For a while now I've been collecting links on my Bookmark Bar for various Game Design articles. I've found most of them to be invaluable and have referred to them time and again when replying to people both here on the forums and through my various social media accounts, so I figured that if I find them useful, you guys might too! So here is a list of some of my favourite articles (under categories to make it easier to find what you want), and I'd request that if any of you have a great article to share that helps with the design and development process then you share it here too and I can add them to the list.
PROGRAMMING - General
A Shader Primer
A Beginners Guid To Programming Shaders (courtesy of @KingdomOfGamez)
Hexagonal Grids
Equations For Organic Motion
Sin And Cos - The Programmers Pals!
Ray Marching Signed Distance Functions (courtesy of @icuurd12b42)
How To Build A Racing Game (courtesy of @alexandervrs)
Dynamic 2D Soft Shadows (courtesy of @alexandervrs)
Maze Generation: Recursive Backtracking (courtesy of @Morne)
PROGRAMMING - Online
Fast Paced Multi-Player (Client-Server Architecture)
The Visual Guide to Multiplayer Level Design (courtesy of @alexandervrs)
PROGRAMMING - Platformers
Guide To Creating 2D Platformers (Amazing article and a must read for anyone making a platformer!)
How to Make Insane, Procedural Platformer Levels
Sonic Physics (courtesy of @alexandervrs)
PROGRAMMING - AI
A Practical Guide To Building AI
An Intro to Cellular Automation (courtesy of @Galladhan)
PROGRAMMING - Isometric
Isometric Tiles Maths (courtesy of @alexandervrs)
DESIGN - General
Toasty Tips On Juicing Responsibly
Nine Tips For Indie Game Devs
The Art Of Screenshake (awesome video talk!)
List Of 40 Game Design Videos (courtesy of @SnoutUp)
The Best Icon Is A Text Label
Game Design Concepts (courtesy of @Aura)
Understanding Balance In Video Games (courtesy of @Aura)
Anatomy Of A Design Document Part 1, Part 2 (courtesy of @Aura)
General Game Design Articles (courtesy of @Aura)
Game Development Tips And Tricks (courtesy of @Morne)
DESIGN - Colour
How To Choose Colours Procedurally (courtesy of @Morne)
Understanding Color (courtesy of @Galladhan)
Colour Theory For Game Design (courtesy of @Aura)
DESIGN - Level Design
How To Plan Level Design And Game Environments
Beginning Level Design Part 1, Part 2 (courtesy of @Aura)
DESIGN - AI
Designing Emergent AI
Making AI Fun
Game Development Myths - Players Want Smart AI
DESIGN - Game Specific
Match Game Mechanics: An exhaustive survey (courtesy of @Galladhan)
Boss Battle Design And Structure (courtesy of @Aura)
Sonic Level Design (courtesy of @alexandervrs)
The Cabal: Valve’s Design Process For Creating Half-Life (courtesy of @Galladhan)
MARKETING
Congratulations, Your First Game Is A Flop
Advice For Aspiring Indie Developers
Naming An Indie Game
Business Tips For Indie Devs
The Basic Marketing Plan For Indies (courtesy of @Aura)
Pixel Prospector (courtesy of @zircher)
Publishing 104 - How Partners Amplify your Game’s Success
AUDIO
Practical Audio For Indies
Music Has The Right To Children
LEGAL
Understanding Licences (Or "Can I use this asset in my game")
Using Famous Quotes In Products
Setting Up Your Indie Game Studio
Myths and Facts in Avoiding Copyright Infringement
And (of course) SQUIDI!
Three Hundred Mechanics
So that's just a few of the articles I frequently refer to, and I hope that they are of some use to you all!
PROGRAMMING - General
A Shader Primer
A Beginners Guid To Programming Shaders (courtesy of @KingdomOfGamez)
Hexagonal Grids
Equations For Organic Motion
Sin And Cos - The Programmers Pals!
Ray Marching Signed Distance Functions (courtesy of @icuurd12b42)
How To Build A Racing Game (courtesy of @alexandervrs)
Dynamic 2D Soft Shadows (courtesy of @alexandervrs)
Maze Generation: Recursive Backtracking (courtesy of @Morne)
PROGRAMMING - Online
Fast Paced Multi-Player (Client-Server Architecture)
The Visual Guide to Multiplayer Level Design (courtesy of @alexandervrs)
PROGRAMMING - Platformers
Guide To Creating 2D Platformers (Amazing article and a must read for anyone making a platformer!)
How to Make Insane, Procedural Platformer Levels
Sonic Physics (courtesy of @alexandervrs)
PROGRAMMING - AI
A Practical Guide To Building AI
An Intro to Cellular Automation (courtesy of @Galladhan)
PROGRAMMING - Isometric
Isometric Tiles Maths (courtesy of @alexandervrs)
DESIGN - General
Toasty Tips On Juicing Responsibly
Nine Tips For Indie Game Devs
The Art Of Screenshake (awesome video talk!)
List Of 40 Game Design Videos (courtesy of @SnoutUp)
The Best Icon Is A Text Label
Game Design Concepts (courtesy of @Aura)
Understanding Balance In Video Games (courtesy of @Aura)
Anatomy Of A Design Document Part 1, Part 2 (courtesy of @Aura)
General Game Design Articles (courtesy of @Aura)
Game Development Tips And Tricks (courtesy of @Morne)
DESIGN - Colour
How To Choose Colours Procedurally (courtesy of @Morne)
Understanding Color (courtesy of @Galladhan)
Colour Theory For Game Design (courtesy of @Aura)
DESIGN - Level Design
How To Plan Level Design And Game Environments
Beginning Level Design Part 1, Part 2 (courtesy of @Aura)
DESIGN - AI
Designing Emergent AI
Making AI Fun
Game Development Myths - Players Want Smart AI
DESIGN - Game Specific
Match Game Mechanics: An exhaustive survey (courtesy of @Galladhan)
Boss Battle Design And Structure (courtesy of @Aura)
Sonic Level Design (courtesy of @alexandervrs)
The Cabal: Valve’s Design Process For Creating Half-Life (courtesy of @Galladhan)
MARKETING
Congratulations, Your First Game Is A Flop
Advice For Aspiring Indie Developers
Naming An Indie Game
Business Tips For Indie Devs
The Basic Marketing Plan For Indies (courtesy of @Aura)
Pixel Prospector (courtesy of @zircher)
Publishing 104 - How Partners Amplify your Game’s Success
AUDIO
Practical Audio For Indies
Music Has The Right To Children
LEGAL
Understanding Licences (Or "Can I use this asset in my game")
Using Famous Quotes In Products
Setting Up Your Indie Game Studio
Myths and Facts in Avoiding Copyright Infringement
And (of course) SQUIDI!
Three Hundred Mechanics
So that's just a few of the articles I frequently refer to, and I hope that they are of some use to you all!
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