51 Game Design Tips! (In 8 Minutes)

Are you working on a video game and looking for inspiration? Do you need to come up with a good game idea?
Here are a ton of Game Design Tips and Tricks for you that should help you to get started.
You can find all games shown in this video here: itch.io/jam/wo...

[@JonasTyroller]

Do you enjoy this type of video? Yes or no? Let me know. Ohhh. That rhymes....

[@Geri805]

Yes...WOWIE!!

[@JonasTyroller]

@@Geri805 Okay. Dokay. Thanksy. Banksy.

[@DawnosaurDev]

Really cool thanks for showing my game. YOU NEED SUBS!

[@sharkheadstudio6640]

Of course yesssss

[@Jalecko]

This must be the best jam i have ever attended

[@brycea5452]

Zuper Zimple

[@alpha6549]

Zig kolor

[@fortnitetwelve]

Super zimpliztic

[@Joeygeek]

zick

[@Kaqua3D]

Why did i laugh so loud at that

[@DArK-xj8lr]

Zzzzzzzz

[@midimusicforever]

Now do all of these in one game, and enter the chaos!

[@LuizMoratelli]

Awesome video ideia, i love it!

[@JonasTyroller]

Cool. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kaiiboraka]

My only problem with most of these "tips" is that they all have to do with the small-scale, rapid-iteration, "soulless blocks in a vacuum focused on a single mechanic" take on game development. In other words, extremely basic Game Jam 101 stuff meant for architect-brained game-mechanic-oriented Introverted Intuition types (INTJs, etc.) who just want to invent new mechanics all day and never spend any time fleshing things out, making content, or actually caring about presentation at all. Sparkly blocks in a void with thumping music and an interesting game mechanic or two is interesting for like... 30 seconds. And then you realize that it looks and feels exactly like the other 1000 "indie games" you've played that look and feel exactly like it. I don't know what I'm really complaining about, I guess. It just feels like I have yet to come across a "Tips for Game Design" or "Things I wish I knew as an amateur game dev" or "how to make an indie game" video that has to do with real, deep, interesting game projects that are more than just the result of a weekend jam. All of these videos are fine for tinkerers that don't mind starting new projects every 5 minutes and discarding their old work to move onto some new idea every week. But I'm not that. I have a clear vision for my game, that has story and world and mechanics and art and animation and music and and and. My game is like Ori, Hollow Knight, Shovel Knight, Jak & Daxter, MegaMan X, even a little Kingdom Hearts inspiration. There's depth, there's interesting world and story and characters and things that are so far beyond just mechanical squares in a void, and I rarely rarely rarely EVER see interesting or, more importantly, HELPFUL videos or articles that talk about the deep intricate details that I need to know about in order to make those kinds of games. There might be a post mortem or two that helps with some philosophical ideas, or maybe a nugget or two from a one-off interview or something, but there are no guides, no resources, no anything. All there is in terms of helpful, educational materials in this regard has to do with specific game-dev tools like Unity and its features, or specific programming structures. But how am I, as a total amateur, supposed to know which of these hundreds of tools or methods to use would be ideal for my problem case without trying out and testing every single one? Every time I try to google a more open ended question, the only answers you get are things like, "Oh, well, that depends." Or worse yet, "Why are you even trying to do that?" -_- Anyway. Your videos are great, and very well put together, and I have learned a lot from them. I think my favorite tip in this video was simply the "don't make your blacks pure black." Now THAT was a useful idea. I'll just continue on in my quest to find more relevant teaching tools that will help me with my specific game-dev needs.

[@BladeNgames]

Watch patch quest if you haven’t

[@joeljames8591]

ironic-icon I watched that video the other day, it’s honestly just great couldn’t recommend it more

[@FirstNameLastName-qp2rj]

Very nice accent😎😘😅

[@Ihavetoreturnsomevideotapes]

55#😋👯👨‍❤️‍👨😘

[@DownwardsRising]

That last tip, "Keep your game in a finished state, that way you'll never be unable to complete it." That's a genius tip that could apply to many different types of projects in life. It keeps the ambition/ability ratio in check.

