Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant is offering $15,000 to 'thinky' game devs
Game Developer
AUGUST 8, 2024
Bonfire Peaks and Sokobond Express developer Draknek has bundles of cash for a few lucky developers.
Wrapping up 2024 • Celebrating the life and works of solo developers
PreMortem.Games
DECEMBER 24, 2024
Financial success Solo dev Tuomas Auronen , operating under the name Redbeak Games , looks pretty relieved three days after the launch of his game Mortal Glory 2. The game is developed by Californian solo dev Michael Cosio, working under the name of Tainted Pact. Here Below is an attempt to pool resources between small devs.
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Mobile dev Seven Stars secures seed funding for 'next-gen puzzle games'
Game Developer
FEBRUARY 26, 2025
The three-year-old studio is working on a puzzle title its investors say 'has the type of commercial mindset required to succeed in a demanding mobile market.'
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Column • The Pure Product – Every video game ultimately becomes a story
PreMortem.Games
DECEMBER 30, 2024
That moment of interaction, whether it be a button press or a joystick move or whatever, taps the potential of the dev teams hard work and lets it spring to life. And that, my friends, is all we as game devs can hope for. Every players experience is in fact different.
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Solo dev Vladyslav Pidiashenko “I hope IHAS will inspire players to better their lives”
PreMortem.Games
OCTOBER 30, 2024
In the upcoming Sci-Fi Action-Puzzle FPS IHAS , from Ukrainian solo developer Vladyslav Pidiashenko , players wake up aboard a giant, desolate spaceship swarming with hostile robots. After finishing IHAS, I will start to build a strong team to work on games that are beyond my scope a solo dev.” How did you get the idea for IHAS?
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Why Some Puzzle Games are More Addicting Than Others?
Deconstructor of Fun
FEBRUARY 3, 2025
Written by Ahmetcan Demirel , the maestro of product management and a podcast host ( Game Dev Diary ) from Germany! With a knack for puzzles, arcades, and simulation games. The puzzle genre is a powerhouse in mobile gaming, generating over $7 billion annually in in-app purchases (IAP). Succeed in the market.
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Ex-Zachtronics devs establish new 'framework' team Coincidence
Game Developer
MARCH 3, 2025
Coincidence will make puzzle games like Zachtronics used to, but it also appears to be dabbling in other mediums like in-person card games.
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Return to Monkey Island Dev Diary
Grumpy Gamer
MAY 24, 2022
Laying down the backbone puzzles for Act 1. Jul 24, 2020 Started the Puzzle Dependency Chart for Act 1. May 25, 2022 Yep, this dev diary didn’t last long. Taking longer than I thought. Hope to get Dave’s contract done by tomorrow. Jul 23, 2020 First “real” design meeting with dave. Thinking about the ui.
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Design review: Botany Manor as a quiet dark detective game
Radiator Blog
APRIL 11, 2024
Botany Manor is a 3 hour first person puzzle game about growing plants while exploring a big beautiful fancy house that smells like British Bake-Off. Gone Home anchors its story focus with voice acting, narration, simpler puzzles, and wry realism. The Witness fully commits to hundreds of puzzles at the scope of an open world game.
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Wrapping up 2023 • Celebrating the life and works of solo developers
PreMortem.Games
DECEMBER 22, 2023
Solo dev Graham Reid: “Being part of a like-minded community is really important” Young Dutch indie developer Lente is something of a free spirit. Solo dev Lente lives and works on a boat and that shows in her game Spilled! Despite being a solo dev all that time, he never really struggled with his motivation. “I
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Daily Missions in Puzzles: Why should we see them more often?
Deconstructor of Fun
SEPTEMBER 23, 2024
Written by Ahmetcan Demirel , the maestro of product management and a podcast host ( Game Dev Diary ) from Germany! With a knack for puzzles, arcades, and simulation games. For puzzle games, which thrive on repeated play and consistent engagement, daily missions offer a particularly compelling opportunity.
