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.

Mechanics 95

Mechanics Puzzle Games Balance 95

Brand Game Development

JUNE 29, 2020

A couple of months ago, I asked the readers of this blog to send in answers to the question “ what confuses you most about board game development ?” ” I got a lot of responses, and two of them were about knowing when to pivot during a game design project. Need help on your board game? Save your old work.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Mechanics Games 130

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 17, 2018

Creating board games takes an enormous amount of time and effort. The simple fact is that there are a lot of distinct tasks that have to be handled to turn a game from an idea into reality. This is why I urge each new board game designer to share the workload , delegating tasks to a team instead of doing them all alone.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Development Games 130

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Escape Rooms will make you a better board game designer. With this in mind, here are six reasons I believe that Escape Rooms will make you a better board game designer.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Puzzle Prop 130

Brand Game Development

JUNE 1, 2020

In any case, we received this game as a gift from grandmother, who apparently has a really good eye for which hobby board game to buy! Naturally, we needed to set the game up and take a few photos to send to her, if nothing else. Need help on your board game? Use simple mechanics to create options for counterplay.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Games Build 130

Logic Simplified

AUGUST 1, 2023

Have you ever designed a game? If yes, then what game design fundamentals do you prioritize in your own designs? Game design is incredibly complex and fascinating, with countless nuances and techniques to master. In this article, we'll explore some key building blocks of game design fundamentals.

Game Design 93

Game Design Game Designer UX Mechanics 93

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 28, 2016

“Theme-first or mechanics-first” might be the most asked “big question” in the board game community. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators. Theme and mechanics are inseparable parts of board games as a whole.

Mechanics 100

Mechanics Playtesting Concepts Game Design 100

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 27, 2020

It has since remained a hot game on Board Game Geek and a perennial favorite in Pangea Games board game giveaways! So with that in mind, what can we learn from this award-winning board game with a silly name? Need help on your board game? Mitigate push-your-luck with a good catch-up mechanic.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Mechanics Games 130

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 7, 2019

In 1995, the game formerly known as Settlers of Catan was nothing more than the obscure creation of designer Klaus Teuber. The board game market as we know it today did not exist yet. Catan was the first major hobby board game to come into existence. Need help on your board game? Need help on your board game?

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Terrain Mechanics 130

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 28, 2019

Sagrada is one of my recent favorite board games. It is fundamentally a pretty simple game, but it has a lot of really endearing qualities. 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.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Point and Click Games 130

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 17, 2020

When I was a neophyte game developer, I found an excellent article by Wizards of the Coast, creators of Magic: the Gathering , called Ten Things Every Game Needs. This two-part article was so influential in my initial design of War Co. This two-part article was so influential in my initial design of War Co. Constraints.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Tile Games 130

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 28, 2019

Last year, Everdell by Starling Games raised nearly half a million dollars on Kickstarter. It has remained a popular board game since, regularly topping out the Board Game Geek Hotness and showing up multiple times as a giveaway prize in Pangea contests. Everdell is a worker placement, tableau-building board game.

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Fantasy Mechanics 130

Logic Simplified

AUGUST 14, 2023

The game development process is a complex and challenging process involving ongoing iteration and improvement in order to develop an exciting and captivating final product. One vital approach used during game development is playtesting. So, what is playtesting and how is it an essential part of game development? Let’s find out.

Playtesting 93

Playtesting Game Design Game Designer Games 93

Brand Game Development

MARCH 9, 2020

Monopoly: it’s one of the oldest board games in the store. It’s one of the top 10 best-selling board games. It’s also a terrible board game. When board gamers need a game to mercilessly mock , they look no further than Monopoly. Need help on your board game? Monopoly has a staggeringly low 4.4

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Playtesting Games 130

Logic Simplified

AUGUST 8, 2023

Video game development is a collaborative process that involves various people with specialized skills. The two most critical roles in this process are game artists and designers. Since most of us are unaware of the process of creating a game, we usually confuse game design and game art as being the same.

Game Design 88

Game Design Game Designer Art Prop 88

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

What started as a passion project has grown into a full-fledged god game blending city-building, resource management and player-driven storytelling. I became a solo developer initially because I wanted to make games, plain and simple, he says. I have full freedom and control over every aspect of my game.

Simulation 118

Simulation Dev Mechanics Development 118

PreMortem.Games

OCTOBER 28, 2024

Set in a beautiful, Slavic-inspired world, Selfloss by Kazakhstan-based indie studio Goodwin Games is an adventure that explores themes of grief, healing, and resilience. 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.

Prototyping 104

Prototyping Indy Games Concepts 104

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 13, 2020

That is by no means a small amount to raise, but what’s interesting is that Spirit Island has remained on the Board Game Geek Hotness list off and on for almost three years. Clearly, there is much more to this game than what immediately meets the eye. Need help on your board game? You’re next, agriculture games!).

Game Design 130

Game Design Game Designer Games Balance 130

PreMortem.Games

OCTOBER 11, 2023

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 The game immerses players in a captivating odyssey across worlds within worlds, beckoning them to master the art of world-leaping mechanics to uncover a cosmic mystery.

Puzzle 257

Puzzle Prototyping Art Communications 257

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 24, 2025

Void Sails by indie developer Ticking Clock Games is a single-player action-adventure RPG that takes players on a thrilling journey through mysterious worlds, where they captain a flying ship across uncharted space. The name Ticking Clock Games serves as a reminder for the team to stay on track and meet deadlines.

