PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

” Once a concept is chosen, it goes through a prototyping phase where function takes priority over form. “Playtesting is key. We love exploring different styles of puzzles, logic, pattern recognition, environmental interactions and even experimental mechanics like cooperative dialogues.”

Puzzle 138

Puzzle Mechanics Communications Studios 138

Brand Game Development

JUNE 3, 2019

The concept is simple: through gamification, you take the elements we associate with games – point scoring, competition, rules – and apply them to something else. Businesses have fallen in love with this concept because they’ve found that gamification works wonders for motivating people.

UX 130

UX Playtesting Game Designer Game Design 130

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

I usually start with a location or concept from which I build a ‘mind map’. But the process doesn’t end there, and usually I keep discovering things that make me go back and forth and iterate, playtest, iterate, refine, playtest, iterate… I definitely recommend getting feedback from external playtesters at each step.” “I

Dev 160

Dev Playtesting Art Games 160

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 28, 2016

Now that we’ve accepted that theme and mechanics are imaginary, abstract concepts, let’s put them to use. Through playtesting, you can answer the question “do the mechanics suit the theme?”. There is no hard-and-fast line that splits mechanics and theme. They’re two opposite ends of a continuing spectrum of detail.

Mechanics 100

Mechanics Playtesting Concepts Game Designer 100

PreMortem.Games

MAY 1, 2023

Everyone must be online from 14h to 18h on Discord because this is ‘when things get done’ and we can all do brainstorms, playtests and all that.” She drew a lot of the first concept art for the main characters. According to Lamhut the team explored several concepts before settling on Roguelites. says Lamhut laughing.

Studios 104

Studios Build Playtesting Concepts 104

PreMortem.Games

MAY 24, 2024

It’s important to stick to the plan to avoid spending years making prototypes, that you will need to adapt in most cases after the first playtests. We are lucky to have passionate communities on all subjects, and it’s easy to interact on concepts, techniques, or production.

Dev 239

Dev Games Co-op Game Designer 239

PreMortem.Games

JUNE 24, 2024

Alice Ruppert , a leading authority on equestrian games with her website The Mane Quest and a producer on the game, spent most of 2023 working on its inception and concept, laying the foundation for a game that faithfully portrays horses. “We

Simulation 156

Simulation Open World Games Playtesting 156

Brand Game Development

MARCH 9, 2020

” Besides, when we – as gamers and game developers – put aside our frustration for a moment, we can actually see Monopoly for what it is: a solid concept with bad execution. Watch your playtesters’ reactions. With so many issues, it seems unlikely that Monopoly was thoroughly playtested.

Game Designer 130

Game Designer Game Design Playtesting Games 130

Radiator Blog

MARCH 16, 2023

Then it cuts to concept artist Emily Johnstone anxiously trying to pitch design ideas to a group brainstorm meeting which she just happens to be the only woman in the room. Tim argues James and Jeremy's blockouts are sort of just random spaces with no overall concept, and pushes for more thematic design with memorable scenes.

Art 147

Art Concepts Dev Studios 147

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

That concept had been floating around the studio since 2017. Working closely with the community in various playtests over the years and even right now in the lead up to launch gives you a very solid idea of where your game is failing to communicate important concepts. One was an easy choice, Jumplight Odyssey.

Studios 145

Studios Concepts Playtesting Development 145

Logic Simplified

SEPTEMBER 23, 2024

Let’s begin by understanding the concept of levels in a video game. In a game, new motives, challenges, and concepts are added to the game world, while ensuring they increase the degree of difficulty at every level. What drives a video game, and what factors control its engagement?

Mechanics 65

Mechanics Games Playtesting Concepts 65

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 23, 2017

Sarah: It was also in 2013 that we met Ben and were playtesters for his game Tower , which he launched on Kickstarter early in 2014. Along with handling all the business, Ben has playtested and helped develop our designs. Will: I know for me personally, projects are a big concept. Will was also lead story writer for Tower.

