Top Indie Game Development Blogs

Published on 7th May 2009 by Colm | Post a comment

Are you interested in game development? Are you just starting to make games (like us) and want to find out as much as you can about how to design, build and promote your game? Well then it's time to put on your reading pants and get stuck in! Presenting my list of the very best game development blogs around:

The Best of the Best

Make It Big In Games

Top notch articles from Jeff Tunnell about the business of making & selling games. Exceedingly high average quality of posts.  A must-subscribe.

As an Indie game developer that is going to spend your own money to make a game, it is extremely important to decide which market you want to tackle, and that really comes down to what game you want to make. I believe it is incredibly important to only make games that you are passionate about. All game development gets hard, and when the going gets hard, the only thing that will get you through it is passion. Read full post

Lost Garden

Superb writing on art & design in games, with the fantastic bonus of giving away actual art resources you can use in your own games! Infrequent posts but totally worthwhile.

Out of all this discussion about graphics, never lose sight of the big picture. The single most important thing is for you to finish your game. Iterating towards completion is the root of all practical knowledge about game development. Putting a complete game in the hands of player is how you'll learn to make your future games shake the world to its core.

If you are telling yourself "Oh, I can't complete my game because I don't have an artist," be honest with yourself. You are making excuses. Graphics are not an impediment to making a great game. Do what ever it takes to finish your game. Read full post

The Bottom Feeder

Jeff Vogel has been making old-school single player RPGs since 1994 but only started blogging this year. A treasure trove of insight for indie game developers already, and will only get better.

I am going to give full sales results for our game Geneforge 4: Rebellion. I am not the first Indie developer to reveal this sort of information. However, most public sales figures come from projects that were either blockbusters or disastrous. But our games have never landed in either pool. I have been doing this for a living for almost fifteen years. I make good money, but I'm not a rich guy. At the same time, I have been unusually successful in this business, if for nothing else that I HAVE done it for a living for a long time. Read full post

The Forge

Interesting business-themed articles, particularly about charging models for MMOs, microtransactions & virtual goods.

Despite my obvious affection for virtual asset sales in a free-to-play model, I don’t think the decision to go free-to-play or subscription (or one of a myriad of other business models for MMOs) is that simple. It’s not purely about whether you’re reaching a larger audience and I don’t believe it’s a given that you’ll make more money, overall, with the free-to-play model. I think it’s largely dependent on the game you make and the audience that ends up developing for it. Read full post

Untold Entertainment Blog

Covers a variety of topics but what I really love are the rants (example below). Love the epic rants. More please!

You wouldn’t wax philosphical about how you’ll dilute the intellectual property or how the fanbase will criticize you for selling out. You’re running an advertising-based world, and as far as advertising goes, Coke is the holy grail. You will relax your muscles and allow the Coca-Cola corporation to ram its fistfuls of hot, sweaty cash wherever it so chooses. Read full post

game poetry

Great all-rounder blog covering business & technical advice with a slant towards Flash games.

The ultimate question for a sponsor is, “How much traffic will this game drive to my site?” The quality of your game is ultimately only important with regard to its potential distribution/viral spread, and its viral spread is only important with regard to how many clicks this will generate. But the CTR is crucial as well. A game with 1 million plays and a 5% CTR is not as valuable to a sponsor as a game with 600,000 plays and a 10% CTR.

So show your sponsor what kind of CTR your game can drive. Put in some placeholder branding. Show where the links will be. If you’re willing to offer some exclusive content, show the sponsor — make one version with the content unlocked, and another version with it locked and what the link back to the sponsor’s site to play this content will look like. Don’t wait for a sponsor to request these things. Read full post

Worth A Look

MochiLand: Mochi Media run this community blog that showcases top flash games and content written by game developers themselves. Example

DESIGNER NOTES: Writings by one of the designers on Civ 3 and 4 – I particularly like the longer posts. Example

Photon Storm: Focused on flash game development and marketing. Definitely check out the example. Example

8-Bit Rocket: Covers a bit of a wide variety of things (from Atari retro to Flash to Silverlight), perhaps too wide! Example

