Brand Game Development

JULY 9, 2018

I currently write for Geek & Sundry, PC Gamer, and ThereWillBe.Games. r/tabletopgamedesign and /r/boardgameindustry are good for connecting with other designers and developers, getting feedback on a design, or even organizing playtests. Many developers choose to create their own subreddits for playtesting. It worked great.

Dev 130

Dev Playtesting Games Platformer 130

Brand Game Development

APRIL 27, 2020

Write down everything they say and keep a good attitude even if you disagree. Two groups that come to mind are the Tabletop Game Playtesters Guild and Card & Board Game Designers Guild. Because play-testing is hard, respect your play-testers time and opinions. Don’t argue, just listen. Finally, go in prepared.

Demo 130

Demo Playtesting Simulation Advertising 130

Ask a Game Dev

JANUARY 24, 2025

At the start, you have one or two developers who write a pitch. Yes, most games that dont pass muster get cancelled, and publishers cancel them as early as they can. This is primarily because development costs only grow as the project progresses.

Prototyping 52

Prototyping Dev Playtesting Build 52

PreMortem.Games

MARCH 30, 2023

We had three very different games that we spent around two weeks on each, developing them up to a point where we could playtest them with other people”, says Mason. This allowed us to solidify our narrative over time instead of being rigidly prescriptive from the start and writing ourselves into a corner. Even with no tutorial.

Playtesting 104

Playtesting Prototyping Games Mechanics 104

PreMortem.Games

MARCH 20, 2023

We had three very different games that we spent around two weeks on each, developing them up to a point where we could playtest them with other people”, says Mason. This allowed us to solidify our narrative over time instead of being rigidly prescriptive from the start and writing ourselves into a corner. Even with no tutorial.

Playtesting 104

Playtesting Prototyping Mechanics Games 104

Brand Game Development

MAY 1, 2017

Don’t write off a reviewer based on subscriptions or web traffic. If something slips through your playtesting, it might very well be caught in the review stage. Reviews are great marketing, even when they’re not good. Look for engagement – comments, likes, conversation, and social media traffic.

Games 130

Games Playtesting Dev Prototyping 130

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 2, 2018

Every iteration of each game has to be created somehow and there are A LOT of iterations – usually a new one after each playtest, especially in the beginning. I sometimes use blank cards or write on prototypes if I need to iterate quickly, but that typically only happens at conventions. Carla: I also do a lot of interviews!

Playtesting 130

Playtesting Games Advertising Prototyping 130

Brand Game Development

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

Playtest a Ton. Be direct when writing rules. Use present tense, active voice, and second person when writing rules. With all this said, how does one create rules that fulfill the twin purposes of balancing the game and communicating clearly? I have some guidelines. Use Present Tense, Active Voice, Second Person.

Balance 130

Balance Games Communications Mechanics 130

PreMortem.Games

JULY 1, 2024

” “Our goal is to build our games holistically where music, interaction, art and writing all inform one another and iteratively improve throughout the development process. This time around we’re putting a lot more time and resources into playtesting and catching problems early.”

Art 138

Art Games Graphics Puzzle 138

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 23, 2017

I’ll also be writing responses for Will. Sarah: It was also in 2013 that we met Ben and were playtesters for his game Tower , which he launched on Kickstarter early in 2014. Along with handling all the business, Ben has playtested and helped develop our designs. How Ben, Sarah, and Will Got Started. Brandon: Excellent!

Prototyping 130

Prototyping Games Playtesting Game Designer 130

Brand Game Development

APRIL 20, 2020

The first topic I want to write about comes from a guy identified only as Matt in the comments. Hold yourself to no standards and just start writing or drawing. Now circling back to what Matt had asked about finding playtesters, here’s how you might apply these principles. Need help on your board game? Just jump in.

Writing 130

Writing Playtesting Game Developer Game Development 130

Grumpy Gamer

JANUARY 18, 2018

When I write, music is helpful. I assume you mean "playtesting" since we don't do beta testing. But, at any point in development, from playtesters, bug testers, or us playing the game, we're constantly finding puzzles that don't work. How you divide your time between making games and living "real life" ? I'm off skiing today.

