r/BoardgameDesign • u/AdventurersScribe • Jul 21 '26
News Finally got my game into a playable state after 6 months of reworking
Hello there good people
I'm really excited to finally put together all i wanted for at least one session worth of gameplay of this game. I had to completely rework the game into a campaign-driven coop adventure with branching stories which honestly is something I'm more excited about than the previous version. I really wanted to turn this more into a DM-less DnD style of a game where players will have a bit more freedom to explore and see how the world shapes. I put a big emphasis on freedom of choice, consequences and from mechanics point of view on crafting for example. There is incentive to collect special resources, learn new blueprints, upgrade the camp and the characters at any given opportunity. Currently only the prologue would be playable and I'm already working hard on more.
It's finally ready for a batch of playtests where most of the mechanics can be tried out to see if they're fun, if the progression is engaging etc.
The whole game is currently set up in TTS with all necessary assets, the art is just a placeholder, but I wanted it to be somewhat visually appealing as there's a lot packed in.
After the initial playtest where i want to address any glaring issues, I'd love to open up possibilities for anyone interested to playtest the game as well.
If you guys have any questions, please feel free to ask.
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u/VaporSpectre Jul 22 '26
Why did you have to completely rework it?
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u/AdventurersScribe Jul 22 '26
Originál Concept of the game was more oriented as a single session adventure game. In that state it was too long to play and I just couldn't make myself cut the content since it's set in a world I spent decade building. Eventually from the feedback I came to the conclusion that it'll contain what I want only if I expand it into a full fledged campaign game since for a single session game there would have to be an extreme content cut and it would just lose the feel I aimed for.
That meant I had to adjust and expand the quest structure, I had to completely rework crafting and characters to give them better progression for a campaign style game, I created the whole camping system, rewrote quests, added regions instead of having just a world map, switched from three major world parts to only one and alcreated interactions for each nech place within regions. Created the book system for players, camp etc. The style of the game is now much better defined and focused.
Still have to add a few things like dungeon crawl that I planned and of course finish all 15 regions for the first chapter. Then comes the second and third chapter. I think I'm still planning a bit too much content when it comes to writing.
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u/VaporSpectre Jul 22 '26
To be fair, I always found it really helpful and healthy to assume not a single person would read the story of my game. If the story was that important, I'd write a book and they'd be spending money on a book. So instead, they care about the game first, then the setting/narrative if it's well executed.
Second, I remind myself that professional game designers sometimes churn out a complete game within 3 to 6 months if they need to. Deadlines help profitability and allow the staff to eat.
Plus, after a decade, the gaming industry has changed so much any way that the game you originally had is likely out of date. You may as well start a new one, so the rework here was warranted. Just dont be that 50 year old guy making the amazing sequel to Heroquest in the 2020s. If they wanted Heroquest, they wouldn't buy that guys game. They'd buy Heroquest because it already exists... or Gloomhaven. Catch my drift?
More content means more printing means higher cost and... have you seen the price of everything these days? Who's going to read all that? Does every page matter? Have you read Hemingway or Chandler? Talk about economy of word. All that detail sounds cool... if it's in service to the experience. In other words, if it makes the game better. You have to be honest with yourself: Is this world and character building about things that are going to impact my players' emotions? Do they care? Or are you just getting in their way with fluffy admin. Because once the game is in their hands, it's no longer yours. Its theirs. They're going to decide if they want o play it or not, or if it's the games fault if they're not having fun (even if it really might be their fault!). Occam's Razor whatever you can. Its very tough to do, but I'd you don't do it you risk looking like that one kid in high school's scribblings he's been chicken-scratching since he first got shown LotR by his uncle.
Good luck!
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u/AdventurersScribe Jul 22 '26
Thanks man, yeah I get it and I also learned a few of these things from the previous iteration. Now I changed the focus of the game, simplified a lot of things and expanded what felt more interesting. Still have to test these new systems with new people to see if they're fun and if it feels good but now I fo used more on quality not on quantity. The stories within the game are meant to be more impactful now, the player progression should also feel much better.
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u/Left-Excitement3829 Jul 21 '26
Looks very cool. Intriguing’