Balatro dev gives look at first prototype, Joker Poker
Game Developer
MAY 29, 2024
LocalThunk shows how 2024's breakout deckbuilder evolved in the course of its three-year development.
Dev Development Prototyping 
Fruit Ninja-creator Luke Muscat on the highs and lows of solo development “I’m just super motivated”
PreMortem.Games
MARCH 10, 2025
Determined to push himself, he embarked on a new path as a solo developer. To find his first solo project, he developed a new brainstorming approach: he built a prototype in roughly 100 hours and let people play it. Why did you become a solo developer? I had two main motivations in becoming a solo developer.
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Solo developer Voidmaw on creating Katanaut: “Done is better than perfect”
PreMortem.Games
JANUARY 30, 2025
Eugene, the solo developer behind Voidmaw , has spent three years crafting Katanaut , a fast-paced action-roguelite where players embody a katana-wielding astronaut fighting to escape a collapsing space station. As a one-person team, he embraces both the creative freedom and the intense challenges that come with solo development.
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Tales of Kenzera dev Surgent Studios 'on hiatus' as leaders look for partners and funding
Game Developer
OCTOBER 18, 2024
The developer has put its staff on notice for redundancy as it shops around a prototype of its next project to potential business partners.
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Ascent of Ashes dev switches to Godot halfway development “Not as chaotic as Unity”
PreMortem.Games
DECEMBER 16, 2024
German indie developer Vivid Storm Interactive is a three person team that started when they launched a Kickstarter campaign for Ascent of Ashes in 2021. Studio owner and Lead Developer Max Hermann originally developed the idea for the game in the time when he was still a computer science student and active in the RimWorld modding scene.
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Solo dev Jason Nicot on his new project Sanctua “A more mature party game”
PreMortem.Games
MAY 24, 2024
Jason Nicot , a French solo game developer operating under the name Choose Red , recently announced his latest game Sanctua. He went into transportation management, but game development never really left his mind. Nicot’s transition to full-time game development wasn’t without challenges.
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Solo dev Chris Arvanitis: “Total control can be a double edged sword”
PreMortem.Games
AUGUST 25, 2023
Operating under the name of Xenoplasis Games , solo developer Christos Arvanitis is about to release his debut game Ontosis. It’s his first endeavor working completely alone after a failed attempt at developing a horror game with 2 others back in 2015. “A Why did you become a solo developer? “I years of development.
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Oscar Salandin, developer of BOTSU Ridicuous Robots: “Solo dev can be lonely”
PreMortem.Games
JULY 29, 2024
Oscar Salandin , known as Peculiar Pixels, received a major validation for his debut game, BOTSU Ridiculous Robots , by being named the Overall Winner at the Develop Indie Showcase Awards 2024. The English solo developer began his journey right after the Pandemic. Why did you become a solo developer? “I
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Global Games Fund offers devs from emerging markets up to $50,000
GamesIndustry.biz
APRIL 19, 2024
Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox The organisers of the Gamedev.World conference have announced a new fund to support developers in emerging territories around the globe. Read more
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Kazakhstan-based Goodwin Games takes us on an emotional adventure in Selfloss
PreMortem.Games
OCTOBER 28, 2024
Developed by Alexander Khoroshavin (Alex Goodwin) and a small team, the game centers around an elderly healer named Kazimir, who journeys through a whale-worshiping fantasy land to heal his ‘soul wound’. “The ” Epic MegaGrant Developing a game in Kazakhstan poses its own set of challenges, as Khoroshavin explains.
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Game Dev Glossary: Prototype, Vertical Slice, First Playable, MVP, Demo
Ask a Game Dev
MARCH 29, 2024
Prototype - A playable example of a single gameplay system to prove out the concept. The above screenshot is from the Breath of the Wild systems prototype - wind, fire, etc. was modeled in this prototype before being translated to the 3D game world.
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Solo dev Tuomas Auronen (Redbeak Games) “Hardest part is financial uncertainty”
PreMortem.Games
MARCH 20, 2024
Solo dev Tuomas Auronen , operating under the name Redbeak Games , looks pretty relieved three days after the launch of his game Mortal Glory 2. Building upon a successful predecessor gave Auronen confidence during development. Having an existing fan base helps a lot”, says the Finnish solo developer. “I I don’t.
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A follow up to your answer about veilguard (was really hoping you would touch on that one). Why do game companies that have a “bad” release always seem to start from the bottom of the pyramid when it comes to restructuring and recouping losses? Why fire low level devs who did their best with what they had, when the companies have people in senior positions making hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not more) that they could just cut from? Why do the trenches always get the punishment first?
Ask a Game Dev
FEBRUARY 3, 2025
This is usually for two major reasons: Reassure investors to keep them from dumping the stock and driving down the company's value Save as much money as they can from their current stockpile for other projects still in development. This is why senior devs are entrusted with the bigger and more critical tasks.
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20 New Year’s Resolutions for Board Game Devs in 2020
Brand Game Development
DECEMBER 30, 2019
Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. If you’re the kind of creator who has a few prototype board games in your closet somewhere, consider playing one of them with a few game designers. Order a professional physical prototype of one of your board games. Card games count, too!
