Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 20, 2017

The core engine is what’s left when you strip a game of mechanics and obstacles. The core engine is the bare minimum set of mechanics and concepts you need to have a functioning (but not necessarily fun) game. Game mechanics are how we bring the core engine of a game to life. What are game mechanics?

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Mechanics Games Game Design Game Designer 130

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 28, 2016

“Theme-first or mechanics-first” might be the most asked “big question” in the board game community. Theme and mechanics are inseparable parts of board games as a whole. When people talk about mechanics, they tend to mean to strategy, tactics, and rules. There is no hard-and-fast line that splits mechanics and theme.

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Mechanics Playtesting Concepts Art 100

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 27, 2017

We’re picking up where we left off last week with How to Design the Mechanics of Your Board Game , so read that if you haven’t had the chance yet. Today, we’ll be focusing on testing game mechanics after you design them. A quick recap: game mechanics are how we bring the core engine of a game to life.

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Ask a Game Dev

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Overall, these kind of generally hard-to-obtain win-more mechanics exist to make players who get them feel good and have a memorable game experience, while the players on the receiving end dont really feel that much worse. Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ

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Mechanics Dev Fighting Balance 52

PreMortem.Games

APRIL 12, 2024

“Solo and tiny dev teams have a lot of superpowers, but we have some weaknesses too”, he explains. Here Below is an attempt to pool resources between small devs. You can be a solo dev, but you need the right partners to push your project forward.” I’m not a solo dev. Strategic partners are crucial.

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Dev Horror Studios First person 151

PreMortem.Games

AUGUST 3, 2023

Thinking about those ideas and how I could come up with my own spin or tell my own story with similar mechanics. I prefer the games that create horror through environments, sound and gameplay mechanics. “Well, I truly love playing games and thinking about ideas from my favorite games. I believe in keeping a good work life balance.

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Balance Horror Studios Dev 195

PreMortem.Games

AUGUST 25, 2023

I believe the most significant advantage of working solo is having complete control over various aspects of the game, including the story, environment, and mechanics. I come up with ideas of my own for the game’s story, environment, and mechanics. What are the biggest advantages of working solo? “I I value outside input too.

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Horror Dev Prototyping Mechanics 197

PreMortem.Games

DECEMBER 16, 2024

This also meant we had less dev time to fix bugs or optimize performance. We’ll see players talk about features they’d like to see or suggest mechanics, and if our idea is sound, we bring it up in a team discussion to see if we want to include it into the game.” “Some ideas also come from our community.

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Dev Development Feature Prototyping 104

Brand Game Development

MARCH 31, 2017

In the coming week, I hope to accomplish the following goals: Create a rudimentary win condition to test Experiment with a card drafting mechanic Push version 1, edit 2 to Tabletop Simulator (version codename: State Route 1, Edit 2) Playtest some more. The post Dev Diary: 03/31/17 appeared first on Brandon the Game Dev.

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Dev Playtesting Simulation Editing 130

Deconstructor of Fun

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

Written by Ahmetcan Demirel , the maestro of product management and a podcast host ( Game Dev Diary ) from Germany! Whether it's a unique gameplay mechanic from an indie title or a groundbreaking event in one of the biggest franchises, developers consistently look to each other to spark creativity and fuel progress.

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Feature Art Mechanics Balance 98

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

All these games together will teach you a wide variety of mechanics. This is a neat way to introduce brand new board game devs to odd concepts like modular boards – that is, boards that do not have the same form every time you play. Don’t study the mechanics of this game. appeared first on Brandon the Game Dev.

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Dev Games Mechanics Concepts 130

PreMortem.Games

MAY 6, 2024

French solo dev Matthieu Houllier , operating under the name Brute Force , has been making games by himself for five years. I was lucky enough to release my first game Crumble as a solo-dev, it did way above what I anticipated and allowed me to live off of gamedev.” In that time he has released the 3D platform game Crumble. “It

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Dev Media Content Simulation 129

PreMortem.Games

JANUARY 30, 2025

I sketch things out by hand, hang up the drafts all over my wall using tape and sit on the ideas, prototype mechanics, and just see what clicks. The toll on mental health can be quite high for solo devs. Something I want to feel in a game rather than a structured concept. How do you deal with that? Its definitely a challenge.

Development 138

Development Playtesting Prototyping Point and Click 138

PreMortem.Games

JANUARY 8, 2024

With the game now announced for a 2024-release, the part time solo dev is motivated to finish the game. The core mechanics of Critter Crossfire leave the door open for so many unique items that couldn’t exist in any other turn-based tactics game or first person shooter. There have been a few 6-month breaks there.”

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Dev Playtesting AAA Indy 160

Brand Game Development

JULY 28, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Every game mechanic, every piece of art, and every marketing endeavor ultimately comes down to your decisions. Just here for Highway s & Byways updates? That’s no way to live a life.

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Fighting Dev Art Games 130

PreMortem.Games

OCTOBER 2, 2024

What started as a simple concept quickly turned into a game that challenges players with a mix of strategic depth and risk-reward mechanics. Solo devs have to be generalists, and that’s not for everyone”. I think we have a similar attitude about what ‘good game design’ is, mechanically.

