I’m getting to that point where the core loop is actually fun, and it’s distracting from further development. Time for a blog post to focus thoughts and course correct.

Made a new design sheet that removed a lot of the clutter that has been iterated away:

Orange circle is the current area of focus. I implemented the crossed-out “starve” mechanic, but it feels too similar to the Piller lifecycle stage to provide an experientially different moment of play. I’m going to just put them on a timer. After it runs out, they’ll revert to a cocoon. I’ll see how that feels. It’ll probably mutate into something more interesting. Stay tuned. :3

Edit: just noticed this design sheet doesn’t include the “collecting food to make babies” aspect of being a butterfly that I talked about in my previous post, but I implemented it. And it’s good!