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Two part question. 1) Where does a decision like taking DA4 from single player to live service back to single player most likely come from? Do studio leads make that kind of call, or project leads? Or is it a publisher-side “mandate” based on market trends? 2) Rebooting like that must come with significant costs given all the “wasted” dev work, so what needs to happen to make them that confident that staying on course will result in smaller returns than starting over?
Ask a Game Dev
FEBRUARY 13, 2025
A big decision like this tends to come from agreement between the dev team's executive producer, the studio head, and the publishing executives. These decisions determine whether they have to hire more for specific roles and have to cut developers who have no work to do on the new project plan.
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Ascent of Ashes dev switches to Godot halfway development “Not as chaotic as Unity”
PreMortem.Games
NOVEMBER 15, 2023
German indie developer Vivid Storm Interactive is a three person team that started when they launched a Kickstarter campaign for Ascent of Ashes in 2021. Studio owner and Lead Developer Max Hermann originally developed the idea for the game in the time when he was still a computer science student and active in the RimWorld modding scene.
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Solo dev Almar works on debut game Repunk “I’ve had some darker moments”
PreMortem.Games
NOVEMBER 17, 2023
For some, the idea of developing a game alone is daunting. Yet, for indie dev Almar, it offered an escape from the corporate rat race he felt trapped in. After a five-year hiatus from game development, he returned as a solo developer to create his debut game Repunk. ” Why did you become a solo developer?
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Board Game Development – Wait Like a Champ by Using Downtime Wisely
Brand Game Development
JUNE 30, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Last week in the Dev Diary, I talked about how board game development is a long, ongoing process with a lot of different stages. In short, I need a prototype board to do efficient play-testing.
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Board Game Designer vs. Developer vs. Publisher
Brand Game Development
DECEMBER 17, 2018
Let’s start with three roles: board game designer, developer, and publisher. Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. The first thing you need to know about designer, developer, and publisher roles is simple. Developers bring the game to life. Need help on your board game?
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You Are Not Alone: Common Pains for Game Devs & How to Overcome Them
Brand Game Development
MAY 15, 2017
Whenever I saw a complaint from a game dev pop up on my Twitter feed, I recorded it in Excel. Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. So many of the struggles that we deal with in game development are shared by others in the industry. Game development is very demanding.
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Bankrolling Your Board Game’s Development
Brand Game Development
AUGUST 28, 2017
Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Me, developing War Co. I can get them to pay for my prototyping and art!” Development Costs: Depending on what you use to create your game, you might end up incurring a shocking amount of costs in paper and ink. ” Maybe.
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5 Lessons I Learned at a Play-Testing Convention (Protospiel Atlanta)
Brand Game Development
OCTOBER 27, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. I’ve been in board game development for a bit over two years now and many people are surprised to hear I’ve not attended a convention prior to then. Just here for Highway s & Byways updates?
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Solo dev Jonathan Barbosa Dijkstra “Learning new skills is a great motivator”
PreMortem.Games
SEPTEMBER 28, 2023
He took some online courses on programming and he was in business, as a solo dev operating under the name of Frambosa , only six months later. But going through 3 years of development by himself has made him realize that solo is not really for him. “I Why did you become a solo developer? “I Develop, test, develop, test.”
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The One Thing That Can Sink Sales for Board Games
Brand Game Development
OCTOBER 13, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. This week, I posted A Crash Course on Selling Board Games , which is my way of helping demystify that which terrifies many first-time game developers. Just here for Highway s & Byways updates?
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Solo dev Jason Larabie of Rodent Games works after hours on Artificer’s Tower “I live a dual life”
PreMortem.Games
MARCH 13, 2024
When the allure of game development clashes with the necessity of a traditional job, the only choice is to juggle both endeavors simultaneously. So, I ended up living a dual life, working my day job and moonlighting as a developer.” Why did you become a solo developer? How do you stay motivated through (years of) development?
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New game announcement: "Tryhard" + "A Sportslike Manifesto"
Radiator Blog
FEBRUARY 10, 2025
We're still quite early in development. I don't blame the devs, I'm sure they pitch fresh ideas every year! We're currently in pre-production, and we've had some early funding from the fine folks at CODE NZ to support our prototyping -- but now we must brave the Worst Game Funding Climate Yet.
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Solo dev Michael Cosio of Terror at Oakheart “Allow yourself the time to recharge, laugh and love “
PreMortem.Games
MARCH 27, 2024
The game is developed by Californian solo dev Michael Cosio, working under the name of Tainted Pact. The idea for Terror at Oakheart was born during development of Cosio’s last game ‘ Suffer The Night’. “In Being a horror game dev, Cosio draws inspiration from other movies, games and stories in that genre.
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Do publishers have their own “quality control” standards? For example, do publishers have any “we will not release a game unless it meets X standard of quality based our own playtesters/etc” systems in place? If so, what happens when a game near release does not meet those requirements? Are games that clearly aren’t going to meet X standard usually cancelled before announcement?
