Sprocketforge Interview

Have there been any major hiccups during development, and if so how were they overcome? How has playtesting helped in this area?

(Ananda) The most memorable issue was when we switched from asynchronous to synchronous gameplay. A previous version of the game was fully asynchronous: players did everything at the same time, and I had set up the recycling system so that each player had two exhaust stacks, one per neighbor, with different stages to avoid race conditions. Sophisticated Cerberus Games wanted to switch to turns for several reasons, so we tried it out. It seemed fine in internal playtesting, but it was agonizingly slow when I brought it to an outside group of game designers. We solved that problem by introducing the asynchronous follow system, which keeps players engaged in the game. Playtesting with new players is extremely important for this exact reason: experienced players are often blind to problems that can turn people away from your game for good.

(Jeremy) The biggest thing that comes to mind (besides what Ananda said) was trying to figure out how to manufacture the gears in a cost-effective manner. For the longest time the gears had stickers on them, which meant either the factory or the players would need to apply the stickers. We considered doing punchboard gears but worried they would wear out, plus they would require spindles. We considered printing directly on the gears, but that was too expensive. All of the above options also meant that we needed a gear for every variation of production symbols we wanted in the game.

The solution? Plastic gears with slots for punchboard inlays. This separated the production symbols from the gears, so we only needed as many gears as there were slots on the player boards. It also meant the production inlays could be double-sided, which allowed us to create the advanced mode of the game. This was a perfect example of iteration and collaboration that quite literally led to a game-changing outcome (pun intended).

Which is your favourite mechanic within the game?

(Ananda) I am incredibly proud of the passive trade (recycling) mechanic, where players can take waste mana from their neighbors. When it comes to interaction mechanics, I prefer cooperation to attacks, both because it is a better strategy in any game with more than two sides and because it leads to a greater likelihood of good feelings between players. But some players intensely dislike cooperating with anybody. What I like most about recycling is that the player's physical actions (taking something from another player while giving nothing tangible in return) frame it such that I consistently hear players refer to it as “stealing mana.” I also love mechanics that accomplish two different changes with the movement of a single piece, such as Spirit Island’s influence tracks or Eclipse’s population tracks. My second favorite mechanic is probably gear disenchantment.

(Jeremy) I am one of the players Ananda is referring to above My favorite part about recycling is that you can intentionally change the makeup of your exhaust based on your playstyle. If you want to be friendly you can keep a variety of mana in your exhaust to encourage your neighbors to take from you (which helps both sides). Alternatively, if you’re like me, you can intentionally only keep one type of mana in your exhaust to discourage other players from taking your exhaust. Even though this technically hurts you, it’s quite entertaining when your neighbor needs a certain type of mana and you don’t have any for them to take!

This is becoming a bit of a hot topic. What’s your thoughts on AI in game design? This doesn’t apply directly to your game as you have an artist with a distinct human style, but there are games out there which are heading to crowdfunding that seem to rely on it heavily. Is there room for AI in game design? Is there a limit to its acceptable use?

(Ananda) AI is alright in the early playtesting phase to create placeholder art. I didn’t use it for Sprocketforge because game-icons.net already had everything I needed, but games that require lots of unique detailed artwork to support their theme might not be able to get away with simple icons. But if you are past the stage of validating gameplay and are presenting the game to prospective buyers, you should not use AI art.

(Jeremy) We 100% agree with Ananda. We have anti-AI art clauses in our contracts and always hire human artists for our games. We do think text-based Gen AI (such as ChatGPT) can be useful for things like brainstorming names, but by no means should it be used to create an entire game (which has already been happening).

Sprocketforge is a competitive game. Was this borne out of the theme, or was it always your intention to go competitive over cooperative?

(Ananda) Co-operative games pose several unique challenges, requiring full support from theme and gameplay. The initial idea that players were running gear-driven factories suggested a capitalistic theme, which does not mesh well with cooperation. I did not consider a cooperative version at any point during the design process because the theme strongly suggested competition.

What do you play in your spare time between sessions?

(Ananda) I play many different games, most of them only once. Some of the board games that I have been returning to repeatedly in the last few years include Spirit Island, Carcassonne, and Blood on the Clocktower.

(Jeremy) Not as many games as I would like! Terraforming Mars, Survive: Escape From Atlantis, and Carcassonne are some staples but I’ve recently really been into Bonsai and CastleScape.

Which one game do you wish you'd designed yourself?

(Ananda) There are many games I wish I had designed myself. If I had to pick one, I would have to say Root. Back in college, I loved playing the Dune board game because of the detailed and dramatically different factions. But Dune is a very long and excessively merciless game, and I tried multiple times to create a lighter asymmetric game that could capture the same feeling of playing a completely different game than your opponents. I think there was one where players were different types of monsters (zombies, vampires, werewolves, etc.) fighting over the resource of human bodies/souls which were also controlled by a player. There was another one where some players were acolytes and others were different gods they were worshipping. I never came up with anything that felt quite right, and when I played Root, I realized it was exactly what I had been trying to do.

(Jeremy) This is a tough one since there are so many fantastic games out there. I’m going to take the easy way out and say Catan, not so much for the success but more so for what it did for the board game industry. For many people (myself included), that was the game that opened the door to a new type of game that I never knew existed. Had it not been for Catan, I may not be here talking to you today!