Deconstructor of Fun

MAY 4, 2020

This game packs some of the best balanced, nerve- wracking, strategic gameplay on a mobile device. Even better, the team has showcased a holistic focus on the game: Masterfully balanced the gameplay with regular nerfs/buffs, refreshing the meta Designed for both elder and new players, often forgotten by mature games Took risks (e.g.,

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Mobile Mobile Mobile Gaming 52

Designer Notes

MARCH 31, 2023

So, why should I go back to make a historical, tile-based 4X game? Civ inherited this mechanic directly from Empire, a game from the 80s which had much of the same tile-based, turn-based combat as Civ but without the scope of all human history. New borders would come from tile specialists and urban improvement.

Tile 98

Tile Point and Click AI Mechanics 98

Deconstructor of Fun

SEPTEMBER 28, 2020

One could even make an argument that the less puzzling cores such as bubble shooter or tile blasting are not as good of a fit for an audience like this. After carefully composing a balanced team of fighters, the player takes their party of stalwart heroes into battle. This speaks of the importance of the core gameplay. Core Gameplay.

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Tile Mechanics Build 52

Tom Francis

MAY 27, 2023

My chess variant stalled a while, cos I rarely felt like coding when my work day was done. Board setup is random with some attempt at balance, plus a balancing rule: One player chooses which corner to start in, then the other player takes the first turn. So I bought a chess set and some plasticine to try some ideas lo-fi style.

Playtesting 52

Playtesting Tile Balance Code 52

Designer Notes

AUGUST 31, 2021

With that preamble done and due praise given, it is all the more remarkable that one bad game mechanic has been preserved from version to version, tweaked perhaps, adjusted at times, but still as clumsy, fiddly, and unnecessary in 2021 as it was in 1991 – the system of placing citizens on tiles.

Tile 40

Tile Terrain Game Design Game Designer 40

Tom Francis

MARCH 11, 2017

They’re both games where you move around a grid of different tile types, and the one you’re standing on determines what you can do there. At this point you live or die by what tiles happen to be between you and it – if they all do 1 blue damage and the enemy has 4 blue health, you are dead.

Tile 52

Tile Games Build Fighting 52

Designer Notes

OCTOBER 14, 2021

There’s just no way to balance a game with that much variability, and I was afraid to put my thumb on the scale and start covertly killing off rulers who had overstayed their time on the throne. I kept it a secret because I wasn’t sure playing ten rulers would actually work, and it turned out I was right.

AI 40

AI Simulation Mechanics Mobile Gaming 40

Radiator Blog

JUNE 30, 2022

A broughlike is a variation on a roguelike named after designer Michael Brough , who has spoken before on his design patterns like square tiles, orthogonal movement, turn parity, glitching, limited info, simple maze designs, minimal resources. For instance, Zugzwang's hanky code also gives a vital hint for predicting AI behavior.

Code 100

Code Educational Education Prototyping 100