Writing

Now and again I’ll write about game design, or play, or the places those things bubble up unexpectedly. Sometimes it’ll be more overtly systems-based, or about how organisations could do better. Sometimes it’ll be more philosophical. And if I’m doing it right, there might just be bits of all three running through everything.

I Didn't Have Time To Write This

Posted on 1st May 2026

A writing system designed for weekly output, runs headlong into a lack of time. The result is complete, coherent, and not quite the point.

No Big Red Arrows

Posted on 24th April 2026

A look at how onboarding systems optimise for completion rather than understanding – and why that leads to users and players who've 'finished' onboarding without actually learning what they need to.

You're In In The Right Place

Posted on 17th April 2026

A dog, a corridor, a typo that isn't, and a reminder that good systems start with the user – even when the user has no idea.

Conspiracy Theories

Posted on 27th March 2026

Playing Tak with my partner Hel, we stumbled into a mode of play that Courtly Tak almost describes, but doesn't quite. The winner felt incidental. The game was the point. I've called it Conspiratorial Play – and once you see it, you start wondering where else it might apply.

Threkkian Mistakes

Posted on 19th March 2026

The product worked. But the mistakes were in the bits around it. I treated visibility, credibility, investment, and support as things that would follow naturally – they don't. They are systems, and they need to be built with the same intent as the product itself.

On Synthethics

Posted on 13th March 2026

Systems don't just shape behaviour; they gradually reshape what people believe is acceptable. When incentives and structures shift over time, practices that once felt unethical can quietly become normal.

What Rewards Reward

Posted on 7th March 2026

Rewards don't just encourage behaviour; they define what success looks like. When a system rewards a particular outcome, people will optimise for it — even if that means drifting away from the behaviour the system's designers originally intended.

When Ownership Isn't

Posted on 28th February 2026

Ownership isn't a personality trait; it's a product of the system people work within. When organisations remove autonomy, compress decision-making, or punish risk, they shouldn't be surprised when ownership disappears with it.