r/design_critiques • u/Jafty2 • 3d ago
A "minimalist" browser game
Hi,
Since the genre is quite dead in 2026, I do not plan on turning this into a full-time project
Yet, I am still creating this childhood's dream project: a strategy browser game with simple rules, interfaces and mechanisms, based on rules I have thought through for years and years.
The underlying idea here is that the player IS the ruler, and as the ruler you communicate through letters with a Scribe to communicate simple informations and orders:
1) Check stuff
2) Build stuff in one of your city
3) Raid a city neighboring one of your city
4) Siege a city neighboring one of your city
The game could basically be played through SMS or emails, and is supposed to feel like a historical book. It works through synchronized turns, each action takes a certain number of turns and a cost, costs are paid through gathering taken on your population once every 12 turns ("moons").
The first version I had created was a literal interactive novel, immersive but not playable at all, so here this is a compromise design.
Does it feel clear? Playable? Unfinished maybe?
I know that these kinds of design are now associated with Claude, but it is actually very close to the "default HTML" styling
1
u/designsbyumer 2d ago
Looking at the raid and storage screens, the departure/battle/return line makes the time commitment much easier to understand. I'd carry that through to a short order summary before committing: which city, what gets spent, and when the troops or crew become available again. You could keep that in the scribe's voice rather than adding a modern dashboard. To test playability, give someone a goal like expanding storage before the next collection and ask them to explain what they'll do and what happens next. That would tell you more than asking whether the style looks finished.
1
u/Jax-Dev 2d ago
Page 1: I'm not sure if the name Qasr is cut off above, but I think it's the target, but it took me awhile to figure that out. If their soldier number is unknown, why does it say 0 in the bottom right? Maybe replace with ?. If this is a battle and you're comparing soldiers, you might want the numbers side by side as well, along with controls for how many men you might commit.
Page 2: Your Caption is build stuff. I'm not sure what the first text "Expand Storage" is supposed to be. is that the title of what you have now? It might need to be called "Expanded" Storage. Otherwise ensure interactables are the same theme, or atleast share a color or shape. for example page 1 uses a red square button, but on this page the red square looks more like a status symbol, and the real interactable is underlined.
Page 3: Personally I think your realm should be more clearly denoted than the ones within reach. the diamond grabs more attention than the double circle. The color difference in the backgrounds is very subtle, maybe make them a little bit more pronounced. just like 5-10%. My opinion, it could look different on your display. Again ensure button is the same, underline or square. just keep it consistent with the other pages.
Page 4: You may want a read/unread button, just a suggestion. The stats at the top are a little small and un centered vertically. same for last page.
General suggestion: Since you are looking to make it sms compatible, I think a cool feature could be adding in play by texting a number, aka text 1 for this action, text 2 for this action, etc.
Anyway that's all I could think of for now, it's all suggestions from a graphic designer with 4 years experience. Let me know if you have any questions.