Deconstructor of Fun

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

With a knack for puzzles, arcades, and simulation games. 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. However, the real challenge lies in adaptation rather than imitation.

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Logic Simplified

JULY 31, 2023

There is one area every game designer must focus on to ensure that their games are captivating enough to entertain and provide an impactful experience to the user: game mechanics. When creating a new game, video game mechanics are often considered the most important factor. What are game mechanics? So let’s get started.

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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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Puzzle Games Mechanics Baking 173

PreMortem.Games

OCTOBER 6, 2023

It’s the brainchild of six developers from Copenhagen, operating under the name of Indoor Sunglasses. “I thought that trying to piece together what happened in the past felt like a puzzle – a puzzle you could turn into a super emotionally powerful video game”, he says.

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Game Refinery

JUNE 15, 2023

The rise of hybridization in mobile games has resulted in game developers experimenting with new gameplay mechanics and features from other genres to drive engagement, something that’s often done via limited-time events.

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PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

First-time Swedish developer Far Out Games has meticulously crafted a neon-drenched Americana, complete with pink motels, sun-soaked suburbs and classic diners, all ready to be obliterated by you and your unstoppable delivery truck. After all the years of development, Nielsen is still impressed by their own game.

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PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

They enable developers to establish a connection with their target audience early on, while turning interested players into buyers. Typically highlighting a game’s mechanics in their raw form, even before content and visuals receive their final polish. A game demo is more than a condensed snapshot of your game.

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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 control mechanics are integral to the gameplay, allowing players to operate Kazimir and his staff both together and independently.

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GamesIndustry.biz

APRIL 8, 2024

But there's something particularly special to be said about its main mechanic, and the pure joy of experiencing its optical illusion puzzles for the first time, seeing reality shift before your eyes. "I Read more

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Game Refinery

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Narrative design has always been an important part of video game development, but its significance in modern-day games continues to grow as narrative elements play an important role in player engagement and retention. The story has multiple main and side characters, and besides the mystery theme, there are also some romance and LGBTQ themes.

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Deconstructor of Fun

AUGUST 15, 2023

This is a much-dreaded question game developers ask themselves at every stage of game development. And if the game you’re working on is a match-3 puzzle, there is a widely accepted assumption that your target audience primarily consists of women aged between 25 and 45. Who is your target audience?

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PreMortem.Games

JUNE 17, 2024

Japanese indie game developer Yamada has used ChatGPT as a key design element for his latest project, Doki Doki AI Interrogation. He had to set up strict boundaries and even make the AI powered character ‘drunk and forgetful’ to pull it off, but, according to the developer, the experience has moved players to tears.

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PreMortem.Games

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

Cocoon, the intricate puzzle adventure by Jeppe Carlsen , known as the lead gameplay designer of Limbo and Inside, launched to raving reviews after 6.5 years of development. Carlsen’s vision for Cocoon sprang from a fascination with game mechanics. Cocoon’s development journey spanned a challenging 6.5

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Game Refinery

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Competition is fierce in the mobile game market, but even more so for developers of casual and hyper-casual games. So, what can mobile game developers do to increase the chances of their games performing well? So, what can mobile game developers do to increase the chances of their games performing well?

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Game Refinery

JUNE 21, 2023

An example of an exclusive reward offer bundle in Diablo Immortal The match3 puzzle game, Pet Rescue Saga , also has a good example of a reward-based IAP offer. The match3 puzzle game, Project Makeover, also features these offers as part of its Timed Makeover Challenge.

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Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. For as much as we talk about theme-mechanic unity here, it’s an ideal to be pursued and which is seldom truly met. Part of the reason Escape Rooms appeal to people who don’t normally play games or solve puzzles is the physical experience.

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Game Refinery

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

Mobile game developers are constantly looking for new ways to bring in new players and keep existing players engaged with their games. One of the most successful ways of doing this is by introducing meta elements – gameplay elements and mechanics from other game genres – into your game. Area renovation with no choices (Royal Match).

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Deconstructor of Fun

SEPTEMBER 28, 2020

This analysis is written by Taras Koshelev (Lead Game Designer at My.Games Venture Capital) who focused on game mechanics and loops and Michail Katkoff (Founder of Savage Game Studios) who covered the market and marketability. Playrix released Puzzle Breakers into soft-launch in late 2019. Puzzle RPGs on Mobile.

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PreMortem.Games

JULY 12, 2024

Wood Nuts: Screw Puzzle The first game on the list is a title by Zego Studio: Wood Nuts: Screw Puzzle. In this game, the user solves various puzzles by unscrewing everything on the screen. To keep players engaged, the game features a leaderboard that motivates players to achieve better results by solving more complex puzzles.