[@YuriNoirProductions]

that mainly applies to game jams...in real life projects that will most likely lead to you investing too much in an too earlier stage when you should still be experimenting.

[@SantiagoAPiano]

video tip.. put the tip number in the video.. great video tho

[@JonasTyroller]

Would you think that makes it more consumable? I think if I put the tip number in there, people will click away as soon as we reach the max count... Audience Retention is all that counts! Sad but true. :D

[@SantiagoAPiano]

@@JonasTyroller mmm yeah, I understand your point. Probably the "correct" answer to this doesnt exist. There are pros and cons.. I can only say to you that for me, dont seeing the tip counter has been a big problem in this video. The tip counter maintain me so much more in the video. As a game dev too, I see this same logic in when you put a level number on a game or not. Maybe the result is the same, but is completely other sensation. Also, I didnt watch the end of the video, so, probably that is the same for either case.. the most mayority doesnt stay after the tips.. with or without number If I were you, I would disperse all the things you said at the end of the video, in the whole video. However, I'm here as a problem communication, not a problem solver one, so yea, keep it that way if you want, this is only an opinion good luck man

[@JonasTyroller]

@@SantiagoAPiano Yeah, guess you're right. Probably doesn't make a big difference and if it helps the viewing experience it probably helps retention time as well. I'll keep experimenting with it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me!

[@bluegoodev2085]

Jonas Tyroller now i see someone else posted the same comment as I just did :) if you’re worried about retention, put tip 51 in the last 5 seconds. I always skip the video as soon as the youtuber starts thanking it’s patreon followers, or wrap it up, but I guess your videos are worth watching to the end :)

[@Aaron-mj9ie]

Comment tip: When leaving constructive criticism, make sure to take the tone of your comment into consideration. You can attract more flies with honey.

[@Lugmillord]

Drop shadows... so simple but I didn't think about it yet. Should be perfect for my game :) Thanks

[@JonasTyroller]

Awesome. Glad you found something useful in there.

[@CJ-mr8dn]

Why only 1 reply lol

[@Its_just_me_man]

I'm taking the coconut tip to heart.

[@briandoeslife7182]

4:40 sure, why not

[@ptitcka]

This is one hell of a way to give the entries a positive piece of critique. Great job, to everyone.

[@JonasTyroller]

Yeah, we definitely had a ton of interesting submissions! This video would not exist without all of you.

[@hiiambarney4489]

I wasn't sure if your accent is German or somewhere from Northern EU. I now know that it's some variety of German AND ICH KANN ENDLICH IN RUHE SCHLAFEN!

[@jehriko7525]

"it is a good idea to let player's know what to do and be very clear about that" *remember to break the rules though sometimes, dark souls did just that*

[@Ukyuu9]

Sehr gutes Video! Danke fürs Teilen! ̗̀( ˶'ᵕ'˶)

[@MizuchiKun]

5:35 I knew you were German, zat German accent! ;)

[@ikonhero]

Very informative video! thanks.

[@dustinshepherd-hoppis2322]

I loved this!!! The short format with lots of content and points kept this video inspiring and fun. Thank you.

[@beardordie5308]

Fantastic observations and very encouraging. Thanks! It was a blast to participate in the jam.

[@JonasTyroller]

I'm glad you enjoyed the jam! Tried really hard to make it a good experience for everybody. :)

[@MrProthall]

The last point is basically how you programm everything, be it webdevelopment, application development or game development. ALWAYS BIG TO SMALL. First step is always: Pen and paper. Plan what you're building. THINK about what you're building. The plan will change and adapt, that's fine. Think it through though. Every programmer that starts with code only will end up debugging for hours with spaghetti code that has grown because he forgot some dependencies in the project. Take the two hours. You'll be faster and more thorough with practice. Querying a huge amount of data that has to be shown to a user? Build the database, build the interface that queries, show the data in the shittiest table ever. Make sure it's performing adequately to the needs of the user. Make sure there are no security issues, query issues, false data etc. Once all that is done and reliable you can start adding design to the interface, create additional queries etc. Building a topdown shooter? Player controls first, Shooting second, Enemies third, Gamestate fourth. You now have a game you can optimize (which is way more fun than building the rump of it) to your liking. Don't touch the basic blocks unless absolutely necessary.

