#game dev tips

Hi there, my name is XeRo and today, I am going to list some of my personal game design philosophies and opinions. Please note that some of these philosophies may be lifted from other game developers which I have paraphrased and applied to my own work and you don't have to follow these if you don't want to.

1) Gameplay Comes First - Now I know some of you are tired of hearing this same specific quote again and again but it's my honest opinion, if the gameplay isn't fun and doesn't FEEL satisfying then it will have to be refined time and time again until it is up to your standards.

2) Simplicity Is Acceptable - Simplicity allows for lower skilled to become more comfortable with a game and stay with it for longer and higher skilled players to find hidden complexities within the game which the developer may or may not have intended.

3) 2 Character Uniquifier Effect - Uniquify is a computing term but I really like how the word sounds so I'm repurposing it for this point. Say you have 2 characters and they practically the same character; by tweaking parts of a character's moveset or archetype in, a subtle type of way, you can create a memorable nuance. Basically, 'A single toothpick, changes everything.'

4) Embrace Gaming Tropes, And Embrace Subverting Them - Most game developers try and distance themselves from using tropes and clichés as to differentiate themselves from other games. I, however, want to embrace tropes (not so much clichés) as they're tools rather than requirements and can be mixed and matched how many times you want

5) Form Equates To Function - This is more a character design philosophy that I use but I feel applies to here as well. For example, is your character a pilot? Give them a moveset based on aviation; is your character buff? Base their playstyle off of tank-y gameplay; does your character live in a sewer? Give them a moveset based on what players would expect from a sewer.

6) Gimmicks Must Feel Like Extensions - Whenever an established game character tries out a new gameplay gimmick, they tend to not be that well received by game critics. I believe this is the case because some developers tend to just slap on a gimmick that either doesn't without much though; this is, I think, one of the main reasons a character like Mario can have gimmick-y gameplay and not get lambasted for it, because they feel like extensions of his already expansive moveset.

7) Casuals Are The Biggest Audience - Casual gamers tend to get a lot of flack and get alienated just because they're casuals but here's the thing, if your game appeals to casuals then they will stick with it, become more experienced and will eventually form a community.

8) Inspiration Is Exceedingly Malleable - A lot of indie developers love to take inspiration from the games they played as a kid and there is nothing wrong with that what so ever, however, when said game lacks some sort of USP and is just the game they're inspired by or is advertised as 'the next *insert popular game here* or *the 'x' killer* that's when I have a problem because in my opinion those phrases in particular reek of hubris and over-ambition. I am a firm believer of being inspired by something and morphing it into your own original concepts that stands out from the thing you're inspired by.

9) Have Fun With It - I believe that games design is for people who are passionate about the medium put the amount of hours to make their dreams a reality so it is very important to not overwork yourself and have fun with it.

Find your own creativity.

Don’t let it slip through your finger and create a fun indie game! This can be applied to any kind of thing in your life as well. It can be for digital painting, writing, anything at all.