How ten years of Game Maker’s Toolkit’s design analysis informed Mind Over Magnet

“There are probably as many levels on the cutting room floor as actually ended up in the final game,” says Mark Brown

Image credit:Game Maker’s Toolkit

“A lot of puzzle games can leave you staring at the same static screen for ages, but here, I’m always pushing you forward,” says Mark Brown of Game Maker’s Toolkit. For a decade now, Brown has been releasing accessible deep dives on game design for his popular YouTube channel , like " How Game Designers Protect Players From Themselves" and " The Two Types of Random in Game Design." This week, he’s releasing his own for the first time.

Puzzler Mind Over Magnet is, Brown says, about “the thrill of riding up electromagnetic beams, tossing magnets around the room, experimenting with the two different polarities, and switching between them to navigate in creative ways. You’re constantly going from room to room, and I’m always introducing new ideas, toys, and mechanics, so the game moves along at a good pace.”

After spending so long breaking down what works in other games, designing your own feels like a recipe for analysis paralysis. For this one, “the main inspiration actually came from the magnetic glove item in one of the Zelda games on Game Boy. In that game, Link could attract and repel from metallic objects, which I thought could make for a fresh mechanic in a fast-paced platformer, like Celeste”.

“But while prototyping, an interesting evolution happened,” says Brown. “Initially, the character was magnetic and could change polarity to attract or repel towards objects directly. But while messing around in Unity I ended up splitting the concept in two: so now your character isn’t magnetic, but you can pick up a giant horseshoe magnet and, while holding it, you’d attract towards metallic objects”. This opened up a lot of creative possibilities. “Now, you can throw the magnet around, or release it mid-air to propel yourself up. But most significantly it lent itself to puzzles, where you can leave the magnet in one place and operate it at a distance. The game had to stop being like Celeste, and operate more like Braid or Limbo .”

After spending so long analysing design, were there any preconceptions Brown had that turned out to be counter-intuitive in practice, at least for this project? It turns out that some of the most crucial elements were those he’d barely considered as important. “Stuff I didn’t fully take in, even though I’ve spent like 15 years in the press and on YouTube. I didn’t anticipate just how crucial playtesting would be. Having people play the game from an early stage, giving feedback, and observing their assumptions and mistakes has been eye-opening. It’s amazing how much this process reveals about both the game and the designer’s own blind spots.”

“I think gamers might sometimes give playtesting a bad rap - that it leads to dumbed-down games, or bland stuff. I’ve probably said that in the past. But when used well it’s just utterly essential to making a game that isn’t a completely incomprehensible mess.”

Another major realisation was the importance of production - deadlines, planning, and scheduling. “I started to think of it like this: If you’re a weak programmer, the game might have bugs; if you’re a weak artist, it might be ugly; if you’re a weak designer, the game won’t be fun. But if you lack solid production, the game simply won’t exist. It will just never come out.”

Image credit:Game Maker’s Toolkit

Another “small, dumb realisation” Brown had was a new perspective on puzzles that allow the player to get stuck and reset, which he used to think was poor design. “But now I know it’s incredibly difficult to make puzzles where players can’t get stuck—and yes, there are puzzles like that in Mind Over Magnet. I definitely have more empathy now for other designers on that front. Though hats off to Valve, because it’s almost impossible to get stuck in Portal without the player doing something really dumb.”

Despite the years of identifying design approaches across different genres, Brown says that there “aren’t as many clear templates to follow” when it comes to puzzle design. “With platformers, you can look to how Nintendo crafts levels, or with shooters, you might draw on enemy archetypes from games like Doom. But with puzzle games, there’s less of a roadmap. I’ve even talked to experienced puzzle game designers, asking for their techniques, and many of them struggled to give a concrete template or formula.”

There were, says Brown, definitely some techniques he found useful, but it was mostly a process of time, effort, and constant iteration. “Playtesting is key, as is the willingness to throw out countless ideas that seem great in theory but don’t work in practice. There are probably as many levels on the cutting room floor as actually ended up in the final game.”

That playtesting feedback was “endlessly surprising and eye-opening from start to finish. It’s amazing how differently someone new to the game sees it compared to me, as the developer, who knows every detail of the code and design. As the creator, you carry so much built-up knowledge and context that it’s easy to overlook how someone fresh to the game might interpret things.”

Image credit:Game Maker’s Toolkit

“For instance, playtesting revealed issues with puzzle difficulty, the clarity of certain mechanics, and even simple visual cues. In one build, there was a screen in the background that players thought was a platform they could stand on—an interpretation that had never occurred to me.” Seasoned players also bring assumptions from other games with them. “My game has those one-way platforms you get in Mario and Smash Bros, where you can jump up and pass through from underneath. This is pretty intuitive for experienced players, but newcomers often found it confusing and illogical.”

“Finally, there were little things I hadn’t thought players would care about,” he continues. “For instance, initially, when the character left a level, the magnet didn’t follow; it would just appear in the next area. I didn’t think twice about it, but nearly every playtester commented on how jarring and confusing it was for the magnet to simply teleport between rooms. So, I added a system where the magnet gets sucked through a big pipe and lands in the next level alongside the character.”

There is a story in Mind Over Magnet - your little screen-on-a-wheel is escaping a factory - but Brown says he ultimately wanted to keep the focus on the puzzles (“I’m a terrible writer”), while still keeping some personality. “I was probably inspired by how Nintendo often gives its central mechanics a face, name, and character, like Navi in Zelda or Cappy in Mario Odyssey. So rather than having the magnets just be objects that you throw around, I made them into little companions with personalities. I sprinkled in little character moments throughout the levels. So you’ll see these speech bubbles where the magnets react or give you hints. Some of these moments are like little Easter eggs that not every player will encounter - it’s tied to you doing something weird, or solving the puzzle in an unorthodox way.”

Image credit:Game Maker’s Toolkit

Of course, before the interview ends, I have to ask the most important question . “You know,” Brown says, “I probably should have looked this up before I started working on a game about magnets because I don’t know how magnets work and that is obviously in Mind Over Magnet. The way magnets work in my game is completely fictional and does not have any relation to real world physics. The whole game is based around magnets with only one pole, which simply don’t exist in the universe. And while magnets do attract towards opposite poles, like in real life, there’s an option in the settings to change this if you find that too confusing.”

If you’re not utterly disgusted by this flagrant disregard for physics, you can find Mind Over Magnet on Steam here - it’s out this Wednesday, the 13th of November.

Mind Over Magnet

PC

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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