[@littensy]

Thank you bro

[@EgeKeskin-w7y]

Add Leaderboard. Speedrunning is pretty fun.

[@bloiii35]

Thiz Video Waz Zo Helpfull. Thankz for the tipz.

[@holidayexplanation4505]

Actually great tips, every one of them. Nice job and thank you! :D

[@JonasTyroller]

Cool. I'm happy you enjoyed it. :D

[@rashidregiste-charles5514]

Amazing video priceless information. I got loads of games idea(s)

[@zentrocs]

*MAKE YOUR GAME ZOUND NICE*

[@JonasTyroller]

ECZACTLY

[@omerfarukbykl6097]

0:16 This.. Is.. Not.. Game Design!

[@LeeTGame]

Yes, I like this video. Keep up with the work! :)

[@JonasTyroller]

Will do. Thanks for the comment. :)

[@LeeTGame]

@@JonasTyroller I have learned a lot from your videos and started making my first game. Don't lose your passion! Hope you will be successful!

[@JonasTyroller]

@@LeeTGame Thanks. I can only wish the same to you! Good luck, man!

[@H1kari_1]

Hey Jonas, currently I am clicking randomly through your videos and have a lot left to watch. How many games have you coded including raw but playable drafts? At what age did you start? Also what I missed here was that there should ALWAYS be something to do during the loading screen. I remeber Horizon Dawn Zero that had relatively huge loading times even on a PS4 Pro with SSD and NOTHING TO DO but stary at the loading bar.

[@JonasTyroller]

You already found my "My gamedev journey vid" so I'm gonna skip the questions I guess. Having something to do during loading screens is a good tip for sure.

[@vick3554]

THE LAST POINT ON KEEPING THE GAME IN A FINISHED STATE IS VERY GOOD

[@DJaycerOfficial]

I was told to lean more into the customization system in my RPG by a play tester. Mostly because each customization on a weapon/armor does a different thing. I do like this idea of customization and might even use it to bridge gaps between strengths and abilities and stuff

[@tyrantdragon2235]

I'm actually thinking about either making a short animation of it or just making a game in the future, a project called: "Last Flame" about these two dragon gods Naivasuki known as the dragon goddess of mercy and creation, and Bahamut the dragon god of judgement and (Still deciding) it will start off with narration showing runes of the dragon gods on cave walls, probably saying: "Long ago, when the earth was young there were two dragons, Naivasuki...And Bahamut, they worked together and created everything we live on today, the air we breathe, the animals and more. But Bahamut grew jealous of her and grew corrupt becoming a beast, a monster.....He set the world aflame but she banished him before he destroyed any more. Perhaps they're still here? These great gods have long been forgotten to time..." And depending on which character you pick, changes the storyline. The two final bosses will be: "Naivasuki the goddess. And Runekiltasulu, the Berserk Plague Beast" Naivasuki will have 120x health and Runekiltasulu will have 190x health depending on which mode you pick. (Like easy, medium, and hard mode) And once you beat the game, you will now be able to play as Runekiltasulu and fight in titan or god mode, becoming giants fighting Naivasuki, Bahamut and other characters. Anybody got any tips?

[@mamacrow2759]

Why do the majority of these games look like they suck though?

[@antiRuka]

Nothing wrong about them zucking

[@mohammadabdelrahman786]

1:15 fromsoftware would like talk to you. XD

[@PlayaSkunx]

Ich höre seinen deutschen akzent😅

[@paytonioPepper]

0:55 dude, that's just a map with premade unity trees and a premade fps controller.

[@JonasTyroller]

And even that had something positive to take away from it. Isn't that nice? :)

[@Chickengbs]

zuper zick

[@gracehowell.]

Wait, you created that jumping game? I LOVE that jumping game!

