I’ve Built the Sandbox. Now I’m Turning it into a Game!

This is the story of implementing what I've learned into a gridless, interactive, world-building sandbox game called Minor Deity. Minor Deity on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3876240/Minor_Deity/ Minor Deity Discord Server: https://discord.gg/2NEb4HxwhF Today’s video is about something different than usual – actual game mechanics. We’ve covered a lot of technical capabilities and optimization in the last few months and Minor Deity is already well on its way to being a large sandbox world with the freedom to simply create what you imagine. It’s a satisfying toy, but it doesn’t have a more traditional game attached to it yet. I’ve started designing some mechanics, and in many ways, that’s proving to be more difficult than the technical optimization. Designing mechanics that fit into the technical limitations (visual: technically possible), make sense in the setting (visual: appropriate), and – most importantly – are interesting and fun (visual: enjoyment) is quite challenging. But I have a start, and I would genuinely love to hear your thoughts about it in the comments, both as game developers and players. We’ll consider two main concepts today. One of them is how individual units with different traits convert into production and economy within their settlements. But let’s start with how settlements and other infrastructure fits onto the terrain. While Minor Deity does involve building a colony on some terrain, it has to be more than that. You should actually have a say in the layout of the terrain itself. Dynamic terrain introduces considerable complexity. When does changing the terrain create interest and fun? When does it lead to nonsensical outcomes? And how do we both allow the fun and prevent the nonsense? Let’s give it a go. 00:00 Introduction 00:29 The Challenge 01:04 Terrain Manipulation 01:29 Regions: Spiritual vs Human Realms 03:03 Units, Vocations and Production 04:41 Capacity 06:23 Please Help Me!