The first version of Pool Dominator began as an escape-the-room game set in, twist, your apartment. You were too uncomfortably hot to leave and had to do things like stick your head in the freezer and take cold showers in order to lower your body temperature and earn your escape. Then you got to go the pool and play a scene that resembles the final game. There was also going to be a third scene because who writes a game with only – oops, playable builds are due, here’s my two-scene game, Neil.
That draft didn’t suck, I guess? But it didn’t work, and I wasn’t sure how to proceed. Fortunately, Ted Casaubon, who beta-tested, gave me this note: “The pool part is more fun than the keeping cool part, so be sure the keeping cool part doesn’t last too long.” I cut the apartment scene completely and started expanding the pool scene. I added the “fucks given” counter. That weekend, I holed up with my computer and a can of baked beans (sustenance!) and finished the bulk of the game.
I realized that Pool Dominator could not possibly cater to all tastes. It’s a dumb game about a mean person that rewards terrible behavior, but I decided that as long as that was the bed I’d made I was going to jump up and down on it. Cue the cartoon violence, jiggly hyperlinks, and extreme profanity. I have mixed feelings about the profanity. A well-placed curse can make a funny line funnier, but too much swearing is ugly and immature, and at a certain point, it just becomes noise. I think it works better in some places here than others. YMMV.
I was also concerned about making my bad behavior simulator inclusive and hate-free (whether or not I succeeded is not for me to say). To those ends, players are cast as a featureless protagonist, and potentially unpleasant bullying scenarios either undermine the player or force them to succeed on the victim’s terms. (For example: your idea of intimidating Beatrice is childishly throwing her book in the water, and your attempt to beat up Mort results in a life lesson.) Additionally, the best skills in the game can only be unlocked by making friends. You can lone-wolf your way to the top, but it’s more tedious and less rewarding.
Pool Dominator has no fail state. The game is repetitive as it is; having to restart would make it unbearable. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that some people (friends and loved ones, but still) had played it twice, and I think the game has just enough going on to earn that. When my brother joked that he was doing a “Peacock-only mandatory-intimidate challenge run,” (not a thing until he made it a thing) I realized that I’d missed opportunities to make multiple plays more fun. The forthcoming post-comp release will implement a few features more widely and add seven achievements for all you achievers out there.
That’s about it. I’m pleased with the game, and had a blast participating in the comp.
Fun Stuff
Song I’d still love to make a game about: “Midnight Sun,” Ivy
Song I loved but wouldn’t make a game about: “Amaranth,” Nightwish
Pseudonym I loved but didn’t use: Huntsman Spider Mailbox