Game devs talk design methods, system mechanics in design summit
Game Developer
MARCH 13, 2023
For anyone with an interest in game design, Polaris' developer summit has different articles covering various aspects of design development.
Dev Game Developer Mechanics 
Solo dev Mario Malagrino “The psychological pressure is the worst part of game development”
PreMortem.Games
NOVEMBER 3, 2023
On his company Twitter account Next Game Level , he introduces himself with a great sense of humor. Game developer from Italy! We’re talking about Mario Malagrino, developer of Remote Life and the upcoming Crude. He’s operating as a solo developer because he works at a different pace than most others. “I’m
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Spotting and Dropping Bad Mechanics
Brand Game Development
APRIL 21, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Most board game mechanics will not work as well as you intend them to. Good board game developers need to know when to drop mechanics and when to refine them. Click here.
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Solo dev Tomasz Kaye: “ChatGPT massively sped up the development of Axe Ghost”
PreMortem.Games
OCTOBER 2, 2024
Tomasz Kaye had prior game development experience, with credits on Ibb & Obb and Chalo Chalo , but this time he went solo for his latest creation Axe Ghost. “It It wasn’t exactly a deliberate choice,” he explains, “I had a small game idea that I wanted to finish and publish, and it seemed doable alone.”
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Games Speak through Mechanics, Not Rules
Brand Game Development
APRIL 28, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. The mark of a great game developer is to make great complexity and interaction come out of simple elements. Need help on your board game? That’s a mechanic.
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Solo dev Josh Salley (HALbot Studios) “I believe in keeping a good work life balance”
PreMortem.Games
AUGUST 3, 2023
Josh Salley has always been a big fan of gaming, but thought that game development was out of his reach. “I I just assumed game development involved writing code all day.” I have always been a huge gamer, but never imagined I want to actually make games. This is something that Frictional Games does so well.
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What confuses you most about board game development?
Brand Game Development
MARCH 30, 2020
Board game development is incredibly complex. To create a board game from start to finish , think of everything you have to do: Come up with a board game idea and design a game around it. Create rules and mechanics that help you express your idea in the best way possible. Find artists.
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Theme vs. Mechanics
Brand Game Development
NOVEMBER 28, 2016
“Theme-first or mechanics-first” might be the most asked “big question” in the board game community. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Theme and mechanics are inseparable parts of board games as a whole.
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How to Design the Mechanics of Your Board Game
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? What are game mechanics? Who is Jesse Bergman?
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Solo developer Kaighen Finley: “It’s easy to lose myself in game development”
PreMortem.Games
APRIL 17, 2023
Fresh out of school Kaighen Finley started his own web & game development company Team iNtuition. Just to be on the safe side he mainly focused on web development, but his heart was not in it. It took him 4 years to create his game and in that time he learned some valuable lessons. “If
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How to Play-Test the Mechanics of Your Board Game
Brand Game Development
NOVEMBER 27, 2017
Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the fourth of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? This guide comes in three parts: How do you test game mechanics?
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5 Levels of Communication through Game Development
Brand Game Development
JULY 17, 2017
When it comes to games, there are a handful of truths that are very important to realize. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. That’s why I developed a theory which I refer to as the Five Levels of Communication through Game Development.
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A Crash Course in Board Game Development
Brand Game Development
SEPTEMBER 9, 2019
Let’s pick up from there and talk about what specifically goes into making a game. What is board game development all about? Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. ” So what goes into game development?
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Two engineers build the physics-driven engineering parody The Enjenir
PreMortem.Games
OCTOBER 9, 2023
What originally started out as a treehouse building simulator prototype, slowly evolved as the duo gradually added different mechanics. “It It being a silly game made by engineers about engineering is something that just effectively fell into place pretty naturally”, says Farrell smiling. Does it improve the mechanics of the game?
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Solo dev Michael Schmidt “Adding spiritual traditions to games is hard”
PreMortem.Games
OCTOBER 23, 2023
Schmidt developed the game by himself, because “I’ve never been any other kind of developer”. Schmidt’s own spiritual journey and later his conversion to Islam, were all kickstarted by the video game Windwalker by game developer Greg Malone (and published by Origin in 1989).
