PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

In Guntouchables by Danish indie developer Game Swing , enemies randomly power up from the upgrades that a team of four players cant lift out of the levels. This leads to some unexpected and quite frankly, explosive situations as the game progresses. Game Swing was founded in 2013 by five Danish game design students.

Co-op 104

Co-op Playtesting Balance Art 104

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 13, 2020

This is a nice change of pace from normal cooperative games because it adds a necessary element of stress that makes Spirit Island feel satisfying. I think Arah’s review on Board Game Geek says it best. Balanced asymmetry leads to greater variety. “Vibe: brain burny whack-a-mole.”

Game Designer 130

Game Designer Game Design Games Balance 130

Logic Simplified

AUGUST 8, 2023

Since most of us are unaware of the process of creating a game, we usually confuse game design and game art as being the same. In this blog, we will discuss the difference between game art vs game design and how each plays a unique role in game development. Who is a Game Designer?

Game Designer 88

Game Designer Game Design Art Prop 88

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 13, 2017

Though it’s super easy to pick up, the game turns into a slightly heady mix of deduction, risk mitigation, and probabilistic thinking. All the strategy fundamentally comes down to a single principle of game design that became apparent to me after a few rounds. The eight cards in Love Letter are as follows: Guard.

Balance 130

Balance Games Game Design Game Designer 130

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

As players build their cyberpunk metropolis, balancing relationships with factions that hold competing visions of the future, they’re drawn into a world where each card played brings them closer to either utopia or ruin. But initially, Techotopia was a completely different game. We developed the game with financial backing from Alawar.”

Fantasy 104

Fantasy Balance AI Games 104

Game Wisdom

MAY 25, 2023

The Clash of Choices in Game Design Josh Bycer josh@game-wisdom.com One of the many balancing acts of game design is the act of creating cool, interesting, unique, abilities for the player to use, and then balancing said abilities within the scope and design of your game.

Game Designer 59

Game Designer Game Design Balance Games 59

GamesIndustry.biz

MAY 22, 2024

If you’re a game designer, you’ll point to the systematic nature of the game. It’s the balance between all these elements. "If you’re a business exec at a major publisher, you’d say it is the live service element that keeps players coming back, and the cheaper price point. Read more

Co-op 145

Co-op Software Balance Game Designer 145

The Bottom Feeder

AUGUST 28, 2024

I often complain about modern design being too over-balanced and tight-assed. There's too much control-freakery in modern games. So I want to sing the praises of the craziest of all designs. Along the way, they stumbled upon all sorts of strange genius. So What Is It? It's a magic item in Dungeons & Dragons.

Game Designer 87

Game Designer Game Design Fantasy Games 87

DameDev.tv

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

There are some game design elements you don't want to forget, because if you miss them, your game could lack the polish it needs. Parallax Backgrounds Parallax Backgrounds, in 2D games, give the illusion that you are in a real world. Parallax shows up, especially in side-scroller games, when a character is moving.

Game Designer 62

Game Designer Game Design Balance Games 62

PreMortem.Games

DECEMBER 24, 2024

Still, Nowell strives to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Im also trying hard to learn how to separate my game development and personal life. I dont want to work on my game 7 days a week. Or try to make a game designed to be loved by every person in the world. I want to work smart, not hard.

Development 197

Development Dev Horror Playtesting 197

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 24, 2025

. “From there, we kept exploring and experimenting, refining the concept into a story-driven adventure where players have real narrative agency aboard their flying ship, says Casals Meet deadlines Ticking Clock Games was founded in the summer of 2023 by Game Designer Roman Gushcha and Casals, who met while working in Poland.

Point and Click 104

Point and Click Games Feature Balance 104

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

This week while working on my current board game design, a lot of things have come into focus. Now it’s time to start tweaking board game rules. This is where board game design often becomes very tricky. Need help on your board game? Making Balanced & Clear Rules. Rules vs. Rulebooks.

