10 Game Design Lessons from 10 Years of GMTK

[@GMTK]

Mind Over Magnet launches next week! store.steampowered.com/app/2685900/Mind_Over_Magnet/

[@SimuLord]

Smart move delaying it so it didn't come out on Election Day. I can't rightly imagine having spent last night trying to get into a new game that requires actual thought and problem-solving ability. Ended up mindlessly playing American Truck Simulator to kill time between checking live election results. That little anecdote out of the way, congratulations on your journey as a creator both of KZbin content and of an actual video game!

[@arcday4281]

@@SimuLord The usual low-budget game of which there are thousands. This is the majority opinion...

[@13231wmw]

I hope it is Steam Play/Proton/Wine compatible

[@Henrique2801xbox]

Hey man! If you want I cant translate it to Brazilian Portuguese for free!

[@epicgeometro]

Do you know if you will ever port it to Nintendo switch, PS5, etc.?

[@nerusongear]

I remember that Mark Brown talking about Game Design and I was thinking "Who is this man and why does he have me engaged so much about design?" and now, I attribute part of my indie success to your videos. Thanks Mark!

[@w花b]

Hope it keeps going. Hard path it is.

[@erutanevoli]

Tell us more about your indie development journey and what you're currently working on. Would love to see and hear more!

[@nerusongear]

I'm an engineer at ProdigalSon Games and we released our first steam game this past August called "Attack on hex island". Almost all decisions about user feedback and gameplay came from GMTK

[@prodigalsongames]

Right. Our studio started on the first GMTK Game Jam and almost 8 years later, we have grown so much with the knowledge Mark shares that we were able to make our first successful steam release. The game actually started on GMTK 2022 Game Jam. So trully and sincerely, thank you @GMTK

[@Adam-oy6nc]

You'd be hard-pressed to find any game dev worth their salt that hasn't heard of GMTK. It's been an amazing 10 years and here's to many more!

[@mightymaster8752]

This is THE channel that started my game design career. Thanks mark for 10 years of exploring what makes a game! And more importantly, thanks for sharing it with US!

[@DramaticFlora]

While you arent an ultimate authority on game design i have found little that inspires me and pushes my brain in just the right way to come up with some new idea as your channel. So thank you for all the many hours of hard work you've done that have helped me and many others on our own journies in life

[@philRacoindie]

lesson 6 is probably one of the most important lessons i learned from this channel. once you detach yourself from the idea that your game must be a specific way because it was made in a certain genre, it becomes easier to make your game more fun since you're not trying to meet yourself to impossible standards, but also because you're thinking of how you can do things on your own and come up with new ideas.

[@CheesecakeMilitia]

I think it's telling how you've found your success on KZbin, Mark - there have always been great GDC talks and design theorists on the internet, but your skills at script writing, visual artistry, and of course snappy editing have made something so fantastic that even Masahiro Sakurai wanted to emulate it. I appreciate how you've evolved your opinions over the years and taken a more holistic appreciation of the artform of games. Wishing all the best for Mind Over Magnet's success and all the future insights you're able to derive from it.

[@Bonelord69]

The expert isnt the guy who knows everything beforehand, but the guy who has a real genuine excitement to improve and learn more. Faking it IS making it! Proud of you man.

[@kaiserness8775]

*#1:* If you want to understand why a game makes you feel a certain way, ask yourself: how do the mechanics contribute to the experience? *#2:* The only way to judge a mechanic is to ask whether or not it can contribute to the experience you're trying to forge. *#3:* When it comes to making a video game, you have to decide who this game is for, and tune your mechanic appropriately. *#4:* Options and bonus content can be used to make a game appealing to those who are more hardcore than the target audience. *#5:* Options, accessibility settings, and easy modes don't have to pose a threat to your intended experience. *#6:* Designers should think of genres in the loosest possible terms. *#7:* The best solution for a complex problem is whatever provides the most interesting experience to the player. *#8:* A game idea is worthless until you've proven its value through a prototype. *#9:* Frequent playtesting should be used to make sure your design is effectively producing the results you desire. *#10:* Always figure out for yourself if a game design lesson is true for you, and for the type of games you want to make.

[@douglieberman9689]

Did anyone else here start playing video games/find out about indie games cuz of this channel? I did, after seeing some of your early hollow knight stuff I decided to play it, my first indie game(dont have Hollow Knight as your first Inide game) and then all the rest. Thanks Mark I love making video games as a hobby.

