Game Refinery

APRIL 6, 2023

Publishers and studios are constantly looking for new ways to improve these, whether it’s with more powerful ad creative to boost UA or by adding new gameplay mechanics and features to improve player retention. They’re a great way of boosting engagement by providing players with new and exciting ways of enjoying an existing game.

Mechanics 236

Mechanics Puzzle Mobile Mobile 236

Game Refinery

OCTOBER 26, 2023

The ever-changing nature of the mobile market means that new monetization mechanics are constantly emerging and evolving. One of the most popular monetization mechanics is the subscription-based battle pass , which was introduced via Valve’s DOTA 2 in 2013 but popularized by the worldwide phenomenon, Fortnite.

Mobile Gaming 237

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Co-op 237

Game Refinery

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

Depending on the type of IP you want to license, collaborations also provide an opportunity to freshen up your narrative elements and gameplay mechanics. How well does the franchise – if it’s a film or TV show, for example – lend itself to your gameplay mechanics? Does it match your target demographic?

Mobile Gaming 243

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Game Developer 243

Game Refinery

MARCH 20, 2025

Some titles, such as Umamusume: Pretty Derby, have taken things one step further by taking a multimedia approach, with mobile games, anime, and manga series all coexisting and building an ever-expanding universe. Fly High Regardless of genre, most anime-based titles are monetized through gacha mechanics.

Animation 130

Animation Animation Mobile Gaming Mobile 130

Radiator Blog

AUGUST 12, 2022

I liked the idea of climbing / descending a big weird tree, and building it in Quake would be a big challenge, so that's what I prototyped first. I wanted to emphasize the tree's influence on the landscape, and it felt less artificial than building walls or random cliffs. It wasn't really fun to fight on the actual tree branches.

Prototyping 130

Prototyping Fantasy Fighting Terrain 130

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 28, 2019

Everdell is a worker placement, tableau-building board game. There is a reason this mechanic is present in many BGG Top 100 Games such as Viticulture , Caverna , A Feast for Odin , and Agricola. Sometime around 2018, I did a major poll asking people what their favorite themes and mechanics were. Final Thoughts.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Fantasy Mechanics 130

PreMortem.Games

MAY 27, 2024

It’s up to the three heroes Vishva, Ramli, and Guru-ji to gain the trust of the villagers and unite everyone in their fight against the demons that are aiming to seize their precious heirloom, the almighty Celestial Glue. This system reflects our key underlying value of unity in the game, as we uniquely weave the theme into our mechanics.

Art 166

Art Studios Content Indy 166

Game Refinery

MAY 26, 2022

What really differentiates The Ants from the rest, however, is not just the theme but the game’s mechanics, which give it an entirely different feel from the usual 4X we’re used to. This is likely due to the game’s varied upgrading system but also due to the way the daily gameplay focus shifts from one mechanic to another.

Fighting 130

Fighting Mechanics Simulation Data 130

Radiator Blog

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

This fighting game health mechanic is too fussy and unreliable for a busy shooter. So to survive fights for the first half of the game, you have to trust the level designers to leave enough health consumables around, Doom / Quake style. no mind control) only 5 powers (+1 PvP only power). Limited regen (e.g.

Fighting 130

Fighting NPC Puzzle AI 130

PreMortem.Games

DECEMBER 16, 2024

That’s when I formed the idea of building a new colony sim from the ground up, centered around the idea of exploration and travel. One with ruins of a collapsed civilization, where you have to fight through raiders and remnants of that civilization to claim your spoils. It looked really exciting to me, he says.

Dev 104

Dev Development Feature Prototyping 104

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 13, 2020

You and all the other players in the game play as Spirits who fight off the Invaders – basically, people who want to colonize your island. Sure, cooperative play is not exactly some exotic unseen mechanic too. However, the only real offense Bringer has is the Dahan fighting back. Lightning’s Swift Strike.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Games Balance 130

Logic Simplified

AUGUST 1, 2023

In this article, we'll explore some key building blocks of game design fundamentals. We will cover everything from crafting intuitive and engaging game mechanics to creating immersive storylines and themes to prioritizing user interface and experience. Here are a few examples of game mechanics to help you understand them better: 1.

Game Design 93

Game Design Game Designer UX Mechanics 93

PreMortem.Games

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

The game immerses players in a captivating odyssey across worlds within worlds, beckoning them to master the art of world-leaping mechanics to uncover a cosmic mystery. At Geometric we put gameplay first, and we will always build our games around strong gameplay ideas”, says Carlsen.

