Designer Notes

DECEMBER 10, 2023

(Of course, many games are actually on a continuum between these two extremes – most free-for-all Eurogames severely limit how players can impact each other so that diplomacy is of little use. I also realized that the game was NOT actually an engine-builder even though it gave the outward appearance of being one.

AI 52

AI Racing Engine Engineering 52

Designer Notes

APRIL 2, 2023

I tried out a series of mods to see what was possible and was surprised to see how effectively people could push the Civ engine to create something completely new. I accidentally built a interactive fiction engine inside of a 4X game, and I am very excited to see where our writers – and the modding community – can take it.

AI 72

AI Point and Click Games Mechanics 72

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 21, 2021

The two graphs below show that competition for supremacy of Mid-Core in the Western audience is a tight race between Supercell and FunPlus. But before we break down the market, the main players and give out our predictions, I’d like to present the two graphs that led to the title of the post.

Mobile 52

Mobile Mobile Cross platform Puzzle 52

The Bottom Feeder

OCTOBER 18, 2023

At some point in the last several decades of video games, everything became a role-playing game. Turns out, if your game design is a little lacking, all you need to do is spackle on a bit of "Make bars fill up to make numbers get bigger to make bars fill up." Designers think making an RPG is easier than it is.

Games 85

Games Fantasy Fighting Art 85

Moonmana

APRIL 7, 2023

If you’ve ever wondered what the best game engine is, we invite you to figure it out with us. Let’s discover their pros and cons so it will be easier to decide which engine suits your project better. Unity versus Unreal – this seems to be an ever-lasting battle in the game development world. Unity or Unreal?

Engine 52

Engine Engineering Game Engine Games 52

Keith Burgun

APRIL 19, 2024

Bunny Wizard has just 6 health, but can get an intense healing engine going, and also is known to help his opponents! It feels kind of like a videogame, again partially due to the theme but also the way that “teching up” and characters’ “ultimates” work, as well as the fighting-game style asymmetric characters.

Fighting 64

Fighting Game Design Game Designer Racing 64

Deconstructor of Fun

JULY 8, 2024

This model emphasizes the role of soft launches: launch when KPIs suggest the game is compelling rather than editorial opinion, whether from marketing, platform, or game design leaders. It has a deep hole to climb out of, but it’s equipped with the industry's smartest designers, engineers, and analysts.

Mobile 110

Mobile Mobile Platformer Feature 110

Moonmana

DECEMBER 20, 2022

This style can be a nice option for adventure, mystery, and puzzle games. Fantasy realism is used for games full of movement, action, and drive. Games developed with the fantasy realism art style often involve aliens, races, and creatures that aren’t “real” yet are depicted realistically within the game world.

Art 52

Art Games Fantasy Polygon 52

Interesting Choices

AUGUST 5, 2011

Race and Class. I started thinking about how we had just recently done the race/class update, where all cards now had a race (a card that used to be just "Cleric" would now be "Human Cleric") and all sentient races now had a class (instead of just "Elf" it would be "Elf Warrior"). Suddenly everything was so much easier.

Racing 40

Racing Mechanics Games Development 40

Deconstructor of Fun

OCTOBER 17, 2022

It launched to little fanfare in Korea but it became the de facto FPS standard in China thanks to a massive focus on continuous releases of new (and often left-field) modes (ranging from bike racing to ‘soccer with knives’) and extravagant, overpowered, expensive weapons and outfits catering to local taste.

Content 52

Content FPS Mobile Mobile 52