[@Jalecko]

Omg thanks for the thumbnail

[@NinjarioPicmin]

mooooooooooo

[@sharkheadstudio6640]

You deserve it

[@Jalecko]

@@sharkheadstudio6640 ah thanks

[@JonasTyroller]

Definitely one of the best thumbnails so far, so thank YOU!

[@sorathesmug]

The one and only green cow

[@ML-no9ku]

Deutscher Akzent 😂

[@HE360]

I needed this video. Thanks!

[@mick3y966]

very cool ideas, thank you for sharing

[@diegocrusius]

cool straight to the point bullets. would like to see more of that, but talking a bit longer on less design tips

[@HE360]

Had to subscribe!

[@Muho_is_me]

0:31 like baldi+ many npc can interact with eachother like er reflex hammerşng any character or bully stopping every character or bully can get detection becouse bullyimg is a crime and so on İt makes the characters feel like but just some random npc to stop you and more it feels like they are minding their bisunes

[@Muho_is_me]

Sory for TERRIBLE spelling (blame outocorrect too)

[@raysandrarexxia941]

A lot of repeat tips here, there's only like 10 total

[@DrWho2008t101]

thanks

[@Avidi]

Soooo many tips lol, nice video man

[@JonasTyroller]

Thank you.

[@Oldboy..]

Just delightful. Brainsss

[@josiahnation5222]

can i get an F in chat. i managed to contract a stomach virus for wowie weekend 😥

[@JonasTyroller]

I want an F as well. Had a could and couldn't talk. :D Hope you're fine again now!

[@flixzdum]

F

[@kyberaurora]

This is just Cabin in the Woods- so god tier

[@juanibiapina]

Dude, just think of 's' as 'ß' and that's it.

[@hdmi3fails195]

pls speak your mother language

[@lasercatto]

i really hope i make a zzick looking game

[@bluegoodev2085]

Great video! I would prefer numbers with a short title of each tip, sometimes they almost blend into each other and I’ll know how many of the 51 tips that are left :)

[@Grrreeeeeeew]

Your game design is boring

[@STACKYY]

I really want to learn how to code but I’m just a kid But I have learned a lot on scratch

[@calvinwillis8384]

Don’t let your age get in your way! I know of a lot of people that started pretty young. Find some basic unity tutorial videos and follow along. With a bit of dedication, you’ll find yourself getting the hang of it!

[@STACKYY]

Thank you, you have given me the courage to to try unity and maybe some other software

[@happytofu5]

Great tips, thank you!

[@lizardltd]

I have the idea down sort of, i want to create a 2d side scroller relaxing pixel art walking sim, basically. Problem is, that sounds so relaxing that it'll put the players to sleep lmao... How do i not make it boring? Would really appreciate suggestions/advice!

[@vgmz59]

why dont u try to speak properly

[@troyhayder6986]

Everytime shaders compile I wish I had tetris on a gameboy... Or snake on a brick phone...

[@vick3554]

SENSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@miguellilly8859]

great video!

[@andret8140]

Kinda wish u would number the tips. Its a way better presentation and feels more polished! :)

[@wasdwasd5234]

Guys tell me how you liked the purple cool sounding game.... At 3:08 !!!!

[@JonasTyroller]

:D

[@-yourandyoureare2different612]

Needs faster pace! Like speedrun!

[@cocoduck7745]

zhank you manz

[@beerilevinger6886]

Ui interface?

[@dimitris_official]

w

[@talanock]

less game design tips and more game design statements

[@bhaumikpatel4959]

zick video

[@magmatri-studios]

area 51

[@xemnaskeen1892]

This vid isn't 8mins long, its 8:07 smh i know, Dr. Obvious

[@aaronsmith6632]

Great tips! I always enjoyed that in Doom, you could get the monsters to fight each other.

[@thelowendstudio]

Gaem jem

[@SRC-lo2nc]

3:30

[@Edterntain]

Hey i have a game that can scare the living daylight out of every single person en earth dont think ive heard it or seen it anywhere.

[@tawandagamedevs]

im not that nice but all those games felt blank

[@arsheedhussainhakeem1091]

thank you so much, I got into game dev only because of you

[@sleepingArisu]

are you from sunless sea or something :D

[@StupidRobotFightingLeague]

Seriously awesome channel.

