Designer Notes

MARCH 31, 2023

Here are some screen’s from the game’s prototyping phase. Civ inherited this mechanic directly from Empire, a game from the 80s which had much of the same tile-based, turn-based combat as Civ but without the scope of all human history. A good example is what I’ll call “Every Unit Moves” which is how Civ has always worked.

Tile 98

Tile Point and Click AI Mechanics 98

Brand Game Development

NOVEMBER 3, 2017

Click here. 2: I did not order a prototype prior to manufacturing from the same company that printed. This is actually separate from the previous point. Bear in mind that by this point, I’d already failed at Kickstarter once. As a result, very few people clicked on them. See which Kickstarters get backed.

Point and Click 130

Point and Click Media Games Art 130

Designer Notes

AUGUST 10, 2021

The big change that always gets mentioned when going from Civ 4 to Civ 5 is one-unit-per-tile (1UPT), which is interesting as 1UPT is purely a mechanical – as opposed to thematic – change. Few people called for the return of stacks-of-doom, but critics pointed out that carpets-of-doom were just as bad.

Tile 40

Tile Point and Click AI Mechanics 40

Deconstructor of Fun

FEBRUARY 7, 2021

These points are informed by my research into the topic and conversations I’ve had with platform operators and gaming and ad tech executives: When will ATT be made mandatory? It’s important to recognize what exactly ATT is: iOS14 launched back in September, but Apple delayed the rollout of ATT until “early 2021.”

Advertising 52

Advertising Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile 52

Interesting Choices

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

I've been fascinated by board games that revolve around drafting for years now, and in early 2011 I wrote a post on the pillars that make these games click. I've created an online prototype for playtesting that has seen almost 2000 games completed with at least a dozen players clocking in at over 100 games apiece.

Build 40

Build Tile Point and Click Games 40

Deconstructor of Fun

NOVEMBER 10, 2020

And the point is that you… because you get so used to selling the idea, ultimately you'd know nothing about that idea until you market tested it, until you've, like, started building it, until you start getting some data. Gigi brought up a good point about the kinds of companies I sort of have three in my head about video games.

Games 52

Games Point and Click Engine Engineering 52

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 21, 2021

By all accounts this genre is matured to a point where it could use a massive innovation to both the progression mechanics and social gameplay. The only true bright spot was Art of War , which despite prototype level production quality has scaled up to over 5M in net revenue a month with no stop in sight!

Mobile 52

Mobile Mobile Cross platform Puzzle 52