My 2 possible ways to game design

Disclaimer: I’m not a PC game designer, but I have extensive experience designing social games for real-life.

In my opinion, there are two approaches to game development:

1. Mechanics-Focused Design This refers to everything that forces the player to make choices. This approach often works for strategy games, deck-builders, or logic-based games. Key principles here are:

• The player must constantly choose between options, with no single "overpowered" solution.
• The player shouldn’t be able to develop an optimal strategy or "solve" the game. Instead, they should face unique situations requiring tailored solutions.

2. Narrative-Focused Design This means making the player believe in the world you’re creating. For example, if your game is about a gangster, it must include guns, cash, cars, and rap. Any elements that clash with this theme break immersion, making the player distrust the game.

My Ludum Dare Jam Experience: I had only 2 days and roughly 10 hours to work on the game. The theme was "deeps", which I interpreted as "deep dark fantasies"—a nod to the niche gachimuchi subculture. I chose the narrative-focused approach.

How I Did It:

• Listed everything I associate with gachimuchi: low-quality cross-fandom fanfics, music mashups, a neon-lit bar inspired by Blue Lagoon, gym rivalries, and Twitch emotes.
• Added all these elements into the game. The genres (visual novel + rhythm game) emerged naturally, serving the narrative rather than dictating it.
• Skipped core rhythm-game mechanics, like the pop-up messages for hitting notes in Guitar Hero. For my game, immersion through the fanfic storyline mattered more, and I spend my time for more important things.

Result:

There is my thinks about this theme. I would be happy, if you share your opinion in comments and play my game!