Blame it on the Simulation

Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?

Morpheus

Crunch, also known as numerical or mechanical complexity in a game, has to exist for a reason. The crunch-factor is high in a simulation game like Strat-o-Matic Baseball. It's low in a more abstract, free-form, conversational style of game like Blades in the Dark.

Crunch can be interesting if it leads to meaningful decisions and interesting strategy, but it can’t slow a game down so much that it derails the main gameplay loop. Players usually want a gripping game, not math homework.

$Not what we're going for here, folks.$

Legacy of the Cage: Loops on Loops

In Legacy of the Cage: The Gauntlet, your main loop is the cagefight. There is some moderate crunch up front to set up the match, but that drops off when you begin the action. However, there's this secondary loop I'm working on: the fight team (or if you're into modern mixed martial arts, the "camp").

Team mechanics will eventually give you more powers, features, and control over how you build your fighters. We need an obvious, but engaging way to tie in the fight results with the Team rules.

If I get this right, it's going to be absolute magic.

Now, this is also a matter of audience preference. I recently discovered a Discord server with a group of people who were playing, hacking, and rolling away at Legacy of the Cage (seriously, it's amazing). It's a big simulation-focused crowd. They want a lot of math levers to pull. Crunch is for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

But, I can't go all-in on hard crunch because I'll end up sacrificing flexibility and appeal. Instead, I'm thinking we'll includes a series of "modes" where you, the player, can decide if it's worth it to be slower and mathier or quicker and more abstract.

I can't wait for you to try it out.

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