Right now, I’m juggling two areas of my life that shouldn’t fit together as well as they do: my studies and game development.
On the one hand, I’m currently taking a module called 'Design & Creativity' — it's essentially an intensive course in learning to perceive, evaluate, and create things that feel right. On the other hand, I’m still developing Solo Showdown & Chaos Clash, my little party game experiment that began with a simple idea:
“What if a party game didn’t get boring after five minutes?”
It turns out that the stuff I’m learning at university is having a positive impact on my development process. So here’s a devlog-style update, offering a glimpse into how design theory is actively changing the way I develop this game.
A quick snapshot: What Solo Showdown & Chaos Clash is trying to be:
The goal is simple: a party game that stays fresh no matter how many rounds you play.
It's not just "drink and answer" (although it can be used that way if you want), but something that can adapt to different moods and groups — think icebreakers, trivia, party challenges and even "surprisingly educational" modes like language learning or fitness prompts.
The structure I’m aiming for is basically:
- Solo Showdown: One player is put on the spot with a timed question, facing pressure, glory or embarrassment.
- Chaos Clash: group challenges that interrupt the rhythm of the game every few rounds, so it never becomes predictable.
This unpredictability is the whole vibe.
Uni Module: ‘Design & Creativity’ (and Why It’s Actually Useful).
Usually, university modules feel like a lot of words with little impact.
This one is different. The core topics are essentially a toolkit for making things feel intuitive and exciting, even when they’re simple.
Here’s what I’m working through at the moment:
Design perception/perspective (learning how to ‘see’ properly):
Gestalt laws, composition techniques and design evaluation.
- Creativity highlights and creativity killers
- Creativity models and techniques (language-based, visual and conceptual).
- Creative personality traits.
- A whole arsenal of practical creativity methods
What surprised me most is this:
Design isn't decoration — it's decision-making.
It's not just about making things pretty.
It's about making sense and making it feel good to interact with.
That’s exactly what a party game lives and dies on.
Gestalt laws: The secret sauce behind UI that 'just works'.
One of my biggest lightbulb moments was revisiting Gestalt principles and realising how applicable they are to game UI.
In a party setting, people don't want to spend time learning how to use your interface. They want to glance at it and instantly know:
- 'What do we do next?'
- Who's up?
- 'How much time do we have?'
- Did we score, fail or survive?'
So I’m actively thinking about things like proximity and grouping.
Proximity and grouping.
If buttons belong together, they should be kept together. No visual scavenger hunts.
Similarity:
If theme buttons all behave the same, they should look the same — only breaking the pattern when something important needs to be highlighted.
Figure-ground:
Players should instantly see what matters most right now.
- the selected player.
- the question
- The countdown timer.
Everything else should politely step back.
Visual hierarchy:
Big decisions = big visuals.
Tiny labels = tiny visuals.
No more 'everything screaming at once'.
This may sound obvious, but when building quickly, it's easy to accidentally create an interface where everything has equal weight, which usually means nothing feels clear.
Perspective: Learning to Look at My Own Game Like a Stranger
Another theme in the module is Gestalterisches Sehen, which is essentially training your eye to recognise composition, perspective and what your brain automatically focuses on.
And, honestly? This is brutal (in a good way).
I’ve been working on this project for so long that my brain automatically fills in the gaps. I 'know' what the UI means, even when it's not actually obvious.
So now I’m doing a simple exercise:
- I open the game.
- I pretend I’ve never seen it before.
- I give myself five seconds to understand what’s happening.
- If I hesitate, it's not "user error". It's my fault.
It’s a humbling process. But it’s already helping.
Creativity Highlights vs Creativity Killers (also known as 'The Fight in My Brain').
This module also discusses what boosts and what kills creativity.
Wow, game development is basically a laboratory for both!
Creativity killers that I have noticed myself doing include:
- - Perfectionism disguised as 'polish' (rewriting the same thing 20 times).
- - Overthinking feedback before testing
- - Comparing my progress to that of other developers (instant motivation crash).
- Trying to do everything at once (UI, content, mechanics, marketing, and then nothing moves).
Creativity highlights that actually work:
- Constraints:
- 'Only 10 minutes for an idea.'
- 'Only three UI elements can be "loud" on this screen.'
- Play:
- Testing ridiculous ideas on purpose.
- Switching modes:
- Alternating between creative chaos and structured clean-up.
Building a party game about pressure and chaos is teaching me how to manage my own, weirdly enough.
Poetic, right?
The Creativity Toolbox I’m Stealing for Game Dev
The module is packed with creativity techniques, and I’ve started treating them as development tools rather than just theory.
A few that translate extremely well into game design:
Divergent → Convergent Thinking
First, I generate far too many ideas (divergent).
Then I cut and refine them brutally (convergent).
Party games thrive on this process because the best prompts and challenges usually originate from 'wild first drafts' that are then refined.
Language-based creativity
Perfect for:
- Question prompts
- challenge wording
- Theme names
- Tone (funny, spicy or wholesome).
Even tiny changes to the wording of a prompt can make it feel 10 times better.
Visual creativity:
Great for:
- UI rhythm
- icon clarity
- Designing 'game feel' without extra mechanics.
Sometimes, it's not about having more features, but about presenting them better.
What's next for Solo Showdown and Chaos Clash?
I’m still working towards a version of the game that feels like it’s constantly shifting gears.
- More chaos-round structure
- Group moments that interrupt the standard flow
- Challenges that change the energy in the room!
- UI refinement
- Clearer hierarchy.
- Faster navigation for the Game Master.
- Less thinking, more playing!
- More flexible content
- Themes that are easy to expand.
- Categories that fit different groups and moods.
In short: less repetition and more "Okay, wait, what happens now?" energy.
I want your input (yes, you!).
If you want to help shape the game, here are three things you can mention in the comments:
Theme ideas
- What categories would you actually pick at a party?
- Chaos Clash prompts
- What's a fun group challenge that isn't awkward?
- What makes a party game feel fair?
- Too random = frustrating. Too predictable = boring.
- Where’s the sweet spot for you?
Even one good suggestion can become a feature.
That's it for now — back to uni (and back to chaos)!
To be honest, balancing uni and development is messy.
But if I’m going to be overloaded anyway, I might as well build something fun while I’m at it.
The cool thing is that this time, uni isn't just "stealing time" from development — it's actively feeding it.
More updates soon.
Until then, stay chaotic! 👀
— Cold Enemy Gaming
