A cool design resource: Combo Chart

I was looking at the stats on an Elden Ring enemy and discovered a cool design resource: a combo chart, basically a State Diagram of enemy movesets ⚔ State Diagrams are a game design staple. We use them for all kinds of things, from showcasing a games skill progression to mapping out the growable plants in a gardening system to displaying a games hub world and which levels the player can access when. (I'm curious, what else have you seen them used for?) They're a great tool for visually mapping out a complex system and getting a gut check on how it will work. Additionally, they're excellent for communicating between team members, making it extremely clear what needs to be created. 🗺 All that said, I've never seen one used to document the movements, and even more so how the […]

Willem Delventhal September 1

Journal

Game Designers: Beyond Titles

🗺 Here’s why 150,000+ game designers don’t share the same tasks. What’s the biggest takeaway here?🚀 Think of building a spacecraft.You need different experts to design:Engine,Interior,Controls,Navigation,Mission, etc.Each part is equally ‘’important’’and ‘’MUST’’ work together!Game design skills are similar,Different designers focus on different parts:✦UX Designers✦Level Designers✦System Designers✦Combat Designers✦Narrative Designers✦Creative Art Designer✦Game Economy DesignersEach designer’s job is unique.Together, they make the game work.The biggest takeaway I found out?All these titles can be hidden under one role‘’ex. product manager’’ or separated among other titles,yet each ‘’subject’’ crafts and adds a ‘’unique’’ value.

Gökhan Üzmez August 29

Journal

August 13th: Stormgate Launches into F2P Early Access

Stormgate from Frost Giant Studios, Inc. launches into F2P early access next week on the 13th of August. It is one of the last stands of the Real Time Strategy genre on PC 🖥. We got to talk with Tim Morten, Production Director & CEO, about its development, business model, and future roadmap 😎.The business model of Stormgate is similar to StarCraft's 2 F2P transition in 2017. Players can play the competitive part of the game completely free (including custom maps! 😁) and they can buy more single-player & coop content such as additional heroes together with corresponding cosmetics with one-time purchases. Additionally, there will be much more content added from each category later this year.RTS was always the cradle of multiple other genres such as MOBA, Tower Defense, etc. which were all done in the map editor of these […]

Jakub Remiar August 15

Journal

How We Made a Game Design Checklist for AAA GaaS

In this article, I want to share my experience making a checklist for World of Tanks PC in Wargaming and explain why you as a Game Designer or your team need to do a similar initiative. Let's start with a small glossary: AAA (Triple A) is a classification of video games produced by major publishers. As a rule, these games have high quality and a large budget. For example, I can name League of Legends, The Witcher 3, or Fortnite. GaaS (Games-as-a-Service), live game, or live service game is a business model to monetize video games after their release. This model implies the regular delivery of new game content (including events and systems). Examples, are Genshin Impact, Dying Light 2, or PUBG. Pre-production in game development is a planning phase where the main focus is on creating feature concepts, making […]

Eva Piatrushina August 14

Journal

Familiar with the humble GDD?

Are you familiar with the humble GDD? Want FIVE awesome examples, and a free template? We got you! 🚀 P.S. If you have your own GDD I'd love to see it linked! Let's learn from each other ⬇ A GDD, or Game Design Document, is one of the most fundamental pieces of work created by the Game Designer. For those who are unfamiliar, you can kind of think of a GDD as the business plan of a game. It primarily includes the systems and mechanics of a game, outlining how a game will function and EXACTLY how it will play. They are primarily used by the production team as a guide on what actually needs to get built. 🗒 They'll often also include things contributed by other departments, such as art direction, timelines, and financial goals. 📈 In order to […]

Willem Delventhal August 12

Journal

Testing R.I.S.E. Pre-Alpha, The New Game from Supercell

We tested R.I.S.E. pre-alpha, the new game from Supercell, which is the reboot of Clash Heroes. You could play for 3 hours each day over the weekend and I must say we were positively surprised by the amount of innovation in the game 😁.Before playing the game I was concerned that another Action RPG on Supercell portfolio, where there is Mo.co already 🤔, would end up competing against each other, similarly to Squad Busters vs Flood Rush. But R.I.S.E. is a Coop Rogue-lite Action RPG with extraction elements! 😱 You heard it right. Let me pinpoint the biggest differentiators.Even though the build was very early production, you could see the idea they were going for. Players are matched before every floor (level) into 3 man parties consisting of 6 different heroes. During the gameplay as they clear the level ⚔ […]

Jakub Remiar August 1

Journal

What connects Game and States Economies?

