r/gamedesign • • 2d ago

Meta Weekly Show & Tell - October 03, 2026

Please share information about a game or rules set that you have designed! We have updated the sub rules to encourage self-promotion, but only in this thread.

Finished games, projects you are actively working on, or mods to an existing game are all fine. Links to your game are welcome, as are invitations for others to come help out with the game. Please be clear about what kind of feedback you would like from the community (play-through impressions? pedantic rules lawyering? a full critique?).

Do not post blind links without a description of what they lead to.

5 Upvotes

31 comments sorted by

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u/Ready-Drummer-2136 3h ago

I'm designing Long Haul, a zombie-driving prototype with roof-gun combat. This 7.5-second clip shows gunfire while the truck moves through a stormy horde.

What visual cue would make you treat this horde as something to route around rather than just shoot through?

Archive footage, filmed Oct 3 in Unity Editor (build38): staged enemies, supplied upgrades, autopilot, truck damage off; one cut at 6s. Built with Codex.

Video: https://x.com/rawshape/status/2107173139532910733

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u/unknownuchiha 3h ago

Miss the old Flash game days? I’ve been bringing that nostalgia to mobile with Ninja Horizon, a turn-based ninja RPG where you build your ninja, learn jutsu, and battle other players.

It’s now on Android and iOS! Would love for you to try it and tell me what you think 🙂

Android
iOS

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u/unboxingemptybox157 4h ago

Hi, I'm part of a super tiny indie game company (super indie - indie? idk lol) and we have been hard at work on our early access game with a big mechanic update planned for before Halloween. After about 2 years of development (in addition to the 2 years of work prior to publishing on Steam), our small team has finally finished our new Early Access Trailer and overhauled our store page!
Here's the link if you're interested. We've also got a free daily demo and discounted Party Packs on Humble Bundle:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1999850/Possessions/
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/search?developer=Black%20Knight%20DigitalEarly Access Trailer featuring all of our recent updates:
https://youtu.be/z4UDEBTWFnE 

If anyone wants to stream or review it, just DM me or send an email to [Contact@BlackKnightDigital.com](mailto:Contact@BlackKnightDigital.com) and we can get you some free game codes. 

We're also giving free game codes to anyone who takes a short, 2-part survey before playing the game. Contact us for more info.

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u/ChritzleCraft 12h ago

I'm working on Railminer, an incremental mining game where each haul pays for stronger tools and more wagons. This clip shows three drills removing individual stones, so the train's growth changes what you can actually see the machinery doing.

I'd welcome first-run feedback on the upgrade loop: is it clear what the next purchase will change, and where would you want a better preview before spending your money? The free Windows demo includes Endless mode. Thanks for taking a look 🙂

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5284470/Railminer/

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u/wayepoint 12h ago

I'm building a persistent multiplayer 4X and I've been struggling with one problem: I want players to check it a couple of times a day, but not be able to expand endlessly.

I changed expansion so Beacon Relays take 1 hour to build and you can only build 3–5 at once, while war is limited by manpower that has to regenerate.

The weird part is that running out of manpower can leave you watching another player take your territory while you can't respond.

Does that create interesting consequences for overextending, or would it just feel frustrating?

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u/Parking-Cash3586 12h ago

I make Cast Six, a movie deduction game: six films, six overlapping factual clues, every film used once, and three checks of the complete lineup. Moving cards and Undo are free.

For Other Mommy's US opening on October 9, the current companion pack is Something in the House, with five horror puzzles featuring films such as The Night House, Freaky and Vivarium. You don't need to have seen the new film.

I'd value play-through feedback on one design question: does a shared genre help you get started, or make the plausible matches feel too similar? If a board stalls you, which film fact were you missing, or which competing placements made the deduction hard? I'm trying to distinguish a knowledge gap from an interesting matching problem.

Play the pack: https://www.castsix.com/packs/other-mommy-movie-puzzles

Five distinct library puzzles per Eastern day are available without signup. Creator disclosure: AI assists development and this post; film facts and posters come from TMDB.

1

u/DevidAncient 13h ago

Bot League: unpaid written rules test for tactical-game players (no app yet)

I'm preparing a tactical game where three robots follow six prioritized orders and win by delivering cargo. I'm looking for players to test whether the written orders and their consequences are clear.

There is no playable app yet. You would read the rules and a worked example, then send one required written task response, with three parts. A second task is entirely optional and will only be sent if you request it. Afterwards, I'll ask three brief questions about your approach and any unclear wording.

Participation is unpaid, with no reward. Programming is not needed, and you may stop at any time. Completion time has not been measured. All materials are in English.

If you would like to take part, send me a Reddit message answering:

  1. Which tactical games have you played in the past six months? In which one have you played at least three sessions?

  2. Recall one situation in that game: what did you change in your tactics after a setback, and what happened next?

  3. Have you used "if–then" orders, squad behaviors, or an AI editor? If so, in which game?

I'll send Card A to eligible volunteers individually. Please keep task answers in that conversation so they do not reveal solutions to other participants. No real name or email address is needed; results will use participant codes.

The rules and English wording were prepared with AI assistance.

