Radiator Blog

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

This is similar to my tactics games writeup and Enderal (huge Skyrim mod) writeup where I spoil some interesting game designer / systems design things. I don't discuss much of the game narrative. I assume general game design knowledge but minimal Deathloop-specific knowledge. Limited regen (e.g.

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Sirlin

NOVEMBER 15, 2016

Fantasy Strike is our new fighting game. We cover the high concept about making a fighting game more accessible from top to bottom than anything else we've seen, the specific game mechanics we chose to accomplish that, and the resulting dynamics of how it plays. Fantasy Strike is our new fighting game.

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Fantasy Game Design Game Designer Fighting 40

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? Consider How Much Challenge You Want Your Game to Have.

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Balance Games Communications Mechanics 130

Ask a Game Dev

AUGUST 1, 2023

What you're describing is the dissonance between having a normal human (with all of the common context that carries with it, like "people often die when they are shot at all") as the final boss and the expectation of a final boss fight being a prolonged, memorable, and epic battle that tests the things you've learned so far.

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Fighting FPS Dev Concepts 52

The Knights of Unity

FEBRUARY 12, 2021

In the previous part of the post, we’ve introduced you to the most important reasons to create a game design document in your project, using three examples: personal project, internal project, and commission work. First two or three paragraphs that should help the reader to become familiar with your concept and its setting.

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Game Design Game Designer Games Mechanics 52

Radiator Blog

APRIL 1, 2022

Within broader game design culture, the theme also invokes an awkward aspect of cultural appropriation and reduction. The massing was inspired by this "Forgotten Temple" concept art by Jonas Ellermann (above). The textures are fine! When you think about it, a sharp corner or critical path gate can also function as a closet door.

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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? Game mechanics are how we bring the core engine of a game to life.

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Game Dev Unchained

MAY 9, 2023

The Transformative Landscape of Game Development: A Deep Dive with Willem Delventhal As a digital ecosystem thrives and transforms at a rapid pace, a recent conversation with game designer and educator Willem Delventhal offered insights into the evolving realm of game development.

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Indy Educational Education Technology 98

Sirlin

OCTOBER 20, 2015

Codex is a new take on customizable card games. Last week I posted a new Raw Game Design podcast episode (for $10+ patrons) where I discuss "reset buttons" in Codex (cards that blow up the board so you can possibly come back from a very bad position). We're also looking for a volunteer concept artist to help with our stages.

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Fantasy Fighting Balance Concepts 52

Keith Burgun

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Some of my earliest, most enchanted memories of games were in some early RPGs. This article , in particular, from Nintendo Power, I have a distinct memory of reading and being totally transfixed by the concept of the world of Final Fantasy 1. (I Random Encounters that are Encounters (not just fights).

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Fantasy Pixel Art Fighting 119

Tom Francis

NOVEMBER 9, 2022

The early game is slow and boring. All your good pieces are trapped behind a wall of bad pieces, so you both have to spend a bunch of turns moving the bad pieces out of the way so the good pieces can fight. Stalemate is a wildly stupid concept. Ooh, tough game design problem! Who can say who should win that game?

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Concepts Game Designer Game Design Tile 100

PreMortem.Games

JULY 12, 2023

is one of the most striking indie games coming out this summer. With graphics that wouldn’t look out of place in a Dreamworks animated movie and sword fighting action that would make Zorro blush. has to be the visual flair of the game. But while everyone was working at larger studios or freelance, the En Garde!

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Prototyping Games Fantasy Concepts 104

Radiator Blog

OCTOBER 13, 2022

The high visual polish and stellar production values adorn a solid but predictable gameplay loop: you fight through dungeons with random rooms / enemies, collect resources, and bring them back to your hub to build up your village and its inhabitants. The cult of the game industry is most powerful of all.

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Yobob Games

AUGUST 12, 2022

There are other ways to play with this fatigue and stamina concept. The ideas give a new design tool for me to work with and it expands on the farming genre games. Usually game developers don’t give a lot of thought into stamina bars and how it can affect the characters and game design.

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Keith Burgun

APRIL 14, 2024

I had a playtest with a friend of mine one day, and he noted that we have a lot of resources and they are all kind of “similar” We had gold, mana, health, storm shards, and blast tokens, and they all kind of felt the same in how they moved throughout the game. +1 I also think this concept of a breakout rule is important.

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Concepts Playtesting Game Designer Game Design 69

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. No, not to my knowledge.

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iXie gaming

APRIL 3, 2023

We will explore various aspects of art production, including design concepts, art style, and optimization techniques. By the end of this article, you’ll have a solid understanding of how to produce high-quality art for mobile games that captivates players and sets your game apart in a competitive market.