Ask a Game Dev
JANUARY 24, 2025
This is primarily because development costs only grow as the project progresses. At the start, you have one or two developers who write a pitch. Really early on, you only have one to five senior devs working on building a prototype for the approved pitches. Any game with a really long development cycle (e.g.
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How to Diagnose Failure & Move Forward as a Board Game Developer
Brand Game Development
MAY 14, 2018
Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Failure can involve missed deadlines, lost clients, scrapped prototypes, controversial public statements, or no-show events. We’ll use the game development process – from start to finish – as an example.
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Makhoba Kamogelo: “Don’t let fear stop you from reinventing yourself”
PreMortem.Games
NOVEMBER 13, 2023
Now, she’s navigating the world of game development, where each day brings new challenges and exciting discoveries. Let’s take a trip back memory lane and find out when the seed of game development was planted and how each part of Kamo’s past adds up. African Game Dev Prototype Fund They say the best leaders lead by example.
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How to Play a Lot of Board Games with Little Time and Little Money
Brand Game Development
SEPTEMBER 8, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Just understand that you don’t have to spend $15,000 on games like that gamer to be a good game dev.
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Crack the case by chatting with GPT in Uncover the Smoking Gun by ReLU Games
PreMortem.Games
JULY 10, 2024
AI is increasingly being utilized in game development, not just for automation and cost reduction, but also as an innovative gameplay feature. Before Smoking Gun, there was a prototype game called Demon, where GPT played the role of an evil spirit, and the player had to find hidden information and banish the spirit through conversation.
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Solo dev ansdor loves his total creative control: “I don’t like too much planning”
PreMortem.Games
JUNE 20, 2023
As far back as solo developer Sandro Luiz de Paula (aka ansdor) can remember he always wanted to be a game developer. Solo developed games have much more room to be experimental and weird, and I love that.” Why did you become a solo developer? “I It’s the total creative control that drives him.
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AWS to showcase tools for breakthrough gaming experiences at GDC 2025
AWS Games
MARCH 13, 2025
Experience first-hand how Amazon Web Services (AWS) for Games helps build breakthrough gaming experiences at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), March 17-21, 2025 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Visit the demo-packed AWS booth (#S927): Engage with purpose-built solutions from AWS that span the entire game development lifecycle.
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Indie dev studio Wikkl Works takes virtual rock climbing to New Heights
PreMortem.Games
MAY 19, 2023
The idea for New Heights emerged as a personal prototype, driven by the desire to create a game focused on exploration rather than violence. Boogaard’s passion for climbing led them to develop an elaborate climbing system that closely resembled the real-life experience. It is great to see that it’s working out so far.”
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Board Game Fulfillment & Why it Matters on Day 1 of Game Development
Brand Game Development
FEBRUARY 25, 2019
Many game developers think about fulfillment only after their project is complete – and you can certainly get away with it! But today, this guest post by Michael of Fulfillrite will explain why you should think about board game fulfillment on day 1 on game development. Need help on your board game? So, good news and bad news.
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How Many Blind Play-Tests Does Your Board Game *Really* Need?
Brand Game Development
DECEMBER 22, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. ” “I wish I could Photoshop as good as Brandon the Game Dev,” said no one. .” Click here.
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How to Make a Tabletop Simulator Demo of Your Board Game
Brand Game Development
MARCH 2, 2020
It’s a simple app on the Steam store, it costs $19.99, and it’s been an extraordinary resource for me during the development of War Co. Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. It saves you a ton of money and time on prototyping. It takes less time to create a prototype.
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How to Order and Test Samples of Your Board Game
Brand Game Development
MARCH 12, 2018
Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the last of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Need help on your board game?
The Art of the Paper Test: Catching Accessibility Issues Early
Brand Game Development
MAY 19, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. prior to and during its Kickstarter campaign, but it is also my favorite rapid prototyping tool. Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.
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Godot Showcase - Museum of All Things
Mircosoft Game Dev
FEBRUARY 25, 2025
In this interview, we talk to Maya , the creator of The Museum of All Things, about the challenges of turning an entire encyclopedia into an walkable space, why she chose Godot for development, and how VR transformed the project into something even more immersive. Can you tell us a little bit about your project?
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Staying alive is all the victory you can hope for in The Forever Winter by Fun Dog Studios
PreMortem.Games
JULY 5, 2024
Or die trying The team at Fun Dog Studios developed a dynamic combat system that keeps NPC enemies constantly fighting each other. Fun Dog Studios was founded when a team of 30 veteran devs came together to build their own dream game. The Forever Winter is the studio’s debut title, but far from the first game for its developers.
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James Bendon’s 5-year journey to create Dinkum “To be honest, I really like working alone”
PreMortem.Games
MAY 29, 2024
For the first three years of development, Bendon kept the game mostly to himself. After releasing the game to the public, the solo dev got a severe case of post-game release depression. I’ve since spoken with and read about this feeling from other devs who have experienced it after release. Why did you become a solo developer?
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Talking Without Words
Brand Game Development
JULY 21, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. This week, in Start to Finish: Publish and Sell Your First Board Game , I released Five Levels of Communication through Game Development. We’re doing rapid prototyping.
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