Journal

In a time when many games lean heavily on established systems — battle passes, gacha mechanics, and copied meta loops — this post is about looking beyond. In this post, I’m exploring, and discussing, Manipulator Mechanics (more specifically, “modern” Manipulator Mechanics in a systemic form, as we’ve had some forms of manipulator mechanisms in games existing for ages, e.g., time manipulation tied to a core gameplay — so, just for clarity, every time I discuss about Manipulator Mechanics / systems in this article, it’s about these “modern” types of systems instead of simplified ones) — a system that lets players tweak and influence the very nature (/the core) of gameplay runs through meta layers; offering a new layer of agency, strategy, and excitement across genres. The aim of this post is to inspire developers to imagine beyond what's typical and […]

Playtesting can make or break your game. Here’s a simple 10-step checklist:𝟭. 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 • What are you testing? Mechanics, pacing, difficulty, UI? • Set clear goals and decide how you'll measure success.𝟮. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 • Use a stable build or prototype. • Provide clear instructions or a tutorial. • Remove distractions and get tools ready (feedback forms, screen recorders, analytics).𝟯. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 • Include your target audience, plus some outsiders and experts. • Mix skill levels (kids, casual players, hardcore gamers). • Set expectations and communicate session details.𝟰. 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 • Focused tests to dive deep into specific features. • Blind tests to observe natural behavior. • Exploit tests to see how easily things can break.𝟱. 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 • Don’t guide or coach, just brief them. • Let players fail to […]

Warning ☢️ Heavy Game Design post ahead. How about we talk about a game genre that essentially self balances itself? 😱 Rogue-lite mechanics are one of the few systems in game design that self-balance itself. Of course its not completely hands off, you still need to make sure that you are creating difficulty spikes, flow curve, etc. But it is much more forgiving than other genres, especially compared to its hard brother Roguelike. There, you loose everything ☠️ and the main focus is rewarding player skill above all. If you learned and know the game, it doesn't matter if you always start from scratch. But Rogue-lites rewards you for every run that you do, giving you resources even if you fail, which makes that time meaningful, instead of zero progression you would get during a fail state in Roguelike 😭.This […]