Puzzle 130

Puzzle Point and Click Playtesting Art 130

Grumpy Gamer

JANUARY 17, 2018

When I write, music is helpful. I assume you mean “playtesting” since we don’t do beta testing. But, at any point in development, from playtesters, bug testers, or us playing the game, we’re constantly finding puzzles that don’t work. I work on a Mac exclusively. In the winters, I go skiing.

Puzzle 130

Puzzle Point and Click Playtesting Art 130

Brand Game Development

FEBRUARY 17, 2020

If you hate the game you’re playtesting, do something different. Don’t just playtest it and refine the mechanics. By using my own work as an example, I hope you can read their original write-up with a concrete context and use their lessons to make an incredible game of your own. It stalled out for the next four.

Game Designer 130

Game Designer Game Design Tile Games 130

PreMortem.Games

JULY 8, 2024

On his artistic side, Sithlu recalls writing little stories and poems in the back of his notepads but didn’t show them to people until one day in grade 10. “A That’s when I started writing more, getting into poetry. Sithlu credits his family and team as his biggest support, with his brother being a key playtester.

Studios 129

Studios Educational Education Point and Click 129

Brand Game Development

DECEMBER 9, 2019

I was literally turning 26 when I somehow got the idea in mind that I needed to either write a book or invent something to help pay for business school. So I started writing a book on how to fail well. Anyway, I started writing a book on how to fail well and then I thought… having barely gotten into the book, “I need to fail more.

Retail 130

Retail Games Writing Indy 130

Brand Game Development

MARCH 16, 2020

You do the game development and playtesting. That may sound icky, but don’t simply write off the traditional publishing route. I write with the intention of speaking specifically to self-publishers, because that is what I know, that is what I’ve done, and that is what I like. You go find the art.

Games 130

Games Quality Assurance Art Game Developer 130

PreMortem.Games

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

All this before there’s ever any playtesting done. It usually starts with a ‘think pad’, which is basically just a google doc where I write down anything to do with a specific game concept. “Having full control over the entire project and its creative direction counts as a pitfall too. I realized I missed this aspect a lot.

Dev 104

Dev Puzzle Prototyping Development 104

Radiator Blog

MARCH 16, 2023

This recap post / viewing guide covers only the first half of the series (episodes 01-17) and I'll try to write-up the second half later. Tim Schafer also has to refresh his writing workflow; should the blockout dictate the script, or the other way around, or how do you manage that back-and-forth?

Art 147

Art Concepts Dev Studios 147

Keith Burgun

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

I’ve been working extremely hard this year on Spellstorm (among other projects) – so much so that I sort of forgot to write something about it here on my blog, I’ve realized! I did write this piece over at its BoardGameGeek page, so do check that out to begin with, if you haven’t already: [link].

Playtesting 52

Playtesting Writing Graphics Fighting 52

Game Global

JULY 12, 2021

You should concentrate on building up your writing portfolio and getting regular game writing work. They’re related, but the difference is this: A game writer’s primary responsibility is to promote the story that the game tells through the scripts they write. Creative writing. Technical writing.

Cutscenes 52

Cutscenes Writing Scripting Localization 52

Mircosoft Game Dev

JULY 2, 2018

After three days of intensive game development and two weeks of playtesting and rating (over 3,500 ratings!), And while there was no voting criterion for the writing, the introduction and ending texts of the game are definitely worth reading! we now have the results for our June 2018 Godot Community Game Jam !

Playtesting 52

Playtesting Writing Animation Animation 52

PreMortem.Games

AUGUST 15, 2023

I’ve been interviewing developers since 2013, talking to dozens of candidates at companies such as King, Foxglove and Yager, writing job specs for various roles, and providing hiring decisions. During the following Playtesting session, the game designer is unimpressed with the current state, mentioning missing features.

Studios 104

Studios Engine Engineering Communications 104

PreMortem.Games

JULY 29, 2024

Feedback from playtest sessions with friends or players is really important. Writing things down helps too.” “For design problems where the answer isn’t immediately clear, I’ll leave it for a bit, work on something else or take a break, and it’ll be ticking over in the back of my mind when I’m out and about or playing other games.

Dev 138

Dev Development Sandbox Indy 138

Grid Sage Games

DECEMBER 22, 2023

In previous years I’ve opened the review with a collage of dev images of varying themes and content, but approaching the end of this year we have one major theme that stands out, and that I’ll be writing more about below, so let’s hear it for the interface mockups! Its time has come.

