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

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

MARCH 6, 2017

Board games are complex projects. Every board game is unique. You can’t even directly compare your board game to other board games. To know whether your board game is complete, you have to use qualitative metrics. Board game quality testing is very subjective.

Balance 130

Balance Games Art Feature 130

Brand Game Development

AUGUST 18, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. First things first: I am ready to play-test publicly online. In fact, we’ve already had a few play-test sessions and had a great time! Need help on your board game?

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Dev Art Racing 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

MAY 18, 2020

As the coronavirus lockdown continues, a lot of people are having a hard time getting their board game fix. The ability to play board games online, however, has never been easier. Need help on your board game? Need help on your board game? How Did I Start?

Simulation 130

Simulation Games Demo Playtesting 130

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? How do you test your rules?

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Concepts Writing Games 130

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018

Everybody who goes to Kickstarter with hopes of publishing their board game desires to not only fund, but to achieve many stretch goals. After all, doing so means you make more money and your game ends up in more people’s hands! Need help on your board game? Stretch goals! Picking Stretch Goals.

Games 130

Games Balance Writing Art 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. Need help on your board game?

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Dev Game Developer Game Development 130

Brand Game Development

JULY 6, 2020

A couple of months ago, I asked the readers of this blog to send in answers to the question “ what confuses you most about board game development ?” ” I got a lot of responses, and one of them was about how to manage a Kickstarter community. Need help on your board game?

Games 130

Games Build Media Art 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

JULY 21, 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: Publish and Sell Your First Board Game , I released Five Levels of Communication through Game Development. Need help on your board game?

Communications 130

Communications Point and Click Dev Art 130

Brand Game Development

JUNE 15, 2020

A couple of months ago, I asked the readers of this blog to send in answers to the question “ what confuses you most about board game development ?” ” I got a lot of responses, and one of them was about how much to spend on board game advertising. Need help on your board game?

Advertising 130

Advertising Point and Click Games Media 130

Brand Game Development

JUNE 9, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. The “Highway” designation is my way of saying “I’m ready to play-test the game.” ” Need help on your board game? This is a given.

Dev 130

Dev Advertising Point and Click Game Developer 130

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

Twilight Struggle has been considered one of the best board games of all time. It’s been on the Board Game Geek Top 10 for as long as I can remember and for a while was the #1 game. No matter how you feel about it, there is a lot that new board game designers can learn from it.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Games Fighting 130

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 1, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. I’ve been making games for about 2 1/2 years now, and a lot of things in my life have clicked because of the ways of thinking I have adopted by making and playing games. Click here.

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Games Dev Build 130

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Play-testing is so critical in board game development that I’ve dedicated several articles to the subject. ” Need help on your board game? Click here.

Balance 130

Balance Point and Click Dev Communications 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

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

MAY 19, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. There are a lot of software suites better suited to different games, but I use Tabletop Simulator for its versatility. Still, Tabletop Simulator is just one form of digital play testing for board games.

Art 100

Art Simulation Prototyping Dev 100

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 19, 2018

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. The board game review process is one of the most important parts of game development. Need help on your board game? Why are board game reviews important?

Games 130

Games Media Point and Click Dev 130

Brand Game Development

JUNE 23, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. He created all 300 of the original pieces of art in my first game, War Co. , 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 Art 130

Brand Game Development

JUNE 2, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Great art is one of the most critical parts of a board game. As game developers, we have only a handful of tools at our disposal to help teach players what a game is about and how to play it.

Art 100

Art Communications Dev Advertising 100

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

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

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

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 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

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

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Either way, keeping your word is very important. You don’t have to be 100% perfect, but if you’re reliable, people will notice, especially your customers. Need help on your board game?

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Dev Media Development 130

Brand Game Development

MAY 22, 2017

I am thrilled that many of you enjoyed Setting Up Social Media as a Board Game Dev: A Primer Course. Marketing is a big concern for game developers, especially in the chaotic arena of social media. Need help on your board game? Of all the sites I’ve played with, though, Twitter is my favorite.

Dev 130

Dev Games Advertising Point and Click 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

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

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

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

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 25, 2021

It’s no secret that if you want to make a great board game, you’re going to have to test it a bunch. Games are complex systems. That’s why it’s important to learn how to identify and fix problems with your board game. Need help on your board game?

Playtesting 130

Playtesting Games Mechanics Editing 130

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

Last week, I posted A Crash Course in Games , where I acted as a tour guide to the board game industry, covering much of the contextual information you’ll need to make games. Let’s pick up from there and talk about what specifically goes into making a game. What is board game development all about?

Game Developer 130

Game Developer Game Development Development Game Design 130