I took a short break to take a step back from designing DelvenDeep. Needed to clear my head and look at it from a fresh perspective. Just now realized that many months had passed without posting any updates.

I will start actively working again soon. I’ve had some fresh ideas that will help tighten up some messy spots in the design.

One of the hardest parts of designing a game is the waiting.

Waiting for art to come in. Waiting for playtest copies to arrive. Waiting for the post office to remedy an issue with a misdelivered package. Waiting for playtest feedback.

It can be frustrating sometimes. You want everything to happen right now, so that you can move on to the next step. It is particularly tough when you have a larger game (like DelvenDeep) that is being designed and tested in stages.

You have to remind yourself that having patience during these waiting periods is worth it. The waiting gives you time to passively think about your design (what I call ‘percolating’) so that the next stage will be more improved.

During these waiting times, I like to mess around with visual design concepts for the game components. This really isn’t something you should do until after your design is thoroughly playtested. However, I find it helps me to visualize other aspects of the game. And, when you’re working on a game based in a particular setting, it can aid in getting the minor details fleshed out.

While building quests for DelvenDeep, I realized it would help to know where these quests are located in the game world. I did not want to spend precious hours making a map, so went hunting on the internet for a fantasy map generator. After a bit of research, I found Wonderdraft.

Wonderdraft is a very good, and inexpensive, fantasy map generator. It is easy to use, and has a lot of options. Using it, I put together this map for DelvenDeep in about an hour.

This is just a portion of the whole map, focused on the area I’m currently designing quests for.

The point is: Use those waiting periods to have a little fun with your design. You may come up with something that will end up being a necessary asset for the game.

Been busy testing and building more content for DelvenDeep. Initial reports from my main play tester are good.

I’m currently working on getting another quest built and all the associated built (enemies, loot, etc.).

The Delilah expansion for Jagger Arena is now available.

Purchase the Jagger Arena Delilah expansion on The Game Crafter!

Doing some work on the Delilah box bottom.

Finally found an artist for Let’s Eat Grandma! My sister has agreed to take on the project. I’m excited to finally be close to completing the game and getting it published. I have made some changes to the game, and need to do a re-write of the rulebook.

Adam, my Jagger Arena artist, delivered an updated version of the box art for the Delilah expansion. I’m working hard to get this one completed.

The Delilah expansion for Jagger Arena is coming along nicely. I expect to publish in the 4th quarter of this year.

My artist sent me a sample of the box art, which looks great.

The Jagger Arena expansion is coming along nicely. Just a bit more play testing, and a couple more pieces of art and it will be ready.

I’ve been doing a lot of work on DelvenDeep. The combat mechanics are mostly where I want them to be. I’m now working on some of the other mechanics, as well as looking at ways to add a bit more depth. I’ve also been writing up the alpha rulebook. I want to get a rough copy out to testers so I can get some outside feedback.

Getting some testing in on DelvenDeep. I’ve got the combat mechanics about where I want them. I just added another level 1 quest and want to run through that a few times. Next I’ll be slowly adding more content (loot, equipment, etc.) and making adjustments to the heroes.

I’ve been putting some work into the first expansion for Jagger Arena. This expansion will introduce two new abilities on program cards. Barrier will protect a program from damage. Halt will shut a program down; preventing it from attack or using abilities.

Delilah will also include a new type of logic bomb. Instead of revealing extra data sources, these new logic bomb have an ability that will affect all players in some way.

There will also be a new mechanic called ‘seeding the Grid’. Players will be able to draw cards to seed the Grid with a random number. These cards will introduce a global rule change, giving more variety to each play.

I expect to start public playtests soon.