The game was completely based on the concept of "yes and..." and "no but you can...". Finding creative ways to balance between letting my players feel empowered but keeping them from running rampant in the game world was key to keeping immersion and engagement.

What Went Right

• Successful Outsourcing Management - Outsourced custom Art, Music, Toolsets and Resources (cameo voice actors and game/level designers)

• Creative expression and game design experimentation allowed for deeper understanding of  balance and pacing required to keep players engaged

• Successful implementation of Game as a Service

  • Each week iterated upon the last and incentivized players to stay engaged and return for rewards

• Incredible storyline, enthralling characters, and overall great experience

What Went Wrong

• No Definition of Done

  • I learned a valuable lesson of "start with the end in mind". As I wasn't exactly sure where the story would end, it never did. The plots and arcs just kept continuing as one improvised moment would lead to another entire arc or plot, eventually the campaign fizzled out without fully concluding

• Power Creep and The Rule of Cool

  • Giving my players powerful rewards in order to keep things cool was imperative to the fun of certain individuals, however based on the nature of the D&D 5E Engine, the power creep quickly became a real effort to over come. My player's characters were quickly able overpower most narratively relevant enemies and ever increasing levels of improvisation, narrative story telling and encounter design were required to keep the game challenging.​

What I Learned

• Every player has a different "Definition of Fun"

  • Originally the game was a high narrative, low power setting.  As I learned what individual players liked I tailored gameplay and key events to give each player tastes of what they enjoy​

• Pacing and the Illusion of Choice are powerful tools

  • The illusion of choice came in handy in this medium as i could allude to a larger world but in reality "all roads led to rome"

  • Staying mindful of pacing was imperative; too long without meaningful rewards tailored to each player's definition of fun would result in them slowly losing interest in a plot, arc, or session

• Influencing People without Authority

  • There were situations over the two year period where there were disagreements amongst players on various topics. Each player required a different tact to get to desired outcomes or realistic compromise. I learned a great deal about how to influence and collaborate without authority as I did not want to lose my players​