Puzzle 104

Puzzle Prototyping Art Communications 104

Grumpy Gamer

NOVEMBER 26, 2023

I’m currently playing through Baldurs Gate 3 and in one instance i began fighting one group of enemies, only for another to show up that distracted them. Essentially you have to use this distraction effectively to win the fight because it collects the enemies in a group and the interjecting enemy eventually leaves.

Fighting 130

Fighting NPC Mechanics Build 130

Deconstructor of Fun

JULY 20, 2020

Riot’s Team Fight Tactics (TFT) was launched quickly to catch the emerging auto-chess genre that was gaining popularity as a mod on Twitch. Till date Team Fight Tactics has reached bit over 11M installs. Riot has succeeded in building a brand that players trust. After four months TFT has $.43 43 Revenue per Download.

Fighting 52

Fighting Games Mechanics Balance 52

Game Refinery

MAY 30, 2024

Millions of mobile games are out there battling for engagement, yet only a few titles manage to fight their way to the top. If you’re struggling with new ways to build on your existing LiveOps strategy, our award winners (which include the likes of Scopely’s Monopoly GO!, Their secret to success? Mastering the art of LiveOps.

Mobile 130

Mobile Mobile Co-op Mobile Gaming 130

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 18, 2017

It is true that games speak to players through gameplay – the core engine, mechanics, and rules. Dylan: This was our challenge in trying to flesh out appropriate mechanics for Seize the Bean’s wild and almost untame-able theme. I don’t ever want to proclaim this is more important than mechanics; it certainly is not.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Art Games Puzzle 130

Deconstructor of Fun

OCTOBER 28, 2024

Written by Adam Telfer , our razor-sharp Canadian co-host who doesn’t just play games—Adam both builds and dissects them. New Entrants are Struggling to Break-In While elder games have been fighting over a stagnant TAM of players, new entrants have struggled to gain traction into the market. We’ve learned that FINALS was not enough.

Console 52

Console Co-op Content PC 52

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

External validation rarely comes your way, especially while seeking attention on social media – which is absolutely required to build a community and get to be known by players. I usually start with a location or concept from which I build a ‘mind map’. What’s your creative process? “My

Dev 160

Dev Playtesting Art Games 160

Radiator Blog

OCTOBER 13, 2022

Cult of the Lamb by Massive Monster This is a Hades-like / Binding of Issac-ish 2D action roguelike wrapped around a Don't Starve / Rimworld-y town building crafting survival system, with all the subversively violent dark cartoon humor of those references. After all, how many games offer you a "suffering musician" build?

Indy 130

Indy Film Games Point and Click 130

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 17, 2020

one place I’ve encouraged surprise is the facedown card mechanic. Tasty Humans is about monsters fighting humans instead of the other way around, which gets a sick laugh out of everybody who sees the game. Don’t just playtest it and refine the mechanics. In War Co. , Make it feel unique. drawn by James Masino.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Tile Games 130

PreMortem.Games

MARCH 1, 2024

We never want the player to feel too powerful, playing more of an underdog role, thus our heroes fight back and repel the pirates with water based weaponry and equipment normally used for farming irrigation. Fortunately with so much water all around the player is never too far from a refill to keep the fight going.”

Studios 104

Studios Prototyping Visual Scripting Art 104

PreMortem.Games

DECEMBER 13, 2024

Its up to the three heroes Vishva, Ramli, and Guru-ji to gain the trust of the villagers and unite everyone in their fight against the demons that are aiming to seize their precious heirloom, the almighty Celestial Glue. This system reflects our key underlying value of unity in the game, as we uniquely weave the theme into our mechanics.

Art 104

Art Studios Content Indy 104

Mircosoft Game Dev

JANUARY 28, 2025

The twin-stick shooter requires you to keep track of and fight the ever-closing game windows while evading enemies. Backpack Battles Backpack Battles decided to make inventory management the main game mechanic. Build relationships, play minigames, use social media, and most importantly: solve the mystery at hand.

Engine 40

Engine Engineering Mechanics Co-op 40

Jaunty Bear Games

DECEMBER 18, 2022

There are many elements to consider when designing a pirate game, including the setting, characters, gameplay mechanics, and overall theme. Each character should have their own motivations, personalities, and abilities, and the player should be able to build relationships with them over the course of the game.

