Hi, I'm David, and this is my place to talk about what I love most: making video games with my 14-year-old son, Luke. Last year, we released a roguelike called Brawlberry. Now, we’re working on an Irish-themed couch-coop 3D platformer called Druid’s Crown. This is where I share how it’s going and nerd out about all things games and game dev.
We have a lot to cover this week, with many plates spinning, and all the while, the game inches closer and closer to a demo launch.
Steam Page Fiasco
We originally purchased a Steam page for our previous game Sons of Dagda, which we eventually shelved. Naively, I assumed we could simply repurpose the page for Druid’s Crown by changing the name and details. Turns out Steam takes issue with completely swapping out one game for another. Who knew?
So while it looks like the change is done on the surface, we’ll need to purchase a new Steam page and set it up properly. That’s a task for the future though, not a priority at the moment.
Demo Wrap-Up and Sneaky Additions
Polishing the demo has begun to wear on our young developer. Classically, he quietly started implementing a few new features, very cool ones, mind you, but not exactly on the schedule.
This led to a whiteboarding session where we sat down and catalogued everything we wanted to fix or improve in the demo. That session gave us a tangible finish line and clear goals. We've been working through those ever since. Well, mostly.
Luke, being Luke, has since gone off script again and created a new tree and mechanic. And I have to say, it’s good. Surprisingly good. It captures the childhood feeling of climbing a tree in a way that our old one completely missed. Honestly, it’s so much better I’m considering deleting the old version entirely.
Even though it’s not part of the plan, these creative detours have injected much-needed energy into the polish phase. We started with 33 items, and we’re now down to just 14.
Platforming Design Philosophy: Artistic vs Systematic
Many conversations this week have centred around one core question: what makes a good platforming level?
This sparked an interesting revelation about the differences in how Luke and I approach design. His style is intuitive and exploratory. He dives into creating, letting curiosity guide him. I, ever the programmer, want to systematize the process, break down the mechanics into variables, explore combinations, and iterate toward the fun.
While out on a run, we landed on a great analogy to describe our approaches:
Luke’s Artistic Approach: Imagine designing an obstacle like mixing a colour. Luke would mix a unique shade of purple for each obstacle, tweaking and tuning it by eye and feel until it was just right. Then he repeats the process for the next one.
My Mathematical (Correct?) Approach: I want to build a matrix of all possible colour combinations, essentially a colour palette of obstacle types generated by a tool. When it's time to design, I pick the closest match and fine-tune from there. No mixing from scratch each time.
There are merits and flaws in both. Luke’s method allows for unique organic creativity but may miss easy wins or create inconsistencies. My method ensures coverage and efficiency but risks becoming sterile or over-engineered.
I hope we need both. Platforming is the second to second mechanic in Druid’s Crown. We can’t afford to get it wrong. Once we’re through the polishing checklist, we can iterate together, blending both styles to elevate the design.
Podcast Launch: Player 1, Player 2
Big news, we are just launching our podcast Player 1, Player 2, a three-part experience. Here's how it works:
First, we both play the game, and each game is picked by alternating hosts.
We each record a quick review separately
We then trade reviews and host a roundtable discussion to reflect on the game, its design, and how it relates to our work on Druid’s Crown
It’s just an excuse to play more weird games together, and the first episode has already been a blast. The recording setup still needs some fine-tuning (apologies for the audio quality), but we’re having fun. The first episode is up on Wednesday. I have no idea how often we will do them. If our thick Irish accents are a bit much, transcripts are available too. Check it out.