Hello,

Happy to see you in the first email of 2020!

I hope you’re all rested up and ready to tackle this year’s challenges – gamedev related or not.

As for me, I just found out a russian YouTuber published a video of my game a couple days ago.

It’s currently sitting on 18 000 views and it feels awesome, even though I couldn’t understand most of it!

Anyway, let’s start with this week’s ideas!

3 Gamedev Ideas

Know the focus of your game and always prioritize that when making a decision.

I’m making a roguelite, so gameplay is my focus. Here’s an example of how that idea influenced my decision…

When my characters use a shield, they hold it up in front of them.

So it protects them from the front. Makes sense, right?

The problem is that no one uses them because they kind of suck compared to other items.

Having to turn the right way to protect yourself is too much of a hassle.

So I instead just made the player invulnerable from all sides.

It’s not logical and look less realistic, but it’s better gameplay-wise.

II.

There is more than one way to develop a successful game.

The guys from Butterscotch Shenanigans design their games iteratively and don’t plan anything in advance.

Others do extensive market research before prototyping anything.

Anything can work, but you have to find the best approach for you.

III.

There are a lot of similarities between working on your game and playing a MMORPG.

You’re making a plan on what you want to accomplish. Then you’re grinding to make it happen.

The difference is that it’s a lot easier in a game than in real life.

Because a game designer is making sure you’re getting rewarded exactly at the right times to feel like you’re progressing.

In your work, you might go through days and weeks of efforts without rewards.

But once they come (as praise, sales or simply players enjoying your game), they’re a lot more meaningful and satisfying than the former.

Until next week,