Dev 104

Dev Development Mechanics Writing 104

DameDev.tv

DECEMBER 16, 2022

as we explore the top 7 game dev myths Laurie (Avocado Fire) joins Rick Davidson & Tim Ruswick* to discuss these 7 game dev myths and address any concerns that you have. 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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Dev Graphics Games Art 97

Brand Game Development

APRIL 7, 2017

I’m trying something different on the Dev Diary. My hope with the Dev Diary series is that by being really direct and transparent about my own development experiences, you’ll see how I respond to real problems. We’re in this together, game devs. My brother and I ended up liking the drafting mechanic.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Dev Simulation Games 130

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 30, 2019

Experiment with a theme or mechanics you’ve never used. You can read more about that in my article here: Setting Up Social Media as a Board Game Dev: A Primer Course. The post 20 New Year’s Resolutions for Board Game Devs in 2020 appeared first on Brandon the Game Dev. Learn how to use Board Game Geek.

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Dev Prototyping Games Game Design 130

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

Yet, for indie dev Almar, it offered an escape from the corporate rat race he felt trapped in. I do sometimes have ‘flashes’ -or dreams- of cool ideas like a gameplay mechanic, other times a whole story or environment. The toll on your mental health can be quite high for solo devs. It’s those human mistakes that make us unique.

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Dev Playtesting Art Games 160

Indie DB

SEPTEMBER 28, 2024

Dev diary diving deep into the morale mechanics in Kaiserpunk.

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Mechanics Dev 105

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

Throughout development, you may often be tempted to include incredible features and mechanics that weren’t originally planned, which can make the project’s completion elusive. The post Solo dev Diego Ras of Raccoo Venture “Everything starts with paper and pencil” appeared first on PreMortem Games. Beware of mutant scope.

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Dev Advertising Internet Development 163

PreMortem.Games

MAY 19, 2023

Drawing inspiration from their own experiences in bouldering, the team sought to incorporate the exhilarating mechanics of climbing into the game. The post Indie dev studio Wikkl Works takes virtual rock climbing to New Heights appeared first on PreMortem Games. It is great to see that it’s working out so far.”

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Indy Dev Studios Playtesting 104

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

I sketch many times, not only my concept art but even game mechanics. Crude will release on 22 December 2023 and Remote Life 2: Fearless on 7 May 2024 The post Solo dev Mario Malagrino “The psychological pressure is the worst part of game development” appeared first on PreMortem Games. What’s your creative process?

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Game Development Game Developer Dev Development 138

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

Google “list of board game mechanics.” The post Make a Board Game in 28 Days: A Challenge by Brandon the Game Dev appeared first on Brandon the Game Dev. (Again, don’t worry – if you need to pivot later, you can!). Choose some obstacles or constraints that players must overcome in order to win. You just developed a board game!

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Dev Writing Game Designer Game Design 130

Ask a Game Dev

JANUARY 28, 2025

Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on BlueSky Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ Because of how costly it is to try to build it properly, most budget stealth implementations generally devolves into some version of red light/green light.

Cinematics 52

Cinematics Dev Simulation Mechanics 52

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. So, his solo debut game Billy Bumbum might be the first and last game he made as a one-man-dev-team. But for me it might be different than for other solo devs. There are many lessons!

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Dev Puzzle Prototyping Development 104

PreMortem.Games

OCTOBER 23, 2023

It is hard to balance something deep and meaningful with game mechanics while keeping things enjoyable for the player. The post Solo dev Michael Schmidt “Adding spiritual traditions to games is hard” appeared first on PreMortem Games. What’s the biggest lesson learned from this project?

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Dev Games Development Balance 118

Brand Game Development

JULY 17, 2017

The following excerpt is from Games Speak through Mechanics, Not Rules (Dev Diary: 04/28/17). If you strip out all the mechanics that put obstacles in your players’ path, what’s left? The core engine is the bare minimum set of mechanics you need to have a functioning game. That’s a mechanic. Chess tells a story.

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Communications Game Development Game Developer Development 130

Brand Game Development

APRIL 23, 2018

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. New game devs: don’t write off Facebook because it’s expensive. We’ll get to that in more detail below. The first is what I call Content Mix.

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Build Dev Advertising Games 130

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 From the building mechanics, all the way to the third person character movements. Does it improve the mechanics of the game? We judge each feature based on three criteria.

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Engine Engineering Build Mechanics 129

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 12, 2016

Much like theme vs. mechanics , separating people into gateway gamers and hardcore gamers is another persistent dichotomy in the board game community. Unlike theme and mechanics, though, I think this distinction is much more useful. You can make complex games based on simple mechanics like Patchwork.

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Build Mechanics Art Concepts 130

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 17, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Only after your game is functional and has a few mechanics and rules do I recommend bringing in play-testers. I chase functionality, theme-mechanic unity , and smoothness of experience. Click here.

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Point and Click Mechanics Games Art 130

PreMortem.Games

MARCH 13, 2024

I added the first goblin and the basic combat mechanics, and that felt good but still not quite there. The post Solo dev Jason Larabie of Rodent Games works after hours on Artificer’s Tower “I live a dual life” appeared first on PreMortem Games. The final piece that solidified the game for me was summoning bosses.

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Dev Prototyping Art Games 129

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Dev Diary posts are made to teach game development through specific examples from my latest project: Highways & Byways. Playing games exposes you to mechanics and design trends. Just understand that you don’t have to spend $15,000 on games like that gamer to be a good game dev. Click here.

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Dev Simulation Games Prototyping 130

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. The inner narrative should reinforce the game’s mechanics and rules. What you’re going for is Theme-Mechanic Unity.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Communications Art Game Development 130

Brand Game Development

MARCH 30, 2020

Create rules and mechanics that help you express your idea in the best way possible. appeared first on Brandon the Game Dev. 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. Find artists.

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Game Development Game Developer Development Games 130