Hi! I’m a game designer by trade, and in my spare time I’ve started building my own prototypes. This is the simplest of the concepts I’m working on. I’m sure there are games like it already, but I’ve really enjoyed making it, so I’d love to share it and hear what this sub thinks.
The loop
You’re a small Moth Warden. Each journey drops you into a sleeping zone, and you wake it with your light just by running over it. Light drains all the time, and the more of the zone is awake, the more each step costs. When the light runs out, the journey ends. Between journeys you spend what you gathered on the Tree of Gifts.
The design idea I’m testing
At first your light barely covers a corner of the zone, and the whole game is about reaching a little further. There are no ability buttons at all, you just run. Everything else comes from the tree.
What’s in the demo
- One zone (the Cradle), about an hour to wake it and the Sun
- Several currencies that feed into each other (pollen, ichor, heartbloom, lumen)
- XP and levels; a level gained mid-journey gives some light back
- A second cycle after the ending if you want to keep going
- Runs and saves in the browser (clearing site data resets your progress)
Controls: WASD or hold the mouse · Enter: back to the Hearth · M: sound
What I’d love feedback on
- Where did it feel slow, and where did it go by too fast?
- Did the tree choices feel meaningful, or did you just buy whatever was cheapest?
- Was it clear what to do in your first couple of journeys?