GamesIndustry.biz
AUGUST 29, 2024
While players can often identify elements they like – such as colors, puzzles, or characters – they rarely can elaborate why the elements appeal to them. The more traditional and obvious methods, like playtests, player surveys, market research, and in-game analytics, are useful for understanding what it is people enjoy to play.
Ask a Game Dev
JUNE 4, 2024
When designing a puzzle, a designer must think of the process by which the player interacts with them. Place and advertise the clues to the puzzle goal within the environment. This can be subtle or it can be obvious, depending on whether the puzzle is optional or part of the critical path.
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PreMortem.Games
JULY 1, 2024
Evan Anthony: “Alternating between two timelines with such different visual designs, mechanics, and stories has been a real brain puzzle for us. They will have to talk to a diverse set of characters and find clues in dialogues and intricate puzzles, and unravel a conspiracy that could bring the world to its end.
PreMortem.Games
OCTOBER 30, 2024
In the upcoming Sci-Fi Action-Puzzle FPS IHAS , from Ukrainian solo developer Vladyslav Pidiashenko , players wake up aboard a giant, desolate spaceship swarming with hostile robots. A year later, I started to add puzzles and worked out a story and a few key philosophical concepts for the game.” Playtest early.
PreMortem.Games
SEPTEMBER 28, 2023
All this before there’s ever any playtesting done. I played around with a few ideas and one of them was a simple cube rolling puzzle game. So I made a shift in puzzle design to negate that. But these people aren’t necessarily the people that play challenging puzzle games. I realized I missed this aspect a lot.
Brand Game Development
FEBRUARY 17, 2020
On the other hand, playing Tasty Humans has short turns, which helps the game stay snappy even though it’s a brain-burny puzzle game. If you hate the game you’re playtesting, do something different. Don’t just playtest it and refine the mechanics. The mere threat is usually enough to keep the game going.
Ask a Game Dev
DECEMBER 20, 2022
When designing a puzzle, a designer must think of the process by which the player interacts with them. Place and advertise the clues to the puzzle goal within the environment. This can be subtle or it can be obvious, depending on whether the puzzle is optional or part of the critical path.
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