Designhead Dungeon
@designheaddungeon.bsky.social
Carefully collected bits of game development wisdom.
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
Game design is simple, actually. Except when it isn't. Here are the 12 things you need to know.
Game design is simple, actually
So, let’s just walk through the whole thing, end to end. Here’s a twelve-step program for understanding game design. One: Fun There are a lot of things people call “fun.” But most of them are not useful for getting better at making games, which is usually why people read articles like this. The fun of a bit of confetti exploding in front of you, and the fun of excruciating pain and risk to life and limb as you free climb a cliff are just not usefully paired together.
www.raphkoster.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Game design is simple, actually. Except when it isn't. Here are the 12 things you need to know.
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
New on GMTK - let's talk about the power of prototyping - youtu.be/8tHJgtbj6rs
What's the Point of Prototyping?
YouTube video by Game Maker's Toolkit
youtu.be
November 5, 2025 at 4:29 PM
New on GMTK - let's talk about the power of prototyping - youtu.be/8tHJgtbj6rs
@oskarstalberg.bsky.social’s excellent presentation on efficient and flexible tile-based procedural generation:
#gamedev
#gamedesign
#gamedev
#gamedesign
SGC21- Oskar Stålberg - Beyond Townscapers
YouTube video by Sweden Game Arena
youtu.be
November 2, 2025 at 6:30 PM
@oskarstalberg.bsky.social’s excellent presentation on efficient and flexible tile-based procedural generation:
#gamedev
#gamedesign
#gamedev
#gamedesign
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
It is time to shout about fun in a car park // What is Fun? A Game Design Introduction
youtu.be/56ENqlUST9U
youtu.be/56ENqlUST9U
What is Fun? A Game Design Introduction
YouTube video by Indie Game Clinic
youtu.be
October 31, 2025 at 1:26 PM
It is time to shout about fun in a car park // What is Fun? A Game Design Introduction
youtu.be/56ENqlUST9U
youtu.be/56ENqlUST9U
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
"Return of the Obra Dinn" is seven years old this week.
For this not-particularly-special anniversary, here's a re-cammed and narrated timelapse of (nearly) all character creation, object modeling, scene posing, and general 3D work for Obra Dinn from 2015 to 2018:
youtu.be/90vqCKEEj3s
For this not-particularly-special anniversary, here's a re-cammed and narrated timelapse of (nearly) all character creation, object modeling, scene posing, and general 3D work for Obra Dinn from 2015 to 2018:
youtu.be/90vqCKEEj3s
Return of the Obra Dinn - Narrated Modeling Mega Timelapse
YouTube video by Lucas Pope
youtu.be
October 21, 2025 at 5:01 PM
"Return of the Obra Dinn" is seven years old this week.
For this not-particularly-special anniversary, here's a re-cammed and narrated timelapse of (nearly) all character creation, object modeling, scene posing, and general 3D work for Obra Dinn from 2015 to 2018:
youtu.be/90vqCKEEj3s
For this not-particularly-special anniversary, here's a re-cammed and narrated timelapse of (nearly) all character creation, object modeling, scene posing, and general 3D work for Obra Dinn from 2015 to 2018:
youtu.be/90vqCKEEj3s
Old but always makes me smile. Appreciate your testers:
#gamedev
#gamedev
Dev vs. Tester: Guess who’s got the edge in this epic meme showdown? 💻
YouTube video by codemug
youtube.com
September 28, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Old but always makes me smile. Appreciate your testers:
#gamedev
#gamedev
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
I love mock-ups so much. It was my first job in the game industry, and it's still what I love doing the most. You learn so much from making these, throwing out ideas quickly, finding opportunities and ideas, at no risk and low cost.
#gamedesign #gamedev
#gamedesign #gamedev
September 23, 2025 at 10:56 PM
I love mock-ups so much. It was my first job in the game industry, and it's still what I love doing the most. You learn so much from making these, throwing out ideas quickly, finding opportunities and ideas, at no risk and low cost.
#gamedesign #gamedev
#gamedesign #gamedev
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
September 1, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
🚨NEW DOC ALERT🕹️
The Making of Wolfenstein
We revisit the team at MachineGames to discuss the design and development of their Wolfenstein series. From narrative design to combat and everything in between.
