It’s pretty common that I watch a new movie, read a new book, or play a new video game and immediately want to find a way to translate that experience onto the tabletop. I like to use that energy to create a prototype game, and then step back to see if there is anything of value in it. Sometimes, the game itself is fun, and a potential future project. Sometimes, the main value of the prototype is that it has allowed me to learn something about another project I’m working on.
Recently, I played a couple of evenings of Lethal Company with my brothers. The gameplay loop is really funny, and I had a idea about how it might translate into a miniature game experience. I knocked up a prototype, and I throught I might show it to you, both as an opportunity to practice making demo videos of my games (which I plan to do more of) and as an opportunity for me to introspect on both this prototype’s value, and the place of prototyping in my process more generally.
I won’t be releasing the prototype of Hazard Cheque quite yet. Partly, the rulebook is garbled nonsense that is unfit for human consumption, and partly, I think the game has potential, but doesn’t quite fit together yet. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance to give it another design turn soon, and I’ll get it the place I’m happy to release it on my Itch page, alongside my other prototypes and early access games..
I hope you enjoy the video, and the demo game!