Josh Bycer
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Game Design Critic, Author, and Consultant. Plays all indie games. game-wisdom.com youtube.com/c/game-wisdom. Discord: discord.gg/jGWxsj2e
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Articles by Josh Bycer
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 52
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not widely played, for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers at SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Please share your favorite hidden gems in the comments. Josh Bycer Cursed 1 remake. Source: Steam.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 51
Hidden Gems Phantom 2040 SNES Metroidvania Source: SUPERJUMP. Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not widely played, for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers at SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Please share your favorite hidden gems in the comments. Josh Bycer Source: Author.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 50
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and not widely played, for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. This month, we've reached a major milestone in this iconic SUPEJUMP feature: our 50th Volume, a half-century of Hidden Gems! For this special issue, I gave the writers an additional challenge – pick a game from your childhood that you never heard anyone else talk about. Addams Family Values. Source: Author.
Jackpot City Canada No Deposit Bonus And Welcome Offers
Understanding Bonus Offers at Jackpot City Canada For Canadian online gaming enthusiasts, Jackpot City has long been a prominent name, offering a vast selection of casino games and a reputation for quality. Many players actively seek out no deposit bonuses as a way to test a casino’s offerings without committing their own funds. While the allure of a free bonus is strong, it’s important to understand the current promotional landscape at this establishment.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 49
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and not widely played, for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers at SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Please share your favorite hidden gems in the comments.
American McGee on Plushie Dreadful, Dreadful Land, and Building a Brand
I recently sat down with American McGee — the former id Software designer behind American McGee's Alice (2000) and Alice: Madness Returns (2011) — for a podcast interview about his return to games with Dreadful Land.During our talk, we discussed this notion of aesthetics and how he himself, along with the original Alice games, were really the first time in the industry that a particular look and aesthetic was tied to a person in marketing — and what that can mean for developers today.
50 Ways to Ruin Your Indie Game (and How to Avoid Them)
Covering the game industry and indie development for so long has given me insight into the many ways a game can end up failing before it's even out — either from a death by a thousand cuts, or one very huge cut. Think of the list below less as a catalogue of sins and more as a roadmap of pitfalls worth sidestepping on the way to shipping. We're going to go over some of the many things that can ruin an indie game before release.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 48
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and not widely played, for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers at SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Please share your favorite hidden gems in the comments. Josh Bycer Source: Steam. This month's pick is one of those titles that fits me perfectly.
The Problems with Piecemeal DLC
Because I have nothing else going on and all the free time in the world, I decided in late 2025 to try another mega mod change for a game, Phoenix Point's Terror From the Void fan mod. The mod was intended to combine all the DLC released into one coherent game. Looking at the DLC on Steam, the reviews range from good to bad to horrible. When it comes to DLC or expansions for games, developers have tried different methods for how they fit, and you need to be sure of what you're adding to your game.
Mouse P.I. for Hire Is a Pretty Face, but Not Much to Shoot For
Mouse P.I. For Hire is in a similar place to the famed Cuphead at its release — a game built on a traditional gameplay genre, but using a very impressive art style and animation to elevate the experience. Both games use rubber-hose animation to give the feeling of playing a cartoon, but having gone through both, I find Mouse P.I. to be a massive letdown. It is a case where the art writes a check that the gameplay can’t cover, a good study in the failure of worldbuilding and game design.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 47
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and not widely played, for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers at SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Please share your favorite hidden gems in the comments. Josh Bycer Source: Steam.
The Gameplay of Gacha
It's been a few years since I wrote my book on Free to Play games, and gacha and free-to-play design continue to dominate on mobile. Long-term successes like Marvel Contest of Champions (MCOC), Mortal Kombat Mobile, Fate Grand Order, and Dragon Ball Legends have had massive anniversaries. At the same time, games like Arknights, Reverse 1999, and Limbus Company boast impressive numbers that have allowed their studios to continue growing.
Looking Back (and Forward) at the Success of Vampire Survivors
It has been about four years since the release of Vampire Survivors (VS) blew up the indie space and created the “bullet-heaven” genre. Developers have been chasing after the game's success ever since. With the latest DLC inspired by Castlevania, I jumped back into the game to see if the gameplay still works today in light of the many games I’ve played since. Surprisingly, it does, and has lessons to teach the games that are trying to vie for the crown.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Volume 46
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and not widely played, for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers at SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Please share your favorite hidden gems in the comments.
