If you are a fan of nostalgic-feeling games reminiscent of the late 90s Flash game boom, then you may have already heard of Friday Night Funkin’. The small indie game has gained a modest audience since November 2020, due in part to being a fun, free game. But to fully understand how Friday Night Funkin’ gets its gameplay and execution just right, we have to take a trip back in time to the year 1998.

The Dynamite Rave of ‘98

Back in 1998 when Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) was first released, games that required physical exertion with full-body controls were in their infancy. …

If you are have been making games for years, or have just started, take a look at some of your first creations. When you are just starting out, your projects will lack depth and interesting mechanics — or sometimes be downright unplayable.

What makes a game interesting and fun? What makes a game a hit instead of a flop?

Sometimes it is a matter of when you release your game — think about the hit game Among Us, which has raked in millions of users, and dollars. …

I think we can all agree that 2020 was not the greatest year of all time. However, 2021 can bring change to your life and give you a fresh start on your dreams and aspirations. While the world still bends under the weight of the global pandemic, the best thing you can do is stay home to reduce the spread and invest in yourself and your skills. And for independent game developers, this means taking your skills to the next level.

What can you do to make yourself a better, more accomplished game developer in 2021? Here are some resolutions that can help you out of a slump and avoid common mistakes that beginner game creators run into. …

Whether you are a beginner or seasoned, hobbyist, or professional game developer, you want to see your skills grow and progress. With each new project, you should improve your craft, creating experiences that are better, much faster. And with improvement comes improved returns on your hard work and effort.

Yes, game development is a viable side hustle.

No, it’s not easy by any stretch of the imagination.

Most people aim for massive overnight success like the creators of Flappy Bird, or a passion-fueled solo game that make it big like Undertale, Stardew Valley, or Among Us. …

If you are a Unity game developer, how many times have you started your game project by writing the Player GameObject’s controls? Nothing gets motivation rising like seeing a Capsule or Cube move when you press the keyboard’s arrow keys. A few if-else statements lead to some working movement.

How often have you seen or even written code like this for your player movement?

if(Input.GetKeyDown(Keycode.A)){
  // move left
}else if(Input.GetKeyDown(Keycode.D)){
  // move right
}else if(Input.GetKeyDown(Keycode.W)){
  // move up
}else if(Input.GetKeyDown(Keycode.S)){
  // move down
}

Don’t get me wrong, this works fine for some games. But what happens when you want to add projectile fire? Then you want to add some melee weapon attacks, what then? Your player has to drive a car through a course — how do you set up the new controls so they don’t interfere with the old? …

During the holidays, I was inspired to create a game as a gift for a stranger, based on a design principle from a prominent game developer.

Hit mobile game “Crossy Road” creator Matt Hall of Hipster Whale has a very simple philosophy. He believes in choosing his target audience carefully. So carefully, in fact, that in 2015 he designed games for the individual.

When Matt was working at the game studio Tantalus and assisting with the development of “Pony Friends” for the Nintendo DS, he focused on a single photo of a rich young woman with a prize horse. “What would make her happy?” …

December 2020 has been a ray of shining hope in an otherwise disheartening year. There is a light at the end of the tunnel for us who have faithfully remained socially distanced from friends and family since March. Unfortunately with the pandemic in full swing again, for most people traveling to celebrate the Holidays with friends and family is not an option. But we can do the very next best thing — play games together online!

Yule Tide Gaming

Online gaming has saved the social lives of gamers (and non-gamers) all over the world. …

Indie game designers and developers are usually after one thing — notoriety. Not for themselves, but for the experiences they create. Game makers always want more people to play their games. So seeing a game like Among Us amass about 60 million players per day is like watching someone win a billion dollars in the lottery!

It is not every day that we see a low budget indie game reach astronomic heights of popularity and fame. Games like Braid, Undertale, Cave Story, and Stardew Valley are some such games inducted to the Hall of Indie Fame. Among Us is the latest game to reach those coveted levels of fame, and it has not slowed down since its spike in popularity during the summer of 2020. …