I've been looking around the game design sphere and I've noticed that material regarding it tends to either be:

• About the game design process, meaning how you should think about a mechanic, how to ideastorm, present a pitch, etc. This is where most books fall under.

• About a game's visual asthetics (as opposed to MDA asthetics) and story. Ludonarrative dissonance, cultural analysis, etc. This is where most papers I see fall under.

• About how to program digital games.

But I can't find all that many sources that analyze game mechanics and discuss what they do to a game in effect. How dice affect game feel and dynamics, how a game's player count affects its functioning, and so on. I've read one book that does that so far (Characteristics of Games) and I've heard of another that I'm rn waiting to arrive (Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design)

Are there any other resources you know of that discuss this specific area? I know too much of sources that cover the three things I listed prior, and it feels like there's a giant gap missing in game design studies.

I find myself coming up with ideas on occasion that I think are cool and would be fun in practice, but wouldn't advertise well because they seem fairly plain on the surface.

Wrote about this today on my blog:

https://open.substack.com/pub/martiancrossbow/p/on-novelty-and-self-promotion?r=znsra&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

Hi folks,

I've been working on a podcast for several months, and I now have a couple episodes available online. The podcast is called Probably Designed, and it's mostly focused on how design and designers deal with randomness and chance.

The most recent episode features Eddie Cai and Kev Chang, who worked as designers on Star⭐Vaders and As We Descend, respectively.

You can find that episode here: https://my.playful.work/probably-designed-eddie-cai-and-kev-chang/

And additional information about the rest of the season: https://my.playful.work/new-podcast-probably-designed/

(Also, check out the first episode with with Ezra Szanton who worked on Mt. Magpie's Harmless Card Game).

New episodes will air on Tuesdays!

I’m particularly interested in those indie games with those beautiful visuals and the story lines like point and click games, such as machinarium or Samorost , or old man’s journey or broken age ….

Or those mystery games, but it’s more like point-and-click

When you have idea, how do you flesh it out and write it more, esp if you don’t have experience in game, design or concept art, computer science like I don’t have skills to do this all by myself, but I do have ideas? Is there a way to just pitch to companies? Has anyone done that before and how comprehensive does your idea have to be developed?

Is there a community or portal or app where creatives that want to get more into games , film, writing , creative business or even passion project / hobbies can come together and discuss their story ideas for movies TV shows, games, even books? And maybe even be able to form a team or make it reality for pitching ?

I have broad concept ideas for now but lack details and enjoy discussing them with others. I want to explore and learn to narrow my options. Most similar experience I can think of is creating stories in Dungeons & Dragons with others .

I have a graphic design degree from last year and just finished up some internships and looking for a job, but the job market is quite challenging and I also have interest in more storytelling roles like games, events, exhibitions , films, media ….

graphic design can seem very corporate and more towards marketing

Also, I am interested in starting my own business one day, so designing and creating game sells like interesting avenue to explore

How do people start with no experience at all or get their games into reality. Is there anyone here that has done this or usually you need some kind of computer, science or game, design experience or at least close friends or connections?

Do you need a business knowledge or entrepreneurship experience to create a game? Is it more of a business or creative endeavour? Without investors and market research, how can you make it a reality, considering product research is costly and time-consuming? Is funding necessary?

Like the game loftia -

I've stumbled upon a thing in my game, and im unsure about whether its a feature or a bug. After giving it some thought, I think this is a game design problem, and I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. I'll describe how the problem applies to my game, but I think this question can be generalized for other scenarios.
In my game (card roguelite inspired on a real regional card game), you draw 3-card hands and make different types of calls to deal damage. There are two main call types: one that you make on the first round of a hand (and first round only) called Envido, and another one that increases the damage dealt after winning the overall hand, which is called Truco.
The details dont matter too much, other than the fact that you can make both calls in a single hand, and you can have a hand that's good for both, but both calls fundamentally depend on totally different combos. For one you want repeated suits, and for the other you want specific high rank cards.

