Mathematical games, systems, and creative experiments.
ArcStar is a home for games, development notes, procedural systems, and writing about the structure beneath playful things.
Current project
RuneGrid
RuneGrid is a calm procedural puzzle game for iOS, built around hidden algebraic structure, pattern discovery, and generative sound.
The game avoids over-explaining its mathematics in play; the writing here is where those systems can be opened up.
Latest writing
All posts- The Unexpected Weight of a £0.99 Button
Reflections on preparing RuneGrid for its first App Store review and in-app purchase.
- Further Notes on RuneGrid's Procedural Soundscape
A deeper look at the procedural synthesis system behind RuneGrid’s evolving, unsettled musical atmosphere.
- The Sound of Hidden Structure
How RuneGrid uses small musical motifs and mathematical transformations to create a procedural soundtrack.
- Designing a Quiet Puzzle Interface
Why RuneGrid avoids visual overload, and how its interface tries to support calm structural thinking.
- Achievements Without Distraction
How RuneGrid uses achievements to encourage new play styles and mathematical experimentation without cluttering the interface.