-
Figma for game design?
updated 1 year, 10 months ago
7 Members
·
18
Posts
-
Hi Matthew,
I haven’t used Figma personally (having thought of it, likely incorrectly, as more of a web design tool), but can attest to Miro (http://miro.com/) being a fantastic tool for quick mockup, sketching, flowchart, mind-mapping and prototyping designs. Basic free tier and apps available on all platforms too.
Would also be interested in other people’s experiences too and alternative tools.
-
Hey @rolerite
Miro is the best whiteboard app by far and I also use that at work. Does it have the ability to export frames as files? I’ve never tried that.
Firma is a web-based vector based graphics tool which really shines for creating prototypes for apps, websites, and graphic design. I think the auto-layout and component features would be really great for doing card designs, but I haven’t tried it yet.
For brainstorming/jamming/mind mapping or white board apps, my tool suggestions are this.
1. Figjam is easy to use, small feature set, and fun to collaborate in real time
2. Whimsical has a larger tool set while still being a simple and visually pleasant tool
3. Miro has the largest toolset but can be overwhelming and take time to learn
-
Hey @matthewpmunger
I am currently using Figma too. I’m in an early phase, but so far so good.
I have printed a couple of prototypes using an integration with Google Sheets, where I create instances of few components that then get automatically updated on Figma.
I do wonder if I will eat a roadblock once I need to finalize some designs and I will have to move to something like InDesign, but I will see I guess.
How’s your experience been like?
-
Hey @drewlr , I haven’t tried yet, but you’re giving me hope. 😆 I would prefer an Airtable integration but can be flexible on that. Seems like I should talk to the product designers at my work for some advice. The workflow seems more than plausible.
Who knows, maybe I can report back here with a good system.
-
Well, if you work in game design in a professional setting, definitely let us know 🙂
I know few other people use Figma, there are a couple of threads on the FB group.
There seems to be an open source integration with AirTable, which doesn’t seem to work consistently unfortunately.
I’d love some thing more proper than Sheets too. It works ok with text, but to pull images in it feels a bit hacky. Btw – this is a tutorial created by another designer I can’t remember the name of :/ https://youtu.be/VBcMXlt4MJI-
Thanks for sharing the video. That’s exactly for what I was hoping to achieve. Looks like a good workflow.
-
Awesome vid. Thanks for sharing
-
-
-
-
You mentioned using Miro as a whiteboard APP. Have you used it to make roll and write prototypes that are playable on-line? I have used Google Jamboard which works, but perhaps there is something better.
-
The Dice ‘App’ within Miro that can “roll” d6 on up to five (selected) sticky notes. This is handy for quick playtests/prototyping.
-
-
I’ve used it for everything in my game, card design, layouting of rules, even as a substitute for illustrator to design the vectorized cards backs like this (attached). I love to have everything in one place, online and without the need for adobe programs. For some things like the rules, probably indesign is better to use but figma works.
If you want I can send you a pm with the project file if you want to see how I’ve structured it all.
-
That’s awesome! Did you do any work with data coming from Google Sheets, Airtable or a CSV?
-
Nope, all done directly in figma. 🙂 A lot with the pen tool, and other with basic shapes in layers. Grouping and proper naming is your friend
-
-
I’d love to see the project file as well, if you don’t mind sharing it! 🙂
-
-
This is an interesting concept. I’ve been trying to get away from Adobe anything for design, but InDesign is tough to beat for print layout. After using XD (Adobe’s Figma) I would honestly consider looking into this for at least getting prototypes together. It still has the component/master capability of InDesign without all the “Adobeness.” Thanks for the share.
-
If you’re trying to wean yourself off Adobe products like InDesign, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Affinity products, which are cost-effective, single payment replacements for Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/
-
+1
-
-
Interesting, I’m thinking whether I need to ditch Figma for InDesign (which I’d need to learn), since it seems like The Tool To Use.
But given that I plan on getting help for both Graphic Design and Illustration externally, I’m not sure why I actually need to do that.Why you looking to move away, if you don’t me asking?
-
