Smalltalk’s influence goes far beyond object-oriented programming. Its emphasis on rapid iteration, messaging, live objects, and interactive development still offers valuable lessons for modern game developers.
Dieter Rams developed his Ten Principles of Good Design for physical products, but they also provide a surprisingly useful framework for game development. Here’s how they can guide clearer, more purposeful, and more player-focused design across any game engine.
Before building gameplay in Unreal Engine, it helps to understand the framework that quietly appears when you press Play. Game Mode, Player Controller, Character, Game State, Player State, and Game Instance each have a specific job.
A practical naming convention for Unreal Engine projects, covering project names, content folders, maps, Blueprints, widgets, input actions, data assets, modules, and plugins. The goal is simple: keep your project clean, searchable, and scalable before asset chaos takes over.
My interest in game development began in the mid-1980s—it sparked a fascination with systems, decisions, and consequences. Decades later, that curiosity has evolved into a new cyberpunk project exploring how technology, incentives, and human judgment interact in a near-future world.
This first devlog outlines a systems-driven approach to game development—why sustainable goals matter, how assumptions shape scope, and how those ideas translate into the early design of a turn-based tactical simulation in a speculative near-future setting.