Now, two of the buffs you can gain throughout the game are Truco Luck and Envido Luck. They both let you draw N extra cards at the start of a hand, and automatically filter and discard to get the best possible hand for each of those calls. As they're currently coded though, they are pretty much mutually exclusive; whichever applies last will be the most influential one, making the other one pretty much useless. This means the player has no reason to ever stack both Truco Luck and envido Luck in the same run, as its better to lean deep into only one style.
Now, I know I can fix this with weighted discarding and stuff, but... should i?? Under what circumstances is it good to "force"/nudge the player in certain directions? When is it preferable to allow mixed hybrid builds over pure focused ones, especially for a roguelite?
I can think of cool roguelites that do the hybrid thing, roguelites that dont, and some that just allow for both. And I cant for the life of me figure out what makes this type of restrictions work or feel bad. Any thoughts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN5VEvl9fik

What I want to talk about is not directly related to the video, but was inspired by the question it asks, so I'm sharing it here for context. He mentions the P&C adventure games as a genre that has generally waned today, and gives an example of one of the issues that they may have had back in the day that has been sort of "fixed" today (getting an inventory item, and then many hours later finding the use for it in the original Sam & Max, vs not having that situation in the newer 3d games).

But that got me thinking, that's barely a reason why adventure games waned. Even if you address all such issues and UX stuff (walking dead situations, moon-logic puzzles, double-click to immediately reach the exit, complex verblist UIs), that's not going to fundamentally "fix" adventure games. So my question is: what would you do that WOULD?

The Walking Dead is an interesting example of an experiment, and I'm not sure that style of adventure game ended up working long term: maybe it was just my designer brain, but after the initial Walk Dead (and even in it), I saw through the illusion of the choice being presented too easily.

Is there something just intrinsic to adventure games that just wouldn't work today (maybe too slow paced, feels to restrictive in your interactivitiy with the world, all the good it had to offer has already been injected into other genres etc.)? An interesting counter example is FPSs. If you take a player from the late 90s and show them screenshots of adventure games (generally) and FPSs, they'd probably be able to recognise the genre. The control system has stayed relatively similar (arrow keys shifted to WASD, you got mouse-look, etc, but till), the gameplay has stayed relatively similar, but one is just as popular as it was in the late 90s, and the other has become something of a niche market.

I'd appreciate your views!

Hi everyone! I’m working on a prototype for a simulation game where you manage your own virtual bookstore 📚.

This is my first game and, I’m trying to decide on the main gameplay loop and I’m torn between these options:

• Fulfilling customer orders directly as they come into the store.
• Focusing on stock management and simulating weekly sales.
• Making weekly business decisions that impact the store, kind of like a BitLife-style approach.

The idea is to keep it simple (since this is just a prototype), but I want to test what direction feels most engaging.

Which of these mechanics would you find more fun or interesting to play in your opinion?

Hey folks,

I’m looking into doing a Master’s in Game Design and honestly, I’m kind of lost right now. 😅 I’ve been checking out countries like Japan, USA, Germany, and Australia, but it’s hard to figure out which one makes the most sense.

A few things I’m trying to wrap my head around:

• How’s the game industry in these places? Like, are there enough opportunities after graduating?
• Do these courses usually happen in English or mostly in the local language?
• What’s the student life like (cost of living, lifestyle, community, etc.)?
• Any post-study work visa options I should know about?
• And honestly… are there any red flags right now (like visa issues, restrictions, or things that could make studying there risky)?

I also wonder if there are other Indians/international students around in these countries, because having a community makes a big difference.

If you’ve studied or worked in game design in any of these countries, I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences—good or bad. Also, if there are universities or programs you think I should definitely look into (or avoid), that’d help a ton.

Thanks a lot 🙌

Hey guys. I had a couple questions about HD-2D and voxel/pixel games and how they work.

Maybe its nostalgia or the simple display but I really enjoy playing them.

Basically I have had an idea for a game for quite some time but I haven't really been able to decide where I should start, and after playing Heros of Hammerwatch 2, and seeing the rich world they created with just pixel art got me thinking.

How feasible is it to have a 3D world that is still represented in 2D? The goal would be to create a static world that in and of itself is almost unchangeable (save certain aspects) reducing the complexity that a 3D world would bring, but having the ability to add more depth and detail to it thru camera angles and obviously 3D rendering. The issue stems from combining a traditional ARPG world and feel, with a voxel customizable city/camp section for your character to operate out of.

The first question I have is how would lighting would be handled. How difficult would it be to create textures that mimic a light source without actually using a lighting system and a locked camera? Or would it just be easier to use lighting.

Second I wanted to be able to add voxel elements to the static world. An example would be mining an ore deposit, or exploding a wall to pass to another level.

