Design Blog

Maybe it because my car just died and I have to get a new one. Maybe it’s the excitement of it being the end of the year… Time to tear this game to pieces and build it anew! Continue reading “Back to the Shipyard”

I recently introduced a small rule that totally changed the game. Continue reading “Zones Of Control”

I recently took some time away from the design of A Billion Suns to focus on its setting. Oddly, doing this really helped boot the design of the game forward. Continue reading “Theme As Glue”

Here’s a list of games that I recognise as influences and touch-points for A Billion Suns Continue reading “Ludography”

In a game of massive spaceships duking it out, an obvious element to include is some from of damage mechanic, with the ships suffering problems as they get smashed up, and some kind of repair mechanic, where the brave and overworked engineers can patch her back together in the heat of the battle. These elements would be thematic and cinematic, and provide an ebb and flow to the performance of each ship that would surely create more interesting tactical choices.

To spoil the conclusion: they don’t, and I won’t be including them. Here’s why. Continue reading “She cannae take anymore, Captain!”

The design for A Billion Suns is currently in the state where it is stuffed full of great ideas: none of which work yet. Continue reading “Autonomous Miniatures”

A strong game needs clear design principles. These are the principles I will use to guide the design process for A Billion Suns Continue reading “Design Principles”

Gaslands is a success. What the heck do I do now!? Continue reading “The Difficult Second Album”