{
  "id": 13851746,
  "title": "Star Wars Galactic Racer's devs tested its roguelite progression system by turning it into a board game",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/star-wars-galactic-racers-devs-tested-its-roguelite-progression",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-12T02:15:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PC Gamer",
    "slug": "pc-gamer",
    "url": "https://www.pcgamer.com/games/racing/star-wars-galactic-racers-devs-tested-its-roguelite-progression-system-by-turning-it-into-a-board-game/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the early stages of development for Star Wars Galactic Racer, the game's developers at Fuse Games tested the game's roguelite progression system by creating a board game prototype. Creative director Kieran Crimmins explained that the team needed to validate the emotional experience of the progression system quickly. The board game version of Galactic Racer simulated the game's reward system, which involves earning tuning points after each race to upgrade the speeder and unlock new abilities. The board game allowed the developers to focus on the moment-to-moment experience of the game's progression system without getting bogged down by the specifics of the software engine. CEO Matt Webster noted that while modern engines are powerful, they don't match the speed of getting an idea down on paper. The board game approach allowed the team to prototype the system in a day, using simple tools like Post-its and dice. Crimmins emphasized that the best tool for prototyping is the one that gets the team to validate the emotion of the system the fastest.",
  "summary": "\"You can't know if you can feel the system until you can play the system.\"",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": "Prioritizing analog prototyping over software engines allows developers to validate core emotional mechanics and reward systems with a speed that digital tools cannot currently match.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}