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. Introducing minigames into your game also provides an opportunity to add new monetization elements.

Mechanics 217

Mechanics Puzzle Mobile Mobile 217

Game Refinery

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

A narrative can also help with pacing, building and releasing tension alongside key story beats while directing the players’ attention and emotions through them, all the while supporting other features and creating a meaningful foundation for retention.

Mobile Gaming 247

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Games 247

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 233

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Game Developer 233

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

We have really worked hard on making each mission a different and fun experience that introduces a unique mechanic.” Silly things He admits that game- and level design was a real puzzle to solve in the semi-open world that allows players to carve their own paths by smashing through just about everything. “It

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Open World Games Studios Development 104

Game Refinery

JUNE 21, 2023

Companies have since been forced to seek permission from app users before tracking their activity across other apps and websites for advertising purposes, meaning they now lack much of the valuable data previously used to build highly-effective UA campaigns. This keeps the momentum going and encourages further investment in the game.

Mobile Gaming 44

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Games 44

PreMortem.Games

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

Cocoon, the intricate puzzle adventure by Jeppe Carlsen , known as the lead gameplay designer of Limbo and Inside, launched to raving reviews after 6.5 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.

Puzzle 104

Puzzle Prototyping Art Communications 104

Deconstructor of Fun

SEPTEMBER 28, 2020

This analysis is written by Taras Koshelev (Lead Game Designer at My.Games Venture Capital) who focused on game mechanics and loops and Michail Katkoff (Founder of Savage Game Studios) who covered the market and marketability. Playrix released Puzzle Breakers into soft-launch in late 2019. Puzzle RPGs on Mobile.

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Tile Mechanics Build 52

PreMortem.Games

JULY 12, 2024

QoQ); Bridge Race (–4% QoQ); Magic Tiles 3 (–12% QoQ); and Build A Queen (–20% QoQ). Wood Nuts: Screw Puzzle The first game on the list is a title by Zego Studio: Wood Nuts: Screw Puzzle. In this game, the user solves various puzzles by unscrewing everything on the screen. Now, let’s turn to the newbies at the top.

Puzzle 104

Puzzle Racing Games Mechanics 104

Game Refinery

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

One of the most successful ways of doing this is by introducing meta elements – gameplay elements and mechanics from other game genres – into your game. How these renovation and construction elements are implemented in-game often varies according to the core gameplay mechanics and narrative nature of the game.

Mobile Gaming 130

Mobile Gaming Mechanics Puzzle Mobile 130

Grumpy Gamer

MAY 12, 2004

As the story builds, we are pulled into the game and leave the real world behind. What makes most games tough to play is that the puzzles are arbitrary and unconnected. It's an advanced puzzle, I was told. Backwards Puzzles. The backwards puzzle occurs when the solution is found before the problem. I disagree.

Puzzle 162

Puzzle Games Entertainment Graphics 162

Grumpy Gamer

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Quests that do world building. Travel around gathering ingredients (which didn't feel tedious as you needed to Island-hop for other story & puzzle reasons) then cast spells that advance the story. Funny, and builds NPC character (which they don't do much with after). Say I need to get inside the castle. I love that quest.

Fighting 264

Fighting NPC Mechanics Build 264

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 220

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Co-op 220

Sirlin

JANUARY 29, 2022

Puzzle Strike 2’s expansion, called Bold Adventures, has four new community bank decks as well as 10 more characters. Steam Crank introduces a new mechanic: the chain combo. The Steam Crank deck has another minor mechanic as well. The third of these bank decks is Steam Crank. That said, there’s still a balancing act.

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Mechanics Engine Engineering 52

PreMortem.Games

JULY 1, 2024

We seek to build long-form interactive storytelling that features the tactile interactions and transition heavy animation that we’re familiar with. Evan Anthony: “Alternating between two timelines with such different visual designs, mechanics, and stories has been a real brain puzzle for us.

Art 138

Art Games Graphics Puzzle 138

Logic Simplified

FEBRUARY 24, 2025

The Numbers Dont Lie Endless runner games have captivated mobile gamers worldwide, seamlessly blending simple mechanics with engaging gameplay. You dont need to solve puzzles, find keys, or worry about running out of lives. Kids: Bright colors and simple mechanics? But why do people go bonkers for them? Sounds intense, right?

Games 85

Games Mobile Mobile Gaming Mobile 85

Sirlin

JANUARY 20, 2022

Puzzle Strike 2’s expansion, called Bold Adventures, has four new community bank decks as well as 10 more characters. But now factor in those discard mechanics! This next card has the same mechanic as the above cards, but it’s so powerful that it deserves to be shown by itself: A double crash for free, if you can discard it somehow!

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Mechanics Engine Engineering 52

Deconstructor of Fun

MAY 20, 2020

A bold move for Supercell, going against giants that continue to rule the casual puzzle space. Hay Day Pop however shows that Supercell has learned their lessons and clearly understands how to build on the genre. It has a solid core game design, and a meta design that builds upon the successes we’ve seen in the market.

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Mechanics Content Data 52

Raph Koster

SEPTEMBER 2, 2023

I thought it would be interesting to contrast this to Word Dad , a puzzle game made by my friend, master game designer John Cutter. A brief aside on puzzles All three of these are more correctly called puzzles, of course. This means that really, puzzles and games are terms that are matters of degree, not kind.

Puzzle 112

Puzzle Build Games Data 112

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Compelling puzzles And so the team built the game around the story. The gameplay mechanics and puzzles all came from the question ‘what fun things could we mess with inside a phone’. We ended up kind of struggling to really create a sense of progression and compelling puzzles.” Absolutely! Lucie then added them.”