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Game Dev Glossary: Prototype, Vertical Slice, First Playable, MVP, Demo
Ask a Game Dev
MARCH 29, 2024
Examples might be character movement, a combat combo system, or a specific game mechanic. was modeled in this prototype before being translated to the 3D game world. Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ
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6 Reasons Why Board Game Development is So Iterative
Brand Game Development
MAY 13, 2019
Board game development is notorious for its trial-and-error approach. Experienced designers and developers will tell you that it’s all about iteration. You may create dozens of versions of the same game until you finally find one you’re satisfied with. Need help on your board game?
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Solo dev Diego Ras of Raccoo Venture “Everything starts with paper and pencil”
PreMortem.Games
FEBRUARY 2, 2024
The way I found to make this happen and what worked for me (after all, it may not work for other people) was to approach game development with the same commitment as a regular job. Flexibility is vital in game development, as inevitable changes can lead to unexpected improvements. Beware of mutant scope.
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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. I simply couldn’t shake off my passion for making games. So, I ended up living a dual life, working my day job and moonlighting as a developer.
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Dev Diary: 03/31/17
Brand Game Development
MARCH 31, 2017
Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Naturally, this game is nowhere remotely close to completion. The post Dev Diary: 03/31/17 appeared first on Brandon the Game Dev. In short: I have completed the first draft of the board.
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5 Lessons from Mario Party for Board Game Developers
Brand Game Development
JANUARY 4, 2021
Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Seeing Your Childhood Games with Older Eyes. Needless to say, I not only love these old games, but I admire how they were made. Nostalgia is a good way to deal with a crisis , to be sure.
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6 Underrated Skills That Make You a Better Game Developer
Brand Game Development
APRIL 14, 2017
I realized that in my push to create Highways & Byways , I’ve neglected six very powerful background skills that make game developers great. Game development is about more than just game development, folks. Need help on your board game? Guiding Lights: Make great games.
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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. Sadly, the reality of the business showed me that the type of games that pay the rent weren’t the type of experiences I wanted to create”, he says.
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Birth of Byways: A Peek Into My Early Board Game Development Process
Brand Game Development
NOVEMBER 10, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. This week, I posted the first article in my 19-part suite on game design. It’s called How to Design the Core Engine of Your Board Game. ” Need help on your board game?
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Out Now • Solo dev Pat Naoum of the handpainted The Master’s Pupil: “Creativity is a tool”
PreMortem.Games
AUGUST 9, 2023
“Every man and his dog has made an indie game but no one has painted a game yet. A point of interest in the indie game sea.” Naoum calls himself a jack of all trades, a master of none, so going solo on game development made a lot of sense. Is this mechanic fun? Game development takes so long!
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Solo dev Pat Naoum of the handpainted The Master’s Pupil: “Creativity is a tool”
PreMortem.Games
FEBRUARY 13, 2023
“Every man and his dog has made an indie game but no one has painted a game yet. A point of interest in the indie game sea.” Naoum calls himself a jack of all trades, a master of none, so going solo on game development made a lot of sense. Is this mechanic fun? Game development takes so long!
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5 Games to Make You a Better Board Game Dev for $64.63
Brand Game Development
SEPTEMBER 4, 2017
Getting started in board game development can be both intimidating and expensive. I’m almost certainly not the only blogger you’ve looked to for advice, and I can probably guess one thing you get told a lot: “play more games!” Need help on your board game? ” (Yeah, gee thanks, Sherlock.).
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Harada on Tekken, Soul Calibur, and the Changing Corporate Landscape
Ask a Game Dev
JUNE 27, 2024
His English tweets can be a little difficult to parse though, so I thought I would offer my interpretation of what he said, based on my own understanding of game dev, the industry overall, corporate politics, and economic trends. Game mechanics aren’t really what make or break a franchise like Soul Calibur or Tekken.
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20 New Year’s Resolutions for Board Game Devs in 2020
Brand Game Development
DECEMBER 30, 2019
Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. With that in mind, I want to help you come up with some New Year’s Resolutions of your own, ones specifically related to board game design. Experiment with a theme or mechanics you’ve never used.
