About us

LudoNode is a digital game studio focused on turn-based games. We were founded in 2023 by Dave Balmer as a digital studio spinoff of Gobico Games. Helping indie game designers make digital versions of their games is our goal. We believe in turn-based video games because they give players time to relax and encourage them to think more deeply.

We’re based in Phoenix, AZ USA. If you need to schedule a meeting outside our USA business hours, let us know. We can accomodate you.

Core team

Dave Balmer

Dave brings nearly 50 years of software development expertise to the table. Dave is a game designer and creator of many games including Runes of Zun, Nersha, and Kuzushi. Dave is also a composer, graphic designer, and pixel artist.

Alex Inoue

Alex has over 10 years of print and digital game development experience. His best known published game is Runes of Zun. Alex is also a published author, math nerd, and rabid indie gamer currently living in Japan.

Stuff we use

The tools we use are an important part of what makes us tick. After using and evaluating several options, we’ve narrowed our list down to these game and server engines. As we grow, we’ll make sure to give back to the amazing developers of these open source projects and their communities.

Defold

Defold is our cross-platform game engine of choice. It was originally created in 2009 and acquired by King (the Candy Crush people) in 2014. Defold was released as open source in 2020 by the Defold organization. It’s a highly-efficient, battle-tested game engine that makes games for computers, phones, and consoles alike.

Nakama

We use Nakama for multi-player servers. It uses Lua (the same language as Defold) to match players online and enforce the rules. A common language means we can reduce development time and deliver a solid experience for players. Nakama is an open source made by Heroic Labs. It’s also used by other indie studios and even giants like EA, Zynga, and Mattel.