Flash Truth: Flash games, particularly the business side of things; some great stuff. Example

Emanuele Feronato: Flash games & more. A little too much filler but I found the 'numbers' posts to be excellent. Example

Streaming Colour Dev Blog: Some great posts about (not) making money in the iPhone space. Example

Ludus Novus: Really, really like the column he's writing for GameSetWatch, follow the blog to find out when they are posted. Example

Freelance Flash Games News: A mixed bag of flash gamedev related stuff. Example

Gaming Your Way: Frequent gamedev tips & other nuggets. Example

Made That Cool Game

2D Boy Blog: Creators of World of Goo.

Kloonigames Blog: Creator of Crayon Physics Deluxe

Cliffski's Blog: Creator of Democracy / Kudos

Wolfire Blog: Creators of Lugaru / Overgrowth

Braid Blog: Creator of Braid

Suggest More!

I'm always on the lookout for quality game development blogs, so if you know some I haven't covered please leave a comment! Any that make it into my RSS reader and survive my next RSS-pruning massacre will be added into this post.

Update

Plenty of good gamedev blogs suggested in the comments. Check out these worthy additions to the list:

Michael James Williams: Very focused blog with excellent AS3 tutorials, including a full series showing how to make an avoider game.

Mr Sun Studios: Another blog focused on AS3 game tutorials, with a big backlog of articles.

Trent Polack: Excellent game design blog, in particular check out the game design round table posts.

Iain Lobb: Only just subscribed but it's pretty good so far- a mix of flash and general game design.

Tales of the Rampant Coyote: Excellent blog covering design & development of RPGs of all kind. Nicely focused!

Troy Gilbert: Another good one with plenty of reading in the archives.

That should satisfy your RSS cravings for a while!

Posted in: Game Development |

Thanks for reading! Now check out Guild of Dungeoneering, a game I'm making where you build the dungeon instead of controlling the hero! \o/
Comments are currently closed on this post.

69 Comments

  1. I definitely would recommend Michael James Williams:
    http://gamedev.michaeljameswilliams.com/

    His avoider game tutorial is a must read for beginners (AS3).

    Mr Sun Studios also have lots of great tutorials (Both AS2 and AS3):
    http://www.mrsunstudios.com/

    Posted by Snurre on May 7th, 2009 at 2:59 pm

  2. Hey guys! Thanks for the shout out on Make It Big In Games. I linked back to give you a little Google love.

    Jeff Tunnell

    Posted by Jeff Tunnell on May 7th, 2009 at 3:33 pm

  3. I would recommend adding Tales of the Rampant Coyote
    http://www.rampantgames.com/blog/ … must-read for RPG designers!

    Posted by sascha/hdrs on May 7th, 2009 at 4:00 pm

  4. I'm sure that "Best 'til last" phrase applies here.

    Thanks for the shout out mate, and I was surprised the example was actually something useful rather than the hate filled rants that make up the majority of our output.

    Posted by Squize on May 7th, 2009 at 5:42 pm

  5. Awesome list, thanks!

    Posted by Tim Aste on May 7th, 2009 at 7:40 pm

  6. Who's that guy… Iain something?

    http://blog.iainlobb.com

    Posted by Iain on May 7th, 2009 at 7:53 pm

  7. Nice list, thanks for putting it together! We've got a site which focuses on game industry job listings, and we especially love to highlight small or indie studios. We've recently had ads go up from companies like Giant Sparrow and thatgamecompany. Here's the blog: http://gamejobhunter.com/blog/

    Posted by Paul Teall on May 8th, 2009 at 9:15 am

  8. I think I've got some decent indie stuff on my blog, but I'm not as prolific as some of the other suggestions (though I'd like to be). Some great stuff in the archives about Flash, IMHO.

    http://troygilbert.com/

    Posted by Troy Gilbert on May 8th, 2009 at 4:10 pm

  9. Thanks for the suggestions guys, some great ones in the comments.

    Posted by Colm on May 11th, 2009 at 4:49 pm

  10. Here's another indie game development blog: http://www.catnapgames.com/blog
    Check out the "Highlights" section for the most interesting bits.