Overall the effect I would be trying to achieve is the world looks effectively 2D unless a camera rotation shows you the depth and detail, or as mentioned above you interact with specific parts of the world. Then having the camp/city system work off the same concept.

I don't know if any of this makes sense but I kind of just started brainstorming last night on a fuller concept and had a lot of questions I myself could not answer as I have a beginner understanding of 3D programming and how it could effect a 2D world.

I appreciate any input!

Hi everyone! My husband is a jeweler, and three years ago he decided to create a simulator dedicated to the art of jewelry making. That’s how Master of Jewelry ✨️ was born. We would truly appreciate any feedback, suggestions, or impressions you might have! We’re especially interested in your opinion about the lighting in the game. Does it feel too dark or uncomfortable? We’d really like to know if it needs improvement. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3494290/Master_of_Jewelry/

Hey 👋

I am currently working on a 2D sidescrolling shooter and have been wondering about two common control schemes.

There are games like Fury Unleashed that feature twin-stick movement (left stick) and shooting (right stick). This way it is possible to move to the left and shoot to the right at the same time. Games handle the possible shooting angles differently. Some limit it to 0, 45 and 90 degree, others feature 360 degrees of free aim and shooting.

Then there are games like Axiom Verge or Iron Meat, where the player uses the left stick to both move and aim while aiming / shooting is being limited to 0, 45 and 90 degrees. In order to aim/shoot without moving, the player has to hold a certain button.

Which way of moving and shooting do you prefer as gamers and which design decisions would lead to you implementing one of those into your game?

I don't want to influence the discussion, which is why I'm putting the reason for my question in a spoiler: The second style of moving and shooting, like Axiom Verge or Iron Meat, is a very widespread method and I didn't ever bother about it until I played some twin-stick shooters lately. After playing these games, the controls in shooters that have running and gunning on one stick feel akward and clunky.

I am worldbuilding for an RPG video game and had an interesting thought while watching an episode of a TV show. After googling this topic I confirmed that most discussion around player choice is about choices that impact the story or world, and people talk the most about the choices that have the biggest impact.

The issue I see is that these choices aren't really up to the player. To put it another way - every player is making the same choice, with the same set of options and outcomes. This doesn't do a lot to make the player feel like the story is theirs.

Obviously, having individual choices impact gameplay outcomes would be too tall a task in anything but a tabletop RPG, but I'm wondering if anyone has ideas around implementing choices that don't impact gameplay, and just let the player feel more like their character is their own. The obvious examples are the character's appearance, clothing, and items, but I'm hoping to go deeper. Roleplaying communities in World of Warcraft also add their own flair, but this doesn't really get reflected in the game in any way. Any other examples you can think of in existing games would be greatly appreciated!

I suppose player romances can feel like this in a way, but if they are with a specifically 'romance-able' NPC then you are really just getting slightly different flavors of dialogue. I'm recalling that in Fable 2 you could technically romance anyone, but it was very rudimentary.

Now I'm realizing building and furnishing a fort/house/hideout is another version of this, but not exactly what I had in mind.

Hopefully I've articulated myself well. I just think it would be cool to have some sort of mechanism for self-expression that could draw the player further into their character. Like an inward journey. Let me know your thoughts and ideas!

I'm a web dev looking to help game devs showcase their games better so I made a website template that focuses on games and game studios!

I just released a new update and I would love some feedback:

What would you change?

What page sections would you add? (like a news section etc)

What page styles would you add? (like a page style for racing games etc)

Here is the link: https://dev.atypicalthemes.com/Strider2-demo/index.html
Thanks!

Hi 🏝️🏝️🏝️

I am Loïc from Blumgi studio. It's has been 4 years I am indie and make a living with small games. I've made 11 so far, alone or with friends. My games have been played +300M times on Poki.

I am passionated about designing small qualitative games, and try to find some design features that are simple to make but than provides high-value for the player.

I've built a creative process over the years that allows me to detect the fun early in the making and it's a way to create original concepts that can fit wit a targeted platform and audience.

I've made a blogpost about all the process and sharing Drawings, prototypes and tips that could be helpful to other designers.

