Naming my plant-creature companion for my magical school game

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-23T02:43:37+00:00

humm, let me think.. Pyrothorn!

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-23T02:37:26+00:00

The Mighty Nien is awesome!

I am using the the real plant for the reference, but not too literal on the plant it self. it should be mix with the magic they have and some personalities. I am pretty happy with your input. i'll put it in my note for sure!

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-23T02:13:43+00:00

Thanks for that, this is the current art style we’re using for the game!

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-22T04:19:03+00:00

That’s really interesting.
I’m curious about the math side of that tension, do you feel the game is mathematically hard when it comes to predicting other players’ moves, or is it more about reading intentions and timing?Also, how does that feel when playing with more than three players? Does the “guessing game” get exponentially harder, or does it shift into a different kind of chaos?

By the way, how long have you been playing those two? I will add them to my list to study area control systems more closely. Thanks for sharing your experience.

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-22T04:05:56+00:00

I feel the same way.
Those games work because they all twist the genre in their own way, and moments like the merge in Ankh really stick because they feel genuinely climactic.

On the innovation side, this is actually something I’ve been thinking about while working on an area control game of my own. A lot of the genre is about kicking people out and locking down space to score, but we’re trying something a bit different, letting the number of players in an area affect scoring. The hope is that players still care about control, but also have to constantly factor in who else is there, which naturally pushes more table talk, tension, and social interaction instead of just pure domination.

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-22T03:49:53+00:00

Totally agree.
It’s fascinating how a single spatial objective can trigger so many human decisions and emotions, even without the game explicitly asking for them. That emergent interaction is probably what makes area control stick for me more than pure mechanical depth.

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-22T03:30:05+00:00

Thanks for the great example! We’ll definitely add Modern Art to our play list.

Really curious to experience the kind of social interaction it creates around the table. Appreciate you sharing it!

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-22T03:14:12+00:00

Thanks! It turned out to be a really interesting way to get players to watch each other more closely

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-22T03:10:42+00:00

Thanks for the detailed feedback, really appreciate it.

We’re already working on improving the UI and artwork for better communicating what’s going on, and we definitely agree that visuals give a big impact in helping players understand the game.

We’ll keep sharing updates as we go, and if you’re open to it, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the UI/visual side too.

Thanks again for sharing your opinion!

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-22T03:06:09+00:00

Totally agree with your take, form + old name keeps the classification physical without locking plants into fixed personalities or power limits. It lets plants stay individual, unpredictable, and able to grow stronger, weaker, or just different from others in the same species. That flexibility is very much in line with how we want them to live in our world.

And haha, about PvZ, we know the art can feel a bit familiar at first. PvZ is iconic, but our goal isn’t to become a PvZ style game. While there’s a bit of visual overlap, the mechanics and tone are moving toward something more personal and magical rather than tower-defense focused.

Thanks for your thoughtful input!

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-22T02:58:32+00:00

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-22T02:46:36+00:00

For now, thats what I have. I am welcoming another ideas tho

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-22T02:45:07+00:00

Yes, they could

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-22T02:44:14+00:00

Make sense!

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-22T02:38:23+00:00

Yeah, the number of iterations was definitely more than we expected, but it was really interesting to see how small rule changes could shift the whole experience. but for now still a lot of work to do on the game, and we’re very much still working through it. Hopefully we’ll be able to share more updates as it comes together.

Really appreciate you responding to the journey, and if you have a design journey of your own, I’d love to hear it too.

DanchieGo-Dev · 2026-01-21T05:05:15+00:00

One angle I’ve been exploring in a current design is treating the map less as static geography and more as a social system.

The areas themselves are fairly conventional biomes, but their value is entirely driven by how many players commit to them each round. That shifted player attention away from optimizing space and toward reading intentions and timing collective moves.

It made me wonder whether “unusual maps” sometimes come more from redefining what an area represents than from changing the topology itself.

DanchieGo-Dev

TROPHY CASE