Thoughts on Being a First-Time Game Design Consultant
I've had many projects and plates spinning these days between writing books, the YouTube channel, and all these design articles I've written. Another challenge I took on in late 2024 and through 2025 was offering my expertise as a consultant for a smaller indie company, Honor Games. Their first release, Charge!, is out now, and they allowed me to go over my thoughts on observing a game development cycle for the first time in my career.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 45
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and not widely played, for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers at SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Please share your favorite hidden gems in the comments. Vítor M. Costa Comics like this sometimes appear during level transitions. Source: Draknek & Friends/Author.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 44
,Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely, for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers at SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Please share your favorite hidden gems in the comments.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 43
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely, for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers at SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Please share your favorite hidden gems in the comments. Josh Bycer Source: Author.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 42
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely, for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers at SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Please share your favorite hidden gems in the comments. Josh Bycer Source: Steam.
Thoughts on Silent Hill F
Silent Hill F is not only the first brand new survival horror game in the franchise in a long time, but also the series' first spin-off, bringing the action to new locales and situations. We leave the horrors of America for a trip to 1960s Japan. While the game presents a fresh take on the series, its gameplay feels like it's being pulled between two horrors. Cursed All Over The story follows Hinako, a teenage girl in a rural mountain town.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 41
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers on SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Please share your favorite hidden gems in the comments. Josh Bycer This month, we turn to one of the most niche of the niche games.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 40
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers on SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Let us know your favorite hidden gems in the comments.
The Appeal of Wholesome Games and Wholesome Direct
While writing my next book on the cozy/wholesome genres, I had a chance to interview Matthew Taylor, founder of Wholesome Direct. We discussed the showcase, what makes a game wholesome, and why these kinds of games are needed now more than ever. From the outside, it’s easy to assume that if a game is meant to be for casual fans, then it must also be cozy/wholesome. In your opinion, what needs to be in a game, either mechanically, aesthetically, or both, that would qualify it as wholesome?
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 39
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers on SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Let us know your favorite hidden gems in the comments.
Studying Game Design Through Empiricism
There are armchair video game design critics everywhere. Not only is video game design discussed regularly on social media through platforms like YouTube and Twitch, it's also now widely taught as a subject in universities around the world. You might be tempted to think that video game discourse has reached a level of maturity where game design analysis is a settled or exact science.
Peak: Climbing and Falling With Friends
Original co-op games are some of my favorites to check out with friends. Recently, fellow SUPERJUMP writer Taylor and I had a chance to play the game Peak from developers Aggrocrab and Landfall (who worked on Peak as a joint venture known appropriately as LandCrab). Peak is a roguelike climbing adventure for up to four friends who don’t fear heights or working together. If you don’t mind some stumbling (and falling) along the way, this is a great game for a group.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Volume 38
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers on SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Let us know your favorite hidden gems in the comments.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Volume 37
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely for various reasons. Maybe itâs a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasnât there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, Iâve asked my fellow writers on SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Let us know your favorite hidden gems in the comments. Josh Bycer What if you combined a puzzle platformer with the imagery of H.R. Giger?
Creating Compelling Coop Game Design
LFGameplay 2024 was not a good year for live service multiplayer experiences, with many of the older ones AAA developers attempted not even in service anymore. While I was thinking about the failure of Gotham Knights, and looking at the response to Suicide Squad, major studios and publishers are failing to understand the lessons of good multiplayer that games like Lethal Company, Helldivers 2, Deep Rock Galactic, and Left 4 Dead did right.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 36
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers on SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Let us know your favorite hidden gems in the comments.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 35
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely for various reasons. Maybe itās a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasnāt there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, Iāve asked my fellow writers on SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Let us know your favorite hidden gems in the comments.
Crafting Creeper World: An Interview with Knuckle Cracker
Interview The Creeper World series has represented a different take on real-time strategy design over the years thanks to its focus on fighting against an unending force known as "The Creeper". The fifth game in the series is changing things up, most noticeably through a shift from 3D to 2D design. I recently spoke with the game's creator, Knuckle Cracker.
The Variety of Design With Live Service Games
Making the Most out of Your Game and Profit With all the live service games I’ve played over the years and the research into my book on free-to-play design, I haven’t stopped to try and catalog the different content that can be made for mobile and live service, as it’s a fascinating breakdown of what goes into making money in these games and why there never is enough.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Vol 34
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers on SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Let us know your favorite hidden gems in the comments.
The Role and Difficulty of Skill-Based Matchmaking
Activision’s findings about skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) are an important read about the challenges and misconceptions of creating a competitive and friendly online atmosphere. But it also drives home one of the hardest aspects of these games and how it relates to matchmaking and balancing a game: what does skill mean in a game? A winner is...you?
Hidden Gems of Game Design Volume 33
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers on SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Let us know your favorite hidden gems in the comments.