WATCH HERE: youtu.be/E189QG28rnE
The Making of Wolfenstein
We revisit the team at MachineGames to discuss the design and development of their Wolfenstein series. From narrative design to combat and everything in between.
WATCH HERE: youtu.be/E189QG28rnE
The Making of Wolfenstein - Noclip Documentary
YouTube video by /noclip
youtu.be
September 5, 2025 at 4:18 PM
🚨NEW DOC ALERT🕹️
The Making of Wolfenstein
We revisit the team at MachineGames to discuss the design and development of their Wolfenstein series. From narrative design to combat and everything in between.
WATCH HERE: youtu.be/E189QG28rnE
The Making of Wolfenstein
We revisit the team at MachineGames to discuss the design and development of their Wolfenstein series. From narrative design to combat and everything in between.
WATCH HERE: youtu.be/E189QG28rnE
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
This convo I had highlights the difference in what "respect your time" means in games.
A lot of players want to trade time for in-game progress. It's purely transactional: 1 hour = 1 progress
But I want to feel like my actions matter i.e. what I do with time creates progress, not time itself.
A lot of players want to trade time for in-game progress. It's purely transactional: 1 hour = 1 progress
But I want to feel like my actions matter i.e. what I do with time creates progress, not time itself.
September 5, 2025 at 6:52 PM
This convo I had highlights the difference in what "respect your time" means in games.
A lot of players want to trade time for in-game progress. It's purely transactional: 1 hour = 1 progress
But I want to feel like my actions matter i.e. what I do with time creates progress, not time itself.
A lot of players want to trade time for in-game progress. It's purely transactional: 1 hour = 1 progress
But I want to feel like my actions matter i.e. what I do with time creates progress, not time itself.
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
Design Dive returns to @aiandgames.com for this short but fun analysis of narrative design in Donkey Kong Bananza.
Pauline's emotional journey is the real heart of the game's story. With the narrative team relying on a game AI bark systems that react to player progress.
youtu.be/DyGYxtJL_GM?...
Pauline's emotional journey is the real heart of the game's story. With the narrative team relying on a game AI bark systems that react to player progress.
youtu.be/DyGYxtJL_GM?...
Donkey Kong Bananza's Simplest Design Trick | Design Dive
YouTube video by AI and Games
youtu.be
August 29, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Design Dive returns to @aiandgames.com for this short but fun analysis of narrative design in Donkey Kong Bananza.
Pauline's emotional journey is the real heart of the game's story. With the narrative team relying on a game AI bark systems that react to player progress.
youtu.be/DyGYxtJL_GM?...
Pauline's emotional journey is the real heart of the game's story. With the narrative team relying on a game AI bark systems that react to player progress.
youtu.be/DyGYxtJL_GM?...
@indiegameclinic.bsky.social on prototyping, feasibility testing, and game design intuition:
#gamedev
#gamedesign
#gamedev
#gamedesign
Prototypes, Hunches, and Short-Cuts
YouTube video by Indie Game Clinic
youtu.be
June 21, 2025 at 2:02 PM
@indiegameclinic.bsky.social on prototyping, feasibility testing, and game design intuition:
#gamedev
#gamedesign
#gamedev
#gamedesign
Jonathan Blow on filling the emergent space created by interacting game mechanics:
#gamedev
#gamedesign
#gamedev
#gamedesign
Jonathan Blow on Designing Game Mechanics
YouTube video by gamedev cuts
youtu.be
June 5, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Jonathan Blow on filling the emergent space created by interacting game mechanics:
#gamedev
#gamedesign
#gamedev
#gamedesign
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
Today I'm musing about the importance of escalation in adventure stories & ttrpg sessions. Trying to come up with a list of possible ways to escalate. Mostly interested in the broad categories. In the following posts you can find what I came up with so far. Let me know what I am missing. #gamedev
May 18, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Today I'm musing about the importance of escalation in adventure stories & ttrpg sessions. Trying to come up with a list of possible ways to escalate. Mostly interested in the broad categories. In the following posts you can find what I came up with so far. Let me know what I am missing. #gamedev
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
new blog post: turned my gdc 2025 level design theory talk into a blog post www.blog.radiator.debacle.us/2025/05/spac...