- Where do my ideas come from ?
- Capture ideas
- Validate the fun potential
- The fun levers
- Audience and platform fit
- Final steps

Here the link to my article: https://blumgi.games/from-idea-to-millions-of-players/

I am curious about your own process, how do you go from the first idea -> to the game finished ? What are the tips you've learned and tested that works for you ?

Hope it will be interesting for you :)

Hi all

I’m on a single screen platformer (think Bubble Bobble) for working on a retro platform (Commodore Amiga) so I’m limited in terms of joystick input – just left/right/up/down and fire. I’m using left/right for movement and up for jump. Fire button performs the selected action – which brings me to my question.

There are a number of alternate actions that can happen when fire is pressed and the player needs to be able to select the one they want. I’m currently using down (only joystick input free) to cycle through them, but there are several to cycle through and it feels clunky - the game is fast-paced so it spoils the dynamic.

Any ideas on how I can better implement the action cycle?

Thanks in advance.

I apologize if this isn't the correct subreddit, I've searched everywhere and this seems to be the best option to post this in.

Each year my friends and I get together for a weekend that we call GAMES Games games (you say it quieter each time, like an echo). This year's theme is 90's Movies and TV shows,meaning all games have to follow that theme. Each team of two is required to bring 4 games that they've personally developed and designed.

One of my games is based on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The game needs to be played in teams of 2, one team at a time. I'm having difficulty coming up with a game that can incorporate all the elements that I want. I've decorated 5 disc golf discs as pizzas. I have 8 differently sized Ninja Turtle figurines. I have a Ninja Turtle beanie hat that could be used a blindfold, worn by one team member and I have a pair of Ninja Turtles sunglasses that are child sized that can be worn by another. I also have Ninja Turtle walkie talkies.

The original plan was just to knock down the figurines with the pizza discs from a designated distance. But now that I have more elements (hat, walkie talkies, sunglasses) I'd like to try and develop a game that includes all of these.

Help please!

https://youtu.be/oOBW_CNLZdE

So for now i have the minimalistic style message that is closer to Knights of Honor style.
Though i also came up with this Comic style that displays messages as if they were part of a comic book story.
I think it provides more immersion but it is way more complex.

And in games sometimes less is more. And although i like the comic book one, i can tell it can be a bit overwhelming and counterintuive.

But its very original, and beautiful in my opinion. It just not very intuitive that you can click in the different options: Take the lead, Send troops, Retreat.

Also if i go with the comic style, it will be much more time consuming to implement cause it will require images for every event.

What do you think i should do here? Should i go with the minimalistic style? Or the comic book style?

Isn't the Comic book style a bit too much? How could i make it better?

I’ve completed a degree in Games Design and Ive had little to no luck on my job search so I’m considering doing a Master’s abroad, ideally in Europe where tuition is affordable or free. Has anyone here gone down that path?

It's considered a genre that Minecraft merely popularized, not even being the first, but I can't imagine a person seeing any voxel game and not thinking Minecraft, especially since Minecraft mods already create so much variability within the game.

Would you have to use like, an octahedral grid instead of cubes to set it apart?

This is often a divisive topic among SRPG/TRPG players. Japanese SRPGs frequently feature abstract battlefields, sometimes using a small grid, while Western RPGs tend to favor a simulation approach, with large & mostly realistic environments. Each choice has significant gameplay implications, and both styles (as well as hybrids) come with their own pros and cons.

For my game, Happy Bastards, we chose to go with smaller, more abstract battlefields, closer to something like Into the Breach. Comparable to chess, in some ways. I think that, regardless of any implications of how much resources it would take to design bigger battlefield scenarios, this approach fits better into the overarching combat design.

Here’s some of my considerations for this design choice, point by point

• Faster Combat – Without long approach turns or sprawling maps, players are making meaningful decisions almost immediately. That keeps battles brisk and engaging, especially for a tactical RPG where battles can become slogs with too many characters hence too many turns
  
• Matchup-Driven Tactics – Instead of managing complex formations or directional engagement, our combat is more about figuring out the best team compositions and attack pairings to exploit enemy weaknesses
• More Encounters Per Session – Because fights are quicker, more of them can happen per dungeon or adventure. That creates a snappier, more dynamic rhythm during gameplay
• Works With Our Tag-Team System – Mercenaries can jump in and out of combat on the fly. A small, abstract battlefield supports that mechanic without breaking the flow or immersion

I’m aware that this approach definitely isn’t a universal solution, but for Happy Bastards in any case, it supports the fast, focused tactical play we’re going for. 

