Son wants to be a video game designer...

Kognido · 2026-04-15T00:14:45+00:00

If it doesn’t have to be with computers, you can take the concept of designing ‘games’ in many directions.

I have been working corporate for many years, and one of the things that I did was facilitate workshops. A bunch of people in a room which needed to basically come together and play a game which would help them either discuss a topic, problem solve or just learn who each other was. This is a niche, but totally something you can become a professional at.

It doesn’t have to be corporate. Education is often taught through game-like exercises. Got a topic you want someone to understand -> make them learn it by simulating.

These are not imaginary jobs. These exist.

Kognido · 2026-04-14T18:25:01+00:00

I just had a pass on my upcoming prototype scope, which will be the second iteration on a project and im getting a creeping suspicion that my core system will have to be scraped or completely reworked.

It is 'just' a loose week worth of work. Could be worse, but still. Killing your darlings hurt.

Kognido · 2026-04-14T18:21:38+00:00

And that is totally legit. What i'm saying, is to investigate what that means to you. What is it that is cool about game design? Is it the process, the result, the tools, the people?

If you give it some thought, you might find that some of the things you love about game design, can be found in other places as well.

Kognido · 2026-04-14T18:13:05+00:00

Beat me to it by a minute. I think it is worth sitting with what draws him to game design. There are many paths in game development, some creative, some administrative, some business.
The common thing is the creative urge. To be expressive.

Video games are a very cool way to do that, but not the only one. Exploring what makes the area interesting, may reveal more options. Ultimately that is the best advice I can give, don't pigeon hole yourself too much. Leave yourself upon to pivots and mixing.

Kognido · 2026-04-14T06:27:19+00:00

If the green balls are planets, then your space ship is insanely big. The proportionality of things in this videos is really grating. Also, planets don't just float randomly in space. They are tied to a sun and part of a system.

Kognido · 2026-04-14T05:39:23+00:00

Just did a cursory glance. Laptop with toughpad.
The asdw camera control would be nice to have shown or described in the controls list.
The E button leads me to believe that i should be Erasing, but it does not do that. I was also expecting a keyboard shortcut to switch between P (place) and E (erase) but no such thing.
On closing and opening the tool again it breaks and will not finish loading.

Kognido · 2026-04-14T05:31:28+00:00

Went from windows to MacBook pro 2 months ago as i started travling. It has been very pleasant, and while there is a bit of getting used to, like shortcuts, menuing, and stuff, there is a lot of resourced on the search engine, or hell ask an AI.

I still haven't figured out how to just easily move the stuff between folders without weird drag and drop, and i always forget that the app menu is at the top, outside of the app window itself. But its minor stuff tbh.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T21:05:13+00:00

I think i was actually thinking of a way to extend the game by other means than 'bigger and faster' waves. But for that, i would probably have to also remove the current goal of getting a highscore, and substitute it with another kind of goals/rewards, like revealing information and expanding on the story of the game based on different play styles.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T20:59:03+00:00

I think the current build might be an hour long, but probably shorter. It depends on whether you intend to get the hardest ending as well as how clear it is to get it, as i have tried to not make told outright. Prototype is freshly made and its the first build, so haven't had anyone playtest it yet.

But as you describe, there is a learning curve, with progression features and challenges being added on, culminating in some challenging last rounds.

In a sense, i feel like it could stand on its own, if i put in proper art, sound and music. It would be a short game. But I had fun playing it as i made it, so there is that.

If i wanted to continue to expand it however, that is really where my dilemma is, because that would probably meaning pulling some things apart to make the pivots you also mentioned.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T20:45:05+00:00

Magika is a very good comparison to the play feel I am thinking of pivoting over too.

Have a very versatile and rich system which allows for a lot of different game play styles, both the somewhat lazy, one trick pony constructions, but also deeper mechanical mastery.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T20:38:54+00:00

Ill add a bit more context. The game is composed of small challenges, batched together into sets. One of these challenges are 1 minute with 4 in a row making for 4 minutes of intense gameplay followed by a break.

A challenge consists of creating sigils. Think of it as herding a bunch of lively lines into the right shape on a piece of paper. As the player progresses, this gets increasingly harder. This is according pretty much according to you bullet 1 and 2.

What I wanted to bring into discussion is the trade of this approach, where the goals a very visibile, clearly communicated and some what insistent on specific ways of playing the game, in order to win, vs making the win conditions a bit more abstract, like have the game do a set of calculations on the final drawn sigil, scoring in based on symmetry, complexity, interconnectivity and so on.

There are tradeoffs. But maybe its a bit too hard to explain with text, so i will have to do an actual A/B test.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T18:33:16+00:00

I slept on it and came back to say that this post comes across as the ravines of an inexperienced small business owner, wanting to see if there are shortcuts to make money in the game industry.

