Brand Game Development

MARCH 31, 2017

I’ve created a playtesting log and I’ve done 11 tests so far. If you want to learn more about record-keeping and playtesting, I’ve got a great article for you to check out. I take my own advice, and this is what my playtesting log looks like. These tests can all be classified as “movement tests.”

Dev 130

Dev Playtesting Simulation Editing 130

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 25, 2021

I’ve written before about the usefulness of documenting your playtesting. It contains both pragmatic advice and a primer to the mindset I want you to take into playtesting. Eventually, you’ll have to edit the rules until they help them learn. Now your game is ready for blind playtesting. Need help on your board game?

Playtesting 130

Playtesting Games Mechanics Editing 130

PreMortem.Games

JANUARY 8, 2024

There have been times in my work at Blizzard where I’ve made an animation or edited a PSD file or a 3D model to iterate more quickly on a design and the designers on those teams have let me know how much they appreciate it.” Sometimes I have to make a bet that a feature will be fun only to end up cutting later after playtest feedback.”

Dev 160

Dev Playtesting AAA Indy 160

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 2, 2018

With various other developers, I’ve talked about all the different parts that go into making a board game: the core engine , the mechanics , rules , and storytelling / internal narrative. Below is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation via Facebook Messenger. Except that’s not really all, is it?

Playtesting 130

Playtesting Games Advertising Prototyping 130

Brand Game Development

MARCH 16, 2020

You are not forced to make any edits to your work for any reason. You do the game development and playtesting. Publishers have all sorts of vetting mechanisms in place that keep you from going to market with a bad game. Why Self-Publishing is Great. Conforming with genre standards is less of a priority. You go find the art.

Games 130

Games Quality Assurance Art Game Development 130

Interesting Choices

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Not long after that I started working on a game (then called City Draft) that would be strongly inspired by a few key influences: 7 Wonders for the mechanics and structure, Carcassonne for the idea of placing tiles in a grid, and SimCity for the theme. victory points in the final era. Militaristic neighbors can further invalidate strategies.

Build 40

Build Tile Point and Click Games 40

Deconstructor of Fun

MARCH 14, 2023

You can find edited highlights of each talk below, and videos of each session – just hit play to start watching. Last week in Istanbul, Google and Deconstructor of Fun brought together a thousand-strong group of high-level mobile game execs to talk about the future of the business.

Games 59

Games Cross platform Mobile Mobile 59