Balance 130

Balance Games Communications Mechanics 130

Grid Sage Games

MAY 8, 2022

Recently a player asked me a question regarding my game balance philosophy, and while I can often respond to queries by pointing to some previous article, despite all my writing and no doubt occasionally touching on related topics, I had yet to explicitly do any sort of summary of the philosophy behind my gamedev work.

Game Designer 52

Game Designer Game Design Balance Games 52

PreMortem.Games

AUGUST 30, 2023

I wanted to make a game completely on my own to balance my professional life as a game developer working with big teams.” AI affects game design The project’s trajectory shifted with the integration of AI tools. So, the AI does affect the game design, but mainly by its limitations”, Kemppainen says.

AI 190

AI Game Development Game Developer Point and Click 190

Sirlin

JULY 21, 2015

We discuss techniques I use to balance games. Hosts: David Sirlin and Matt "Aphotix" DeMasi We discuss techniques I use to balance games. Hosts: David Sirlin and Matt "Aphotix" DeMasi We discuss techniques I use to balance games.

Balance 40

Balance Game Designer Game Design Games 40

PreMortem.Games

OCTOBER 28, 2024

“I used to attend a lot of game development events and conferences, but now I’m more interested in just focusing on making games.” The development of Selfloss was initially funded by Khoroshavin himself through his job as a lecturer in game design and Unreal Engine at ITMO University in Saint Petersburg.

Prototyping 104

Prototyping Indy Games Concepts 104

iXie gaming

APRIL 16, 2024

Establishing a sustainable and balanced game economy is crucial to the success of any game, as it helps drive player satisfaction and engagement. However, the gaming world has been evolving constantly. Creating a sustainable game economy using game analytics can be challenging. Where Do You Start?

Balance 52

Balance Games Data Game Design 52

PreMortem.Games

MARCH 15, 2024

In Guntouchables by Danish indie developer Game Swing , enemies randomly power up from the upgrades that a team of four players can’t lift out of the levels. This leads to some unexpected and quite frankly, explosive situations as the game progresses. Game Swing was founded in 2013 by five Danish game design students.

Co-op 138

Co-op Playtesting Balance Art 138

Logic Simplified

JULY 31, 2023

There is one area every game designer must focus on to ensure that their games are captivating enough to entertain and provide an impactful experience to the user: game mechanics. When creating a new game, video game mechanics are often considered the most important factor. What are game mechanics?

Mechanics 95

Mechanics Puzzle Games Balance 95

Game Analytics

DECEMBER 9, 2022

They could check logical problems in the game design itself by using custom design events. Now that Splitting Point had the data they needed, they were able to fix bugs and game design issues with every new update. Rage Runner is a game where the player races along a speed course. Dive into your own games.

Data 97

Data Bug Game Designer Game Design 97

iXie gaming

MAY 24, 2024

Developers have long utilized game analytics for various purposes, such as understanding player behavior, enhancing user experience, and improving game design. In this article, we dive into the ethical considerations developers must consider in-game analytics to ensure a balance between data usage and player privacy.

Data 52

Data Balance Games Game Development 52

PreMortem.Games

OCTOBER 16, 2024

Football Game Development Moss conducted over a dozen in-depth interviews with football game designers for the book. His research revealed just how difficult it is to create a great football game. Developers also have to balance realism and fun, something that Moss found fascinating.

Balance 156

Balance Games Writing Editing 156

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? Sean: Sure! Let’s start with a simple mechanic such as dealing damage.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Writing Concepts Games 130

PreMortem.Games

APRIL 19, 2024

Things were getting serious three years later when Ryding decided to quit his job as a software engineer and work full time as a game developer. One of my close friends, Ches Denison, joined me working 5-10 hours a week as a playtester, game designer, and just a general jack-of-all-trades-guy.

Playtesting 129

Playtesting Games Mobile Mobile 129

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 20, 2017

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the third of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? I studied Game Design at UAT in Tempe, AZ and graduated with honors in 2009.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Games Game Design Game Designer 130

PreMortem.Games

JULY 8, 2024

His turning point came in 2019 at Comic Con Africa, where he discovered a Game Design degree at Wits University’s stand. “I However, it still took a nudge from a dreadful experience in an Applied Mathematics class to propel him to switch from Computer Science to Game Design. It was great!

