A framework for deciding what needs to change next in a game prototype that I developed with my friend Walter Somerville. I used this recently to make some huge improvements to Canticle.

Games feel immersive and grounded when they are familiar and legible -- even from a distance. 

How do you give the emperor a sense of epiphany? How do you give the board a feeling of organic ideas-based growth? I picked the experience first, and designed around that.

This is a game that takes place in the past and the present. And I've never been so excited to work on something. Many more updates to follow on future episodes.

2025 was a creative explosion for me. Now it's time to focus up, and pick which prototype I will try to take to the finish line.

I tried (and failed) to make a basketball board game. I came up with some ideas that I loved, but ultimately decided to set it aside. 

Try to lose. It's a faster and more effective way to learn.

Sometimes players show you exactly what they want to do. You can either fight them, or learn from them.

Games don't need written narrative to be great games. The best stories in games are the ones that organically emerge from the gameplay itself.

Most games simulate some real world scenario. So how do you decide which parts of the real world to represent in game mechanisms? This is where the real artistry of game design comes to light.