The Bottom Feeder

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

I’m only being driven out of my shell by my need to push the Kickstarter for our next indie RPG, Geneforge 2 - Infestation. Let’s talk about games. There is a surprise hit indie game I really like, and breaking down that kind of thing is very much in my job description, so let's talk about Vampire Survivors.

Indy 83

Indy Balance Game Design Game Designer 83

AWS Games

MAY 12, 2023

Come “behind-the-scenes” with AWS GameTime Each episode is hosted live and our Twitch viewers get the chance to directly chat with the creators and game industry veterans of their favorite games. The casual interview setting is the perfect way to ask lots of questions about their game design and game development process.

Game Developer 70

Game Developer Game Development AAA Development 70

Game Dev Unchained

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

The principles and design tenets he acquired in architecture seamlessly blended into his game design. Drawing inspiration from the cinematic worlds of both the East and West, the upcoming game, “Lucid”, has captured the attention of many. But why this shift from AAA games to indie games and support platforms?

Indy 64

Indy Pixel AAA Art 64

PreMortem.Games

AUGUST 9, 2023

But the end is here, the game is out now on steam. Every man and his dog has made an indie game but no one has painted a game yet. A point of interest in the indie game sea.” Naoum calls himself a jack of all trades, a master of none, so going solo on game development made a lot of sense.

Dev 104

Dev Art Concepts Film 104

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

But the end is near, the game will release on steam sometime in the foreseeable future. Every man and his dog has made an indie game but no one has painted a game yet. A point of interest in the indie game sea.” Pat Naoum: “Game development takes so long!” Game development takes so long!

Dev 104

Dev Art Concepts Film 104

The Bottom Feeder

OCTOBER 13, 2021

Our tiny company has been earning (well, "earning") a good living making indie computer games for 27 years now. We write super-retro, super-low-budget games that don't look great. Our game design is quite solid, but the stories we tell is what keeps us in business. A really solid story in an indie game.

Writing 56

Writing Games AAA Indy 56

Game Design Aspect

JUNE 9, 2021

Roundtable: Creating Non-Toxic Gamer Communities (1 PM Eastern) What game design principles can be used to promote friendlier and harassment-free communities? Join us for a discussion on what strategies game designers can use to create safe virtual spaces that are enjoyable for all players.

Writing 52

Writing Educational Education Game Design 52

Game Design Aspect

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Sande Chen Profiled as one of the Game Industry's Top 100 Most Influential Women and a 2020 Women in Games Global Hall of Fame winner, Sande Chen is a writer and game designer with over 15 years of experience in the industry.

Writing 52

Writing Educational Education UX 52

Radiator Blog

JUNE 2, 2023

In this sense, playing a 75% finished game is more useful than playing a 100% finished game. So this post will focus on my read of the general game design and player experience. Similarly, you can see where the core game design wanted to hit. that a bigger US AAA or a non-US indie would've failed to capture.

Studios 98

Studios Co-op Open World Cutscenes 98

iHobo

JULY 12, 2023

Although these lines are increasingly blurred today (as AAA cRPGs will tend to draw heavily from both traditions), there is a clear historical period after the Ultima - Wizardry split that dominates more than two decades of cRPG design.

Open World 52

Open World AAA Game Design Game Designer 52

Keith Burgun

JUNE 20, 2022

I think overall, it ends up just looking “ok” because it’s not as cohesive as I wanted, and I probably should have hired more amazing artists to do more large art and effects for the game. For the budget I had for the game ($0), I think it looks pretty good though. It was really cool to win that Game Design award!

Indy 52

Indy Point and Click Game Design Game Designer 52

Moonmana

APRIL 7, 2023

Both Unity and Unreal are popular choices among giant game development studios as well as indie developers. Some say Unreal is better just because it’s a common choice for AAA studios. Unity has created a large community and made video game development more accessible to game developers with various expertise levels.

Engineering 52

Engineering Engine Game Engine Games 52

The Bottom Feeder

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

Standard Disclaimer This game is a huge success in every way, and I am an ant. Though God help any foolish reviewer who tries to give an AAA game less than 9/10.) Looking at the achievement percentages on my PS5, over 40% of players finished the game, which is a great rate. But in a, you know, Norse way. Sold a ton.

Fighting 92

Fighting Games Balance Writing 92

Radiator Blog

NOVEMBER 3, 2021

In a past era of game design, we complained when combat games had obligatory stealth sections -- now we have story games with obligatory combat sections. Before you begin the zombie-filled Palace quest, the game UI helpfully advises, "if you're not a fan of action or horror gameplay, feel free to decline this quest."

NPC 52

NPC Fighting Art Dev 52

SOVEREIGN MOON

OCTOBER 11, 2020

We’ve talked with many students in our online game development course for beginners , and we’ve seen great examples of beginners using all four of these game engines to produce spectacular indie games. Unity has a reputation for being a complex game engine designed to help developers make AAA games.

Engineering 52

Engineering Engine Visual Scripting Scripting 52

Radiator Blog

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

This is similar to my tactics games writeup and Enderal (huge Skyrim mod) writeup where I spoil some interesting game designer / systems design things. I don't discuss much of the game narrative. I assume general game design knowledge but minimal Deathloop-specific knowledge.

Fighting 52

Fighting NPC Puzzle AI 52

The Bottom Feeder

MARCH 13, 2024

Last week, I wrote a blog post about how the video game industry seems to be entering a sad and painful period of contraction. I've been writing these State of Indie posts for a long time. I Feel Like a Traitor I've been writing advice for making a living making indie games since 1997 or so. (My Nor should they.

Indy 96

Indy Art Writing Games 96

Deconstructor of Fun

DECEMBER 13, 2022

That makes them the closest thing in games to a rock supergroup: Maya Kylmamaa (Game Lead, Engineer) , was CEO of the now defunct Reforged Studios (a Helsinki studio focused on AAA strategy games). The common point is that both were the co-founders of the indie games company Scuttlebutt Games.

Studios 52

Studios Mobile Mobile Console 52