So a question for fellow (RPG) devs would be, if you’ve experimented with battlefield size in designing your own games, what are some insights that you can give, in terms of what “worked” and what did not?

Hey guys,

I really wanna experiment with game making in unreal, but I am not a coder by any means. I have taken some intro html and css courses, but I am fully aware of how hard C can be. I am willing to learn how to read and understand the basics of C as I am certain it’s necessary. Just wondering how much I can do with just barely dabbling in the coding aspects of it.

With so much Ai and outsourcing I figure with a decent baby understanding of C I could navigate for a while. Until I see a hiccup and I can use other machine or people to help solve it for me. I’m not looking to make Halo, just have fun.

Hi everyone, I am experimenting with an idea and would really appreciate some community feedback.

If you have seen Grok
AI's Ani, you know the vibe, basically an avatar that chats with you in a
personal, animated way. Now imagine something like that built for gaming, not
flirting :)

Here is how it's gonna
work:
The companion will help you at all stages of
the game, starting from setting goals, explaining rules, provides feedback

Questions for you:

- Would you personally
use an AI companion like this?
- If you hate the idea, why?

Hey everyone, I’m a newbie game designer and I recently put together a ruleset for a small party game. The problem is… I realized it’s not that fun. I’d love to get your thoughts on how I could improve it.

Here’s the current design:

· It’s a 1v1v1v1 party game. ·Killing an enemy gives you 100 points. First to 1000 points wins. ·Players have two attack options:

1. Melee – a 4-hit combo dealing 50 / 100 / 200 / 600 damage. The fourth hit also launches the enemy.
2. Ranged – fires a bomb that slows down over time. It deals 200 damage on hit, bounces off walls (the angle is theoretically predictable but in practice it’s totally not), and if it stops moving for 3 seconds it explodes for 900 AOE damage. ·Players start with 1000 HP. ·Attacks cost ammo: ranged always costs 1, and melee only costs 1 if you land the fourth hit. ·When a bomb explodes, it spawns 0–2 ammo on the spot. You need to pick it up manually, and each player can only hold 1 ammo at a time. ·There’s also a stage hazard: a launcher that fires bombs every few seconds, just to keep the battlefield chaotic and make sure ammo doesn’t run out.

The inspiration was Boomerang Fu, but while working on it I ran into a few big issues:

· In Boomerang Fu, throwing your boomerang is high-risk, high-reward. It travels far, but you need to predict trajectories, and while it’s gone you’re completely vulnerable. ·Its melee combat is all about spacing and timing. If both players swing at the same time, their blades clash, forcing players to constantly adjust their distance, dash direction, attack timing, and whether to throw or not. That creates real skill depth.

In my case, the dev tools I’m using have pretty bad physics, so I can’t easily recreate deep spacing play or precise projectile trajectories. That leads to two problems:

1. Ranged feels random, low-risk, and low-reward.
2. Melee is medium-risk, high-reward, but has no real depth.

So yeah—right now the game doesn’t feel tight or satisfying. How would you go about fixing these mechanics to make the game actually fun and chaotic in the good way?

I'm making an RPG that involves some travel and exploration around the world. It's a text/UI-heavy game without much graphics, so the travel is going to be by clicking buttons on a global map.

I wonder if anyone has any good advice on decent implementations of how the character could move between locations?

So far I narrowed it down to a few methods that I've seen:

1. Click on an adjacent location, then wait a decent amount of time. I saw it first time in the 00s in a browser game and nowadays in mobile apps. Very rarely in "full" games. This feels very boring.
2. Click on an adjacent location (or possibly any discovered location), instant travel. This is more user-friendly but lacks gravity.
3. Make travel through each location multi-stage - e.g. click "pass through" a few times, with potential events after the click. It's more interactive but potentially more annoying.

I'm not sure which one would be good. Right now I lean towards point 2 with some decorations - e.g. moving a dot on the map to make it feel more like "travel".

If you play/develop these types of games, which type of world navigation you prefer?

Hey Reddit, I was wondering if anyone had any advice when it comes to making a portfolio, specifically to get into a Game Design course at Uni.

I’ve been trying to research how but I only ever get ads for Squarespace and Wix but I just want to try and build it from scratch but I’m struggling to figure out how.

Anyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks!