Grid Sage Games

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

Overall Rogue doesn’t really have many different item characteristics to modify or games systems to interact with, which is a primary limiting factor in the extent of randomization a game can support. Brogue’s trippy colors come from impactful terrain features like water, lava, and gases.

Data 52

Data Terrain Balance Mechanics 52

Radiator Blog

AUGUST 12, 2022

Elden Ring features big tree levels where you have to platform on narrow branches that snake around. So I divided the bumpy terrain into quadrants, with big tree roots gating each section. It helps supplement the stealth fantasy in a game with basically no stealth mechanics.

Prototyping 52

Prototyping Fantasy Fighting Terrain 52

Grid Sage Games

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

Here we’re primarily talking about the player revisiting earlier floors on their journey, rather than backtracking within a single map (though I’ll cover that topic a bit separately at the end), and our discussion focuses on roguelikes of the dungeon delving variety, since open world games generally allow backtracking by default.

Point and Click 52

Point and Click Mechanics Feature Open World 52

Deconstructor of Fun

JUNE 3, 2019

This was the date that the social games giant had acquired a relatively unknown Finnish developer, Small Giant. The reason for this acquisition was the success of Small Giant’s hit game, Empires & Puzzles. Especially the last twelve months the game has been thriving, raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue per day.

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Feature Build Balance 52

Grid Sage Games

JULY 17, 2022

In the time since Garrisons were added, however, a combination of relevant changes to the game started putting pressure on their original design: Many more full branch maps were added, along with factions, each with their own enticing reasons to visit them compared to the weaker incentives for entering a Garrison.

Beta 52

Beta Content Balance Mechanics 52

Game Design Advice

JUNE 5, 2016

Last month I attended a conference on computational modeling in games in Banff. The question, in a nutshell – can we discover a well-defined property of game systems that corresponds, roughly, to what designers and players mean by “depth”? We are only looking at the very focused domain of game-as-problem.

Feature 40

Feature Terrain Baking Games 40

Deconstructor of Fun

MAY 15, 2022

This post is written by the fantastic Game Bakery substack team of Chase, Zixuan, Haiyin, Caitou, Fish, Amy, Chow, Jing, Wanzi and edited by Caitou, Rob. When we talk about MMO, many may relegate this game category to “old-school” or “niche.” Amazon Games has finally made its name after the tough launch of New World.

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Cutscenes Art Content Mechanics 52

Radiator Blog

JULY 6, 2021

all drawings by Eleanor Davis "We Dwell in Possibility" (WeDIP) is a new queer gardening simulation game about planting bodies and ideas, and watching them grow into a kinetic landscape. The game should take about 5-10 minutes to play. I made a browser game? Does this game represent a shift or break from my existing work?

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Simulation Art AI Internet 52

Grid Sage Games

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

Cogmind generally has fewer such direct escape options, but teleport mechanics are out there, if an advanced tech not usually available until the late game. When it came time to implement this feature last month, I discovered both sets of notes and realized they were describing two somewhat different systems! Come one, come all!

Mechanics 52

Mechanics Concepts Balance Terrain 52

Radiator Blog

DECEMBER 12, 2022

SPOILER WARNING: This post spoils what happens in my new game That Lonesome Valley. It's mostly "safe for work" even if the actual game is not. That Lonesome Valley is a short gay cowboy romance game about walking, sheepherding, and kissing. This final release now has gay sex, smoochin', and other important new features.

Pixel 52

Pixel Film Art Prototyping 52