[@gabiruuuuuuuuu]

I can’t imagine how liberating it must be to say that 10 years ago you started all this without really knowing anything about game design hahah You should be immensely proud that, even if the begginings were humble, you’re now without a doubt a major inspiration to game designers, definitely one of the biggest I can think of. You deserve it, Mark. Cheers!

[@GameDevYal]

It's kinda funny how a lot of game design boils down to players not knowing what's best for them, and game designers trying as hard as they can to stop them from ruining the fun for themselves. I'm having a hard time getting immersed in certain games because I can't look at them without my game design glasses on (things like enemies easing off on you when you're failing too hard, sneaky signposting of where to go next, etc) and the older I get, the more I value weirdness and fresh experiences over something being polished.

[@SimuLord]

I'm a sports fan, and every time someone complains about sports being too optimized ("launch angle" in baseball, threes-and-layups in basketball, that sort of thing) I'm reminded of Soren Johnson's famous quote "Given the chance, players will optimize the fun out of a game." It's so true even beyond gaming.

[@DesignFrameCaseStudies]

That's why there's an entire textbook on Game Balance. It's essential for a game to function! For me, it's much more fun to play games and analyze them. Though I suppose that's why my channel is unique lol

[@Alaneeeeee]

I've watched a bunch of your older videos and didn't realize they were from 9 or 10 years ago. You've been great from the very beggining!

[@leehazell7633]

Oh Christ, I need this today.

[@YouFightLikeACow]

I think we all do.

[@aBlackMage]

Yeah, same...

[@Mswordx23]

Life will go on. Be strong!

[@Unga_Bunga]

APOCALYPSE IS UPON US! GET TO YOUR BUNKERS!!!

[@Sam-ub7dt]

Agreed. Tremendous way to make a great day even better!

[@GallowglassAxe]

Not even on video games. I've used your design techniques for other systems like Table Top and for Live Action Role Playing games. Thank you for all your work!

[@daydonahue8796]

Hi, Ringling College Game Art student here. Thought you'd want to know that several of my game design and history classes in my 3 years here have pulled up your videos in class as examples/learning material. Just yesterday, my Visual Development class used your UI design video to prep us for our UI/UX assignment. Crazy to see you've come this far! 🔥

[@thatGameDevGuy]

I have watched every video of yours multiple times and I recommend this channel to ANY aspiring game dev in the world. YOU are the very reason I found my passion and you will forever be my Guru. Thank you Mark, for everything. Will keep supporting you until I die.

[@ScottOshawott]

I'm not a game designer, but I love watching your videos because you offer good perspectives on game design. I appreciate my favorite series like Pokemon (even though you've never covered it), Zelda, and Mario more from watching your content. Thanks Mark, and congratulations on 10 years!

[@TheSuperKnarf]

I must admit, I really expected 'players will optimize the fun out of a game'. Although I suppose that's sort of implicit in the other rules

[@stevenmathews9355]

I think that's the secret 11th rule. Don't put things into your game and expect they won't be exploited in some way. Players always find a way to break your game. If someone finds an exploit you didn't want, don't be afraid to tweak things until it works as intended. Players will always think of some way to exploit things in a way you don't expect, you just have to pick your battles and decide how which exploits are okay and which are game-breaking.

[@Robertganca]

A QA Joke: A QA engineer walks into a bar. Orders a beer. Orders 0 beers. Orders 99999999999 beers. Orders a lizard. Orders -1 beers. Orders a ueicksjdhd. First real customer walks in and asks where the bathroom is. The bar bursts into flames, killing everyone.

[@TheQuicksilver115]

😂😂😂 Okay dang this one got me good

[@electrocubic5116]

This joke seems like a reference to one of the funny animation videos made by the youtuber PixelzwithAz.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Well done my boy! Your video game controllers video was the first one I ever watched, been hooked since.

[@sockatume]

Trying to explain something to other people is one of the best ways of learning, it’s so nice to see that as a kind of lesson zero here.

[@jacksonmouldycliff9613]

I'm really excited about this. Over the past ten years, these videos have had many common themes, so it's really nice to have them all in one place distilled down.

[@CheeseWithMold]

15 minutes of respite... Thank you Mark. My mental health thanks you.