šļø Bosskey Newsletter 26 -AI Generated Doom Game, Concord F2P lessons, Deadlock Lore
Welcome to another BossKey Newsletter Update š®Doom AI generated šDeadlock Lore is all about Magic moba steampunk š± Concord what it got wrong on Live Service Design Recently Doom Got recreated or cloned by AI. This came up in one of the AI Newsletter I follow. The Gist is that Doom GameNGen is a realtime diffusion based engine sending frames of training data to the screen in real time. In my basic understanding its a real-time video generator.
Why Building Great Games is About More Than Numbers
I was reading a piece recently on Game Developer that gave me pause about the meaning of game design at the AAA level: is it really about focusing on analytics and trying to “math” the perfect game? A monumental shift occurred in the 2010s with the rise of the indie development scene. But one important conversation that is often missed in the context of that shift is the assumptions about AAA development and which of these can/should be put to rest.
2024 Games of the Year
Games of the Year Welcome to SUPERJUMP's annual Games of the Year celebration. As always, I like to introduce these awards by expressing gratitude for the year gone by. Thank you game developers. You are creating marvels of art and science - important cultural artifacts - under increasingly difficult circumstances. Whether you work for a large studio or you're a solo developer: thank you.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Volume 32
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers on SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Let us know your favorite hidden gems in the comments. Josh Bycer The indie space led to many different genre resurgences and reveals throughout the 2010s.
The Game Dev Over-Design Trap
I have played plenty of video games at this point and have noticed that - when it comes to originality in game design - you're often guaranteed to find it in the indie space (especially from first-time developers). It's understandable that many game designers want to be "the first to create X" or "take Y genre in a new direction". But there are risks associated with these goals, especially in relation to something I call the over-design trap.
The Marvelous Monetization of Marvel’s Contest of Champions
Digital Extremes, Grinding Gear Games, and Hoyoverse are just a few of the big names in mobile and live service that I have covered. Yet, a single mobile game stands out for its enduring popularity, continuous evolution through new content, and yearly revenue in the millions. In terms of gameplay and monetization, Kablam’s Marvel Contest of Champions is exceptionally unique.
Prince of Persia's accessibility is inaccessible to some
At the Game Awards, it was easy to blink and miss the award for best accessibility feature in a game for 2024, with the winner going to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. You may be hard-pressed to know what it did, as the award show did not mention any of the accessibility features being nominated. But having played through the entire game, I know what they were talking about, and at the same time, I have some issues with saying it was the best example of accessibility for 2024.
Prince of Persia's Accessibility Is Inaccessible to Some
At the Game Awards, it was easy to blink and miss the award for the best accessibility feature in a game for 2024, with the winner going to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. You may be hard-pressed to know what it did, as the award show did not highlight any of the accessibility features being nominated. Although I completed the game, I’m hesitant to call it the best example of accessibility in 2024, despite understanding the developers’ intentions.
Is Starcraft 2’s Strategy Design Still a Winning Formula?
I recently played through all of the Command & Conquer games while researching my new book on real-time strategy games. It made sense, of course, to also check out the other equally-famous RTS series: StarCraft. Though I didn't have time to make my way through the entirety of the original game, I did play through its sequel (as both the Terrans and the Zerg on the highest difficulty).
Hidden Gems of Game Design Volume 31
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers on SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Let us know your favorite hidden gems in the comments. Josh bycer Since it’s the holiday season here, I have the perfect game for my entry this month.
Hidden Gems of Game Design Volume 30
Plenty of amazing games go unnoticed and are not played widely for various reasons. Maybe it’s a diamond in the rough, or the marketing wasn’t there, or it could be a game ahead of its time. For this monthly series, I’ve asked my fellow writers on SUPERJUMP to pick a game they think is deserving of a chance in the spotlight. Let us know your favorite hidden gems in the comments.
Why you can't objectively build great games
I was reading a game design piece that gave me pause for a second about whether this is what game design at the AAA level is about now — focusing on analytics and trying to “math” the perfect game. A monumental shift that more people haven’t talked about occurred in the 2010’s with the rise of the indie industry and how it put to rest a lot of the assumptions about AAA development.
The Best of Steam Nextfest October 2024
While I’ve been posting showcase videos from Valve's latest demo extravaganza, also known as Steam Nextfest, it’s time to sit down and actually pick my overall favorite demos and games I really want to play when they are released. If you want to catch all the videos, you can watch my playlist from the event. With that said, here are my picks in the order that I played them. Mohrta My first pick is for what appears to be a mix of Dark Souls with Doom.
Examining Live Service Design
I recently discussed the challenges around gacha games, both in terms of their design and the way we cover them as games journalists. While there are those who vehemently oppose gacha games in principle, it's worth remembering that these games make serious money (often somewhere in the region of $40-50 million per month for successful titles).
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