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Brand Game Development

JUNE 25, 2019

Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. 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?” How Pattern Building Arose from the Dropping Mechanic.

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Cocos

JANUARY 8, 2024

Hello hallo, we are the development team of the indie game InOutPath, and as the development of the game is getting better and better, we have now made the Steam page of InOutPath available. We are an adventure puzzle game with 7 big chapters and 300+ small chapters. and more than 20 different puzzle mechanisms.

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Game Refinery

OCTOBER 26, 2023

The ever-changing nature of the mobile market means that new monetization mechanics are constantly emerging and evolving. One of the most popular monetization mechanics is the subscription-based battle pass , which was introduced via Valve’s DOTA 2 in 2013 but popularized by the worldwide phenomenon, Fortnite.

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PreMortem.Games

JANUARY 24, 2024

I thought that the core mechanic in this 2D game was extraordinary, so I contacted the developers. The Swap The initial idea that ignited the project was the core mechanic: The Swap. It allows players to instantly swap places with any physics based object which allows for some clever puzzling through the relentless levels. “We

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PreMortem.Games

JULY 1, 2024

The sheer confidence of steering clear of the beaten track and creating something truly original, comes from experience gained outside the world of video game development. Evan Anthony: “Alternating between two timelines with such different visual designs, mechanics, and stories has been a real brain puzzle for us.

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PreMortem.Games

JUNE 28, 2024

The challenge is an initiative to improve representation and increase visibility for underrepresented game developers in the mobile gaming industry. Through innovative mechanics, they provide a unique perspective on dementia. Four mobile games from indie studios in the U.S., These are the winning games and teams this year.

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Deconstructor of Fun

MAY 20, 2020

Mobile developers look up their fake AppStore accounts and download with excitement wondering what the new game could be. A bold move for Supercell, going against giants that continue to rule the casual puzzle space. Playing levels awards stars , which are used to earn coins in the Puzzle Pass. The Core Game Loop.

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Deconstructor of Fun

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

With the clear trend of increasing dramatic in casual games: its time for developers across the industry to ask themselves: is our audience more interested in new gameplay, or new stories? Hexasort with its new matching mechanic executed so well, is an industry darling. They start with a completely different promise.

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PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Compelling puzzles And so the team built the game around the story. The gameplay mechanics and puzzles all came from the question ‘what fun things could we mess with inside a phone’. We ended up kind of struggling to really create a sense of progression and compelling puzzles.” Absolutely! Lucie then added them.”

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PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

He worked 5 years on his nostalgic 3D platformer Raccoo Venture , but according to Brazilian solo developer Diego Ras the journey was ‘extremely rewarding’. As a solo developer, Ras loves the complete control he has over his creations. Why did you become a solo developer? “I’ve What’s your creative process? “As

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Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 18, 2017

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the seventh 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?

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Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 14, 2020

Alrighty then, lets kick off the predictions with the Puzzle genre! Puzzle Games Continued to Grow. Puzzle genre is the second largest, after strategy games, on mobile in terms of in-app purchases. Last year Puzzle games generated a whopping $4.5Bn in IAP revenues while growing 18% year-on-year.

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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. Need help on your board game?

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Brand Game Development

JULY 8, 2019

Of all the mechanics in the board game world, variable player powers remain a fan favorite. Games with this mechanic range from Gloomhaven to Terraforming Mars to 7 Wonders. Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. I am currently developing six other more exotic boards.

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Game Designing

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

Though it is easily overlooked, especially for newer devs focused more on the nitty-gritty of game development, the atmosphere is a crucial component for any successful release. Both are open-world action-adventure games with fantasy elements and similar mechanics. The best way to understand the atmosphere may be through an example.

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Game Refinery

JUNE 23, 2022

The onboarding period is the delicate phase where the player’s relationship to the monetization mechanics of the game is often decided – for better or worse. Introducing monetization mechanics through free samples. That is, while the player is still getting used to the gameplay mechanics and figuring out what their goal is.

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Deconstructor of Fun

JUNE 3, 2019

This was the date that the social games giant had acquired a relatively unknown Finnish developer, Small Giant. The reason for this acquisition was the success of Small Giant’s hit game, Empires & Puzzles. Since mid 2017, Empires & Puzzles has raked in $260M in net revenues with only 34M installs. Wooga GmbH. Wooga GmbH.

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Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 29, 2024

Events with different mechanics sometimes complement each other, but at other times they divert players' attention, resulting in reduced activity and monetization. Everyone knows about them, but not all developers pay real attention to them. We had a case with an event based on merge mechanics. Try different combos, too.

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