[@Pyroptere]

Thanks for those 10 valuable lessons 1. If you want to understand why a game makes you feel a certain way, ask yourself: how do the mechanics contribute to the experience? 2. The only way to judge a mechanic is to ask whether or not it can contribute to the experience you're trying to forge. 3. When it comes to making a video game, you have to decide who this game is for, and tune your mechanics appropriately. 4. Options and bonus content can be used to make a game appealing to those who are more hardcore than the target audience. 5. Options, accessibility settings, and easy modes don't have to pose a threat to your intended experience. 6. Designers should think of genres in the loosest possible terms. 7. The best solution for a complex problem is whatever provides the most interesting experience to the player. 8. A game idea is worthless until you've proven its value through a prototype. 9. Frequent playtesting should be used to make sure your design is effectively producing the results you desire. 10. Always figure out for yourself if a game design lesson is true for you, and for the type of games you want to make.

[@DylanMatthewTurner]

0:29 We knew. We didn't care. You made and still make engaging videos, and you dug in the way any of us who didn't know about game design would. We learned as you learned, and that's what's made it so great!

[@SilverLuna07]

I think that this video explicitely shows exactly why it is that you're so popular in the industry. At the start of the video you sum up a lot of reasons why your content is popular outside of the actual game design analyses. It's not just the way you speak and how you present your information, but you do acknowledge it helps. You're very aware of what you think, do, make, what you present and how you do so. You remain conscious, entertaining and most of all humble. On top of that you acknowledge failure and come to the conclusion that at the end of the day, you're just a guy forming opinions that may or may not resonate with you. I don't think there's much more a person could do to present themselves and the information they give in any better way and for me it's exactly why it resonates with me, despite having no interest in ever becoming a developer. Thank you for ten years of content and I can't wait for however many years you continue to make these!

[@I-OMusic]

Having watched EVERY. SINGLE. VIDEO. Over the better part of eight years I've learned from you and now I'm a less advanced carbon copy (complete with british accent that gives me an air of authority), thanks for everything, here's to many more years of making stuff!

[@gameover40567]

Thank you Mark! GMTK videos have been one of the things I've looked forward to and have even fueled my own game development journey. The GMTK Game Jam this year was the first Jam I participated in, and it was so much fun! So, again, thank you for all that you do for the game dev community everywhere!

[@XtremeInventor]

This channel has really gotten me into game design, provided valuable insights, and is where I can always come back to for inspiration. Thank you so much, Mark! I love what you've done.

[@frogrammer7954]

there has been so much growth with this channel and the very last lesson is nothing but a proof to that. keep it up man

[@jasperscholl7129]

Your analyses are always spot on, you present your ideas in ways that are on par with great storytellers and, most important of all, you come across as a genuine, humble and good human being. I'm not one to write comments often, but wanted to share this with you. As with every video, I am eagerly looking forward to what's to come in the next 10 years!

[@ultimatedsoup5965]

Thanks for all of these videos. They started my interest in game design and today I'm studying it at an university. You have been an imense help through these years and I really hope your game does well! My biggest tip to everyone that wna make games is to just create, no matter how bad it turns out, you will always learn something new applicable for your next stupid project, good luck!

[@DamageMaximo]

I already had figured you weren't an expert, but I stayed to hear about the stuff you learned and learn together what makes good game design

[@ethantstanger]

This channel has come to define my interest in game design. Not only have you shared many valuable ideas across the years, but you've pushed me to the point where I can easily think critically about game design for myself. Mark, I can't say thank you enough.

[@SaturnProductions]

Genuinely one of the best KZbin channels out there, I love your evolution and foray into actual game-making!! Thanks for 10 years of great insight

[@ujingamer]

Hey Mark, i wanted to say thank you for your videos. I have been watching for probably 8 of the last 10 years and its because of you and a few other channels that i got my first job as a game designer three years ago while i was still in college. I have now graduated with my degree and made 6 games and now make my own indie games. I might have made it here without you, but im a much better designer because of your videos, and like you said, I tried to apply your videos. So thank you so much for everything and keep up the good work

[@merkoa]

I remember back in the day watching your amazing video on the Half Life 2 invisible tutorial, ever since then I was always on the lookout for your most recent updates and videos, being a Patreon on and off during the years, it's quite something seeing a channel grow with you, can't believe it's been 10 years already. Here's to many more to come. Special kudos on raising the issue of accessibility which is often overlooked. Cheers.

[@Piratejackyar]

What is most helpful about this channel is just seeing someone talking about game design at all on youtube. As a game designer, just seeing that made me happy.