    Posted by Tom on May 20th, 2009 at 11:16 am

  11. [...] has a nice list of the top indie game dev blogs. He clearly meant to put Freelance Flash Games as the Best of the Best but he didn't want to [...]

    Posted by A Freelancer’s Flash Bash [2] | Freelance Flash Games News on May 22nd, 2009 at 5:01 pm

  12. 8bitrocket.com too broad!
    Oh, yeah, well, you are very right about that.
    There used to be a store in our neightboorhood named "Some Things Fishy".
    They sold: Tropical fish, imported candy, and soccer sporting goods. Basically all the things that the owner loved.

    I like to think of 8bitrocket.com as the "Some Things Gamey" (sic) of indie game dev blogs.

    Thanks for themention.

    Posted by Steve on May 28th, 2009 at 11:49 pm

  13. Well http://reviews.gamesafoot.com might be good.

    I guess I'm not big enough to have people actually recommend me yet.

    Posted by Keith Weatherby II on May 31st, 2009 at 7:26 am

  14. I will second the vote for rampantgames.com/blog/ Really nice and active RPG game dev. blog.

    Also if anyone cares my blog is not directly related to game dev. but I post about my game dev. in it (it's my programming blog) http://codejustin.com

    Posted by My Game Dev Blog on June 5th, 2009 at 6:02 pm

  15. [...] Top Indie Game Development Blogs games blog development [...]

    Posted by Super.licio.us | Superlevel on June 21st, 2009 at 8:01 pm

  16. Thanks so much for the mention! Untold Entertainment is in very good company on this list. Great picks, everyone!

    - Ryan

    Posted by Ryan Henson Creighton on June 22nd, 2009 at 1:53 am

  17. I'll third vote for rampantgames – it's good.

    Here's one more (mine):

    http://www.gameproducer.net (sales stats and more…)

    Posted by Juuso on June 22nd, 2009 at 3:05 pm

  18. This blog is by the creator of Jetpack: http://www.jetpackhq.com/blog

    Posted by Jetpack Game on July 6th, 2009 at 6:13 pm

  19. I just started a blog called 'Create and Sell your own games' at http://dev.koonsolo.com. There are already a few articles on there, which should give you an idea about the content ;).

    Posted by Koen Witters on July 24th, 2009 at 8:30 pm

  20. Hey just found your blog ( after you commented on mine :P ) Good stuff.
    Should add me: http://www.cheezeworld.com

    Posted by Colbycheeze on September 3rd, 2009 at 3:06 pm

  21. [...] Top Indie Developer Blogs – We were delighted and honoured to find ourselves among such great sources on this list, which was posted by the buys at Gambrinous [...]

    Posted by untoldentertainment.com » Start Me Up – Great Lists of Links for Game Developers on September 9th, 2009 at 9:47 pm

  22. I'd like to recommend my blog which is about game development, running your own company, and positive thinking/motivation: http://greyaliengames.com/blog/

    Posted by Jake Birkett on September 14th, 2009 at 7:04 pm

  23. Thank you for sharing such a nice post…this post will helpful more to the game developers…

    Posted by James on January 28th, 2010 at 12:01 pm

  24. Saltmarch Media is organizing India Game Developer Summit Event in Bangalore. This Summit will be a boost for the Game Developing Industries. It covers the topics like Online Gaming, Gaming Business, Gaming Career, Making Money in Gaming, Audio in Gaming, Mobile Gaming and Adobe Flash Platform and has 1 day workshop at the end as well. Any one attending this event?

    Register at gamedevelopersummit dot com

    Posted by Roopa Sharma on February 1st, 2010 at 8:33 am

  25. Not so indy, but invaluable (written by the technical director of God of War):
    http://realtimecollisiondetection.net/blog/

    Posted by sourcerror on May 18th, 2010 at 3:03 pm

  26. This is a great list – definitely a few that are new to me!

    Posted by dan on August 13th, 2010 at 12:05 pm

  27. [...] Top Indie Game Development Blogs (Gambrinous Blog) [...]