Beta 105

Beta Alpha Mechanics Build 105

Mircosoft Game Dev

OCTOBER 7, 2018

Bring your computer and work on fixing engine issues or writing documentation under the guidance of core Godot devs. The above activities are intentionally planned not to fill the whole day, so that there is time to get to know each other, present one's work to other attendees, playtest games, etc. All core devs as tutors.

Demo 52

Demo Simulation Shaders Engine 52

iXie gaming

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Write and deploy smart contracts defining the policies for creating, trading, and owning NFTs in your game. Test Your Game and Deploy Performing thorough playtesting is crucial in NFT game development. Here are some fundamental activities involved in NFT game development: Creating the game concept. Develop smart contracts.

Game Developer 52

Game Developer Game Development Development Asset 52

Big Games

DECEMBER 5, 2023

Voice actors breathe life into characters, and developers write thousands of lines of code. Playtesters are vital in finding bugs, glitches, and potential issues. Character models are designed, audio engines are fine-tuned for realistic sounds, and level designers create immersive environments. Testing Testing is like quality control.

Game Developer 52

Game Developer Game Development Development Bug 52

Mnenad

JULY 8, 2018

Where do I begin here… Let me go back to the point I quit writing about in the blog. Playtesting - “One of the best experiences I made with this prototype” fellow student testing GenoTerra. The creature designs.

Prototyping 52

Prototyping Terrain Open World Rigging 52

Designer Notes

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

The programmers writing these games would absolutely make some pitchers better than others at preventing hits because that was how everyone thought baseball worked before McCracken. She writes: After I analyzed the results from this study, I was dismayed to find that playing the game had no effect on positive feelings toward the poor.

Simulation 78

Simulation Agent Game Designer Game Design 78

AWS Games

JULY 26, 2022

Once you’ve specified your messages, you can write handlers for them using GameSparks’ Cloud Code functionality. Alternatively, you can also write your own request body. Since the StartMatchmaking request has no input fields, we can simply write {}. In our sample solution, we’re only using messages of the request type.

Build 69

Build Console Games Code 69

Tom Francis

AUGUST 20, 2019

I’ll write the rules here, but they’ll make more sense when you see it played: If you’re following closely, you might notice I slip up and fail to kill the king of clubs when he should have died, but I re-kill him with the next play so it’s fine. In the video I both explain it and play a full game.

Games 52

Games Playtesting Prototyping Concepts 52

Deconstructor of Fun

MARCH 14, 2023

Kudos to Neil Long of Mobilegamer.biz for joining the event and writing the notes. You can find edited highlights of each talk below, and videos of each session – just hit play to start watching. Designers should highlight game progression and grant it early, as well as provide customization options and meaningful choices in the early play.

Games 59

Games Cross platform Mobile Mobile 59

Grid Sage Games

MARCH 10, 2022

The scope of this rebalance is way too large to cover in its entirety, and while I don’t plan to write about every aspect, we’ll be looking at the broad strokes and pick out some representative examples here and there. As is the changes are too new and we’ll have to see what real playtesting turns up. Fine tuning.

Balance 52

Balance Mechanics Beta Prototyping 52

Deconstructor of Fun

SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

During the writing of this post, we connected with the folks behind Geeklab and they agreed to offer a free month to their service for all of our readers. Not to mention that the playtests on Playtestcloud usually lasted for more than the required 30 minutes. That’s how confident they (and we) are in their platform.

Data 52

Data Build Games Mobile 52

Deconstructor of Fun

MAY 23, 2023

At that point, Second Dinner revealed that their first project just so happens to be a licensed Marvel IP, which the team has been working on for six months already and is currently beginning to playtest. Updated Token Shop The new token shop has been released while writing this article, so I’d like to give a quick update on how it works.

Feature 95

Feature Mechanics Tile Mobile 95

Grid Sage Games

JULY 17, 2022

In playtesting so far this (among other benefits we’ll get to later) is already clearly tempting players who would otherwise always prefer regular branches over infiltrating a Garrison. Almost sounds like RIF, but by design the two are actually mutually exclusive options, so I look forward to seeing who uses it, and when and how.

Beta 52

Beta Content Balance Mechanics 52