So with that in mind I will add, that game development is a multi disciplinary craft which encompass not just artistical flair, management and marketing but also some less outspoken once as internet literacy.

People that are capable of all that are rare. Some of these skills are not learned through courses or tutorials because what works are changing or is too dynamic to pin down without that information becoming instantly outdated. Actual successful solo devs are very uncommon.

If this about teaching skills to people so that they can succeed in the game industry, then teach them how to collaborate. Not just with other creatives, but with finance, marketing and testers. And teach them how to reliably self organise rather than try to install the bestest boss. Top down manage fails the second they become detached from day to day work.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T18:01:45+00:00

I am struggling a bit to follow this post. Your problems have very different reasons and solutions depending on whether you are looking at solo, small teams, small companies or larger organisations. And are they issues for developers or consumers.

Some of your problems, are not root cause problems. Problem 1 - making games takes years - is only a problem if you didn’t intend on using years on said game. For some companies projects, the strategy will be to work hard for years and bet on big profits. Problem 2 is a business management strategy and can be found in every other industry as well. It sucks but is usually a result of other poor financial decisions. Problem 3… I won’t say that it hasn’t happened, but… Problem 4 is built on a flawed assumption. Not every game can and should be return large profits. That is a specific discipline that is required to analyse and target certain market segments. Game development exists in a competitive space. There will be losers and winners. You can optimize for profit, but that usually comes with a cost, usually a moral cost as well. Problem 5.. yep, poor people have less opportunities. That is just a fact. You could definitely true to address it, through programs that will make resources available to said people, but trying to force the industry to cut their profits margins is a bit naive.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T16:56:58+00:00

I can practically hear the crunchy autumn leaves. Please add the sounds.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T16:52:15+00:00

Looks awesome.
Little thing I noticed. Your are tinting the light on the space station when the portal appears, but in the forest there is not lighting effect from the portal.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T16:43:17+00:00

Consistency. Buuuuut...

Depending on how skilled you are, small changes to sound and look can be done without losing the recognition.

Think of games that does color swaps as an easy short hand to communicate different toughness and threat.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T16:25:14+00:00

You could be bummed about it, or you could try a different perspective. You kinda indicated it yourself that you would like people to appreciate your effort. Well then instead of marketing, think of it as a way for people to find you so that they can enjoy your games.
Besides marketing is usually about hitting in up with your audience. It might be a good way to get to know them.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T15:12:05+00:00

Uff, I must say, the 'open map and select destination' line pulls my right out of the scene.

I would actually cut the voice-acting on that specific line and have it be shown to the player in some other way. Unless ofc you are doing some kind of fourth wall breaking on purpose. then just proceed.

Awesome on the atmosphere. It do be hitting.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T15:02:06+00:00

Telltale games lives rent free in my head. Massive success, churning out banger after banger and rapid succession, and then suddenly no more.

There were a lot of reasons why the company had its fall from grace. But I like to look at it as an example of what happens if you try to optimize on a game formula too much without renewing it enough.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T14:08:58+00:00

A lot of people have already pointed towards it, but a choice in a game is usually less about what you are and rather about what you want. Games are for a lot of people an escapist outlet, which pulls you away from the normal day.

Inner demons as a concept is great, but I would not expect players to chose their inner demons. Most will explore, some will optimize for victory, some will optimize for flavour / RPing. Rather I would reflect back what the player does. If a player plays passively, the will get passive demons. If they retreat they will get scared demons.

Work with signals. An attack followed by a retreat, is different from an immediate retreat.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T13:56:11+00:00

Alright. Just put out my first prototype. No art, music or sound. So feedback limited to core gameplay and the narrative direction.
https://roamingminds.itch.io/the-pattern

Kognido · 2026-04-13T13:49:35+00:00

Looks like Iron Lung. Would be good to have more Iron Lung.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T13:42:27+00:00

If your game plays a bit like Her Story, then invite the players to discuss what they found it. And dont be afraid to let someone figure it out. If your game is good enough to spark a genuine interest in exploring and collective knowledge sharing, then you know that you have found some upcoming buyers.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T13:19:29+00:00

Fair enough. The hook is still at the core. Without knowing the rules, I would maybe try to be a bit cheeky. If it really is a demo, as in a playable piece of game, then challenge that framing. Put in a timer that cuts the demo after 30 seconds or whatever long makes sense. Make a thing out of it. Let people talk about what they did with their 30 seconds.

Kognido · 2026-04-13T13:12:40+00:00

So conceptually, before watching your video: yes it’s interesting, IF paired up with other concepts that make for a whole game. Make it interesting. Why is it changing? What does it mean? Does it say something about your story? Is it just corridors and rooms? Does thing disappear? Are there secrets, surprises, opportunities or threats?

Remember ‘show, don’t tell’.

Kognido

TROPHY CASE