoting Your Game.

Games 130

Games Media Build Advertising 130

Game Refinery

OCTOBER 5, 2023

Video games have come a long way since they were first conceptualized in the 1950s, with expansive open worlds that can fit right in your pocket, but you don’t need to go back 70 years to see what games looked like back then. So, what’s to blame?

Mobile 52

Mobile Mobile Esports Games 52

Brand Game Development

APRIL 14, 2017

I realized that in my push to create Highways & Byways , I’ve neglected six very powerful background skills that make game developers great. Game development is about more than just game development, folks. Need help on your board game? How will you know if you’ve done a good job?

Game Developer 130

Game Developer Game Development Development Dev 130

Brand Game Development

APRIL 13, 2018

I would have much preferred to write a post about how Highways & Byways funded on day 1. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. When I created this blog, I created it to help see creators through the entire game development process.

Data 130

Data Writing Dev Game Developer 130

Deconstructor of Fun

MAY 23, 2023

Fastforward to September of 2022 and the game, Marvel Snap, is finally out globally after a considerable amount of time in soft launch. What I mean by that it is easy to pick up and play, which for a card game is no small feat. Most importantly, the game was and is performing! What’s the best way to describe Marvel Snap?

Tile 95

Tile Mechanics Feature Mobile 95

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. The most epic public post-mortem ever.

Art 59

Art Concepts Dev Studios 59

Deconstructor of Fun

JUNE 3, 2020

In the last few articles, Nebo wrote about recent changes in the User Acquisition (UA) space and what is their impact on how we distribute apps , define ROAS targets and, finally set up and automate creative production. IPM measures how well your campaigns stands out and the performance of your store front.

Games 52

Games Mobile Mobile Art 52