What is it that separates a classic, a masterpiece, and a consumable novelty from one another? This is a question I find myself asking often as I think about the next upcoming projects from Level 99 Games.

In the past few years, we've produced a lot of smaller games while keeping up with larger lines such as BattleCON and Pixel Tactics. Maintaining three existing series with new releases each year, and also coming out with even more new things is exhausting work. Sometimes I feel as if I'm treading water in the pursuit of upcoming projects.

At moments when I feel overwhelmed, I stop to reflect on what kinds of games I really want to be known for and remembered for. A game like BattleCON, which people can set up and play hundreds or thousands of times–that they can build a community around and host events with and feel a kinship with other players–is a good start.

I'd call a game like this a classic–something that you can play again and again which never gets old. These are the games that really define the hobby for people. They're the games we identify with when we say "X is my number one game". They're games that inspire the imagination and invite you to be part of their world. They aren't perfect, but we embrace their flaws and think of them as old friends, almost.

On the other hand, there are games that immerse you in a complete experience, from the motion of the bits down to the composition of components. And of course, great gameplay is a thing too! Games like these I would call Masterpieces–exemplifying the current pinnacle of the art. These are games like Scythe, Twilight Imperium, and some of the large miniature games out there. I'd humbly hope to count Argent and our upcoming Empyreal: Spells & Steam in this category as well.

As for the games that don't last, there are a lot of factors that can determine this. I think most of all though, a consumable game is one whose experience begins and ends at the table. It doesn't inspire you to play it again, it doesn't live beyond the confines of its box. Once you're done playing, you feel as if you've seen everything that the game has to offer. Repeated plays do not offer more possibilities or excitement.

This isn't just a question of variable content either--a game needs to promise new discovery and new experiences on repeated plays. If one battle is like another, then it doesn't matter if the enemies change. If one character fights like another, having twenty classes doesn't help. It takes radical divergence--the kind of divergence that almost makes a completely new game--to capture this feeling. On top of that, it has to be a promised divergent experience which the player is eager to explore.

Ultimately, a classic is a game that invites us to come and experience a new world, and then convinces us to explore that world again and again of our own volition and with our own direction.

Level 99's Philosophy