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Rafif Kalantan’s mission to champion MENA and SWANA devs
GamesIndustry.biz
APRIL 9, 2024
Part of 2024's cohort is Rafif Kalantan, an emerging narrative and game designer from Saudi Arabia who spoke to GamesIndustry.biz about her journey from studying computer science to winning the 2023 Yugo BAFTA Student Award for her puzzle game Eros Xavier's Love Solutions. Read more
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Return to Monkey Island Dev Diary
Grumpy Gamer
MAY 25, 2022
Laying down the backbone puzzles for Act 1. Started the Puzzle Dependency Chart for Act 1. Yep, this dev diary didn't last long. Taking longer than I thought. Hope to get Dave's contract done by tomorrow. Jul 23, 2020. First "real" design meeting with dave. Jul 24, 2020. Jul 27, 2020. Jenn started. Jul 28, 2020. Nov 18, 2020.
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Unity reportedly told dev Planned Parenthood and children's hospital are "not valid charities"
GamesIndustry.biz
SEPTEMBER 18, 2023
Developers of indie puzzle game Orgynizer have claimed that Unity said organisations like Planned Parenthood are "not valid charities" and are instead "political groups." In a blog post, the EU-based developer LizardFactory said the plans to charge developers up to $0.20
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UFO50, the Only Game You'll Ever Need
The Bottom Feeder
NOVEMBER 1, 2024
UFO50 was developed by six indie devs over seven years. Two games that everyone was impressed by (including me) are Party House (a delightful deck-builder) and Mortol (a puzzle platformer where you advance by killing your guys). Block Koala is a neat puzzle game. I bet the devs are doing ok, and I'm glad. Tower Defense.
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Solo dev Diego Ras of Raccoo Venture “Everything starts with paper and pencil”
PreMortem.Games
FEBRUARY 2, 2024
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. There it will go through another polishing stage until reaching an acceptable product.
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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. 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.
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Jussi Kemppainen is exploring AI-assisted game development with Echoes of Somewhere
PreMortem.Games
AUGUST 30, 2023
are answered in his regularly updated dev blog. Kemppainen details the journey: “It starts with writing and coming up with a general outline of the story and the main puzzles. For absolutely key puzzles or story beats this must be done, but for less important things I usually just change the script.”
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WINCH IT OUT free demo
Indie DB
JULY 18, 2024
I'm a solo dev working on my first commercial project, WINCH IT OUT. It's a hardcore, physics-based driving puzzle platformer set to release later this year.
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Do you have any tips for designing great puzzles?
Ask a Game Dev
JUNE 4, 2024
When designing a puzzle, a designer must think of the process by which the player interacts with them. Place and advertise the clues to the puzzle goal within the environment. This can be subtle or it can be obvious, depending on whether the puzzle is optional or part of the critical path.
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New indie label Cult Games: "Real breakouts don't come from the boardroom"
GamesIndustry.biz
MARCH 9, 2023
Cult will be responsible for publishing Galacticare – the sci-fi hospital management game by War for the Overworld dev Brightrock Games – as well as the next title from Witch Beam, the studio behind the multi-BAFTA winning puzzle game Unpacking. Read more
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Splash Damage acquires Battalion 1944 dev Bulkhead
GamesIndustry.biz
DECEMBER 9, 2022
Derby-based Bulkhead is best known as the team behind World War 2 shooter Battalion 1944 and first-person puzzle game The Turing Test. UK developer Splash Damage has acquired Bulkhead for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was mentioned in a press release for Transformers: Reactivate, which was announced during last night's The Game Awards.
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Godot XR update - March 2025
Mircosoft Game Dev
MARCH 28, 2025
Our fifth place entry is a puzzle game where you need to manipulate a stream of particles using attractors. Solve puzzles while casting magic spells to find your way out. Top 5 Lets take a closer look at the top 5 entries! Syneed Syneed by Hiina ranked 5th with 13 ratings (Score: 3.705). Our third place is a horror karaoke game.
