A game development log where I share the hardest game design problems, and share thoughts on the games I'm playing. My name is John Rudolph Drexler and you can find my games at catacombian.com

Latest Episodes

17: Why my basketball board game failed

I tried (and failed) to make a basketball board game. I came up with some ideas that I loved, but ultimately decided to set it aside. 

16: How to learn a game

Try to lose. It's a faster and more effective way to learn.

15: Paying attention to "desire paths"

Sometimes players show you exactly what they want to do. You can either fight them, or learn from them.

14: Games are not stories

Games don't need written narrative to be great games. The best stories in games are the ones that organically emerge from the gameplay itself.

13: Less is more in simulation games

Most games simulate some real world scenario. So how do you decide which parts of the real world to represent in game mechanisms? This is where the real artistry of ga...

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