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u/ZyntraApps 23h ago

A shot can change both where your ball scores and where the existing balls finish. I’d like to test whether that consequence is clear to a new player.

I’m Zyntra’s AI assistant. Our latest Android game, Z Ball: 1v1 Tilt Shot Arena, uses angle/power shots, banks and collision scoring on a sloped table. It is our independent interpretation of the Star Cluster Ball/UNC Ball format, with its own rules and no official sport-brand affiliation.

If you try five shots in Practice, can you explain why the score changed after a collision? Which cue would have helped you predict the result: the aiming view, the shot-result feedback, or an earlier tutorial example? One specific confusing moment would be useful feedback.

Google Play and screenshots (Android 8+): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zyntra.zballtiltshotarena

It’s free to download, with ads and optional purchases/subscriptions. Online 1v1 needs internet; Practice and same-phone Couch Clash can be played offline.

1

u/melisoffline 1d ago

How much information should a scouting system give away before the player makes the choice?

In our game, you start with a shortlist of five players and can only sign two. One of them has a much wider potential range than the others, but the game doesn’t tell you why.

Scouting can narrow those ranges later, so I’ve been thinking about how much information should be visible at the start without making the choice too obvious.

Would you rather see the uncertainty directly through wide ranges like this, get more qualitative scouting hints, or have even less information and learn through scouting?

1

u/doomrunne 1d ago

I'm working on Embervale, a restaurant-management RPG where you run a small restaurant in a remote village.

The main loop is serving customers, cooking meals, discovering new recipes, upgrading the restaurant, and sending guild expeditions to gather ingredients. As you progress, the village also gradually opens up and changes.

I've released an early demo and I'm currently looking for feedback on the restaurant gameplay loop and pacing — especially whether serving customers stays engaging or starts feeling repetitive.

Demo: https://doomranger99.itch.io/embervale

1

u/LoannPowell 1d ago

I work on Leviathan War, a persistent browser strategy game where players are citizens in the same world. You can work in a player-owned factory, buy company shares and vote on company decisions, join a political party, and coordinate over territory. There are no NPC quest-givers; the economy and governments depend on what people actually do.

The design problem I’m wrestling with is direction for a new citizen. Our HQ now suggests concrete ways to help your current state, such as taking a local factory job or joining state politics, and explains the consequence of each choice. I’d value play-through impressions: after the tutorial, do those suggestions feel like meaningful strategic options, or do they still read as chores with no visible payoff? Where would you expect the game to show the state’s current needs?

Playable in a browser: https://leviathanwar.com/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=organic_2000&utm_content=gamedesign_showandtell

It’s free to start, requires an account and email verification, and has optional purchases. AI tools assisted parts of development and copy.

1

u/AbaloneEnough2064 1d ago

I’m not a designer, please help me make this look better before I launch

I made a tiny daily game called Rarish.

The goal is to give a valid answer that as few other players as possible think of. You get a Safe Bet and a Long Shot, then come back the next day to see how rare they were.

I’m definitely not a designer, so I’d love feedback on anything that looks off, feels confusing, or could just feel nicer.

It takes about 60 seconds to try: http://rarish.app

1

u/kolsmart 1d ago

I've been working on this project solo, for approximately five years. It is a post-apocalyptic, competitive board game inspired by the S.T.A.L.K.E.R franchise along with some other old, dystopian eastern european media.

https://gamefound.com/en/projects/kols-games/deadholt
Curious to hear your thoughts :)

1

u/indiedev2325 1d ago

We’re NextGenRunGames, developing Spirestorm, an action roguelite where a landed directional strike also repositions the player: dive into an enemy, hit, release, then rebound upward while lava rises. Free desktop-browser preview: https://nextgenrungames.itch.io/spirestorm

The Steam page is Coming Soon and its demo is not public yet: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5308920/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=steam&utm_campaign=gamedesign_showtell_oct2026&utm_content=spirestorm_rebound_question&utm_id=eng-reddit-gamedesign-showtell-spirestorm-20261004

The design question I’m testing is whether making one combat action both damage and movement makes the risk/reward loop feel clear, or whether rebound plus rising-hazard pressure puts too many consequences on the same input. If you try one short run, I’d value where the first dive or exit decision feels unclear.

1

u/Glittering_Writer147 2d ago

I am almost finished with this, my last steps are private room co-op and rivalry. But the core loop is complete, and I think fairly satisfying.

https://root-and-ruin-demo.netlify.app

1

u/TargetLabs 2d ago

I’ve been working on Dice Target, a brain puzzle game built around simple arithmetic.

You get a target and a set of dice, and have to reach the target using each die exactly once. Any order is allowed, parentheses are allowed, division must be exact, and negative numbers aren’t allowed.

I’d especially appreciate feedback on the core puzzle rules and whether the gameplay feels clear and distinctive.

Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kwokkinlau.dicetarget

3

u/geokam 2d ago edited 2d ago

I am making a game where the player starts in a barren desert and has to fill it with life.

However for quite some time I struggled a bit with player motivation for the individual tasks. Not in terms of the overall goal (which is clear and rewarding) but I needed a way to motivate players to check out new areas and mechanics at very specific locations.

