News

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Must-have tools and libraries for indie game developers in 2024
Thanks to the constant development of technology and an ever-growing set of powerful tools, indie developers can create games that rival those made by big studios. If you're an indie developer looking to take your project to the next level, here's your essential toolkit for 2024.
Nov. 12, 2024
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The overdesign trap of game design
Why over-designing your game can lead to an unfocused mess.
Nov. 5, 2024
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Fake it til’ you make it - faking extended draw distance in mobile games
How Block City Wars developers use shaders and fog effects to fake distant objects, optimizing draw distance for better performance.
Nov. 2, 2024
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Effective ways to use gore in your game
How can you use gore to support the backbone of your game, whilst meeting the expectations of modern players who want grisly grim guts and blood? Artists from Sumo Digital break down the ways they’ve used and created gore in games to support storytelling, authenticity and gameplay.
Oct. 31, 2024
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Three reasons Star Wars Outlaws might have undersold
"The greatest teacher, failure is."
Oct. 31, 2024
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Designing a clunky combat system on purpose in Crow Country
'What is Crow Country not doing that it could or should be doing? What makes it clunky?'
Oct. 31, 2024
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How we developed the co-op horror game Cursed Companions
Here are the mechanics we used to create our co-op horror game based on our research on other games.
Oct. 30, 2024
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5 tips for no-bull indie game design
Solo VR dev Zander Dejah, formerly gameplay programmer on Vader Immortal, explores finding the fun with Vendetta Forever.
Oct. 25, 2024
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One lesson from 10 years of writing for Game Developer
Bryant's must-read lesson from the last decade: don't worship idols to find meaning in yourself.
Oct. 24, 2024
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VFX as game design tools: The ludology of VFX in God of War: Ragnarok and Halo Infinite
'If authored with intentionality and purpose, VFX can become an essential part of any game's design.'
Oct. 22, 2024
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How to crack the code and host the perfect game jam
Useful advice from experienced game jam hosts: how to prepare, plan, promote, and conduct game jams, tackle post-jam support, and more.
Oct. 18, 2024
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Call for Submissions: Let's talk about horror games
Join us for a discussion on the modes and mechanics that define a genre.
Oct. 18, 2024