    Posted by The Big List Of Indie Marketing And Business Tips on August 17th, 2010 at 4:31 pm

  28. I write about game design on my blog (e.g., http://www.significant-bits.com/what-made-those-old-2d-platformers-so-great), and my company's site also tries to be pretty transparent (e.g., http://www.incubatorgames.com/index.php/20100527/inplay-2010-recap/). Hopefully you guys might find some interesting stuff there.

    Posted by Radek on August 19th, 2010 at 5:05 pm

  29. [...] via Top Indie Game Development Blogs | Gambrinous Blog. [...]

    Posted by Top Indie Game Development Blogs | Gambrinous Blog « Trent's Blog on January 4th, 2011 at 3:35 pm

  30. I make a bunch of fun games, but i guess i am not so much a resource site.
    http://jjwallace.info/blog/

    Posted by Jesse Wallace on January 4th, 2011 at 8:06 pm

  31. I wish i could contribute to those lists, sadly all my bookmarks have been already mentioned.
    And there are alot more i didnt know about – thanks for that list!

    Posted by Vega on January 21st, 2011 at 12:11 am

  32. Hi,

    Here is my new blog.

    http://blog.raggededge-online.com/

    Posted by Christophe on April 4th, 2011 at 10:44 pm

  33. Hey everyone -

    My blog, and even a playable game (BAM, take that naysayers!) is available at http://www.gbmproductions.net/

    Its even updated regularly. Thinking about writing more in-depth development stuff or game theory stuff if people are interested, too.

    I'll try to get some links together on my page to others blogs as well, and we can have a good link circle going if you guys would be into that. More google love for everyone!

    Cheers,
    Marcin

    Posted by Marcin Tasz on May 3rd, 2011 at 5:41 pm

  34. Hmm… A few of them seemed good, but a few were also a little outdated. It's annoying when you find a great blog on game dev and you find that the last post was a year ago…. :(

    I want to find a dev blog for indie iphone game makers…

    Posted by Dan -FullCircleGames on June 27th, 2011 at 10:08 pm

  35. I'm interested in building a game and I wanted to know that if i take help of any publisher like .. say chillingo .. what shares would be mine? any one have any idea?

    Posted by myra on August 24th, 2011 at 7:54 am

  36. I am developing a bad@#! indie game. Pure Breed Defense is the worlds first full 3D Tower Defense game with the only 3D chat room I know of. Got object and terrain manipulation like Minecraft as well. The presentation is on YouTube if you are interested –> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz_4vaX9iDA

    Posted by Robert Steckroth on September 12th, 2011 at 2:25 am

  37. Here's my own indie game dev blog if anyone's interested in checking it out: http://www.joshforde.com/blog/ . I post updates on my games as they progress, and I also sometimes post various ramblings on gaming and game development.

    Posted by Josh Forde on October 2nd, 2011 at 1:50 am

  38. http://milkyjoegames.blogspot.com/

    Here's another one.

    Posted by MJoe on November 15th, 2011 at 12:55 am

  39. http://www.flashmush.com

    I hope this one can make your fabulous list some day. =)

    Posted by FlashMush on November 29th, 2011 at 4:20 am

  40. Thought you might like out blog, its kinda informal but contains a bit of everything.

    http://drcaptainmorgan.tumblr.com/

    nice list though; thanks for sharing!

    Posted by Drunken Pixel on March 13th, 2012 at 6:28 pm

  41. I'm trying to break into full-time indieness, too and have been blogging regularly for more than 6 years now, albeit, I only got to finish one game that I published for free. My next game should probably be called "an illustrated guide on the effects of procrastination". Or something like that :D

    I'd feel honored if you considered my tiny blog. It's a bit techy, but definitely not short on quality: http://blog.nuclex-games.com/

    Cheers!

    Posted by Cygon on April 7th, 2012 at 2:21 pm

  42. http://ItShouldJustWorkTM.com

    Just started this three weeks ago. Already contains the video and slides of my GDC 2012 talk (Developing Imperfect Software), and a couple of articles. Plan to write about two articles per month. Keep an eye on it. Incoming links and site visitors are definitely a motivating factor.

