Shadows of Game Design

A journey through abandoned projects, dark themes, and finding focus: how shadows of London became my creative anchor

I have abandoned most of the projects I have already talked about in this substack. Each project has different and various reasons for falling apart, but the core one is that game design requires a lot of time and mental energy. Therefore, I need to be very motivated and focused to keep going. 

I was working on some projects only with the scope of experimenting and tinkering. There is nothing inherently wrong with experimenting and tinkering, but it does not work for me now, and it drained most of my enthusiasm for those projects.

Even if I got some only-in-my-head-cool ideas, I started questioning the goal. 

This leads to the second main issue: lack of focus. Some of those projects were not focused enough. The direction shifted so often that I felt like I was actually creating multiple games but calling them the same one.

So, in the future, I will focus on games that will strongly motivate me! 

Shadows of London

I am working on a game I have temporarily called Shadows of London. Set in a fictional Victorian age, where typical monsters and demons are real, the game is inspired by The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comic and the Penny Dreadful series. The game focus is on the theme of the double with a strong emphasis on characters grappling with their darker sides while striving to fight for the good within them.

To be honest, I am dusting off this game idea. I have already attempted ~1 year ago with the Monad Echo system, and I kept thinking about this all the time. So, it suddenly became the right choice when I had to pick up a game that motivated me more.

While working on it, I find myself grappling with my own dark side, trying not to let it interfere with what I want the game to become. I’m determined not to force the evolution of characters onto predetermined rails. Instead, I want players to have the freedom to shape their characters’ growth and provide them with the right tools to drive the narrative themselves.

To explore characters’ struggles with their darker sides, I’m using Monad Echo descriptors to delve into their fights with their shadows and their evolution. This mechanic allows each character’s journey to be deeply personal and unique, which fits the game’s focus on individual stories. The intense focus on a single character’s story led me to consider making Shadows of London a good candidate for solo play or a two-players game (one master and one character player). However, I still want to include the necessary tools and options to support a standard 3/4 person group, offering enough flexibility for various playstyles.

I aim to make a small product and publish it by June 2025 (I am trying to be more realistic with time goals here!). Playtesting will begin soon.

Latter experiences…

I have started playing Broken Tales with my group. It is a game you can think of as the Suicide Squad of fairy tales. Players play the evil of famous tales, turned into “good”, while the good ones are broken and become the bad folks of the stories. I like how each scenario, inspired by a classic tale, sets the players’ expectations and curiosity. It’s exciting to see how the familiar storylines twist and how the group is surprised by plots they thought they knew.

I’ve also been re-reading the Fate Core System. I read it once years ago, but now I’m taking notes, focusing on elements I want to explore further when I get a chance to play it again, as well as those parts I’m still not fully convinced by.

Recently, I read Into the Odd, and I am willing to play at least one or two game sessions as soon as possible. 

Along with that, I also received two small but wonderful games: Beak Feather + Bone and The Details of Our Escape. Speaking of solo gaming, since it’s often hard to coordinate sessions with friends, I’ve decided to create a list of solo games for those off weeks. Beak, Feather + Bone is the first on the list. If anyone has suggestions for more solo games to add, I’m all ears!

A quick note!

You may have already noticed I am not the most consistent person regarding posting (:-P), and with some significant changes coming up in my personal life, I won’t be able to update you again very soon! But if you’re curious about what’s going on with my projects and can’t wait months for my next post, feel free to reach out—I’d love to chat.