I was recently working on a little management video game, using some board game metaphors. It was scoped like a one-week game jam, so nothing fancy. It's currently on standby to give the developer time to deal with personal matters. So, no more details on that for the moment. Being the only designer on the project at the start made me take on many aspects, from the kickoff meeting to frame the project, to more project management tasks, in addition to UX/UI and game design work, collaborating closely with the developer on the integration of some rules and systems. In the previous game jam, on less system-driven games, my work on documentation could remain minimal. Figma could be the main workspace for demoing and explain stuff. For my first game jam on [[Until it’s too big (2024)]] I mostly worked on art direction, UI/UX, and very visual stuff. Here, I took a step back to have a better-suited approach for a management game. In [[WorkroW (2025)]], another participation to a GMTK game jam, I worked at the last minute on the spawn system and a map layout, with some logic regarding a dynamic implementation. It was some of the most fun I had working on the game. Coming up with the logic and the variables that drive it. Here, working on a new project, this systemic approach has been more… systematic. I identify this approach has something I want to improve on, better documenting design to drive the implementation through a more organize and yet visual approach. I'm trying to improve two problems. First, projects I work on have become more complex and more collaborative since late 2023. Second, I want to reduce friction in “creative” design work. It’s easy to keep expanding ideas, but implementation in games is rigid: vague concepts often force major rework later and endless last-minute scrambles. So I’m pushing to define how the smaller design pieces connect earlier, and to build a clear path to testing before the “obvious” issues show up. Make a clear boundary between design playground and design ready to implement. Nothing new in isolation, but my approach continues to evolve. I don't think it's the developer's task to deal with vague design indications. Systems need to be exposed throughout the design process and not explored by developers at the end of the chain. There's a right balance to strike regarding this collaboration. It has been really helpful for me to present design ideas through development code logic. With functions and variables, clearer specifications can be made to identify balance levers for further refinement. I will try to write a more comprehensive entry later this year, like a post-mortem, on some game design takeaways from my last projects. I want to do some more reading on the subject, so it will take the time needed.