The more ideas that enter the space, the more ammo we have to test and tweak. Explore Solution Space: The solution space is a place to throw out wild and wacky ideas that solve our problem and meet all of the above criteria.Often this includes stuff that seems obvious, like “what play pattern should this system encourage/avoid,” “players should have obvious counterplay available against this ability,” and “are we using the simplest gameplay to achieve our desired effect?” These kinds of questions get all of our designers on the same page without constraining or biasing ourselves towards a specific solution. All solutions are measured against this criteria. Set Criteria: List out the criteria that all of our solutions have to meet.Define Target Audience and Use Cases: Who is it for? How will the solution be used to help them?.Define the Problem Space: Listing the areas marked for improvement as identified through Observation.Here, we utilize a method called “Criteria-Based Design,” which has some fairly simple steps. Hypothesize: This is the theory-crafting stage of the process.

Once we’ve identified a potential improvement, we move on to the next step. But part of the job is seeing what systems or mechanics could work for IMMORTAL, so we want to take inspiration from as many places as possible by observing other ecosystems as well, games or not.

Observe: As designers, we’re always keeping our eyes not just on the game’s ecosystem.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this happens to resemble the scientific method. Whenever we tackle a new design (be it a unit, UI system, faction mechanic, and so on), we try to approach it in a way that produces the best outcome for the game.

So… what should you expect? How do the folks at SunSpear handle new content and design, and how can you help to fulfill the vision of IMMORTAL: Gates of Pyre ? The SunSpear Process You’ll be talking to the developers over at SunSpear Games and playing the earliest iterations of IMMORTAL. You’ve finally received a pre-alpha key and can finally try out this new game.

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