My childhood was filled with playing Sega Genesis games in the living room with my brother. A standout game was  General Chaos, a satirical action-str

Small teams - by David Hoang - Proof of Concept

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2024-12-27 16:30:03

My childhood was filled with playing Sega Genesis games in the living room with my brother. A standout game was General Chaos, a satirical action-strategy game. It offered a simplified take on real-time strategy, set in the classic Red vs. Blue era. Players chose squads of five soldiers, each with unique roles: Gunner, Launcher, Chucker, Scorcher, and Blaster. There was also a fifth option, the Commando squad, which had only two soldiers but combined various skills.

As a kid, I couldn’t fathom why anyone would choose two soldiers over five. Then, one day, I accidentally picked the Commandos team while playing solo—and was amazed by the results. I performed far better with the two-man team. With fewer soldiers to manage, I could switch seamlessly between them, outmaneuvering the larger squad with ease.

This lesson in General Chaos carried through in my craft as a designer; taking pride in the ability to do more with less. Though the word “small” might be relative to where you work, let’s discuss why having smaller teams is often more effective.

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