Articles & Devlog

I've been blending my day job with game design, finding success. Recently, I applied service and systems design techniques to understand Bug & Claw's systems better. It's an adaptable and effective approach I recommend. System maps Who is this for? The game designer (me) Anyone creating...

If you read the little introduction to Bug & Claw that I re-wrote a while back you may have noticed something hidden away in there– I grazed over some of the communication concepts. What I don't like about language options in some games is how similar they all are in application. There is more,...

The following poems are potential lore-builders and prompts for Bug & Claw. A dance at dusk In the shadows where creatures crawl, Silent whispers of the Iron Claw. A dance at dusk, a moonlit brawl, Mysteries unfold, unheard and raw. Unheard and raw, mysteries unfold, A moonlit brawl, a d...

As I continue to nail down the gameplay loop of Bug & Claw, I've been exploring point crawls (pun intended). Goals: Each "phase" of the game has straightforward mechanics. Where a "phase" means things like world travel, town activities, dungeon delving, and so on. The game is easy to u...

I've been using the free time I have to work on writing, mechanics, layout of things like character sheets. While I know I will eventually make art for Bug & Claw, I needed help to envision some of the world. I'm happy to announce that I hired Hodag to help do some of the art for Bug & Claw! Check...

After the iterations from the last post about enemy statblocks it helped catalyze even more updates to the character sheets. I was debating leaving some of the defences and injuries a bit more vague, but I realized the "crunchiness" of attaching numbers would aid the usability. Balancing crunch and...

Over the last little while I've been diving into what encounters will be like in Bug & Claw. Naturally, a part of that is taking a look at the opposition. Enemies, whether other Bug-kin, animals, or other things. There are particular things that I like about the D20 system encounters, as well as O...

Some of the most important things to me as I work on any of my games is that they're simple, streamlined, and easy to understand. These principles are pretty common for someone who comes from UX and product design. With this in mind, one of the many things that I find complicated about a lot of gami...

What follows is a rough list of starting items for Bug & Claw. I think this list has caused me to rethink how the weight system will work. I want to simplify it so things can weigh 1, 2, or negligible amounts but can still be listed all together. The current inventory system looks cool but is less f...

I've been working through the mutations that Bug-kin may have upon character generation. These may or may not be the same ones that you can receive on a moult if you have high infection. Many are cosmetic, while some offer advantages or disadvantages. Highly WIP, but if you've followed me for a whil...

As players traverse the world of Bug & Claw, they will encounter all sorts of interesting characters they can interact with. Here are a few. Common NPCs Bug-kin workers: Everyday bug-kin going about their tasks in settlements. Traders and merchants: Individuals involved in commerce and tra...

So far, the rules of Bug & Claw are based on these core premises. Perhaps more to come. Humans are gone, but their ancient footprint lingers– technology, destruction, and the occasional belonging. Bug-kin are aware that humans existed before them. That being said, not all of them are aware huma...