Designhead Dungeon

Game design is simple, actually So, let’s just walk through the whole thing, end to end. Here’s a twelve-step program for understanding game design. One: Fun There are a lot of things people call “fun.” But most of them are not useful for getting better at making games, which is usually why people read articles like this. The fun of a bit of confetti exploding in front of you, and the fun of excruciating pain and risk to life and limb as you free climb a cliff are just not usefully paired together.

Game design is simple, actually. Except when it isn't. Here are the 12 things you need to know.

YouTube video by Game Maker's Toolkit What's the Point of Prototyping?

New on GMTK - let's talk about the power of prototyping - youtu.be/8tHJgtbj6rs

YouTube video by Sweden Game Arena SGC21- Oskar Stålberg - Beyond Townscapers

@oskarstalberg.bsky.social’s excellent presentation on efficient and flexible tile-based procedural generation:
#gamedev
#gamedesign

My take away is create the purpose, function and conflict, fun emerges. Many games fail on the purpose part (and by extension autonomy/agency).

Every time I see discussions of “creating fun” in video games, I think of this quote from William S. Burroughs: “Happiness is a byproduct of function, purpose, and conflict; those who seek happiness for itself seek victory without war.”

YouTube video by Indie Game Clinic What is Fun? A Game Design Introduction

It is time to shout about fun in a car park // What is Fun? A Game Design Introduction
youtu.be/56ENqlUST9U

YouTube video by Lucas Pope Return of the Obra Dinn - Narrated Modeling Mega Timelapse

"Return of the Obra Dinn" is seven years old this week.

For this not-particularly-special anniversary, here's a re-cammed and narrated timelapse of (nearly) all character creation, object modeling, scene posing, and general 3D work for Obra Dinn from 2015 to 2018:

youtu.be/90vqCKEEj3s

YouTube video by codemug Dev vs. Tester: Guess who’s got the edge in this epic meme showdown? 💻

Old but always makes me smile. Appreciate your testers:
#gamedev

I love mock-ups so much. It was my first job in the game industry, and it's still what I love doing the most. You learn so much from making these, throwing out ideas quickly, finding opportunities and ideas, at no risk and low cost.

#gamedesign #gamedev

BBC Archive 1990: Inside Nintendo The Money Programme looks at the rise of Nintendo, and speaks with Shigeru Miyamoto.

Mildly condescending BBC visit to uniformed Shigeru Miyamoto at work in the 90s:
#gamedev
#gamedesign

Make your dream castle!
www.slynyrd.com/blog/2025/7/...

#pixelart #tutorial

YouTube video by /noclip The Making of Wolfenstein - Noclip Documentary

🚨NEW DOC ALERT🕹️

The Making of Wolfenstein

We revisit the team at MachineGames to discuss the design and development of their Wolfenstein series. From narrative design to combat and everything in between.

WATCH HERE: youtu.be/E189QG28rnE

This convo I had highlights the difference in what "respect your time" means in games.

A lot of players want to trade time for in-game progress. It's purely transactional: 1 hour = 1 progress

But I want to feel like my actions matter i.e. what I do with time creates progress, not time itself.

YouTube video by AI and Games Donkey Kong Bananza's Simplest Design Trick | Design Dive

Design Dive returns to @aiandgames.com for this short but fun analysis of narrative design in Donkey Kong Bananza.

Pauline's emotional journey is the real heart of the game's story. With the narrative team relying on a game AI bark systems that react to player progress.

youtu.be/DyGYxtJL_GM?...

One of my favorites: “Level Design: In Pursuit of Better Levels”
t.co/MwvsXEjd95

YouTube video by Indie Game Clinic Prototypes, Hunches, and Short-Cuts

@indiegameclinic.bsky.social on prototyping, feasibility testing, and game design intuition:
#gamedev
#gamedesign

YouTube video by gamedev cuts Jonathan Blow on Designing Game Mechanics

Jonathan Blow on filling the emergent space created by interacting game mechanics:
#gamedev
#gamedesign

"We cough up a chunk of our soul": 32 game devs, from Doom's John Romero to Helldivers 2 and Palworld leads, explain what people get wrong about games Sam Barlow, Metaphor: ReFantazio leads, ConcernedApe's business head, indie legends, and many more weigh in

Game devs on what people get wrong about game dev:
#gamedev
#gamedesign

Today I'm musing about the importance of escalation in adventure stories & ttrpg sessions. Trying to come up with a list of possible ways to escalate. Mostly interested in the broad categories. In the following posts you can find what I came up with so far. Let me know what I am missing. #gamedev

Pixelblog - 23 - Parallax Scrolling — SLYNYRD How to make stand alone parallax animation loops with pixel perfect motion

@slynyrd.bsky.social on pixel perfect parallax:
#gamedev
#gamedesign

Space is not a wall: toward a less architectural level design Maybe video game level design theory needs less focus on architecture? And maybe I'm part of the problem? My bad.

new blog post: turned my gdc 2025 level design theory talk into a blog post www.blog.radiator.debacle.us/2025/05/spac...

Reservoir Sampling, a technique for selecting a fair random sample when you don't know the size of the set you're sampling from samwho.dev/reservoir-sa...

#gamedev #gamedevelopment #indiedev

few things are as good as a proper shader. i love this shit.

YouTube video by Tom Francis Blue Prince and its awkward relationship with hunches (minimal spoilers)

The discourse around the design of Blue Prince has been fascinating, but I wanted to hit room 46 before weighing in. Minimal spoilers!
youtu.be/BItfjfaqW2Y

Also: how it fares as an information game, and how it overlaps with our next game idea.

Announcing my next game!🤘

"Deedlee Doo! Carkour!"🔥

-A game where you do parkour with a car using explosions
🚗💥
-Everything in the game is made out of clay in real life🎨
-The sound effects and music are all mouth sounds👄

Wishlist it now on Steam, out on May 12th, 2025!🎸

MEGANAUT Demo on Steam A 3rd person narrative horror game with modernized retro 3D graphics, and unique floating mechanics. Travel past The Habitat walls into the deep megastructure in search of your missing friend Seija, a...

Dropping a little teaser demo soon.
Keep an eye on Keymailer (and inboxes)
:)

store.steampowered.com/app/3708790/...

YouTube video by Indie Game Clinic Game Genres - a Design Perspective

Today’s video turned out a bit of a monster; some reflections on genre, mode and mood in games, and how certain ways of categorising games can be confusing or unhelpful in the design process. youtu.be/3KJbYdNP5js?... #gamedev #gamedesign #indiedev

Developing 'Metaphor: ReFantazio' and the Potential of RPG Command Battle Systems How has the genre of command battle RPGs, often ridiculed as old-fashioned, been updated into the latest titles? This presentation will cover the twists and turns, decisions made to realize the direct...

Atlus's Kenichi Goto on designing turn-based combat for Metaphor: ReFantazio:
#gamedev
#gamedesign

🚨NEW DOC ALERT🕹️

In the forth episode of our Dwarf Fortress Series we revisit the brothers two years after launch to explore the ways in which their lives have changed forever, and the ways in which they've stayed the same.

WATCH: www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5zg...

Will you wishlist Replicube?
“Signs point to yes”
s.team/a/3401490