When to Use Juiciness Instead of More Features

Cosmic Janitor: A Postmortem on Feature Creep

We’re here today to discuss the untimely demise of “Cosmic Janitor,” a project that started with a bang and ended with a whimper. I’m the lead developer, and this is a brutally honest look at what went wrong. The core concept was simple: you’re a space janitor, cleaning up alien messes in zero gravity. Think “Viscera Cleanup Detail” meets “Among Us” (minus the social deduction).

Initially, the core gameplay was satisfying. Zipping around, vacuuming goo, and dodging space debris felt good. But then… the feature creep set in.

The Lure of More

Instead of polishing the existing mechanics, we kept adding new ones. A crafting system! Alien biology research! A convoluted upgrade tree! Each addition seemed like a good idea on paper.

“This will add depth!” we exclaimed. “Players will love the variety!”

The reality was far different. Each new feature was half-baked, buggy, and diluted the core janitorial experience. Players were overwhelmed and confused. The initial fun was buried under layers of unnecessary complexity.

Juiciness vs. Features: A Costly Misunderstanding

The biggest mistake? We prioritized quantity over quality. We spent countless hours implementing features that added little to the core gameplay loop.

What we should have done was focus on “juiciness.”

Juiciness is the feeling of responsiveness and impact. It’s the satisfying thunk of a door closing, the screen shake when you fire a weapon, the visual feedback that confirms your actions are meaningful.

We neglected these elements. Vacuuming goo felt weak. Movement was floaty and imprecise. There was no sense of weight or impact.

Imagine if, instead of adding a crafting system, we had focused on making the vacuum feel powerful. What if each glob of goo exploded with satisfying particles when vacuumed up? What if the zero-gravity movement felt snappy and responsive, with visual cues that emphasized momentum?

That’s juiciness. That’s what keeps players engaged. That’s what we missed.

The Importance of Tracking Your Progress

We lacked a clear vision and a way to track our progress effectively. Design decisions were made on the fly, often based on gut feeling rather than data or playtesting.

We never documented why we were adding a feature, or what impact we expected it to have. This led to scope creep and a lack of focus.

Imagine if we had kept a game dev journal, documenting each design decision, its rationale, and the expected impact on gameplay. When we added the crafting system, we could have noted: “Adding crafting system to provide players with a sense of progression and resource management. Expect it to add 10 hours of playtime.”

Then, after implementing it, we could have recorded the actual results: “Crafting system is confusing and detracts from the core loop. Players are ignoring it. Cut it.”

That level of tracking would have saved us countless hours and prevented us from derailing the project.

Learn From Our Mistakes

“Cosmic Janitor” is a cautionary tale. Don’t fall into the trap of feature creep. Prioritize juiciness over endless features.

Before adding a new mechanic, ask yourself:

• Does this enhance the core gameplay loop?
• Can I achieve the same effect with improved juiciness?
• What data supports this decision?

And most importantly: Document everything.

Start Tracking Your Game Development Progress Today

Learn from our mistakes and take control of your development process. Start a game dev journal to document your design decisions, track your progress, and analyze the impact of your changes.

Our game design journal is designed to help you do just that. Document Your Design and prevent your own “Cosmic Janitor” from happening.