[@AlexS-si7de]

mark please please please come out with a long form version of this video!!!! i love watching them all the way through, especially 100 games that taught me game design

[@SoulScion27]

It’s amazing to see how far you’ve come, my guy. Keep up the amazing work! At lot of these have small, but extremely informative game dev analysis, lessons, and tips, etc…that I use constantly when thinking about the game design of my own game! Thanks again!

[@7rcticfx742]

Congratulations, Mark, on all these years of consistently creating high-quality videos! I love your content, and it inspires me to make games. Thank you!

[@xBenjiSx]

Wow. I got emotional. Ten years? Congrats, Mark! This channel helped me carry the passion for video games through some hard times. Hopefully it will finally carry me through creating games of my own. Here's to the next ten years of GMTK!

[@gamejunk2280]

I'm one of the many people who has started making games because of your channel! and it was one of the best decisions of my life! So thank you mark! for donning what you do!

[@adamjmorgan9922]

Congratulations on a decade as one of the best channels - was so relieved when you said 'the FIRST ten years of GMTK' as it felt like a retirement video. Brilliant work as always

[@adrianamiranda9147]

Thank you for 10 years of engaging, thoughtful content, Mark! Here's to 10 more and lots of success with Mind Over Magnet and any future projects of yours!

[@DesignFrameCaseStudies]

It's awesome to see you learning the same lessons we game designers all learn together! I doubt my high-quality, in-depth, evidence-based, game design case studies will ever become popular like your snappy videos, but I'm here for it either way. I always love to see more free resources for indie devs. Your channel is a beautiful journey, that's for sure! Congrats on 10 years! You're spot on about every single thing requiring context. Game design a complex WEB. It's the most difficult and complex thing in the entertainment industry. There are clear guidelines, but it all depends on the specific game. That's why I'm so passionate about my channel's unique value and how I assist indie studios in the background. It's very difficult but rewarding. One correction. What you're looking for when discussing lesson 3 is "depth". The combat system requires skill and has depth, so they could've added more depth to the traversal, not necessarily punishment or complex inputs. I'm not saying they SHOULD have, but I'm saying you gotta consider the other pieces of the game, and it's not about complexity or punishments. That's something else entirely. I haven't played the second Spiderman so I can't compare the traversal systems. I'm sure it's something worth studying.

[@avriten]

I love how well polished your game has become with how your youtube channel, and thoughtful analysis and services to a broader community enabled you to make a rather polished indie game ^^

[@DeliriumWartner]

Please continue giving us insights into making a game even after release. We often get documentaries about games being developed but rarely do we get to see what it looks like afterwards, from promotion to patches to assessing the market

[@Mohsen_H_Izadi]

I'm watching your videos for almost 4 years now. i learned a lot from them. Me and my partner are making our own game. Thanks Mark❤.

[@superbro6413]

Congrats on the 10 years Mark, Been following you since the Pocket Gamer days, and it's so cool to see your progression to where you are now. Here's to another 10!

[@boaromayo]

Happy 10th anniversary, Mark ! If it wasn't for your channel-and certain other channels that came after-I never would've gotten into thinking deeply about game dev, especially on dungeon design. Your dungeon graphs have been a massive help !

[@ryuzen9261]

Thanks for all the years you’ve given us Mark. You’ve made me and so many other people be able to learn and think more about game design and to pursue our love for video games. Thank you very much Mark ❤️

[@darkbloomvivian1087]

Sorry for the long letter. Perhaps an email would have been better. Nonethelss I really hope this comment happens along your eyes as I want to address you personally. 1. Thank you SO MUCH for your confession ala being an outsider knowing jackshit at the outset. The value of your disclosure CANNOT be understated. Learning in public is the BEST way to learn, and you have provided such a good example to follow as well as proof of its viability. I KNOW so many people are going to be inspired to make what they've always dreamed of making because of you. Hopefully they will explicitly note you as a key influence, but perhaps your influnece on them would be so first-order that they cannot even notice it. Here I am not talking only about game-developer-youtubers, but ALL kinds of artists and content creators in various fields. 2. All ten insights are AMAZING. The conciseness speaks to the quality and truth of your advice. Some advice seem obvious (praxis > theory) but the way you present them recontextualises and adds credence. Just wow, what a great written script. Tolstoy would be proud. You could expand on all ten ideas into a huge video essay (if you wanted) but keeping to your personal ethos of manifesto-like essays is arguably even more difficult, and this video has thrown into sharp relief your incredible talent as a writer. 3. As a fellow ADHD, I am triply inspired by you. Parasocial attachment be damned, I can almost SEE how this project has helped you manage your ADHD and rethink your relationship with it. For me personally, if anything else, your channel and this video in particular has almost brought me to tears. The magnitude of your accomplisment is tremendous. Trailblazing into a field with no regard for success but only curiosity and quality, you have greated the game jams, your own game, a working schedule, and a job that brings both value to you and the community at large. Thank you. I am so excited to see your further developments.