Studios 129

Studios Educational Education Point and Click 129

Sirlin

APRIL 4, 2015

Flash Duel is a simple and fast card game that in high level play ended up being bogged down by lengthy calculations. We talk about the design changes that address this as well as at least one tricky balance puzzle we faced. At the time of this post, Flash Duel is on kickstarter right now. Please support it if you can.

Game Designer 40

Game Designer Game Design Puzzle Balance 40

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 22, 2017

After all, I’m checking to make sure there are no serious balance issues that come out of repeated plays. I’ve already play-tested this game a ton. I even blind play-tested it at a game design convention. Need help on your board game? “How many blind play-tests does your board game really need?”

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Dev Games Mechanics 130

Radiator Blog

MARCH 16, 2023

I assumed it was mostly for fans but after watching all 32 episodes (on 2x speed, skipping some parts) I've changed my mind and now I think it's essential viewing for all game designers / devs. Outside of game design, there's a growing tide against "design thinking" style methods, see "Design thinking was supposed to fix the world.

Art 147

Art Concepts Dev Studios 147

PreMortem.Games

OCTOBER 25, 2024

We were really inspired by watching streamers like Ludwig tackle games like Jump King and Getting Over It,” says Isaac Iozzi, acting as director and game designer on Ascending Inferno. We’re all juggling other jobs and responsibilities, so we’re working late nights and weekends on the game.

Studios 118

Studios Indy Mechanics Games 118

Logic Simplified

OCTOBER 18, 2023

The Demand for Multiplayer Games There is a great demand for multiplayer games and it is the tech experts, creative thinkers, and game designers who have made them what they are today. Let’s elaborate on how multiplayer game design isn’t as simple as just throwing together some mechanics and calling it a day.

Game Designer 52

Game Designer Game Design Balance Concepts 52

Brand Game Development

MAY 12, 2017

Want to learn game development? Use BoardGameGeek’s database , blogs such as Stonemaier Games Kickstarter Lessons , Dice Tower videos , design books such as the Kobold Guide to Board Game Design , and even academic research papers (which you can find on Google Scholar ).

Dev 130

Dev Game Development Game Developer Balance 130

Deconstructor of Fun

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

Integrating IAP into traditionally ad-driven games requires rethinking game design and player experience, proving that hybrid monetization demands more than simply adding IAP options. Ryan agrees, but he emphasizes that implementing hybrid monetization is no easy plug-and-play solution.

AI 52

AI Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile 52

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 23, 2017

Sarah: It was summer of 2012 that Will had the idea to make a board game for my birthday, but didn’t know how to go about it. We started designing games together. Early in 2013, our local game store owner mentioned that there were other designers in the area. How do you overcome those?

Prototyping 130

Prototyping Games Playtesting Game Design 130

Logic Simplified

SEPTEMBER 23, 2024

This sense of putting a player's abilities to use against a difficult situation in a game (challenge), and rewarding their potential for every challenge they overcome and every progress they make in the game (achievement), makes a player want to play. What is Level Design? Process of Level Designing and Game Development 1.

Mechanics 65

Mechanics Games Playtesting Concepts 65

The Bottom Feeder

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

First, it's all managed between games. Third, the new characters and levels are fun and prolong how long you play the game. There's no balancing. 25 if your game is extra-fancy. It's one of the few retro games that still totally holds up. Don't be a fussy designer here. No downsides. Relentless Carnage.

Indy 88

Indy Balance Game Design Game Designer 88

PreMortem.Games

MARCH 22, 2024

“So, a turn-based-tactics game based around sabotage and assassination operations felt like something fresh to us”, says Senior Game Designer Lee Brimmicombe-Wood. We wanted a past that was a little more colourful than that and balanced the visuals accordingly”, explains Brimmicombe-Wood.

Games 99

Games Concepts Film Balance 99