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Hello. Do you think having a game programming YouTube channel can be useful as a portfolio? Like recreating game mechanics from existing games or creating new ones, and explaining my thoughts and decisions through the videos. Similar to Artstation for artists, but in this case for programming.
Ask a Game Dev
APRIL 29, 2024
First, doing personal game development projects earns top marks. There's no better way to stand out as a candidate than to have experience doing that work already and game development is no exception. Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ
How to Fight “Tired Mode” as a Game Dev
Brand Game Development
JULY 28, 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 , I wrote Choose Your Own Adventure: Self-Publish or Not , an article dedicated to the benefits and pitfalls of self-publishing your game. Need help on your board game?
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Make a Board Game in 28 Days: A Challenge by Brandon the Game Dev
Brand Game Development
FEBRUARY 1, 2021
Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Google “list of board game mechanics.” Pick 2-3 that you like and want to incorporate into your game. You just developed a board game! 28-Day-Board-Game-Design-Challenge Download.
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what should one focus on, mechanics-wise, so that in the end players will enjoy losing?
Ask a Game Dev
AUGUST 8, 2023
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Still, through judicious reward placement and some vents for frustration, we can make mitigate the worst of the sting of losing for most players.
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Rablo Games: From solo developer to team collaboration on Necro Story
PreMortem.Games
SEPTEMBER 26, 2024
“Initially, I planned to develop it alone, just like my previous game.” ” But as is often the case, plans change, and the solo dev path transformed into a collaborative journey. Six months into development, Coma accepted a job at Appeal Studios as a game designer, eventually becoming a game director.
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Creating the First Version of Game Rules
Brand Game Development
APRIL 7, 2017
I’m trying something different on the Dev Diary. I’ll be explaining my development processes for this game so that you can learn from them. I’ll be explaining my development processes for this game so that you can learn from them. We’re in this together, game devs.
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Godot for AA/AAA game development - What's missing?
Mircosoft Game Dev
JANUARY 15, 2023
Still, sometimes, some games require larger amounts of instances but less complex behaviors instead. This is needed for some types of game mechanics such as: Projectiles (bullet hell for example). Units in some types of strategy games with thousands of entitites roaming across a map.
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Hello! I have a question about cutscenes. How does a decision get made about whether a cutscene can be skipped or not? I know some games have certain skipable cutscenes and others unskippable, and that in HD remakes of old games developers will sometimes add the ability to skip them. Do these decisions tend to be story-motivated or is there commonly a background mechanical reason to force a cutscene to play fully through?
Ask a Game Dev
APRIL 19, 2024
This kind of thing is less important now that we can install the full game to the hard drive and most gaming devices are now running SSDs, but it was a real concern before ~2012 or so when we still needed to read data from optical drives. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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How to Diagnose Failure & Move Forward as a Board Game Developer
Brand Game Development
MAY 14, 2018
Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. We’ll use the game development process – from start to finish – as an example. If the audience shows passion and interest, continue to game design.
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Kazakhstan-based Goodwin Games takes us on an emotional adventure in Selfloss
PreMortem.Games
OCTOBER 28, 2024
The control mechanics are integral to the gameplay, allowing players to operate Kazimir and his staff both together and independently. The way you control the old man and the magical staff at the same time is a neat mechanic that I am proud of,” Khoroshavin says. Also, the boat traversal is quite unique.” .”
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How to Build up a Facebook Page as a Board Game Dev
Brand Game Development
APRIL 23, 2018
Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Much like my old staple How to Get Big on Twitter as a Board Game Dev , I’ll be covering everything you need to know to get started on Facebook as a board game developer.
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How to Choose Your Board Game’s Theme
Brand Game Development
SEPTEMBER 11, 2017
Games, at their core, might just be a series of mechanics and rules, but themes keep us from feeling like we’re playing out the logical conclusion of mathematical functions. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.
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4 Things to Expect on the First Play-Test of a New Board Game
Brand Game Development
NOVEMBER 17, 2017
Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. This week, I talked about How to Play-Test the Core Engine of Your Board Game. This is the process by which you confirm that the game you ultimately want to make is possible. Click here.
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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. I even blind play-tested it at a game design convention. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.
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