Circle in the Dark - The Darkest Dungeon Community
Explore Red Hook Studios' 'camp counselor' approach to community management and its impact on fostering strong player relationships for Darkest Dungeon.
Slay the Spire - Metrics Driven Design and Balance
Explore metrics-driven design and balancing techniques used in Slay the Spire's development, enhancing game design skills and understanding of data-driven decision making.
1,500 Slot Machines Walk into a Bar - Adventures in Quantity Over Quality
Explore the mobile app market's underbelly as developers flood it with 1,500 auto-generated slot machine games, revealing insights on the lowest bar for success and the quirks of quantity-driven strategies.
Art Directing VFX for Stylized Games
Explore techniques for establishing artistic pillars in game VFX, with examples from uniquely styled games. Learn to create visually cohesive and impactful special effects for stylized game environments.
All Systems No - Learning from the Doomed Launch of Brigador
Dissection of Brigador's development and launch, analyzing marketing and design missteps to provide valuable insights for game developers seeking to avoid similar pitfalls.
Designing Gambit Mode in Destiny 2 - Forsaken
Explore Bungie's innovative Gambit mode in Destiny 2, blending PvE and PvP elements. Learn about its successful development process and unique gameplay mechanics.
Rules of the Game - Five Further Techniques from Rather Clever Designers
Renowned game designers share unique design rules and techniques, offering insights into their creative processes and innovative approaches to game development.
Efficient Texture Streaming in Titanfall 2
Explore Respawn Entertainment's texture streaming approach for Titanfall 2, covering preprocessing, data streaming, pipeline, and texture prioritization using histograms.
Creating a Tools Pipeline for Horizon - Zero Dawn
Explore Guerrilla Games' integrated development environment for Horizon: Zero Dawn, focusing on tools pipeline implementation and its impact on game creation efficiency.
Mooncrash - Resetting the Immersive Simulation
Arkane Studios' Rich Wilson explores Prey: Mooncrash, sharing insights on team motivation, deconstructing game mechanics, and integrating new genres to revitalize game development.
Playing with Magic - Interactive Worlds and Walt Disney Imagineering
Explore the intersection of theme park and video game design with Disney Imagineers, uncovering challenges and opportunities in creating immersive, interactive physical worlds.
Dream Daddies and Fearful Fathers - How Indies Can Cope with Being Terminally Online
Explore strategies for indie developers to maintain a healthy online presence and navigate success and failure in the digital age, based on experiences from Dream Daddies' release.
NOTICE ME - The Grind Behind the $272K Funding Success of Boyfriend Dungeon
Victoria Tran reveals the strategies and data behind Boyfriend Dungeon's successful Kickstarter campaign, offering insights into indie game marketing, community building, and crowdfunding techniques for aspiring developers.
Feeding the Maw - Managing a Live Narrative Game in Fallen London
Explore challenges and solutions in maintaining a live narrative game, focusing on Failbetter Games' experience with Fallen London and their adaptive strategies.
League of Legends Client Update - Art Directing a Consistent and Scalable Interactive Brand Identity
Explore Riot Games' approach to rebuilding League of Legends' client interface, focusing on player resonance, functionality, and flexible content development for an enhanced gaming experience.
RimWorld - Contrarian, Ridiculous, and Impossible Game Design Methods
Explore unconventional game design approaches used in RimWorld, focusing on story generation and innovative mechanisms for creating compelling gameplay experiences.
Why Make Games? Lessons from Frostpunk and This War of Mine
Explore 11-bit studios' unique design approach for Frostpunk and This War of Mine. Learn how they build team culture and lead development to bring their vision to life in challenging game narratives.
Marvel's Spider-Man - A Technical Postmortem
Explore the technical challenges and solutions behind creating Marvel's Spider-Man, including asset management, rendering, streaming, and lighting for an immersive New York City experience.
Classic Game Postmortem - Lemmings
Explore the creation of the iconic puzzle-platformer Lemmings with DMA Design's Mike Dailly, delving into its development, design challenges, and lasting impact on the gaming industry.
Subnautica Postmortem
Explore how open development shaped Subnautica's success. Learn about its impact on independent game creation and gain insights into this innovative approach to game development.
Building Games Around Humor - Lessons from The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game
Explore the art of crafting comedy in games with insights from "The Haunted Island." Learn techniques for writing natural, funny dialogue and finding humor in everyday situations.