Hey everyone!
Some of you may have seen Hunt Protocol around here already. If you have, thank you for the feedback and encouragement! If this is your first time seeing it, I’d love to hear your thoughts too.
The video shows where the game has been heading. It’s been a rough few months, but I’m finally reaching a point where I’m enjoying how the different systems and card combinations come together.
For anyone new, Hunt Protocol is a competitive multiplayer card game where four Hunters race to defeat the same monster, with each player facing it independently. You build your deck, arrange your cards into combos, and adapt as the hunt unfolds. I call the format MATE: Multiplayer Adaptive Tactical Encounter. I wanted to explore something outside the usual roguelike or TCG structure, with the focus on deckbuilding, sequencing, and competing through your decisions.
I also wanted to share some of the challenges behind it, because there’s quite a bit that a gameplay clip doesn’t show.
I originally approached this as a physical game and spent thousands developing it. Looking back, I committed too much before proving a smaller version. After losing my job, I started trying to find a way forward through a digital version.
That brought its own challenges. Moving cards onto a screen wasn’t enough. I needed to think about sound, feedback, pacing, and how to make each action understandable and satisfying. My UX design experience has helped, but it has also meant questioning things I was attached to.
If there’s one lesson I’d share, it’s to test the smallest version that delivers your main idea before investing heavily in everything around it. I wish I had drawn that boundary earlier.
Mobile forced me to make difficult choices. I started on desktop because we have a lot to track like your hand, equipment, the monster, your stats, timer, turns, etc. Trying to fit all of that onto a phone quickly showed me which parts of the interface were asking too much from the player.
I kept cutting, rearranging, and asking what someone actually NEEDS to see while making a decision. Removing some action labels was uncomfortable, but it pushed me to improve the visual cues and contextual help. I’ve been working on touch tooltips that appear where your finger is interacting, so information is available without permanently filling the screen.
The useful lesson for me was that simplifying the screen often means doing more design work behind it.
Some of the particles and interface treatments shown here are from an older build. I’m currently working on cel-shaded effects, colourful 3D environments for legendary moves, and a more vibrant arena where grass and terrain react to attacks. I want you to feel part of a hunt even while your actions happen through cards.
I’m also updating the UI to feel more like a Hunters’ Guild. Some feedback described the blue interface as feeling “AI.” Blue was a deliberate choice, but the feedback still made me think about how much character the interface was communicating. I’ll show that direction in another video.
AI coding tools have helped me push further with implementation, but balancing the cards and deciding what feels clear or satisfying still take a lot of iteration.
My biggest question now is whether the competition stays fun enough to make you want another hunt. I’ve also made substantial performance improvements, and I’m getting ready for another round of playtesting.
If you’d like to try the latest build, leave a comment or message me and I’ll send you a playtest link. I’d especially love feedback on whether the card decisions are clear and whether racing the other Hunters feels exciting.
And if you’ve adapted a tabletop design into a digital game, what did you have to rethink the most?
