MonoGame 3.8.5 Released

GameFromScratch.com MonoGame 3.8.5 Released MonoGame, the open source XNA inspired C# game development framework, just released a major new update – MonoGame 3.8.5. The first release of 2026, MonoGame is also a pretty massive restructuring. There is now a new C++ layer for all the native code, abstracting the platform implementation details away from The post MonoGame 3.8.5 Released appeared first on GameFromScratch.com.

July 2026 GameDev Deals Round-Up

GameFromScratch.com July 2026 GameDev Deals Round-Up There are so many amazing deals, sales and bundles for game developers I have decided to gather them all together in one place on a monthly basis like we do with�free gamedev assets. Here are the active game development deals and bundles for July 2026: Unity Asset Store Unity Asset The post July 2026 GameDev Deals Round-Up appeared first on GameFromScratch.com.

Material Maker 1.7 Released

GameFromScratch.com Material Maker 1.7 Released Material Maker, the free and open source Godot Engine powered procedural material making software, just released Material Maker 1.7. Along side the new features of this release, it is also the first time that Material Maker has been made available on Steam. Key Features of the Material Maker 1.7 release: The post Material Maker 1.7 Released appeared first on GameFromScratch.com.

Blender 5.2 LTS Released

GameFromScratch.com Blender 5.2 LTS Released The Blender Foundation have just released Blender 5.2 LTS. The LTS stands for Long Term Support, meaning that if you are starting a new Blender project, this is the version they recommend you use as it will continue to see updates for 2 years. Highlights of the Blender 5.2 release The post Blender 5.2 LTS Released appeared first on GameFromScratch.com.

July 2026 FREE GameDev Asset Round-Up Part Deux

GameFromScratch.com July 2026 FREE GameDev Asset Round-Up Part Deux It�s time for the July Epic Games bi-monthly asset giveaway on the Fab marketplace, with 3 free assets from July 14th – July 28th. Once �purchased� the assets are yours free to keep forever. This giveaway contains 3 Unreal Engine assets as well as 1 asset for Unity (and generic The post July 2026 FREE GameDev Asset Round-Up Part Deux appeared first on GameFromScratch.com.

Blast broke the puzzle rules on purpose

Everyone was fighting over Match-3 and left the door open

This month's Puzzly Monthly episode went back in time to answer a listener question that turned into something bigger: how did Toon Blast grow its ARPDAU while every other blast game was falling off a cliff?

Super Light Ball - one feature to save them all

The answer covers a decade of genre history, one very fast feature copy, and a live-ops rebuild that most people are still crediting to the wrong thing.

The events rebuild was the engine

Make sure to watch the episode for the full discussion.

The decision wasn't a pivot. It was a forced bet.

Before Toy Blast, "blast" wasn't a genre. It was clicker-match, and the closest reference points were Pet Rescue Saga and Diamond Digger: scrolling boards, a single correct solve path, and a fail rate baked into the design. The episode digs up a detail about Pet Rescue's early funnel, which is that its success curve went down before it went up, because players needed a few attempts to work out the right answer before they could solve it consistently. That friction was considered a bug at the time, and teams were actively trying to engineer it out. Today the same design sits at the heart of Block Jam and the whole solitaire-association wave, where failing three times before you crack a board is the product.