    @RonPieket on Twitter

    Posted by Ron Pieket on April 9th, 2012 at 6:28 am

  43. I figure you should just save your money and work hard to promote yourself.

    "Indie Game" The Movie has inspired me to tell my story.

    Episode:1
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbKQ779W-w4&feature=relmfu

    Episode:2
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rs_cO6RQwI&feature=relmfu

    Episode: 3
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2iWFgkeqb0

    Posted by Wayman Harris on May 5th, 2012 at 5:53 am

  44. Hi everybody! If you want create game, go to http://devby.ru – We develop game with Unity3d, Photon for Android, Pc and another platform. Enjoy!)

    Posted by afrokick on August 9th, 2012 at 4:30 pm

  45. Started a blog on making games, post it if you think it's worth it :)

    http://blog.manuvra.com/

    Posted by Guy on August 14th, 2012 at 2:28 pm

  46. I've got a dozen or so articles so far up on indygamedev.com – Unity3D, Blender and Android so far.

    Posted by Borrus on September 2nd, 2012 at 2:12 pm

  47. Also check out my DevBlog for WorldAlpha at: http://www.worldalpha.com/devblog

    Posted by Michael Koehler on September 4th, 2012 at 4:55 pm

  48. Try this one http://4250.me
    They're got some games (mostly 2D stuff) and some interesting rants on game design. Mostly tools, design and a few personal posts here and there from what I read.

    Posted by SL on October 15th, 2012 at 8:39 am

  49. Great list here. I'd also like to recommend my blog: Indie Game Girl (http://www.indiegamegirl.com). Indie Game Girl is not a development blog, but rather a FREE marketing resource that helps indie game developers learn how to promote their games with step-by-step instruction.

    Posted by Emmy Jonassen on October 16th, 2012 at 9:24 pm

  50. I would recommend checking out facebook page for indie game developers http://www.facebook.com/world.of.game.business

    Posted by PC on November 2nd, 2012 at 6:29 am

  51. Great list, we'd also like to recommend our iPhone Game Development blog at: http://www.fanstudio.co.uk. Thank you!

    Posted by iPhone Game Development UK on February 5th, 2013 at 2:30 pm

  52. There is another great blog http://blogs.shephertz.com/ which gets updated regularly and is quite simple to understand.

    Posted by Isha Gupta on May 30th, 2013 at 12:13 pm

  53. Two of my Favorites:
    http://procworld.blogspot.de/
    http://www.sea-of-memes.com/
    They cover not exactly commercial Game Development, but more specific techniques and Problems/Solutions. Definitly worth a look, for (hobby) Developers and people interested in Game Development.

    Posted by Ivan on June 27th, 2013 at 2:06 pm

  54. Slicing, dicing, ninja action 2d platform fun! Simply arcade fun, influenced by old school games like Shinobi, and Ninja Gaiden (NES):

    - RoamingNinja http://www.roamingninja.com

    Still in early development, but hey, never too early to get on board :)

    Posted by Sean Hubbard on July 18th, 2013 at 1:57 pm

  55. Hello,

    I'm Michal Kucharski from Software Developer's Journal magazine (www.sdjournal.org).

    I really would like to talk to you about our magazine. Would you like to review Software Developer's Journal on your blog? It would be cooperation based on barter exchange. What we offer is free subscription for every issue you review on your blog.

    SDJ magazine is online publication that is created by developers for developers. Our databaes is 60 000 members who subscirbed to our newlsetter. Please check out our website to find out more.

    Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

    –

    Best regards,
    MICHAŁ KUCHARSKI
    Software Developer's Journal

    Posted by Michal Kucharski on August 2nd, 2013 at 1:27 pm

  56. Hello,
    Fleischman Field Research, a San Francisco market research firm is putting together 75 minute focus groups for Game Designers and/or Game Developers on September 4th in San Francisco, CA. We need people who design and/or develop mobile games full/part time, or as a hobby! If you qualify and participate you would be compensate $175!!
    If interested please fill out the link below or call Akilah at 415-655-2090 ext 135.
    https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8BVJPQD
    Thank you and we hope you can participate!