[@ophinaut3624]

I never felt like you were an expert. I'm not. I felt like you were a buddy philosophizing about what makes a game a good game and I was here for it. I'd watch a video then argue for or againist your points to friends to spark discussion about topics we love.

[@Raph584]

That channel didn't turn me in a video game creator. But it helped me think more and differently about them and renew my love in them at a time i was slowly losing interst

[@takibigames]

I learned about MDA through you. Now it's my starting point when designing anything. (Well, actually the inverted MDA. I start with aesthetics->dynamics->mechanics.) Thank you Mark! Good luck with the launch.

[@AndreaTornese]

Congrats Mark on everything you've achieved. You're channel really enhances the value of the discussion about video games on the internet. Can't wait to see what the next 10 years of GMTK are going to be about; and when those 10 years will be gone, I'll wait for the next 10.

[@TheEvilGlassRectangle]

Thank you, Mr Toolkit! You’ve brought me so much joy over these years.

[@UnusGrunus]

legit one of the videos of all time, i'm glad you let us all share our love for games through your journey Mark!

[@kalla103]

thank you Mark for sharing your insights! you've been bringing great value to youtube since the beginning. i wish you a succesful launch on your game and here's to another 10 years!

[@Tardigradico]

Congrats, Mark, and thank you for creating these videos and sharing with us what you learnt in the process :)

[@Sabsey06]

Hope to see another 10 years. Thanks for showing us some great stuff and teaching us to look deep into what makes games special

[@kunstbanause]

Thanks for finally coming clean. This was a real struggle with colleagues and students: "but, but.. that 10 minute game design video made it sound so easy..."

[@99loolill]

This is a dissertation! Phenomenal work these last ten years Mark 😊

[@viciousscythe4162]

"It depends" is in my opinion THE single most important lesson to acknowledge in game design. It applies to everything. Everything comes back to what experience you want people to have and who your audience is. Its why I believe in a methodology i call "foster the fun" (a twist on follow the fun) which is about giving players more freedom to customise their own experience. Things like game assists for difficulty, accessibility options, to even aesthetic customisations. It allows players to hone in on what they find to be fun.

[@cyrus7592]

Finally, some game design content. Thanks Mark

[@GMTK]

More to come!

[@swapnilchand338]

Bruh what a coincidence I just watched the 100 games video yesterday. Congratu-fucking-lations on a fucking DECADE of hard work. I'm a new subscriber and notice that the quality of your videos is top notch!

[@FlumpyTripod]

Thank you for all your fantastic videos, I would be so much less aware of the game design process without your work. And because of that, I'm hard at work on my own game, happy to see Mind Over Magnet coming to its finish line!

[@luccabibar7033]

on Lesson 1: Conversely, to make the player feel a certain emotion, one should use the game mechanics to do so

[@mariamaravilla9005]

Always looking forward to GMTK videos! super interesting and engaging even if I'm only a player not a dev, I've found so many amazing games to play thanks to this channel, and I even took a few of the accesability tips for my graphic design work =) here to another ten years!

[@mxblueskies]

Lesson 4 taught me all about stomping... koopas! Happy anniversary, Mark! Thanks for the good times :)

[@DavidSaulesco]

1:20 To… Mark this milestone 🤔

[@dylanwyke]

It's wildly interesting to me how many of these principles apply to product design in general. This is just good advice for anybody who wants to make any kind of product.

[@Stratelier]

aka. the 10 "meta" lessons about game design? Personal anecdote tangent: 20 years ago when the Internet was still very much younger, I remember finding an early site that allowed _ordinary people_ to publish online reviews of video games (and other things). I remember signing up & writing personal reviews of various games I played at the time, trying to at least imitate the style of professional reviewers in print magazines, but ... in hindsight my reviews were so naive, I just didn't have the experience and skill to write a "proper" critical review. I would be very surprised if anyone would be able to dig up _those_ fossils, but I do remember some specific portions: In more than one case, I disagreed with creative decisions over a game's storytelling -- essentially, confusing matters of _personal preference_ with the standard "objective" indicators of actual _quality._ I did enjoy interacting with those games _while_ playing through them! In one case, I remember levying a specific mechanical criticism against a game's design that, turns out, was actually misinformed on my part: the specific thing I was criticizing the game for not having, actually *WAS* present in exactly the way I wanted it, I just didn't notice that the game even provided it at all until revisiting the game many _(many)_ years later.