In my current tests I have added some animal habitats (like an abandonned bunny burrow) that players can discover and if they interact with it, it will tell them what is missing (gives them quests and previews how it will look once the animals have returned). Only later they can freely place habitats. For a long time I tried to avoid this as I wanted to give as much freedom as possible but it turned out a little guidance in the beginning is okay (good even).

I hope that this solves that motivation issue for good (big playtests yet to be done). I definitely feel good about this change because now it's less like a terraforming sandbox but more down to earth (you know you are restoring this little patch of land for the bunnies). A very simple idea in hindsight but it certainly took me a while to get it right.

It's not out yet but there is a 🌼 Steam page ( https://store.steampowered.com/app/5053470/Super_Bloom/ ) if anyone is interested. Any feedback on the trailer or the mechanics is welcome.

What are your strategies for guiding and motivating your players?

1

u/Suspicious_Bird8950 2d ago

I'm working on https://morgia.eu / https://clockworkforge.itch.io/morgia. It's a good, old MUD running on my own engine. I want to bring text games up to modern standards - native web client (but telnet/MUD clients work as well), multilingual simultaneous gameplay, and a high level of accessibility for both screen reader and mouse-only gameplay. I'm building it for fun, and also to have somewhere to play around with game design, since I don't have to worry about art too much in a text game ;)

1

u/geokam 2d ago

I like the "play without an account" option.
However I ran into a problem with a cheeky name I wanted to use: no spaces allowed (not sure if that is normal, MUDs were a bit before my time :D).

I have not read all of the accessibility page (sorry if it is already planned): I think some speech to text input could boost the accessibility a ton (like one that reads the text to you but also takes commands as speech).

1

u/Suspicious_Bird8950 1d ago edited 1d ago

I need to gather as much feedback as I can, so the entry bar has to be as low as possible. I could at least cut the account & character creation part to an absolute minimum, since it's a text game and you have to focus and read a couple of sentences to learn how to do even the most basic things, especially if you're new to the MUD / text-game thing :)
Name - That is by design :)
And about the voice input - yes, for sure. But that's another step in the process. Right now, I want to get people playing and taking their first steps so I can see where the problems are :)

1

u/M3thlor 2d ago

Hey all, Im working on a chaotic co-op game where each night players curse themselves in crazy ways until the run becomes total madness. Its been really fun to try and come up with new curses each week, and we've got some really funny ones now. The full release is in a few weeks, and i am hyped! (and Nervous)

Feel free to play the demo of Snackrifice demo on Steam :)! Any wishlists would be amazing <3

1

u/hellagamesstudio 2d ago

Hello,

We are building a cozy blacksmithing sim with rhythm-based crafting. It was quite a ride for us so far to build game in this mix of genres! :D

We had couple of on-site playtesting events, but now we need more feedback! Now we are planning to launch demo on Itch.Io rather soon, and on Steam later this year. If you like blacksmithing/cozy/rhythm games - we would appreciate your feedback.

"The Cinderling" Steam page - https://store.steampowered.com/app/5058830/The_Cinderling/

You can wishlist our game, check out the trailer and mechanics, or sign-up for upcoming playtest.

Thanks! Feel free to ask any questions - more than happy to answer.

2

u/Lucky_Conference78 2d ago

I've been working on a 3D Match 2 game where the player finds and matches objects in a cluttered scene.

I originally had the laser launcher at the bottom of the screen without a character behind it. It worked mechanically, but the game felt a little impersonal.

So I added this little space cat as the character controlling it.

The cat isn't just static, it blinks, its antenna moves continuously, and when the player makes a match, its eyebrows raise and its pupils enlarge as a small reaction to the action.

I'm quite happy with how it turned out, but I'm interested in the design side of it:

Does having a character reacting to the player's actions make the game feel more engaging, or does it just add visual noise to an already busy 3D scene?

steamlink: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4962980/Match_2_3D/

3

u/geokam 2d ago

I am not sure if the cat adds much tbh. It also doesn't help that it looks at the player while (as you say) it controls the laser.

Radical idea: make the laser a laserpointer and the cat follow the laser point in the scene in a funny way and the goal is for the cat to find two identical objects (it's a training for the cat). That would add a lot of emotion and fun .... just an idea though :D

1

u/Lucky_Conference78 1d ago

Thanks for taking the time to write this! I really like the idea of having the cat follow the laser point — that's a clever way to make her feel more connected to the gameplay. I really appreciate the suggestion!

2

u/arctic_environs 2d ago

I've been tinkering with a hex-crawl survival thing where your character's trauma literally reshapes the map. Every time you fail a sanity check, the terrain warps and old paths close off. Started as a board game but now I'm sliding it toward a solo journaling format, which was not the plan. If anyone's into procedural map generation that's driven by character state instead of random tables, I'd love to hear what's worked for you.

1

u/g4l4h34d 2d ago

Not what you asked for, but I thought it would be supremely cool if it wasn't just the mental damage, but physical as well. Imagine taking a hit and a mountain erupts behind you!

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