    Posted by Lisa Chiapetta on August 29th, 2013 at 6:42 pm

  57. I suggest yotesgames.com for any people interested in entering the games industry in the future. On it I give advice, updates on my current projects, and share experiences I have on my still ongoing journey into professional indie game development.
    As a college student making mobile games in order to build the skill I need to make the games of my dreams, I want to leave a sort of charted path for others with similar goals to follow. I update the blog daily and detail my development accomplishments and goals weekly.

    Posted by Tony Yotes on September 6th, 2013 at 6:16 pm

  58. http://www.yotesgames.com/ for indie and student developers.

    Posted by Tony Yotes on September 6th, 2013 at 6:18 pm

  59. Best Game Strategy For Real Money

    I think the start of Market Glory is not too intimidating or force player to spent money than my experience with other game. it's really fun play a game and having chatting with other while add real Euro or money here that i will explain to you how to do that. Anyways, here is guide how to start Market Glory on the right path. –
    See more at: http://goo.gl/TH0raQ

    Posted by emie on September 28th, 2013 at 1:27 am

  60. Great blog!

    Posted by Irene Renko on October 7th, 2013 at 7:35 pm

  61. Hellow Fellow Gamer,

    We made a Christian Motivation Family Game Walk to Jesus – we hope religious content doesnt bother you, because game is professionally made for top quality (it is even printed by the same manufacturer that makes Monopoly for Hasbro) and it comes with many gaming innovations like multiple lane board, players must help their opponents to win, more than one player can win etc, it is also one of the most beautifully illustrated games on the market.

    We just started a Kickstarter campaign and we would be very thankful to you if you could write a post about it and help us reach our goal; we would also post a back link to your blog on our website.

    Please download PDF version of the game for your testing: walktojesus.com/WalkToJesusPDF1.pdf

    Find us on Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1297869201/walk-to-jesus-christian-motivation-family-game

    Contact me for any other information or if you would like to speak with game author at rose@valueadgames.com

    Sincerely
    Rose Hiyas
    Value Ad Games, public relations officer

    Posted by Rosemary on November 9th, 2013 at 4:07 am

  62. Please support us by attending the 3rd International Independent Video Games Festival in Berlin. LIVE and FREE. :) https://voicerepublic.com/venues/155

    Posted by James on April 11th, 2014 at 7:40 am

  63. Thanks for that :*

    Posted by niks on May 19th, 2014 at 1:35 pm

  64. Just wondering what's a good way to get your game marketed ?

    Posted by Phil mac on August 8th, 2014 at 8:22 pm

  65. Good article with some top game3 development blogs. Can I also recommend http://gamedevelopment.biz/ which outlines a lot of the software and tools than can be used to make games. Mainly aimed at beginners.

    Posted by Geoff on September 8th, 2014 at 11:35 pm

  66. Hi,
    Great list. Thanks for sharing.

    My game is

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.intuitionsoftech.hoppingbird

    It's free to download.

    Posted by Intuition on October 14th, 2014 at 6:42 am

  67. Im creating a game.
    Visit us at polaric.wordpress.com

    Posted by Enclo Creations on November 28th, 2014 at 1:05 am

  68. […] Top Indie Game Development Blogs | Gambrinous Blog – Are you interested in game development? Are you just starting to make games (like us) and want to find out as much as you can about how to design, build and promote …… […]

    Posted by Dev Development Indie Android Design Games | Free Android Games on November 29th, 2014 at 7:38 pm

  69. Thanks for sharing these links.
    I just want to add one more thing: It takes some time to develop an engine – and a game editor. For those who want to publish a game – they have a story to say – it may be useful to use a finished free engine like GameStylus (http://gamestylus.com) + free on-line game editor. No programming required!

    Posted by Petr from GameStylus on December 13th, 2014 at 5:34 pm