Issue #317 - Game Design, Profiling, Tools, and more
This article was originally published on GameDevDigest.com
Enjoy!
Humans in Games - Level up your game dev skills with these epic resources
Humans in Games
Polaris Game Design Reports - Reports produced by Polaris Game Design Retreat attendees. [Including Mechanical Comedy In Games, Toolkit for Cringe-safe Social Interactions, Embracing Player Pain: Designing For Permanent Loss and more]
Polaris Game Design Retreat
You Should Make Web Games - I recently realized that if it weren’t for the fact that making games for the web was possible, I would have probably never tried game development and stuck with it. While reflecting why this was the case, I came to the conclusion that there are certain characteristics about the web that makes it an ideal platform for beginners and more experienced game developers. That’s why I’d like to convince you to start making web games if you’re not doing so already.
jslegenddev.substack.com
Learn How to Turn a 2D Concept into an Animated 3D Scene Using Blender - Olga Kononenko talked about the workflow behind the Midnight Journey project, explaining how she used layers to build it in 3D, how she used camera settings for the projection, and the tools she used to animate the scene.
80.lv
Videos
How to optimize (almost) anything - Performance is one of the most important aspects of game development, but how do you actually approach it? Let's explore how to investigate a performance issue, and understand what steps and strategies we can employ.
SimonDev
CA If Jonas Tyroller Had To Start Over... - Jonas Tyroller (creator of Thronefall, Will You Snail, and co-creator of Islanders — both million+ sellers) shares his complete indie game dev blueprint for 2026, prototyping advice, business strategy, and brutally honest lessons from huge successes and near-misses.
Blake Gocey - Dev Dream Pod and Jonas Tyroller
Marshaling Demystified: C# and C++ Working Together - Marshaling is the process that allows managed C# code to safely exchange data with native code, and it’s at the center of every DLL call in Unity. In this video, we build a native library from scratch, call it from Unity, and step through exactly how data is copied, pinned, and shared across the managed-to-native boundary. Along the way, we cover ownership, lifetime, and the most common interop patterns so native code stops feeling mysterious and starts behaving predictably.
git-amend
Snowcap: GPU Profiling with Machine Learning | Al and Games #83 - Tommy sits down for a conversation with three developers involved in Snowcap's development - engine programming lead Franck Maestre, associate production director Elia Wrzesniewski, and expert data scientist David Renaudie - to find out how it works, how the project started out, and how it has evolved into an essential part of the process for artists and level designers working in Snowdrop.
AI and Games
Master Unity Terrain and Build Your Game World | Game Dev Tutorial - Learn how to use the Unity terrain tool to generate and sculpt terrain meshes.
Ironbark Games Studio
UI Toolkit Series: SVG Support in Unity 6.3 LTS - Say goodbye to blurry icons. In this video we cover how to use Scalable Vector Graphics (SVGs) in UI Toolkit to keep your interfaces razor-sharp at any resolution. We also look at the differences between SVG vs. bitmaps: See why vector graphics stay smooth while bitmaps blur when scaled.
Unity
24 Game Dev Tools in 10 Minutes - Here are my top 5 game dev tools I use in almost every game.
Tim Ruswick
Unity Input System: The Basics (Part 1) - Unity's Input System is now the default in Unity 6, replacing the old Input Manager. In this tutorial, I'll walk you through the fundamentals of Unity's event-based Input System — from understanding the core differences to implementing actions, events, and proper action references in your game. Whether you're migrating an existing project or starting fresh, this is everything you need to get started with modern input handling in Unity.
Gamedev Engine Room
Assets
World-Shaking Flash Deals - 70% off everything you need to build incredible worlds — for 24 hours only. New Assets drop daily.
