Craig @ Off Trail Games

really cool design!

Ooh I learned something. Funny how game design is sometimes just little isolated case studies in human psychology. Thank you!

Would love to hear learnings you found interesting or surprising if anyone has any to share!

A design learning I found fascinating:

When players love an activity
(ex: taming wild horses)

and you add a task/reward for doing it
(ex: tame 3 wild horses)

many stop doing the thing they loved after the task
(even though they happily did it for no reward before)

#gamedesign

One of my favorites:
Asheron’s Call

Lesson:
that there is a particularly magical feeling when the player feels like they found something that other players have never seen before

I had exactly the same reaction.

Quiet and isolating. So little of that pressure and motivation that comes from being in something together.

I also deeply missed the creative back and forth. That bit drove me to small team instead of solo in the end.

I don’t miss zoom meetings at all =)

Goooood morning Bluesky!
Did you know we released a game yesterday?

So far we have 37 reviews and they are *all* positive!
So it seems to be pretty fun?
You should probably buy it!
And leave a review if you have played it.

#indiegame #gamedev
store.steampowered.com/app/1461910/...

A personification of the Dawn rises over the horizon, dragging her cloak of clouds behind her.

She dances across the horizon, her cloak of daylight breaking the quiet of night. ✨

Sometimes a family can be just you and a bunch of animals you've rescued.
#characterdesign #illustration #drawing #indiedev #gamedev #animals #brazilianartist #cozy

Here are over 150GB of free sound effects, royalty-free and commercially usable on your #gamedev projects sonniss.com/gameaudiogdc

This is a vibe I can get behind.

Can I ask where you’re planning to publish/share the paper? I like subject.

YouTube video by GDC 2025 50 Game Camera Mistakes

My favorite talk on game cameras. From John Nesky back in his time on Journey.

I came back to this for a new project and walked away with new learnings again.

youtu.be/C7307qRmlMI?...

The cover image for an "Indie Game Studios" Starter Pack

For all the new folks arriving, both #indiegame developers and players alike, I've got some starter packs below you might find useful 👍

🔸 Indie Game Studios - go.bsky.app/EbnyA2d
🔸 Solo Indie Devs - go.bsky.app/46HSs4C
🔸 Indie Game Publishers - go.bsky.app/DAoKtHj

Game UI Database The ultimate interface reference Tool for game designers. Explore over 1,300 games, and 55,000 UI screenshots and videos, and filter by screen category, animation, colour, material, layout, texture, ...

Amazing resource for anyone doing UI, or are just curious about game UI.
#gamedev #ui
gameuidatabase.com/index.php

I also take as much as I can and move it took a “future ideas” tracking area.

Knowing that I may build a game around it or pull it out again later makes it easier to let go for now.

I ask myself “what’s carrying the weight”. Essentially what is the core of the fun or the emotion.

I focus iteration and effort on that.

I force myself to stay lightweight and minimal with the rest. As things progress, I ask myself if they still feel worth it in minimal form, and cut when I can.

Liking the shape design and color a lot!

Key Art for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Key Art for World of Warcraft: Legion

Key Art for Blizzard's Unannounced Survival Game

Company logo for Off Trail Games

An intro! I’m Craig. I’ve been making games for 20 years. Lead Quest Designer on WoW, then pitched, built and led Blizz’s survival game team (until it was squished by the acquisition)

Now I’ve founded OTG to make games about creativity and bonding through play. I believe games can help people grow.

7085 and 9433. Intuitive and fun! Nice work!

I'm Think, an artist based in Spain. I program, draw and design my own video games (Kauldron, NoumenoN); I devblog on Twitch, mixing philosophy, art and jokes. I'm part of the Toad Sect. Oh Great Horned Toad King, give me strength to finish my projects!
Kauldron: portfoliothink.com/portfolio/ka...

⭐ Just a reminder to all of the new faces here, starter packs are a great way to find cool artists and sharing them helps everyone grow! ⭐ Check out this one I've made for some cool 3D Character Artists, and don't forget to boost with a repost!

go.bsky.app/D5ibi1

Absolutely beautiful!

Hi Nick. Thanks for organizing all of these!

Raising hand for next pack if there’s room =)

Are details good? Are details bad? It really depends!
I promised you yesterday on stream, that I would turn this into a chart, so here it is.

Lessons from today's prototyping meetup #gamedesign

1. Build the middle of your game first. Can you play your own game for 40-60 minutes? Then figure out how to teach that. Tutorials reveal the known fun, they don't find the fun.

Really, there’s a third place confident choices can come from:
3) Ego enough to think you’re right in the absence of experience or logic.

…but don’t be that person.

Towards this end, when diving into something new and hard, I find it essential to pepper in time with friends and any community I can find.

Open and supportive people especially, but also people I respect who will challenge me.

This helps me refine and strengthen my stances rapidly.

I find confident decisions comes from one of two places:
1) Prior experience and mistakes
2) Reflecting your thoughts off of others

If you don’t have the former, seek the latter.

(cont.)
#gamedev #gamedesign

Love this! You’re capturing that atmospheric awe and terror of deep water encounters so vividly.