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The Designer’s Production Guide (2025 Edition)
By William Anderson | Awaken Games Game design is filled with unwritten rules—best practices passed down through experience, mistakes, and lessons learned on the job. While every designer has their own process, many of these principles remain consistent across projects and teams. In this guide, I’ll share key questions and strategies I rely on when…
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Tales from the Industry #1: “Getting My Foot in the Door at Virgin Games”
By William AndersonAwakenGames.com – Tales from the Industry Series Behind the Scenes: Virgin Games I won’t sugarcoat it, getting your foot in the door at a game studio is never easy, especially when you’ve never worked in the industry before and don’t have a college degree in computer science (which was all the buzz back…
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Retro Reboots #1: “Honoring the Past, Upgrading the Play”
By William AndersonAwakenGames.com – Retro Reboots Series 💾 The Big Idea The games of the 1980s weren’t just nostalgia—they were blueprints. Simple, addictive, focused. But today’s players expect more. A retro reboot isn’t just about adding better graphics or more levels. It’s about upgrading the feel, the flow, and the fun—without losing the magic. “It’s…
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Prototyping & Playtesting #1: “Build Ugly, Learn Fast”
By William AndersonAwakenGames.com – Prototyping & Playtesting Series 🛠️ The Big Idea Perfection kills momentum. If you’re serious about making great gameplay, you need to give yourself permission to build something quick, messy, and testable. The sooner you can play it, the sooner you can improve it. “The faster you can play your idea, the…
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Level Design Deep Dives #1: “The First 30 Seconds: Teach Without Talking”
By William AndersonAwakenGames.com – Level Design Deep Dives Series 🧠 The Big Idea The first 30 seconds of a level are some of the most important in your entire game — because that’s when the player decides if they trust your design. Great level design teaches players how to play through action, not exposition. Players…
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Gameplay Design Tips #1: “Start with the Player, Not the Feature”
By William AndersonAwakenGames.com – Gameplay Design Tips Series When I first started designing games in the early 1990s, the temptation to dream up wild mechanics was strong, especially when working on titles like Cool Spot or Aladdin. But over time, I learned one of the most important lessons in gameplay design: Don’t start with the…
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