September at Workhorse Game Studio was full of closed playtesting for Gales of Winter. Semi-public playtesting is on the horizon for October, so be sure to sign up to be an early playtester!
What We Worked On
After multiple playtests this month, the Weather Cards in Gales of Winter are finally starting to feel more balanced. The real challenge is to provide enough difficulty to make the “survival” game feel like a struggle, but not impossible. It also needs to not feel too easy, otherwise there’s no investment in the struggle to survive. Gales of Winter is all about finding that “Goldie Locks” balance of difficult-but-not-impossible.
We also started the preliminary work on the Tabletop Simulator version of the Gales of Winter prototype, which will be open to semi-public testing in October.
Wins
There were a few wins in September. As we already mentioned, the balancing of the Weather Cards is feeling better. We have also completed some rough art and graphic design work for the TTS version of Gales of Winter.
Challenges
September brought a lot of focus on restructuring and re-prioritizing business-related things behind-the-scenes, which ate into the actual time spent on game development. With a lot of that admin work out of the way, October looks to be ready for smooth sailing for more game development work.
Playtesting
September saw the completion of 6 closed playtests focused on balancing the Weather Cards.
What’s Next
The main goal for early October is to complete the Tabletop Simulator version of the prototype – complete with rough art and graphic design.
Community Engagement
Be sure to sign up to be an early-access playtester for Gales of Winter and all future Workhorse Game Studio games!
Wrap Up
We are looking forward to the cozy board gaming weather that Fall will bring. We look forward to your playtesting feedback in October!
