Hey Paul, I really appreciate the kind words about 'Good Numbers', thanks! I think "Be intentional!" definitely sums up a lot of my thinking there, haha, or maybe something like, "This is something you *can* be intentional about!". Since part of my wider project with that is the idea of somewhat clawing back these numerical/mathematical areas into the domain of game design. I see designers sometimes treat that sort of 'economy' (which I totally agree is an increasingly unclear term) or system design like it's something very specialized, and somewhat separate or outside their expertise, and like that maybe there really is some sort of perfect algorithm for it but that they just don't know it. So I think it’s worth demystifying and making it clear that it's not and that you can apply all your regular design instincts (and design processes) to it just fine. So I agree with how I think that fits in to your broader point here- a well-balanced and well-tuned system is important for that long-term structure you’re talking about (along with it being an interesting system in the first place!). Which, anyway, is all just an aside!
Hey Paul, I really appreciate the kind words about 'Good Numbers', thanks! I think "Be intentional!" definitely sums up a lot of my thinking there, haha, or maybe something like, "This is something you *can* be intentional about!". Since part of my wider project with that is the idea of somewhat clawing back these numerical/mathematical areas into the domain of game design. I see designers sometimes treat that sort of 'economy' (which I totally agree is an increasingly unclear term) or system design like it's something very specialized, and somewhat separate or outside their expertise, and like that maybe there really is some sort of perfect algorithm for it but that they just don't know it. So I think it’s worth demystifying and making it clear that it's not and that you can apply all your regular design instincts (and design processes) to it just fine. So I agree with how I think that fits in to your broader point here- a well-balanced and well-tuned system is important for that long-term structure you’re talking about (along with it being an interesting system in the first place!). Which, anyway, is all just an aside!
Thanks Alexander!