Puzzle 104

Puzzle Games Technology Code 104

PreMortem.Games

JANUARY 24, 2024

I thought that the core mechanic in this 2D game was extraordinary, so I contacted the developers. The Swap The initial idea that ignited the project was the core mechanic: The Swap. It allows players to instantly swap places with any physics based object which allows for some clever puzzling through the relentless levels. “We

Pixel 145

Pixel Art Mechanics Demo 145

Grumpy Gamer

MAY 11, 2004

As the story builds, we are pulled into the game and leave the real world behind. What makes most games tough to play is that the puzzles are arbitrary and unconnected. It’s an advanced puzzle, I was told. The backwards puzzle occurs when the solution is found before the problem. I disagree. What is the reasoning?

Puzzle 130

Puzzle Games Entertainment Graphics 130

Sirlin

JANUARY 13, 2022

Puzzle Strike 2’s base set includes 10 characters and two different community banks decks. There are several fundamental things you do in Puzzle Strike 2, such as blocking, crashing, swapping, drawing cards, and spending actions. Pink is the color of engine building and it has two really solid building blocks here.

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Mechanics Concepts Build 52

Deconstructor of Fun

JUNE 3, 2019

The reason for this acquisition was the success of Small Giant’s hit game, Empires & Puzzles. Since mid 2017, Empires & Puzzles has raked in $260M in net revenues with only 34M installs. Empires and Puzzles regularly takes the top spot in Puzzle RPG category in the West (when Dokkan is having a post event hangover).

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Feature Build Balance 52

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 14, 2020

Alrighty then, lets kick off the predictions with the Puzzle genre! Puzzle Games Continued to Grow. Puzzle genre is the second largest, after strategy games, on mobile in terms of in-app purchases. Last year Puzzle games generated a whopping $4.5Bn in IAP revenues while growing 18% year-on-year.

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Games Tile Mobile 52

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 28, 2019

The dice are bright and pretty, as are the puzzle boards on which you build stained glass arrangements of dice. It’s ultimately a puzzle game, but a very attractive one with some subtle elements that arise from it being a nearly perfect information game where players draw from the same draft pool.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Point and Click Games 130

Cocos

JANUARY 8, 2024

Thank you to the cocos team for providing a great engine that allowed us to build this game without technical constraints, and to use our creative space and abilities as we pleased. We are an adventure puzzle game with 7 big chapters and 300+ small chapters. and more than 20 different puzzle mechanisms.

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Game Developer Game Development Electronics 52

Game Refinery

JUNE 23, 2022

The onboarding period is the delicate phase where the player’s relationship to the monetization mechanics of the game is often decided – for better or worse. Introducing monetization mechanics through free samples. That is, while the player is still getting used to the gameplay mechanics and figuring out what their goal is.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Mobile Mobile Point and Click 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. Dylan: Chess is such a fantastic example: it’s really a geometric puzzle.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Art Games Puzzle 130

Game Refinery

JANUARY 5, 2023

When a game with a unique style and appearance becomes a hit, it doesn’t take long for new games to emerge, hoping to emulate that success by using the same gameplay mechanics, visual style and features. You’d be forgiven for mistaking Stumble Guys for Fall Guys. Tournament options in Stumble Guys.

Mobile 130

Mobile Mobile Mechanics Feature 130

DameDev.tv

OCTOBER 24, 2023

The game's scarce resources and the constant threat of danger build an atmosphere of desperation and vulnerability, making every encounter a potential nightmare. This unique mechanic turns a typically harmless object into your only line of defence against vengeful spirits. The Last of Us 9. Amnesia: The Dark Descent 7.

Horror 123

Horror First person Games Film 123

Radiator Blog

OCTOBER 13, 2022

There's a Portal-like moment where you escape the puzzle. 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.

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Indy Film Games Point and Click 130

Brand Game Development

JULY 8, 2019

Of all the mechanics in the board game world, variable player powers remain a fan favorite. Games with this mechanic range from Gloomhaven to Terraforming Mars to 7 Wonders. He, after all, created the pattern building game that we call Tasty Humans , so it makes for a great case study! So how do we implement them?

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Tile Games Mechanics Puzzle 130

Game Analytics

DECEMBER 5, 2022

There are other ways to build a game on a budget. This time, we’ll look at the top games that use storytelling as a core mechanic and show you that you don’t need sparkling design and intense gameplay to create a hit. Three Minute Games also included a time mechanic to make it feel even more realistic. One way is narrative.

Horror 109

Horror Games Mobile Mobile 109

Game Designing

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

Both are open-world action-adventure games with fantasy elements and similar mechanics. Overall, it is a more moody atmosphere that lends a sense of dread, and this goes along nicely with the hostile game mechanics players will be up against. Is the game simplistic and easy to understand, or are mechanics obscure and complicated?

Games 136

Games Mechanics Fantasy Art 136

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

That’s how I worked on the level design and puzzles in Raccoo Venture, for example. Although the levels often underwent changes after testing in the 3D environment, when you start to feel the dynamics of the level and the puzzles. There it will go through another polishing stage until reaching an acceptable product.

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Dev Advertising Internet Development 163

Deconstructor of Fun

MAY 9, 2023

Dream Games has joined that list by bolstering its hold on match-3 puzzles and widening its already mass-market audience through the addition of its newest game, Royal Kingdom , which features one of the smoothest casual PvP designs in the market. King Robert (left) and King Richard (right). Wonder how they will expand their Royal-verse.

Puzzle 69

Puzzle Mechanics Feature Build 69

Logic Simplified

AUGUST 8, 2023

They work closely with game designers as well as developers to build a well-designed and visually attractive game. Let’s take the popular example of Candy Crush Saga , a level-based puzzle game. The game mechanics involve matching three or more candies of the same color to smash them. Let’s take the example of Candy Crush again.

Game Design 88

Game Design Game Designer Art Prop 88