Game Design News
The latest Game Design coverage curated for game developers.
Tim Ruswick points out a familiar trap: tutorials are often the first thing players experience, even when teams treat them as low-priority work. For developers, that means onboarding, UI clarity, …
Tim Ruswick argues that AI will flood Steam with competent games, making design the main way indies stand out. He points to the risk of samey defaults, then frames strong …
Tim Ruswick argues that “finish my game” is too vague to drive progress, especially for indies juggling scope and motivation. The practical move is to pick one thing that would …
Payne Robinson argues that AI is lowering the barrier to making games, but not the bar for making games people care about. The practical edge for indie teams, he says, …
GamesIndustry.biz argues that games are too often blamed for kids’ mental health struggles when the real issue is context, not play itself. The piece points to games as a source …
XBox Wire says Echo Weaver is out now on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Game Pass, bringing a knowledge-driven metroidvania to players today. Moonlight Kids built the loop around learning …
Unity details how Moonlight Kids built Echo Weaver, a time-loop metroidbrainia launching today on PC and consoles. The team uses Unity 6 to stream an open world with no loading …
XBox Wire says STAR WARS: Galactic Racer is out now on Xbox Series X|S, built around runs-based racing where crashes carry real consequences. Fuse Games leans on a wreck-out system, …
XBox Wire says The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival is out now on Xbox Series X|S and PC, with XPA support and shared saves. Trailmark Games built it as a …
Game Developer says Harvey Smith and Ben Horne are building Black Pony Immersive around the case for immersive sims. The pair frame the genre as still commercially and creatively viable, …
XBox Wire details MegaPals, a Jackbox Party Pack 12 game built around word association, personality-quiz energy, and matching with the player who thinks most like you. The twist is that …
Tim Ruswick explores how slippery the idea of a “good” game really is, arguing that quality depends on player expectations, genre, and intent rather than a single universal standard. For …
XBox Wire says The Elder Scrolls Online is kicking off the High Seas of Tamriel event, sending players after sunken treasure across the game’s waters. For developers, it’s another reminder …
Game Developer reports that Control Resonant director Kyle Rowley is pushing back on excessive “yellow paint” in level design. His argument is that players should feel ownership over what to …
Tim Ruswick breaks down six design pillars that can dramatically improve game feel, especially for teams still tuning moment-to-moment play. The focus is less on raw mechanics and more on …
Tim Ruswick is pushing a simple reminder: make games for fun first. The message lands as a counterweight to constant talk about monetization, wishlists, and market fit. For teams and …
XBox Wire details Minecraft Dungeons II, out September 29 on Xbox Series X|S, PC, cloud, and other platforms. Mojang says the sequel adds jumping, a fully connected world, fast travel, …
Tim Ruswick argues that “make small games” is bad shorthand: tiny projects still carry most of the same production overhead as larger ones. He says the real challenge is depth …
Tim Ruswick walks through a decade of abandoned prototypes and the mistakes that kept them from becoming shippable games. The recurring pattern is familiar to experienced devs: chasing novelty, overbuilding …
XBox Wire says Hela: Of Mice & Magic will launch day one on Xbox Game Pass on December 1, 2026, and it’s using brewing as more than a menu-driven crafting …