Game Refinery

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

If executed correctly, introducing new mechanics in this way can be an easy win, enabling developers to test out player preferences, broaden motivational appeal, boost user acquisition, and enhance player engagement – all without drastically altering the core gameplay. What’s particularly interesting about this archetype is its rarity.

Puzzle 130

Puzzle Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile 130

Game Refinery

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

Not only are collaboration events a great way to engage players, but they’re also a great way to boost your game’s monetization through the addition of new content, such as event-exclusive cosmetic items and collectibles. How well does the franchise – if it’s a film or TV show, for example – lend itself to your gameplay mechanics?

Mobile Gaming 233

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Game Development 233

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

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

Typically highlighting a game’s mechanics in their raw form, even before content and visuals receive their final polish. Public demos aim to showcase your game’s mechanics and style to players while also garnering interest in the full game through story introduction. Consider Holstin’s demo as an example.

Demo 239

Demo Mechanics Games Bug 239

Deconstructor of Fun

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

Beyond Cutscenes : Todays dramatic content isnt yesteryears skippable cutscenes. Narrative content, on the other hand, is virtually unconstrained. Not an AI Story: While AI dramatically reduces content creation costs, its merely a tool which is well suited to untapped audience demand. Its likely precisely what youd expect.

Cutscenes 90

Cutscenes AI Content Mechanics 90

PreMortem.Games

OCTOBER 28, 2024

Kazimir’s staff is more than just a weapon, it’s a dynamic tool that players can use to solve puzzles, combat enemies, and cleanse the Miasma. The control mechanics are integral to the gameplay, allowing players to operate Kazimir and his staff both together and independently.

Prototyping 104

Prototyping Indy Games Concepts 104

Game Refinery

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

To put you on the right track, we’ve taken a deep dive into four games that have delivered innovative storytelling in four subgenres: Merge Puzzle from the Casual category, and MMORPG, Action RPG, and 4X Strategy from the Mid-core category. Despite the dark setting of the story, dialogue is peppered with humor.

Mobile Gaming 247

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Games 247

Game Refinery

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Widely regarded as the biggest trendsetter when it comes to entertaining content, the short-form video content platform, TikTok, has become the new home for viral content. The game mechanics are simple: players trade fidget toys and aim to get the best trade. From TikTok trends to the top of the app store.

Build 130

Build Mechanics Mobile Gaming Puzzle 130

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

Game Refinery

JUNE 21, 2023

An example of an exclusive reward offer bundle in Diablo Immortal The match3 puzzle game, Pet Rescue Saga , also has a good example of a reward-based IAP offer. Better yet, by having the bundle’s content directly relate to the player’s achievement, marketers can help users with their current goals.

Mobile Gaming 44

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Games 44

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

Deconstructor of Fun

MAY 20, 2020

A bold move for Supercell, going against giants that continue to rule the casual puzzle space. The match 3 success trifecta generally consists of: a fun core match mechanic a good metagame with a clean sense of progression a new feature or innovation that brings something different to the space. Can Supercell succeed in this space?

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Mechanics Content Data 52

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 29, 2024

We need to release regular updates: more content, more events, faster, and higher quality. Events with different mechanics sometimes complement each other, but at other times they divert players' attention, resulting in reduced activity and monetization. Reusing content The next thing on our list is reusing and looping content.

Mechanics 98

Mechanics Content Puzzle Games 98

PreMortem.Games

JUNE 28, 2024

Through innovative mechanics, they provide a unique perspective on dementia. Best in Gameplay – Puzzle Scout Developed by: Leti Arts (Ghana) A word search game based on great African history, revisiting the historic chain of African countries, civilizations, and tribes with young puzzle scouts. Download the game here.

Puzzle 104

Puzzle Art Mobile Gaming Games 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

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

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

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

MAY 6, 2024

Simple gameplay mechanics – The game or activity featured in a playable ad should be easy to understand and play, even for those unfamiliar with the advertised product. This strategy can lead to increased retention and deeper interaction with the ad content, ultimately resulting in better conversion rates for advertisers.

Advertising 100

Advertising Mobile Mobile Media 100

PreMortem.Games

APRIL 11, 2023

Another mechanic to get all of the mentioned above that two games out of five use is the Fortune Wheel. Thief Puzzle: to pass a level Another new hit with 27M downloads is Thief Puzzle: to pass a level. Leveraging its extensive catalog of content, Magic Tiles 3 uses Subscriptions to drive LTV from day 0.

Tile 104

Tile Racing Puzzle Games 104

PreMortem.Games

JANUARY 19, 2024

And so, the duo started exploring different ways to turn talking into a puzzle. Press B to express Doubt’, for example, is a classic case of mismatch between gameplay scenario and mechanical input. But for that dialogue to be of a high quality, the game needs a wealth of hand-written content to inspire it.

AI 129

AI First person Puzzle Scripting 129

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

Between one job and another I always tried to include some type of content related to games. 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.