Point and Click 104

Point and Click Games Feature Balance 104

PreMortem.Games

JULY 4, 2023

AppMagic has released a new quarterly report with an overview of the most successful hypercasual games on the market right now. Top 10 Games By Downloads Now, it’s time for a deep dive into the top 10 hypercasual games by downloads. The game features different modes and progressively more challenging levels.

Tile 252

Tile Racing Pixel Games 252

PreMortem.Games

JUNE 3, 2024

Anima Flux , the latest game by studio Anima Flux, is exploring new territories in gaming. According to Andrey Songraf, Game Designer and Product Owner, this makes them pioneers of sorts. However, after experimenting with different formats, it evolved into a platformer and a Metroidvania genre game,” says Songraf.

Co-op 239

Co-op Cutscenes Communications Animation 239

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 6, 2017

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the first of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? How do I come up with an idea for the core engine for my game?

Engineering 130

Engineering Engine Mechanics Games 130

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

Last week, I posted A Crash Course in Games , where I acted as a tour guide to the board game industry, covering much of the contextual information you’ll need to make games. Let’s pick up from there and talk about what specifically goes into making a game. What is board game development all about?

Game Developer 130

Game Developer Game Development Development Game Design 130

Played with Fire

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

While players can step inside virtual worlds , many VR games fail to deliver engaging narratives. 1⃣ Short Play Sessions Limit Deep Narratives Most VR players engage in 30-60 minute sessions , much shorter than traditional gaming. Games should focus on branching storylines where choices have real consequences.

Cutscenes 52

Cutscenes AI Games Media 52

Juego Studio

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023

Every successful video game features a few common elements- clear goals, surprise elements, a clean core loop, good graphics and sound, and so on. In short, they feature the major game design elements. Game designers follow a combination of certain basic elements to make it memorable.

Game Design 52

Game Design Game Designer Mechanics Games 52

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 11, 2017

Board game development is a very individual process. Every single developer has different methods for creating their games. This article is the sixth of a 19-part suite on board game design and development. Need help on your board game? Rules provide directions on how to execute activities within a game.

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Writing Concepts Games 130

GamesIndustry.biz

MAY 28, 2024

Everyone has a favourite video game tutorial. Maybe it's the first hour of Fallout 3, which quite literally treats you as a baby, teaching you new mechanics at different stages of growth? Perhaps it's Half-Life 2's iconic tutorial that packs everything you need to know into four words and one empty can of soda? Read more

Mechanics 138

Mechanics Game Design Game Designer Development 138

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

Today, I have a challenge for you as a board game designer. I want to see you make a board game in 28 days. That’s why I’ve provided a 28-day game design challenge for you. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.

Dev 130

Dev Writing Game Design Game Designer 130

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

This week while working on my current board game design, a lot of things have come into focus. Now it’s time to start tweaking board game rules. This is where board game design often becomes very tricky. Need help on your board game? Many of the rules in a game will come from the board, cards, etc.

Balance 130

Balance Games Communications Mechanics 130

Brand Game Development

MARCH 13, 2017

Brandon: The following is the second guest post by Burt Yaroch of the Healthy Gaming Network. Not only does he help gamers make healthier choices, but he’s a fledgling designer himself! Today he shares with us a game he really enjoys: Colony. Need help on your board game? Photo by Eric Yurko of “What’s Eric Playing?” (CC

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Games Advertising Build 130

Played with Fire

MARCH 12, 2025

The gaming industry is evolving at a rapid pace, with cutting-edge technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) playing a crucial role in shaping its future. VR & AI The Future of Gaming? Will VR and AI redefine how we play games, or are they just temporary trends? But what does the future hold?

AI 52

AI Technology Games NPC 52

iXie gaming

FEBRUARY 11, 2024

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has become a buzzword across different sectors, including gaming. Generative AI has experienced increasing usage in game design as it accelerates and streamlines different aspects of game development. As a result, they allow for a more personalized and dynamic gaming experience.

Game Design 52

Game Design Game Designer AI Technology 52

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 30, 2016

When you tell someone that you’re into board games, they often ask, “oh, you mean like Monopoly ” before you instinctively cringe. on BoardGameGeek , Monopoly is the kind of game that board gamers love to hate. Need help on your board game? Join my community of over 2,000 game developers, artists, and passionate creators.

Asset 130

Asset Games Mechanics Game Design 130

Brand Game Development

JUNE 25, 2019

Pattern building board games are really popular among the hobby board gaming crowd. Board Game Geek cites Azul , Sagrada , A Feast for Odin , and Quadropolis as pattern building board games. These titles earned – and keep – respect in the hobby gaming community. Need help on your board game?

Tile 130

Tile Build Puzzle Fantasy 130

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. Need help on your board game? How can you tell stories through games? Why is storytelling important?

Mechanics 130

Mechanics Art Games Puzzle 130

PreMortem.Games

OCTOBER 25, 2024

If there ever was a fitting metaphor for the trials and tribulations that indie developers face while creating their debut game, it’s Ascending Inferno , the upcoming release by Australian developer Oppolyon Studio. As first-time indie developers, their journey mirrors the very game they’ve crafted.

Studios 118

Studios Indy Mechanics Games 118