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Former EA devs' Simply Sweet Games aims to "raise the bar for the entire industry"
GamesIndustry.biz
MARCH 7, 2024
Headquartered in British Columbia, Canada, Simply Sweet Games is a fully remote studio that is currently developing its inaugural mobile title – the roguelike word puzzle Criss Cross Castles. Industry veterans Tina Merry and Carina Kom have formed a new studio, Simply Sweet Games.
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Solo dev Pat Naoum of the handpainted The Master’s Pupil: “Creativity is a tool”
PreMortem.Games
FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Solve puzzles and wander your way across the iris, and through the life, of Impressionist painter Claude Monet. I still love to see how things work, and if they are broken I love the puzzle of how to fix it. All advice for new game devs is to work on small projects, and make as many as you can. Try to enjoy the work.
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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
Solve puzzles and wander your way across the iris, and through the life, of Impressionist painter Claude Monet. I still love to see how things work, and if they are broken I love the puzzle of how to fix it. All advice for new game devs is to work on small projects, and make as many as you can. Try to enjoy the work.
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6 Reasons Escape Rooms Will Make You a Better Board Game Designer
Brand Game Development
NOVEMBER 25, 2019
Part of the reason Escape Rooms appeal to people who don’t normally play games or solve puzzles is the physical experience. However, different people can focus on different puzzles. They can freely float from puzzle to puzzle with no real penalty. The appeal of Escape Rooms is in the physical experience.
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recently i was watching a youtuber play mario party against 3 other AI controlled characters and it got me thinking. when it comes to games like mario party (Or any other game where you have an AI controlled opponent like XCOM) how do developers even begin to design an AI opponent who isnt automatically faster than you in a mini game of speed, or doesnt automatically know the solution to a puzzle in a room before you do and still has to figure it out, or cant guess the correct solution to a quiz automatically, all while still making it feel like you could actually lose to the AI without it feeling overly unfair?
Ask a Game Dev
OCTOBER 30, 2024
Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr Frequent Questions: The FAQ We want the players to have a specific experience (e.g. Join us on Discord ] and/or [ Support us on Patreon ] Got a burning question you want answered?
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4 Lessons from Exit Games for Aspiring Board Game Designers
Brand Game Development
JULY 13, 2020
The game is full of mysteries, riddles, and puzzles. Some of the puzzles in Exit Games, much like in real-life Escape Rooms, are devilishly hard. Other puzzles are more obvious, but for whatever reason, you hit a wall and you spend 15 minutes making zero progress. They can also only be played once due to their nature.
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Polte Games sets Sixth Extinction free “Does your game exist if no one is playing it?”
PreMortem.Games
JULY 5, 2023
I had the idea of packaging information on the mass extinction crisis in a game where you solve puzzles and problems. Professional Voice Actor He spent the next two years working on the narrative-driven puzzle game. Also, being part of a community of devs helps a lot. Salo wanted to take action, but how? “I
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Solo developer Splenbit of Blocks Tracks Trains: “I like pursuing my own vision”
PreMortem.Games
MARCH 24, 2023
“I’m not good with story telling or puzzle design, so combining some expertise would be nice.” As a solo dev I don’t have to synchronize with other people and can work at crazy hours. I’m not good with story telling or puzzle design, so combining some expertise would be nice.”
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Kazakhstan-based Goodwin Games takes us on an emotional adventure in Selfloss
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. Reflecting on the game’s core concept, Khoroshavin shares, “The very first idea was that I want to make a game about an old protagonist that can traverse via boat.
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How to Create a Pattern Building Board Game (Tasty Humans Pt. 1)
Brand Game Development
JUNE 25, 2019
Out of nowhere, a thought popped into my head: “what if you were still monsters eating adventurers, but the game was all about dropping them into a puzzle that represented the monster’s stomach?” All I knew is I wanted some sort of spatial puzzle that ultimately determined the monster’s satisfaction.
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What do you think is best bang for your buck for dev time to player time (besides multiplayer)? Alternately, what’s the worst (but still worth it)?