Unity Affiliate
Unity-AnimationUI - Open source Motion/Tweening Tool/Library with Visual Editor with code or no code and easy drag and drop support for Unity Engine
DhafinFawwaz Open Source
BxUni-3dNoiseTextureGenerator - 3D noise texture generator for Unity Editor
bexide Open Source
SkinnedMeshDecals - An example of rendering decals on SkinnedMesh Renderers in Unity.
naelstrof Open Source
Jelly-Mesh-System - The JellyMesh System is a Unity component that adds jelly-like physics to any mesh (soft body)
roundyyy Open Source
Scene-Material-Manager - A powerful Unity Editor tool for managing and analyzing materials and shaders in your scene.
roundyyy Open Source
Tree-Cross-Quad-Impostor-Generator - Unity Editor tool for creating optimized cross-quad impostors for vegetation and trees
roundyyy Open Source
LOD-Optimizer - LOD Optimizer is a Unity Editor tool designed to optimize the Last Level of Detail (LOD) by creating texture atlases, significantly reducing draw calls for distant objects
roundyyy Open Source
Auto-Backup-Saver - AutoSaveScene is a Unity Editor tool that provides automatic scene backup functionality with configurable settings and notifications.
roundyyy Open Source
Cube-Impostor-Generator - The Cube Impostor Generator is a simple yet useful Unity Editor tool designed to create cube-shaped impostors for 3D objects
roundyyy Open Source
AmplifyOcclusion - Full source-code for Amplify Occlusion plugin for Unity
AmplifyCreations Open Source
test-helper - Custom attributes, constraints, and comparers for writing more expressive tests in Unity Test Framework
nowsprinting Open Source
UnityEditorGoogleDriveIntegration - Access your Google Drive™ files from within Unity editor
yasirkula Open Source
StateGraphTool - State Machine Tool using UI Toolkit & GraphView / Unity Editor Scripting
darkrainbowsprinkles Open Source
Rats - Some Harmony-based patches to Unity's Animator and Animation windows. It fixes some bugs, adds customization, and generally removes some of the annoyances of working with animators.
rrazgriz Open Source
DS code editor & scriptable game engine - scriptable 3D game engine for the Nintendo DS so you can write and run games directly on the console itself. Written in I built a C using libnds, it compiles to a ~100KB .nds ROM that runs at 60 FPS. Features a touch-based code editor on the bottom screen and real-time 3D rendering on the top screen. Ships with a working 3D pong game as the default script.
crl.io
This Godot Add-On Makes Transition Easier For Unity Developers - Feels like home, doesn't it?
80.lv
Shop up to 50% off Kevin Iglesias - Publisher Sale - Kevin Iglesias is a 3D animator focused on video games, offering a variety of ready-to-use humanoid animations and tools that help bring your character models to life.
Unity Affiliate
Battlefield Frontlines - Military Unreal Asset Super Pack - Lead the charge - Take the wheel and build the battlefield. Battlefield Frontlines is a massive collaboration between Dekogon Studios and Evolve Studios, valued at over $5,000 USD in professional Unreal Engine 5 assets licensed for full commercial use. This premium collection brings together 90+ top-rated Fab packs built for creating realistic military, survival, and post-conflict worlds. From drivable tanks and vehicles to modular bases, safe houses, industrial props, and urban ruins, every asset has been curated for cinematic quality and game-ready performance. Whether you’re designing a modern warzone, a fortified base, or a survivor’s last stand, Battlefield Frontlines gives you everything you need to build, battle, and command the ultimate combat environment—fully optimized for Nanite and Unreal Engine 5. Get the very best war assets and help support Trees, Water & People with your purchase!
Humble Bundle Affiliate
Battle Hardened Game Asset Bundle - Badass battle hardened game assets.
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Spotlight
When the Embers Wake - When the Embers Wake is a third person narrative adventure with a cause to create awareness about the very current and real threats on wildlife. You play as a red panda that needs to survive amidst environmental challenges, threats and also grief.
[You can wishlist it on Steam]
Llamaplay
My game, Call Of Dookie. Demo available on Steam
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