Prototyping 130

Prototyping Games Playtesting Game Designer 130

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

A mechanic is the concept behind the game and the rule is the way that it’s handled to ensure balance.” Playtest a Ton. With this in mind, let’s talk about how exactly you can make board game rules. As I said last week , “rules regulate the way mechanics are implemented. I have some guidelines.

Balance 130

Balance Games Communications Mechanics 130

Brand Game Development

MARCH 29, 2021

Now look, some parts of game design – like playtesting or accessibility testing – can be tedious. “Do I care about the basic concept of the game?” Of course, burnout doesn’t just happen all at once. It sneaks up on you and gives you warnings.

Game Designer 130

Game Designer Game Design Games Playtesting 130

Game Analytics

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

“It’s clear that simulation, as both a genre and concept, is far more popular in VR than in Console and PC games. Playtesting is crucial at this point. When we asked Schell Games what they’re using, they recommended User Testing for their playtesting, and GameAnalytics for collecting quantitative data.

Dev 91

Dev Playtesting Fantasy Render 91

Sirlin

OCTOBER 13, 2022

Now, Yomi 2 is a re-imagining of that fighting-card-game concept. These are updated pretty often based on feedback and playtesting from patrons. For the last four and a half years, I've been working on a sequel to Yomi. Yomi was "a fighting game in card form" that I made before making the actual fighting game Fantasy Strike.

Fighting 52

Fighting Playtesting Fantasy Concepts 52

PreMortem.Games

JULY 8, 2024

Concept art for upcoming game Moya Sithlu and his family moved to Durban from East London when he was in grade 10. Sithlu credits his family and team as his biggest support, with his brother being a key playtester. I have around 160 poems now. Mrs. Van Reenen, my high school English teacher, loved my poetry, and I enjoyed her classes.

Studios 129

Studios Education Educational Point and Click 129

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

” does not give them same context as “In playtests we found that a turn-based paradigm fits the prototype best, which answers questions raised about the prototype’s gameplay last week.” For any e-mail relating to sales, pitching, or decision-making, try using the concepts of BLUF.

Writing 104

Writing Communications Point and Click Prototyping 104

PreMortem.Games

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

All this before there’s ever any playtesting done. It usually starts with a ‘think pad’, which is basically just a google doc where I write down anything to do with a specific game concept. “Having full control over the entire project and its creative direction counts as a pitfall too. I realized I missed this aspect a lot.

Dev 104

Dev Puzzle Prototyping Development 104

Sirlin

OCTOBER 20, 2015

Within a couple days, I plan to post a big update to the Codex print-and-play version (for $25+ patrons) that has dozens of balance changes based on the last month of playtesting. We're also looking for a volunteer concept artist to help with our stages. I also posted an update to the Codex rulebooks today for patrons of any level.

Fantasy 52

Fantasy Fighting Balance Concepts 52

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.

Concepts 69

Concepts Playtesting Game Designer Game Design 69

iXie gaming

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Understand Blockchain and NFT Concepts in Gaming As initially stated, NFT games are based on the blockchain concept. Here are some fundamental activities involved in NFT game development: Creating the game concept. Design a clear game concept integrating NFTs and define gameplay mechanics. Develop smart contracts.

Game Developer 52

Game Developer Game Development Development Asset 52

PreMortem.Games

AUGUST 15, 2023

This scenario based question covers various different aspects of working on a live game, including investigating common infrastructure scaling concepts, communicating with other team members, and keeping calm and working under time pressure on a game that’s experiencing an outage. How would you approach this?"

Studios 104

Studios Engine Engineering Communications 104

Rindoku

OCTOBER 7, 2016

Gabriel Tanko – Concept and 2D Art. Fix the problems we identified during the playtest. I’m pretty sure we’ll be doing some more playtests in the near future. Ovidiu Mantoc – Level Design, 3D Art. Cosmin Coroiu – 3D Art. Carmen Palade – Animation. Radu Cristea – Programming. Stefan Dinca – User Interface. How many levels?

Point and Click 52

Point and Click Dev Demo Playtesting 52

Astral Clock Tower Studios

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

Concept Art. Now that our concept art team has nearly completed the designs for all existing assets and items in the Kristala build that needed to be replaced with fresh assets, they're now able to move on to creating brand new items that don't yet have 3D counterparts. 3D Modeling.