Mechanics 52

Mechanics Games Fighting Build 52

Ask a Game Dev

OCTOBER 10, 2024

World of Warcraft's old raid system where raids supported only 10 or 25 players are examples of such where tuning and mechanics were modified to specific player numbers. This means we need to think about building a system of rules to do this for us quickly and easily. That's far too much work to do in any reasonable amount of time.

Fighting 52

Fighting NPC Balance Mechanics 52

Game Errors

APRIL 5, 2023

Martial arts one-on-one fighting games have been a staple for consoles and arcades dating back to the 1980s. Another reason to get Arcade Edition is to avoid the slog of unlocking characters in V by means of accumulating Fight Money. Get Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition (PS4) 2. Get Tekken 7 (PS5) 3.

Art 52

Art Fighting Editing Graphics 52

Designer Notes

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

I argued then that we need to stop assuming that a game’s theme or SETTING determines its meaning and, instead, that meaning comes from the mechanics themselves. Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about games which do a good job of constructing meaning from their mechanics and also about ones which do it poorly.

Mechanics 80

Mechanics Game Design Game Designer Build 80

Ask a Game Dev

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

Gameplay programmers do a lot of setting up of rules for a particular game mechanic or system and building interfaces/tools for us designers to use to create specific bits of content to utilize those rules. Building the interface for designers to tweak combat-related parameters to create specific fights (e.g.

AI 52

AI Co-op Build Cinematics 52

The Bottom Feeder

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

Is that new mechanic fun? That fight really stomped me." "Do So I went onto Twitch and YouTube and watched how Serious Gamerz did the hard fights. The fights were just too fast and chaotic for anything else, especially against the tough bosses. Then they went back to standard tactics and concentrating on the fight.

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Fighting Games Balance Writing 95

Game Analytics

DECEMBER 28, 2022

Think of this as a hyper-casual Beyblade game with a merge mechanic mixed in the middle. What we liked about Spinner Merge is how they came about the idea of bringing in the merge mechanic. Cart Crash is an incredibly satisfying game that relies much more on timing than any other mechanic. Spinner Merge by Sunday.GG.

Mobile Gaming 98

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Games 98

Game Refinery

OCTOBER 5, 2023

Auto-chess games, or auto-battlers, utilize chess-like elements by tasking players to build a team using characters (their chess pieces) who automatically battle each other on a grid (a chess board) in various rounds until a winner emerges. Secondly, the biggest chess and auto-chess games have strong links to esports and online streaming.

Mobile 130

Mobile Mobile Esports Games 130

Sirlin

JUNE 13, 2015

I want to show you some of what I'm working (Codex, Flowchart, and a Fighting game) and tell you about Patreon. Codex, Flowchart, and now.the Fantasy Strike fighting game (yes, really!). Tech buildings let you build more powerful units. Patreon has been the biggest surprise-great-thing to me in the last year.

Fighting 52

Fighting Fantasy Art Build 52

Interesting Choices

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Not long after that I started working on a game (then called City Draft) that would be strongly inspired by a few key influences: 7 Wonders for the mechanics and structure, Carcassonne for the idea of placing tiles in a grid, and SimCity for the theme. Limited play decisions. Players can only interact with their direct neighbors.

Build 40

Build Tile Point and Click Games 40

PreMortem.Games

JULY 17, 2023

The fact that you can tell who you’re up against because of how they fight, not how they look or what their name is. We couldn’t break the PC version as they share a common data source, which is important for our build process. The exchanges, the free-flowing and expressive combat and how satisfying it feels to land a hit.

Console 104

Console First person PC Mesh 104

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 15, 2023

That’s when I formed the idea of building a new colony sim from the ground up, centered around the idea of exploration and travel.” One with ruins of a collapsed civilization, where you have to fight through raiders and remnants of that civilization to claim your spoils.” It looked really exciting to me”, he says.

Dev 118

Dev Development Feature Prototyping 118

Sirlin

JULY 25, 2019

I’m aware that this is a subjective claim, that people will be skeptical, and rightly so because so many other fighting have done a questionable job with “accessibility.” User Interface for Friend Matches This is the kind of innovation that isn’t new to the world, but it IS new to fighting games. Has it been done in a fighting game?

Fantasy 52

Fantasy Feature Fighting Point and Click 52