This past Saturday, I presented The Patchwork Ship at the 2026 Rochester Game Festival. Deep appreciation to all who stopped by, asked questions, took stickers and business cards, and of course, played it! So, what’s changed since the last expo two months ago?

The first trailer for The Patchwork Ship being projected at the RocGameFest expo while attendees look on and do expo things
The trailer for The Patchwork Ship being projected at the RocGameFest expo

Confusion around core mechanics had been the most consistent issue. The device and intent systems were unclear, people weren’t sure what cards would do. I resisted the urge to implement a tutorial at the time, instead focusing on redesigning and reimplementing interfaces to improve their layout and readability.

Two people playing The Patchwork Ship at the Null Band Games booth
Two people playing The Patchwork Ship at the Null Band Games booth

Accessibility was also a concern; I had been using semantically meaningful colors with no explanation, like red for attack. Now, everything has a distinct icon with legends, tooltips, or readable labels. In addition to text speed, there’s now a slider for game speed, which was appreciated by several players who wanted to either speed up or slow down the pace.

Someone contemplating energy generation in The Patchwork Ship
Someone contemplating energy generation in The Patchwork Ship

Like in July, crashes weren’t a problem, but there were definitely bugs. A big one stood out right at the top; if you used the controller and customized your player, you couldn’t navigate to the start button. I caught that one as I was setting up, and there was nothing I could do about it other than warn people up front if they reached for the controller (not a great impression).

An attendee strategizing while playing The Patchwork Ship
An attendee strategizing while playing The Patchwork Ship

The attract screen worked well; it was a repurposed introduction (way too long). The Main Menu will play it if there’s no activity for 60 seconds or if the mouse is in the lower right corner for 3 seconds. I need to tweak it so it relocates the mouse if it triggers so it doesn’t get into a loop.

Two people fighting the first stage boss in The Patchwork Ship
Two people fighting the first stage boss in The Patchwork Ship

The card redesign mostly worked, but energy cost was confusing (I’ll add an icon in both the toolbar and card to associate), and the pierce effect was the most baffling to players; it’s a railgun that charges over multiple turns, so you target it, then it applies 2 turns later and ignores shields. “Pierce x 5 in 2” is technically correct, but too brief. “5 Piercing Damage in 2 Turns” is a better framing.

One person in combat, the other at an Outpost in The Patchwork Ship
One person in combat, the other at an Outpost in The Patchwork Ship

A higher percentage of players made it to the [REDACTED] stage boss, and for the first time, several were able to beat it. The boss summons self-destructing drones that cause damage to all. I improved the visuals and intent system, but people were still confused because they missed the meaning of the intent (a blast icon and “15 Damage to All”). A suggestion to make it clear that it was about to explode is great, so I’ll do that.

Combat and a hostile Terminal in The Patchwork Ship
Combat and a hostile Terminal in The Patchwork Ship

I think there is still a need for a tutorial, but it doesn’t have to be long. I found myself describing the workflow up front, and I’ve got the elevator pitch down - but I shouldn’t have to say it out loud. Instead of collecting cards, you collect devices which can be turned off and on, and devices generate one-time use targeted cards applying effects. There’s more details, but really, that’s the core principle. Folks who understood it up front were able to get through the majority of the game without issue.

A hostile terminal and and encounter in The Patchwork Ship
A hostile terminal and and encounter in The Patchwork Ship

It may feel like I’m flagellating myself and just focusing on the negative. On the contrary, I think this is great, and I have very solid next steps. Some people definitely walked away after looking or getting the elevator pitch (and that’s fine), but nobody who sat down to play stopped until game over. There were requests for more content and more mechanics, which I hadn’t really heard before. People praised the look and feel, graphics, novel mechanics, and even the booth itself.

Combat and a neutral terminal in The Patchwork Ship
Combat and a neutral terminal in The Patchwork Ship

I had two Steam Decks running the latest Linux build, each connected to an OLED monitor, mouse, and controller. At least one, if not both, were busy the whole time, which was fantastic! The monitors were Viewsonic VP16, I got them refurbished and they included a hood.

Jon Peck in front of the booth for The Patchwork Ship
Jon Peck in front of the booth for The Patchwork Ship

I feel my focus on fixing usability and workflow issues was ultimately successful; there was more feedback around adding mechanics and content, rather than working around problems. My work isn’t done, and I still feel like I have a ways to go before I do a public demo, but I’m on the right path.

All photos were taken with verbal consent.

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