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. Unlock direct-to-player game streaming at 1080p resolution, 60 frames per second to any device globally with a web browser.

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AI Demo Games Build 100

PreMortem.Games

JANUARY 8, 2024

During the day he works as a Senior Software Engineer at Blizzard Entertainment, creating games like Hearthstone, together with a large group of specialized professionals. This game represents me as a developer”, he says. With the game now announced for a 2024-release, the part time solo dev is motivated to finish the game.

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Dev Playtesting AAA Indy 160

Brand Game Development

JULY 9, 2018

Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. To help us understand the nuances of Reddit, particularly board game Reddit, I’ve brought in Raf Cordero. Reddit was one of the first gaming communities I discovered while getting into the hobby.

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Dev Playtesting Games Platformer 130

GamesIndustry.biz

AUGUST 7, 2024

Former Raid: Shadow Legends and Hitman developers have banded together to form Chamo Games. Though based in Malmö, Sweden, the team – which already employs 25 developers – works remotely and includes talent from Riot Games, CD Projekt Red, and Ubisoft. Read more

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Playtesting Dev FPS Games 109

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 25, 2021

It’s no secret that if you want to make a great board game, you’re going to have to test it a bunch. Games are complex systems. That’s why it’s important to learn how to identify and fix problems with your board game. I’ve written before about the usefulness of documenting your playtesting.

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Playtesting Games Mechanics Editing 130

Raph Koster

MARCH 3, 2025

Lots of info coming out about the game now, so keep an eye on the News section for it. We also have done sneak peeks of upcoming features, sessions with other devs on the team, and more. Lastly, I wanted to share some images from recent playtests, because, wow, players have dazzled us with their creations.

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Playtesting Content Animation Animation 102

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. He had saved enough money to live comfortably for a few years while pursuing his game development dream. Why did you become a solo developer?

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Dev Development Sandbox Indy 138

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

Twenty years ago Rohan Nowell made a game for a high school project and it was then that the seed was planted. However, it took another 15 years for his debut game Swoopy Boi to come out. The mobile game about a Magpie that swoops down and attacks pedestrians was successful enough for Nowell to keep developing games. “I

Build 138

Build Dev Playtesting Development 138

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. This is a teaching blog.

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Mechanics Dev Simulation Games 130

PreMortem.Games

MAY 19, 2023

Wikkl Works , a Netherlands-based game studio, is working hard on the climbing game New Heights. By using photogrammetry the game offers real life locations like famous rock faces or even well known landmarks. Then we got the idea to scan real world cliffs and mountains into the game using photogrammetry.

Indy 104

Indy Dev Studios Playtesting 104

Ask a Game Dev

JANUARY 24, 2025

Yes, most games that dont pass muster get cancelled, and publishers cancel them as early as they can. 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. What is the FANTa project?

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Prototyping Dev Playtesting Build 52

PreMortem.Games

APRIL 19, 2024

Pretty impressive for a largely solo-developed game. “At At this stage the game is more like a cross between Factorio and Cosmoteer ”, explains Ryding. Hence the premise of the game is that you are a Von Neumann probe, sent to consume all the resources in the Universe and build the ultimate (final) factory.

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Playtesting Games Mobile Mobile 129

PreMortem.Games

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

When Jonathan Barbosa Dijkstra lost his job, just before the pandemic hit, he decided to give his dream of making a game by himself a proper go. 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. Why did you become a solo developer? “I

Dev 104

Dev Puzzle Prototyping Development 104

GamesIndustry.biz

JUNE 4, 2024

The studio was founded by veterans from Riot Games and is currently working on a next-generation open-world multiplayer game. Friendshipper is a development tool that the team has been using to improve how efficiently they build this game, such as faster implementation of bug fixes during playtests.

Playtesting 84

Playtesting Open World Development Technology 84

Brand Game Development

MAY 1, 2017

One of the most jarring experiences for new game developers is the process of getting their game reviewed. Drama aside, it truly is difficult at first because you have to identify reviewers, send prototypes, make sure your game is ready enough, cross your fingers, and hope they like it. Need help on your board game?

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Games Playtesting Dev Prototyping 130

Brand Game Development

MARCH 9, 2020

Monopoly: it’s one of the oldest board games in the store. It’s one of the top 10 best-selling board games. It’s also a terrible board game. When board gamers need a game to mercilessly mock , they look no further than Monopoly. Need help on your board game? Monopoly has a staggeringly low 4.4

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Game Designer Game Design Playtesting Games 130

Brand Game Development

APRIL 27, 2020

Play-testing is the most important part of board game design. It’s how you turn rough, raw ideas into polished, ready-to-play games. ” Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Visit your local game store.

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Demo Playtesting Simulation Advertising 130

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 2, 2018

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the ninth of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.

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Playtesting Games Advertising Prototyping 130

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? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.

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Balance Games Communications Mechanics 130

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 3, 2018

It’s no secret that board game publishers like to reduce risks. Most publishers have a system in place to help them filter marketable game ideas from unmarketable game ideas. Yet the process, so heavy on rejection, has left many game designers heartbroken. Need help on your board game?