What connects Game and States Economies? Game economies frame monetization as governance does for business:• Player Trading• Purchase Limits• Dynamic Pricing• Reward Distribution• Virtual Assets Balance• Virtual Resource Funding• Virtual Currency Inflation ControlA Game Design defines ↳ the ecosystem where a game can exist.LiveOps operates↳ this system in the most optimal way. E.G.: LiveOps tracks trades and modifies currency value to stop inflation.Wish to play & learn economy at school 🔥Imagine students learning economics through managing virtual game economies. This approach could revolutionize education, making learning • practical, • engaging, • and fun.

Sergei Vasiuk July 10

Journal

How to explain the 80/20 rule so even a kid can understand?

Hey gamers, how would you explain the 80/20 rule so even a kid can understand? What is 80/20 Rule or Pareto Principle? 80% of effects come from just 20% of causes.Let's break it down using a game - Mario 🍄8️⃣0️⃣% of obstacles can be overcome by perfecting jumping skills.8️⃣0️⃣% of enemies are overcome by mastering 20% of tough levels.8️⃣0️⃣% of time savings come from 20% of speedrun techniques.What's your 80/20 rule in your favorite game?

Sergei Vasiuk July 9

Journal

Game Systems: Avoiding Post-Launch Design Pitfalls

When designing game systems, it is very important to ask yourself a question — how long will the feature exist after release? Why is it useful:With time systems may tend to work worse, and there may be upcoming problems with scaling and iterating it. This “sanity check” will make life much easier for you or for the people who would deal with the emerging problems in the end. 🛠 ———————🔖A little example from personal experience:I once designed a dynamic difficulty system for PVE content and event campaigns. It was needed so that both new players and players with high-level content could play with challenge and fun, without the feeling of unfair difficulty. To develop such a system, I relied a lot on checking on specific points of progression and content (all these - with weights) to understand how "high-end" a […]

Sergei Zenkin June 21

Journal

What Designers do in the Gaming Industry.

What Does Designer in the Gaming Industry? 🖌️ The most common myth is that a designer draws sometimes. That is not always true.There are different types of designers in GameDev. Game Designer, Balance Designer, Combat, UX, Narrative, AI, Level, Economy, etc. But design is always about making decisions🛤️In smaller companies, designers can have a wider area of responsibilities, while in bigger have a narrower specialization. An example of this can be the presence of 3C or Rewards Designer.Designers can use different tools like Figma, Unreal Engine, Confluence, Excel, etc. So the result of their job can vary. Some can make documents or scripts, while others’s audio or spreadsheets.Are you aware of the designer’s responsibilities? Which is the most interesting for you? 🔨P.S. Sometimes it is easier to explain to your family that you are paid for playing games.

Eva Piatrushina April 22

Journal

Simplicity in Game Design is Key: Clear Them All! by Voodoo

Finding enjoyment in games can be challenging for gamers, as they often approach every aspect with great seriousness. This can pose an even greater challenge for game designers aiming to refine the fun elements in their games. As games become simpler, the task of making them enjoyable becomes increasingly difficult. However, Collect 'em All! Clear the Dots, developed by Turkish developer Tarboosh Games and published by French publisher Voodoo, excels with its strong core loop, captivating players from the get-go. Core Game Loop At the heart of Collect 'em All! lies the simple concept of connecting dots of the same color. Longer chains of dots reward players with special boosters that aid in clearing more areas on the playing field. These boosters can be activated during gameplay for players' use. Every five levels, players encounter a new twist on dot-connecting, […]

Guy Yogev April 15

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