Dev 52

Dev Animation Animation Concepts 52

iXie gaming

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

Here’s a quick overview of the entire process of developing multiplayer games, from pre-production to post-release: Concept and Design  Like any other game, the journey of building a multiplayer game starts by creating the game concept. Start by defining the type of game you want to create.

Game Developer 52

Game Developer Game Development Development Quality Assurance 52

Mnenad

JULY 8, 2018

The idea of a helping instance was indeed present in a very early stage of the concept. Old concept of exploring the landscape during night time with a flashlight was implemented as well. Playtesting - “One of the best experiences I made with this prototype” fellow student testing GenoTerra. The Mechanik II.

Prototyping 52

Prototyping Terrain Open World Rigging 52

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 26, 2017

Playtesting storytelling. Dylan: This was massive because visual learners were totally shut out of the whole concept of upgrading their café with decorations since the verbal explanation went in one ear and out the other. This guide comes in five parts: Play-testing storytelling How do we make stories that resonate?

Art 130

Art Games Mechanics Game Developer 130

Big Games

DECEMBER 5, 2023

The proof of concept is crucial, helping decide if the game is feasible, its cost, team size, and timeline. Playtesters are vital in finding bugs, glitches, and potential issues. Without proper planning, the entire project may face challenges. Neglecting thorough testing can leave a game unready, even for an Alpha release.

Game Developer 52

Game Developer Game Development Development Games 52

Sirlin

JULY 22, 2015

Yomi Card Game I took many of the concepts and dynamics that go on in fighting games and put them into a card game form Yomi ( Steam / iOS / tabletop ). We could certainly add more to our controls scheme if we need to, but so far it's gone over fantastically in playtesting exactly how it is.)

Fighting 52

Fighting Fantasy Games PC 52

Grid Sage Games

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Item integrity loss on use : This concept is fundamentally similar to the disposable mechanic, although not quite the same thing since usage simultaneously weakens the item itself, making it more vulnerable to destruction, and for the same reason damage to the item directly reduces its remaining uses. Very afraid. We shall see.

Balance 52

Balance Mechanics Beta Alpha 52

Ask a Game Dev

MAY 26, 2023

So how do we actually bring all of these concepts together practically? We can then try these values to start with for our playtests and see how they feel. It’s important to keep this in mind - a good leveling system preserves the sense of player accomplishment by rewarding different player actions.

Build 52

Build Playtesting Dev Fighting 52

Keith Burgun

JANUARY 4, 2023

We’ve only playtested it about 5-6 times – each time it was a blast , despite the balance being all wonked up – so I don’t want to get too deep into the details right now. work, is that life is too short to spend months or years trying to get a game concept working. I’m really excited! The Value of Cards.

Mechanics 52

Mechanics Game Designer Game Design Playtesting 52

Tom Francis

AUGUST 20, 2019

A lot of people have trouble understanding this concept or just don’t like it. In my playtests this version feels like it gives you a lot more to think about, and more control over your success, which is why I’m ok with allowing a hard failure state. Problem 2: The Shame Pile. Problem 3: Too easy.

Games 52

Games Playtesting Prototyping Concepts 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. As is the changes are too new and we’ll have to see what real playtesting turns up. Fine tuning.

Balance 52

Balance Mechanics Beta Prototyping 52

Grid Sage Games

OCTOBER 2, 2022

This reflects the concept that all such parts are interconnected with the Scrap Engine and other constructs. Having playtested this new mechanic for a while, I’ve found that it comes with many interesting new strategic considerations, a whole new play style which can be both fun and challenging in its own ways. Construct Naming.

Engine 52

Engine Engineering Mechanics Balance 52

Deconstructor of Fun

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Concepts like seasonal content, the introduction of event-based currencies, VIP stores are only a few examples of common practices in China in the mid to late 2000s, way before any western game started to adopt them. There was no concept of events or free/ earnable content.

Content 52

Content FPS Mobile Mobile 52