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Games Retail Game Designer Game Design 130

Grumpy Gamer

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

I use Microsoft’s Azure to do cloud compiles of the c++ engine for my new game. To compile the Windows build on Azure takes between 6 and 15 minutes which is crazy since I can compile the game locally in 1-2 minutes. For me to get a new playtest or (more importantly) a dev engine build can take 15-30 minutes.

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Debug Playtesting Build Engineering 130

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 17, 2020

When I was a neophyte game developer, I found an excellent article by Wizards of the Coast, creators of Magic: the Gathering , called Ten Things Every Game Needs. No matter what type of game you’re making, these 10 elements are critical to making a good game. Need help on your board game? A clear objective.

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Game Designer Game Design Tile Games 130

DameDev.tv

DECEMBER 12, 2022

Do you ever wonder how you can get better at game development? If so, keep reading for some great tips and watch the Livecast for all 12 ways to get better at game development. Rick has more than 14 years experience in the game dev industry, working on IP's that include Mario, Transformers, Captain America and Mortal Kombat.

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Game Development Game Developer Development Dev 90

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. It’s a bit of silly question.

Mechanics 100

Mechanics Playtesting Concepts Art 100

Ask a Game Dev

DECEMBER 8, 2023

Most of the time, we start by setting a target time we think the game experience should take for a first-time player to feel what we want them to feel, and then add about 50% to that. After we set our estimate, we playtest it to see how it feels. After we set our estimate, we playtest it to see how it feels.

Playtesting 52

Playtesting Fighting Dev Games 52

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. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Gamification is a fantastic tool.

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UX Playtesting Game Designer Game Design 130

Brand Game Development

MARCH 29, 2021

From time to time, I see board game creators on social media who have been working on the same design day-in, day-out for years on end. The first are people making a board game as a labor of love, who know they’re taking their sweet time on it, and they’re OK with it. Need help on your board game?

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Game Designer Game Design Games Playtesting 130

Radiator Blog

MARCH 16, 2023

Last month, game industry documentary makers 2 Player Productions debuted a massive 32-part YouTube game dev doc series Double Fine PsychOdyssey , chronicling the development of Psychonauts 2 from its earliest glimmers of pre-production in 2015 to its final release in 2021.

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Art Concepts Dev Studios 147

Radiator Blog

SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

But giving the player some of the most powerful weapons in the game, right from the beginning, quickly led to pacing problems. Compared to that, a big horde in an open space has more replay value and survives the dev grind a bit better. To try to push players upwards, I activate low gravity on wave 7 of 10.

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Playtesting Fighting Scripting Beta 130

Brand Game Development

JUNE 11, 2018

Board game conventions have a certain mystique to them. As such, board game developers often find their own interest in conventions piqued. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. We’re giving away a copy on the Pangea Games Facebook.

Prototyping 130

Prototyping Games Localization Demo 130

Grumpy Gamer

NOVEMBER 20, 2020

I use Microsoft's Azure to do cloud compiles of the c++ engine for my new game. To compile the Windows build on Azure takes between 6 and 15 minutes which is crazy since I can compile the game locally in 1-2 minutes. For me to get a new playtest or (more importantly) a dev engine build can take 15-30 minutes.

Debug 100

Debug Playtesting Build Engineering 100

Brand Game Development

MARCH 16, 2020

To get the Start to Finish series going, I’ve spent some time discussing games, game development, and the amount of careful messaging that is needed to create and sell a great game. At this point, you may be beginning to have some healthy doubts about the benefits and drawbacks of self-publishing a game.

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Games Quality Assurance Art Game Developer 130

Brand Game Development

JUNE 20, 2019

In fact, I’ve even said: “ don’t build a board game, build a business.” Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Allow me to introduce you to Jeff Beck of Grandpa Beck’s Games. Check it out and see what you think!

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Asset Mechanics Games Balance 130

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 9, 2019

When you’re making your first board game, retail distribution is probably not top of mind. Many creators choose to focus on making a brilliant game, well play-tested, with great art, and good Kickstarter potential. Molly's latest game, The Million Dollar Doodle, is live on Kickstarter! First a book, then a board game.

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Retail Games Writing Indy 130

Keith Burgun

APRIL 27, 2023

It’s been a few months since I wrote about Spellstorm, my new deckbuilding card game. As I wrote about a few months ago , the game took a huge turn somewhere around December, and I am so glad it did. I notice it with my playtesters that all of us are sincerely way more excited to play. Hi everyone!

Dev 52

Dev Playtesting Games Development 52

DameDev.tv

OCTOBER 7, 2022

Industry veterans Rick Davidson & Tim Ruswick* are joined by Stephen Hubbard to understand how he got started in game dev, see what he’s been up to since we last saw him, discuss how to launch your first game and play his new game, Tilecraft. Hosting Your Game On Itch.io

Dev 52

Dev Bug Games Media 52

Ask a Game Dev

DECEMBER 14, 2023

The best way to get better at being a systems designer is to design game systems for games. This doesn't have to be designing systems for video games - a lot of system designers I know are extremely proficient card, board, and tabletop game designers too. What happens if each player starts the game with a monopoly?

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Playtesting Dev Build Game Designer 52