[@Gamer-uf1kl]

One more thing Buttom smashing games are different than games which use multipurpose mechanics

[@JonasTyroller]

Yeah, that's true. Did I get that wrong in the video?

[@Gamer-uf1kl]

@@JonasTyroller nope i was just telling

[@serialchiller9183]

4:37 this game is played by adam carra in a video haha

[@JayComedyDirector]

s = z

[@DevDunkStudio]

Awesome video!

[@preethamm5415]

Yes sir

[@phosphornaut6811]

Great!

[@gashclaw6748]

5:07 looks like Total Party Kill, which is a game on the App store

[@pipsqeak7104]

Not really

[@gashclaw6748]

@@pipsqeak7104 It has a knight, an archer, and a mage. It a dark dungeon-looking place. And you can only control one of them at a time. That sounds quite a bit like Total Party Kill.

[@enframmandeperson1123]

Love it!

[@JonasTyroller]

Glad to hear it. Thanks.

[@prabhakardeep5921]

S = Z;

[@sharkheadstudio6640]

Great video and nice tips thank you so much

[@JonasTyroller]

You're welcome. Thanks for participating in the jam and contributing to this video. :D

[@hlepp4310]

Oopsie, my nickname is hlepp not helpp :D 5:21

[@JonasTyroller]

Oh, super sorry about that. Hope you forgive me. Really wanted to credit everybody properly. :l

[@hlepp4310]

Jonas Tyroller I forgive you :)

[@JonasTyroller]

@@hlepp4310 I'm the king of typos.

[@JimTheKid]

900th like

[@donutdude4174]

First xD

[@JonasTyroller]

Achievement unlocked.

[@donutdude4174]

@@JonasTyroller yeaa boii by the way did u still wanna see my Quantum Ai Blockchain Gaming Eco-System Notes? As I have handed in my thesis now so it's all complete as before it was messy

[@JonasTyroller]

@@donutdude4174 Yeah, I'll have a look and see if I understand anything. :D

[@donutdude4174]

1drv.ms/b/s!AnQY_WvsmuqMhV2sggfmg12wkXm9 This one is the completed version although I had to cut so much out due to word limit like no joke 5k words had to be eliminated it was painful

[@JonasTyroller]

@@donutdude4174 Wow. Nice. That is a lot of interesting stuff to read though. Just downloaded the pdf. Thanks.

[@diliupg]

Brackey! Watch out! Good job Jonas! I am your fan. :)

[@florianhaffner3910]

ZE ACCENT. Dude, seriously...

[@NOOBDP]

pls pronounce the s like a sharp s in words like simple

[@twinker2000]

Hi! I’m a ten year old who is trying to make a game, kinda like Changed, this was a huge help! Also, if you wanna play it. (It’ll be released when I’m like 15, in 5 years, since I feel as if I’m far too young to be making a game, so I’m just animating it, planning it out, ect, the mascot of the game is a demon with black skin, red eyes, and a box on their head, a pink box, you can communicate with the mascot in a secret room, he just says some dumb stuff, here’s all the quotes he says: i am a box, a member of society, please do not disturb this box. (you have unlocked a rare quote!) | i am box, do not disturb box | BOX HAD ENOUGH (bad ending!!!!) | why must you disturb a box? (you have unlocked a rare quote!) | no (what) | BOX MUST ATTACK! FEAR BOX! I AM LOYAL, PEASANTS! (what did you do to the box) | alright, i didnt sign up to be constantly bothered, i regret getting this job, im going back to california. (???) | why u do this | leave me alone | go away | box no like | stop | i said go | stop bother box | ahhhhhh | flamenco (flamenco ending) | box forgives! but please stop bothering box! (good ending) | zzzzzzzzzzz | box hates you (D:) | box come in peace! :( | hi! | please stop! :( | weeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiooi (drunk box ending) *yeah, this is good.* (If you have any suggestions on other things Box says, leave it in the replies, also, if you want a bit of a backstory on Box, tell me!)