Tactics Prototype
An XCOM-style prototype where I design and write everything
IN DEVELOPMENT · CLIENT UNDER NDA
Since early 2026 I've been building an XCOM-style turn-based tactics prototype for a client studio. I design the systems and write all of the gameplay code myself, reviewing progress weekly with an external lead designer. I can't show much of the project or name the client, so this page describes the work instead.
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Role: Solo (design and all gameplay code), in weekly collaboration with a senior designer
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Engine: Godot 4.6 (GDScript)
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Client: A studio(Can't name, under NDA)
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Status: In development
What I've built:
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Built the full tactical combat foundation: configurable grid-based movement, turn-based state machine, unit classes with active abilities, and an XCOM 2-style targeting UI with hit-chance breakdowns.
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Designed and implemented a novel "momentum" mechanic: a proportional-decay resource with threshold-based buffs/debuffs and a banking system (orbital strikes, ability/item banking) as the project's key USP, with all parameters exposed for rapid design iteration.
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Implemented advanced tactical systems: overwatch with cone visualisation, destructible cover, grenade AoE, melee, consumables, enemy patrol/detection AI with reinforcements, room-based fog of war, hackable terminals, doors/vacuum windows, and extraction objectives.
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Optimised pathfinding by caching the AStar3D graph at level load with per-query node toggling, replacing expensive per-move rebuilds.
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Built supporting metagame UI including a loadout/armoury screen and a custom momentum bar with editor-placed threshold icons and a popover system.
Design spotlight: the momentum system
Momentum came out of a problem I kept running into in playtests. Turn-based tactics tends to reward caution. If hanging back and taking the safe shot is usually the correct move, players stop taking risks and the turns start to blur together. I wanted something that paid you for committing to a fight.
The first version was too harsh. The design lead pointed out that the low-momentum debuffs read as punishment rather than pressure, which was undercutting the exact risk-taking the system existed to encourage. So I split every debuff into its own toggle and brought the penalty values down, which meant we could switch individual effects on and off and reshape the curve straight from the inspector without me rewriting anything. Balancing it became something we could do together in a review, instead of a back-and-forth through the code.
It works as a single resource shared across the whole squad. Aggressive play builds it (kills, pushing into the open, that sort of thing), and when you ease off it doesn't just sit at the top. It pulls back toward a neutral baseline instead of draining to zero, so you can't spike it once and then coast. Staying strong means staying aggressive. Crossing the higher thresholds unlocks buffs and slipping to the low end brings on debuffs, and at any point you can bank what you've built and spend it on a bigger play like an orbital strike rather than letting it bleed away.
Outcome
Still to be announced. No further info due to NDA