Notes on making small games and finishing them.
Core loops, honest randomness, scope, playtests, protecting your game's name and readable pixel art. Six entries, no hype.
Core Loops and Mechanics: Finding the Thing Players Repeat
Every game that holds attention has a small cycle of actions at its centre. Finding that cycle early is the cheapest design decision you will make.
DesignDesigning With Randomness: Fair, Legible and Honest Chance
Dice rolls, card draws and loot tables can make a game endlessly replayable or quietly infuriating. The difference lies in how the chance is presented.
ProductionScoping a Small Game So That It Actually Ships
Most unfinished games were not too hard to make; they were too big. Scope is a design skill, and it can be practised like any other.
ProductionPlaytesting on a Budget: Watching Without Explaining
You cannot see your own game with fresh eyes, and you do not need a lab to borrow someone else's. Five quiet observers will teach you more than a month of guessing.
PublishingImpersonation and Lookalike Pages: Protecting a Small Game and Its Players
Once a game has a name, somebody can borrow it. Fake download pages and copied store listings hurt players first and your reputation second.
ArtPixel Art Readability: Making Small Sprites Easy to Read
Low resolution is not a shortcut. With so few pixels each one carries meaning, and clarity matters more than detail.