Dev 163

Dev Advertising Internet Development 163

Deconstructor of Fun

JULY 1, 2024

King, when they ruled the casual puzzle space, chose to expand the breadth of their casual portfolio: Bubble Witch Saga (bubble shooter), Pet Rescue Saga (collapse/blast), Diamond Digger Saga (digging/water flow mechanic), Blossom Blast Saga (linker), Pyramid Solitaire , etc. So why did this not go to plan?

Puzzle 64

Puzzle Engine Engineering Mechanics 64

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. This makes sense; in context, why change a formula that works if you don’t need to?

Puzzle 69

Puzzle Mechanics Feature Build 69

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

PreMortem.Games

MARCH 8, 2024

” “As evident from everyone’s fixation on social media for years, content that humans instinctively find interesting continues to emerge infinitely. We can take inspiration from content going viral on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, and indeed, we have created hit games in 2023 by doing so.

Games 104

Games Development Content Media 104

Logic Simplified

AUGUST 8, 2023

Let’s take the popular example of Candy Crush Saga , a level-based puzzle game. Game designers must work closely with other development team members, like developers and artists, to guarantee that the video game mechanics and elements work together smoothly. Let’s take the example of Candy Crush again.

Game Designer 88

Game Designer Game Design Art Prop 88

Mircosoft Game Dev

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Dark Crypt by @DaisyGames3 is a puzzle game with a horror setting, well on topic for the spooky season! Manipulate gravity in Spinstar, @PixyDevs 's precision puzzle platformer with great pixel art and music! Terra Ventura by @LogicalProgres3 is a classic isometric action RPG with a ton of content! Mechanic 8230.

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Pixel Art Localization 52

Game Dev Unchained

OCTOBER 16, 2024

Its focus on user-generated content and community-driven game experiences positions it at the cutting edge of industry trends, where creativity and technology converge in new ways. The core of Escape from Hadrian’s Wall lies in its Elemental Golem Card Puzzles, where players summon magical Golems to combat enemy sentinels guarding the Wall.

Communications 59

Communications Puzzle Studios Demo 59

Deconstructor of Fun

JUNE 24, 2024

Genre-Specific Winners: Puzzle Games Prevailed: The genre fell by only 6% YoY in downloads and gained 10% in IAP revenue, thanks to new games like Block Blast and Royal Match, and established hits such as Candy Crush and Gardenscapes. Puzzle remained strong by focusing on retaining its current user base through events and live operations.

Mobile 75

Mobile Mobile Games Mobile Gaming 75

Game Refinery

OCTOBER 11, 2022

Although, in these types of games, whenever there is a new content update, there is also a revenue spike, which can be shown in the case of Tower of Fantasy. However, the revenue spikes have been continuously smaller. Tower of Fantasy (US market) all-time performance with revenue spikes. The difference between the two titles is their genre.

Fantasy 130

Fantasy Co-op Open World Feature 130

Deconstructor of Fun

OCTOBER 27, 2020

Playrix is one of the powerhouses in the puzzle genre thanks to Gardenscapes and Homescapes’ current success. This leads to a higher CTI (Click Through Installs) and conversion rates in app stores since the players who viewed and tapped the ad see a similar content in the store page - even though the ad originally was just a fake gameplay.

Co-op 52

Co-op Puzzle Games Mechanics 52

Game Dev Unchained

OCTOBER 16, 2024

Its focus on user-generated content and community-driven game experiences positions it at the cutting edge of industry trends, where creativity and technology converge in new ways. The core of Escape from Hadrian’s Wall lies in its Elemental Golem Card Puzzles, where players summon magical Golems to combat enemy sentinels guarding the Wall.

Communications 52

Communications Puzzle Studios Demo 52

Radiator Blog

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

none of Dishonored's morality system and I think this is good, the "stealth puzzle = humane cage free assassination" philosophy has aged poorly imo 69% less stealth. NOT telekinesis, only works on NPCs / PvP) Havoc (temporary shield / damage buff), very useful for people who keep dying (i.e.

Fighting 130

Fighting NPC Puzzle AI 130

Deconstructor of Fun

JUNE 6, 2022

The fact that Battle Passes have been successful on audiences so alien to each other like MOBAs and Match-3 Puzzle fans shows how versatile its design can be. For most players (including payers) the Pass is primarily retention and an engagement mechanism. In other words, Passes don’t expire.

Content 52

Content Mechanics Balance Mobile 52

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 17, 2022

A key reason is that Clash Mini seems in a much earlier and rough state than other Supercell soft launches : Less playable content, less spending depth, and several unfinished systems (i.e. This points out that new playable content is consumed faster than in other SC games. No reason to play leagues…).

Content 52

Content Mechanics Point and Click Mobile 52

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 20, 2020

This makes RPGs the third largest genre on mobile after Strategy ($5.4Bn) and Puzzle ($4.5Bn) games. Idle RPGs (not to be confused with Idle games) and Puzzle RPGs were the biggest growing sub-genres in 2019. Nevertheless, Puzzle RPGs look to be at their peak while Idle RPG revenues have already declined.

Puzzle 52

Puzzle Fighting Studios Art 52