Betrayal Blog: Myself and Future Projects

Hi everybody,

This is a space for me to explain who I am, and some of the things I’m working on. I know some of you will be interested in this information, and I think when using a service like Kickstarter, this is quite important.

When you choose to back a project on Kickstarter, you’re not just giving money to the product (although that’s a big part of what you’re doing). Your pledge can also potentially help fuel and fund future creative endeavors! Therefore, it’s good to know a little about who you’re supporting, and I’m happy to share it.

A Little About Me:


I wanted to be a game designer since I was young. I love game theory and design and I believe my love for these topics stems from my logical and analytical personality. Understanding the game as a whole is interesting to me. I believe games can be an abstract representation of life – for example – playing team sports exposes us to intense competition and how to handle it. It also teaches us cooperative team play, and how to work towards a common goal. Both are universal life skills.


I consider myself to be a creative and intelligent individual. I am interested in philosophy, Truth, innovation and efficiency. My favorite films are The Thing and The Hateful Eight. My favorite TV shows are Curb Your Enthusiasm and It’s Always Sunny. My favorite pastimes are playing games, designing games, lifting weights, debating, and watching movies. In that order.


I’m somewhat of an introvert, and prefer listening to talking (unless the topic is like games or game design, in which case I can talk for hours). Marketing and presenting myself is not my forte. This is one of the obstacles that has prevented me from carrying out acts of treason all this time. I hope Act of Treason is successful, but if it fails in terms of funding, I can almost guarantee that it will be due to a lack of strong marketing.


I had wasted my young adulthood trying to find my place in the world, and my purpose in life. For those in the same predicament, I can only suggest that you work towards that goal something. The “what” is less important than the chase. Your goals and aspirations will change over time, and working on something will help you understand whether you want to continue on that path, change direction slightly, or if that path no longer interests you. Jordan B Peterson’s words have been very helpful to me and I highly recommend listening to him on this topic.

Acts of Treachery:


It took me over 6 years to get Acts of Treason to this point. My goal from the start was to create the best social deduction game I could and achieve all my design goals. After a long journey of 6 years, I believe in myself aassessment that I have achieved this goal. Therefore, Act of Treason will get a lot of support from myself after the Kickstarter. I will continue to promote and market Acts of Treason as long as I see positive reviews and demand for it. Depending on the success of AoT, there may be expansions.


I’m often asked if this game works well online or on a computer. Since Act of Treason is largely a social game, I think it could be played online, but its best application might be in VR, where players can better understand their interactions with other players. All of this is of course up in the air right now, but the main theme I want to get across here is that I’m very interested in continuing Act of Treason after the Kickstarter is over.

I have little interest or inspiration for other board games at the moment. Act of Treason will likely be my first and last board game. But don’t worry, I have other great projects you might be interested in.

Blood and Guts (Working Title):


This will be the next big project I work on. This will be a Pen and Paper Role Playing game inspired by Dungeons & Dragons. Set in a gloomy fantasy world with Lovecraftian elements. The theme/genre I am aiming for is horror-heroic. Your character will be strong, but at the same time the world is a brutal and threatening place, even for a hero.

I’ve always struggled to enjoy PnPRPG. There are a lot of things I like about them, but at the same time there are a few things that can get in the way of my enjoyment. For example, being limited to certain character types and limited character choices, or having to face a vast sea of ​​unbalance between one character and another. Even the imbalance in the same character choices can sometimes be too much, and can ruin the experience for me.


Some of my design goals for this project are as follows:

• Brutal, fast-paced combat – Focus on quickly resolving conflicts. No more drawn-out fights.
• Focusing on narrative – Mechanics drives a rich, conflict-filled narrative without distracting from the story.
• Balancing and polishing – Focus on balance and simplify the game to only the most necessary complexity. A very polished presentation, and a game with all the quality of life improvements one can get.
• Embrace the unknown – Magic and the occult are shrouded in mystery in BnG. Mechanisms and incentives will be put in place to help ensure that some aspects of the world remain as they are. True horror and joy come from the unknown. Blood and Guts plans to take full advantage of this fact.
• Rewarding ingenuity – BnG will emphasize bartering, scavenging, and adaptation. No more choosing the best equipment from a list, or selecting optimal capabilities. Blood and Guts is about making hard choices with what you have. Make the most of any situation!
• One step forward, two steps back – you don’t have a compelling narrative without conflict. BnG will have deliberate mechanisms to really push you and your friends to your limits.
• Risk and reward – This will be the main mechanic. Did you take the safer option for the skill check? Or do you push your luck and increase your chances of success, while increasing your chances of critical failure?
• All rules will be officially available online in an easy to access mobile friendly HTML format. An offline rulebook will be offered once the rules are complete.

As I developed this game, there may undoubtedly have been some deviations from this goal, but I think it reflects the essence of my goals.

I’m still working on the rules, but playtesting will begin soon.

Dominant Strategy:


This is my article on this blog that covers everything related to game theory and game design. I’ve long loved the topic of game theory and design, and I’ve still loved games even more. I’m excited to finally have a voice in this area, discussing what makes a good game, and what makes a bad game. I can’t stick to a schedule for that, and my posts will likely be infrequent, but I will write articles when I can.


Each post will be considered a living document and will be reviewed and updated. There are a number of core articles I want to tackle. Rather than quantity of posts, I will aim for quality, with sufficient criticism, and self-reflection. There are also a number of games that I want to use as examples to highlight some of the best and worst parts of the game so that we can learn from them.


You can read my existing article on Dominant Strategy here.