How we measure fun without guessing
Decisions per minute, and minutes where nothing happens
"Is it fun?" is the hardest question in game development, and the easiest one to lie to yourself about. So we count.
We have a robot that plays a full campaign in eight stages, about 75 player minutes. It logs every decision it has to make and every minute in which there was nothing to decide.
The first run was humbling. A siege led by the player took 21 minutes and three clicks. Waiting for the castle to be built was another 21 minutes with three events. Politics offered no decisions at all.
Each number became a task. The siege now has foraging, supply and terms to offer, and the same robot counts 16 decisions in it. The castle is built in stages that ask for material. An heir has to be named. The robot is no judge of taste, but it is very good at finding the minutes where a player would reach for the phone.
Age of Medieval is developed by UnderStudio in UnderStudio 2D and published by Brasa Interactive. It releases on 17 May 2027.
Age of Medieval on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3259670/
Official site: https://ageofmedieval.com/