Space is not a wall: toward a less architectural level design
Maybe video game level design theory needs less focus on architecture? And maybe I'm part of the problem? My bad.
www.blog.radiator.debacle.us
May 10, 2025 at 8:12 PM
new blog post: turned my gdc 2025 level design theory talk into a blog post www.blog.radiator.debacle.us/2025/05/spac...
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
Reservoir Sampling, a technique for selecting a fair random sample when you don't know the size of the set you're sampling from samwho.dev/reservoir-sa...
#gamedev #gamedevelopment #indiedev
#gamedev #gamedevelopment #indiedev
May 9, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Reservoir Sampling, a technique for selecting a fair random sample when you don't know the size of the set you're sampling from samwho.dev/reservoir-sa...
#gamedev #gamedevelopment #indiedev
#gamedev #gamedevelopment #indiedev
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
few things are as good as a proper shader. i love this shit.
May 9, 2025 at 12:33 PM
few things are as good as a proper shader. i love this shit.
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
The discourse around the design of Blue Prince has been fascinating, but I wanted to hit room 46 before weighing in. Minimal spoilers!
youtu.be/BItfjfaqW2Y
Also: how it fares as an information game, and how it overlaps with our next game idea.
youtu.be/BItfjfaqW2Y
Also: how it fares as an information game, and how it overlaps with our next game idea.
Blue Prince and its awkward relationship with hunches (minimal spoilers)
YouTube video by Tom Francis
youtu.be
May 6, 2025 at 2:35 PM
The discourse around the design of Blue Prince has been fascinating, but I wanted to hit room 46 before weighing in. Minimal spoilers!
youtu.be/BItfjfaqW2Y
Also: how it fares as an information game, and how it overlaps with our next game idea.
youtu.be/BItfjfaqW2Y
Also: how it fares as an information game, and how it overlaps with our next game idea.
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
Announcing my next game!🤘
"Deedlee Doo! Carkour!"🔥
-A game where you do parkour with a car using explosions
🚗💥
-Everything in the game is made out of clay in real life🎨
-The sound effects and music are all mouth sounds👄
Wishlist it now on Steam, out on May 12th, 2025!🎸
"Deedlee Doo! Carkour!"🔥
-A game where you do parkour with a car using explosions
🚗💥
-Everything in the game is made out of clay in real life🎨
-The sound effects and music are all mouth sounds👄
Wishlist it now on Steam, out on May 12th, 2025!🎸
April 10, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Announcing my next game!🤘
"Deedlee Doo! Carkour!"🔥
-A game where you do parkour with a car using explosions
🚗💥
-Everything in the game is made out of clay in real life🎨
-The sound effects and music are all mouth sounds👄
Wishlist it now on Steam, out on May 12th, 2025!🎸
"Deedlee Doo! Carkour!"🔥
-A game where you do parkour with a car using explosions
🚗💥
-Everything in the game is made out of clay in real life🎨
-The sound effects and music are all mouth sounds👄
Wishlist it now on Steam, out on May 12th, 2025!🎸
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
Dropping a little teaser demo soon.
Keep an eye on Keymailer (and inboxes)
:)
store.steampowered.com/app/3708790/...
Keep an eye on Keymailer (and inboxes)
:)
store.steampowered.com/app/3708790/...
MEGANAUT Demo on Steam
A 3rd person narrative horror game with modernized retro 3D graphics, and unique floating mechanics. Travel past The Habitat walls into the deep megastructure in search of your missing friend Seija, a...
store.steampowered.com
May 5, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Dropping a little teaser demo soon.
Keep an eye on Keymailer (and inboxes)
:)
store.steampowered.com/app/3708790/...
Keep an eye on Keymailer (and inboxes)
:)
store.steampowered.com/app/3708790/...
Reposted by Designhead Dungeon
Today’s video turned out a bit of a monster; some reflections on genre, mode and mood in games, and how certain ways of categorising games can be confusing or unhelpful in the design process. youtu.be/3KJbYdNP5js?... #gamedev #gamedesign #indiedev
Game Genres - a Design Perspective
YouTube video by Indie Game Clinic
youtu.be
May 1, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Today’s video turned out a bit of a monster; some reflections on genre, mode and mood in games, and how certain ways of categorising games can be confusing or unhelpful in the design process. youtu.be/3KJbYdNP5js?... #gamedev #gamedesign #indiedev