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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. The main difference between a game and a puzzle is that a puzzle has one real solution, an optimal way through the challenge. You get the same verbs, the same affordances.

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Puzzle Build Games Data 112

Rampant Games

NOVEMBER 7, 2022

So author Reki Kawahara drew on his familiarity with the games of the day and their systems to create what he thought would be a super-cool virtual reality game. Once consumer VR hit in 2015, we discovered a lot about VR game design. But this is kind of a holy grail of game design for me, so I’d love to see it work.

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Art Games Fighting Technology 52

Keith Burgun

JULY 29, 2022

Also, worth listening to my conversation with Pete Seicienski on his “Adventure Games” concept, which is very much related to this Sense of Wonder thing ). This newness and ambition was a big part of why, as a player playing the game back then, it was so good at inspiring a sense of wonder.

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Fantasy AAA Concepts Games 52

Rindoku

OCTOBER 7, 2016

Ovidiu Mantoc – Level Design, 3D Art. Gabriel Tanko – Concept and 2D Art. Everything would work out as designed if the player started fighting in the new area but of course players will surprise you. Cosmin Coroiu – 3D Art. Carmen Palade – Animation. Radu Cristea – Programming. Stefan Dinca – User Interface.

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Keith Burgun

JUNE 18, 2022

But I also think in all that time I’ve really only met a small handful of people who understand why I value this one-player strategy game thing, specifically. Indeed, one of the main starting points for the design was that it wouldn’t be a puzzle, standing in contrast to the highly puzzle-like nature of Advance Wars.

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Games Puzzle Graphics Concepts 52

Grid Sage Games

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

Being able to backtrack is generally going to be more realistic in the RPG sense--of course your character should be able to go back and pick up that item they left behind, or fight that enemy that scared you away before. In a game setting, though, this can be quite an annoyance from a design perspective (harder to balance!)

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Tom Francis

MARCH 11, 2017

Gunpoint was derivative, but at least it was derivative of many things rather than any one game. This is not unoriginal game design, it’s playable games criticism! I used to write about where games went right or wrong, now I actually try fixing their problems and find out if I’m right!

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Tile Games Build Fighting 52

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 31, 2021

Funtrio is a very secretive publisher that is hard to track on Sensor Tower) 2020 Prediction #2: Funtrio will end 2020 in the top 5 slots publishers by revenue market share, likely beating out Huuuge and probably Scientific Games. Feathers & Dragons Happy 2020!

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Mobile Mobile Games Feature 52

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. When it comes to heroes Puzzle Breakers has the same concept as E&P.

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Grid Sage Games

JULY 17, 2022

I wrote about this factor in my recent article on game design philosophy. Some concepts: More enemies could show up? Failing that (gets blasted in a fight? hacking attempts unsuccessful?),

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Mircosoft Game Dev

AUGUST 10, 2017

If it looks too similar to other games, it will also most likely fail. The difference can be with either an innovative gameplay concept, or an art style that was not seen before in a game. Unique character designs can also generate interest. For an RPG or adventure game, the story and artwork are key.

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Deconstructor of Fun

DECEMBER 12, 2021

All in all, Axie Infinity’s growth spurt is decelerating (although still positive), and a majority of its player base treats the game like a daily job to make daily financial ends meet. Game Loops and Systems Overview Axie Infinity’s game design falls under the “Turn-based RPG” subgenre, according to GameRefinery’s taxonomy.

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Mechanics Games Balance Game Designer 52

Grid Sage Games

MARCH 10, 2022

This aligns with the concept that although Exiles prototypes are meant to be very good, they’re also usually flawed in some way, such as eventually breaking down, blowing up in your face, or something in between :P. This is a pretty good example of the heavy influence interface limitations can have on game design.

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Balance Mechanics Beta Prototyping 52

Interesting Choices

NOVEMBER 22, 2011

To my knowledge, it isn't yet common for games to be commissioned in the way that works of art were commissioned by patrons throughout history. Hokra is a 2v2 sports game where the teams are fighting over control of a single ball. What game designers inspire you the most and why? His games, such as B.U.T.T.O.N.

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Indy Game Design Game Designer Mechanics 52

Radiator Blog

DECEMBER 12, 2022

A homophobic English farmboy is forced to work with a hunky Romanian farmhand, and so inevitable muddy fight sex and simmering romance ensues. Back in 2012, John Mix Meyer wrote "Women aren’t vending machines you put kindness coins into until sex falls out" to critique proto-PUA concepts like the friendzone.

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