Why randomness can help strategy
In Meteor Mayhem, I wanted hazards to change the situation without choosing the winner for the players. I am still testing where exciting uncertainty turns into frustration.
Design Notebook
Short thoughts on games, rules, and why players do weird things.
These are short observations, not finished essays. I wrote them down before the details disappeared.
When one strategy starts taking over
During Meteor Mayhem testing, rushing the mining tier started to look like the preferred approach. That did not make the game broken, but it gave me a specific question for the next playtest.
When the level has to teach
In Swap Monsters, I used signs for the controls, but I also placed gaps, drops, and crystal barriers where each character's ability made sense. I would still want to watch a new player try it without help.
Why the rough version mattered
The first Meteor Mayhem prototype was not polished. It was useful because people could finally play it and show me what I had misunderstood.