[@Bidule200]

Thanks for all your hard work, you're an inspiration for us game designers, wannabes, hobbyists, and professionals.

[@peterroe2993]

I've been here since day one because my infant daughter liked his voice so much.

[@SpeedyBlaxx]

What a milestone, thanks for all the good content over the years.

[@OandCoGames]

Here's to another outstanding 10 years!! Stoked for Nov 13 :)

[@Brocknoth]

Cheers Mark, best of luck with your indie game launch! And thanks for all the cool videos!

[@Ali_Alhakeem]

This is such a great introduction for your channel and for new game developes who are just starting. I Hope you create more games in the future , perhaps 3d games or a 3d platformer.

[@euzoeyong]

Thank you Mark Brown for enforcing my love for game design and gaming !

[@justyyohan9423]

Congratulations on the decade of amazing content 🎉

[@kayohwai]

For Spiderman, part of game design can include presuming the level of competency of the character the player embodies. Even if the player doesn't know how to web-sling and parkour, Spiderman does. If playing a marksman character of some sort, the player doesn't need to know about ballistic arcs or projectile drop, as long as the character they're playing does, unless that specialization is core to the gameplay intended.

[@r0flcopter]

The fundamentals never get old. Thank you Mark Brown

[@MrNobodyX3]

I think by far my favorite series on the channel was Boss Keys. I love the Zelda games and I'd love to make a game similar to it and the breakdown of how the dungeons worked. Just opened my mind with ideas and possibilities.

[@marciotoledoaguirre1388]

I found your channel... I don't know how many years ago, honestly. I found (and find) it amazing and encouraging. I'm currently working in the industry, which wasn't like that when I found your content. I'm proud of working in games, but the projects I'm mostly in are boring. They lean too much into the business aspect of the games we made, and recently I found myself asking the question wether I'm in the correct path or not. I'm a bit scared of shifting my career path to a more "creative" zone, even more if I think about leaving my steady job. Today, I was having lunch and found this video. I don't know if it's going to romanticize videogame development for me once more, but at least I remembered why I was so interested in creating games. I don't want to read and edit spreadsheets all day, I want to evoke something more. And I guess that thought sprouted from watching this video. Thank you

[@ImNotGam]

I wish video rating still existed because this is one of the few videos that deserve a 5 / 5.

[@philRacoindie]

it feels so strange to have followed this channel basically since its inception... cause i'm still be developing the same game since then. i attribute it to this channel constantly teaching me how my game design ideas could improve haha

[@makebreakrepeat]

Congrats on 10 years Mark! Looking forward to many more ❤

[@incessantAlchemist]

phenomenal channel. i watched all of your 100 Games to learn Game Design channel in a sitting or two lol

[@shawnheatherly]

It's a nice look back at all you've covered and gone over. Here's to the next ten years.

[@rainvansickel]

Been amazing to be here from nearly the beginning. Always interested in what is next. Though, I miss those flow charts of dungeons.

[@TheChunkyLad-c5b]

Congratulations Mark, and thank you for sharing this with us.

[@Yurxfull]

It's been an honor to be here since 2014 :) Amazing work.

[@TheBlueMuzzy]

I did the exact same thing with a board game design podcast with 200 episodes. It worked too! Great approach. It was correct :D

[@GambitRaps]

We appreciate you Mark!

[@GonziHere]

About Far Cry: It's not the mechanics per se, it's what they are designed to convey. Both games have shooting and health. They just have different bullet spreads. Simple configs wildly change how the whole gunfight will feel. I'm specifying it, because to me this is the single most ignored lesson overall, and ESPECIALLY with indies. Games (as books, movies, etc.) should be about something and they should work to convey that something to the player. Mechanics aren't the goal (now I have inventory management). They are the means (now the player struggles with what to pick and what to leave behind).

[@vitsavicky]

Damn, when the brief gameplay of Returnal popped up in the video, I got a strong urge to play it again. Such an underrated game. More people should play it.

[@abdalla8558]

Congratulations on 10 years anniversary, looking forward to the next 10 years!