Ask a Game Dev
DECEMBER 8, 2022
Continued dev work would be spent on adding new options for the randomized content generator to create even more interesting possible combinatoric results. This usually means content like cinematics, plotted narrative, voiced lines, action set pieces, puzzles, quick time events, scripted boss fights, that sort of thing.
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Delores Source Code Released!
Grumpy Gamer
MAY 25, 2020
I also uploaded the dev build of the Delores engine (including the complete debugger) so you can run all your edits and changes. The other downside is these really are the dev tools we used to make the game, and like most in-house dev tools, they are poorly documented and very crude around the edges.
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On the topic of “what the player is doing”, what do you feel about so called walking simulators? How does the design of a game where the player is largely is moving from point a to b is defined?
Ask a Game Dev
JUNE 21, 2024
The actions that the player take include exploring environments, collecting puzzle pieces, avoiding obstacles, jamming obstacles, moving boxes, climbing boxes, using boxes to obstruct enemies, and that neat time recording feature. The Talos Principle primarily interweaves the exploration and narrative elements with puzzle solving.
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Escape the sinking ship in Globiss Interactive’s VR game Titanic: A Space Between
PreMortem.Games
FEBRUARY 14, 2024
“The visual style definitely took us a while to decide on, as we weren’t sure if we had the capability to go for realism on the Quest platform”, says Frans Overman, one of the two brothers that make up the dev team. 99% of our assets are self-modeled and textured, as we believe in creating a product that’s totally our own. “I
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Delores Source Code Released!
Grumpy Gamer
MAY 24, 2020
But wait… don’t hit the back button yet… I also uploaded the dev build of the Delores engine (including the complete debugger) so you can run all your edits and changes. I’m not talking about your unit tested sort routine, I’m talking about complex puzzle logic and odd UI uses.
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Have you got any advice for a dev that has lost passion? I got in the industry to make games, and though I’ve worked in the industry for 8 years I don’t feel I’ve had a meaningful impact on any project I’ve worked on. I consistently feel underqualified in roles and yet continue to studio hop towards promotion without issue. I have never shipped a game. I’ve lost interest in the craft as I don’t feel like it matters to someone like me. I feel despondent and purposeless, I’d like to care again.
Ask a Game Dev
JULY 30, 2024
I focus on the part of the work I find inherently rewarding and interesting - I treat my tasks like puzzles and I solve them. The feeling of solving a puzzle is rewarding and interesting to me on its own, I would feel good solving problems and puzzles all day long.
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4 Lessons from Sagrada for Aspiring Board Game Designers
Brand Game Development
JANUARY 28, 2019
The dice are bright and pretty, as are the puzzle boards on which you build stained glass arrangements of dice. It’s ultimately a puzzle game, but a very attractive one with some subtle elements that arise from it being a nearly perfect information game where players draw from the same draft pool.
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Ask a Game Dev - Untitled Article
Ask a Game Dev
DECEMBER 20, 2022
When designing a puzzle, a designer must think of the process by which the player interacts with them. Place and advertise the clues to the puzzle goal within the environment. This can be subtle or it can be obvious, depending on whether the puzzle is optional or part of the critical path.
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The Kristala Dev Blog - Issue #27
Astral Clock Tower Studios
MARCH 20, 2021
Welcome back to ACS headquarters for another rousing installment of the Kristala game dev blog. We can't say too much just yet, but you're definitely gonna wanna tune into next month's dev blog to see how ACS kicks development into high gear. Stay tuned to next month's dev blog issue for a look at the finished piece!
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The Kristala Dev Blog - Issue #29
Astral Clock Tower Studios
MAY 27, 2021
Welcome back to another exciting issue of the ever-enchanting Kristala dev blog! We'll be sure to keep you posted on all the sweet deets as we near our Patreon launch date, so be sure to stay tuned to our socials and public dev blogs for updates and announcements (including an exciting kick-off contest where you can snag a FREE PS5 ).
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