TTRPG Dev log February 2026
I've been working on a big system update for my VTT over the past few weeks and it's been a real marathon to get everything done. Firstly building everything in parallel to make sure it is viable (that took a couple of weeks) and then after assessing it removing the old system and putting the new one in place.
While the new system slotted in fairly neatly it clearly demonstrated that there were other areas which could be cleaned up and now would be the time to do it. So I decided to reduce my technical debt and follow through with these updates.
What followed was a dive into the labyrinthine darkness of all the other systems I had built to support both the general framework and the specific rules module I was working on. It touched on dozens of other systems in a big and small way and they were slowly revealed as changed were made to other systems.
It took another 10 days for the new shape to emerge and all culminated in the colossal function library for the rules module being cut down from over 100 functions to just 20, with 10 moving to generics which would support other modules.
What followed was a kind of Tetris effect where every element deleted had a knock on effect removing the need for other pieces which had built up over time until in the aftermath lay a lean, clean system where individual modules were very thin layers resting on top of the overall TTRPG framework.
Yesterday was the big 10 hour day of clearing things out, which while satisfying was a slog. But working today -which started with a migraine- was a joy to rebuild some of the elements which were caught in the crossfire of the great purge. So much cleaner and quicker with things working first time.
It's the story over and over developing these systems. Ideas come along or problems present themselves and solutions need to be considered, defined and implemented. Sometimes things are smooth and contained, other times they are complex and sprawling. Emotions travel along these paths and energy levels fluctuate, but in the end (more times than not) a new and more complete picture is formed.
These cycles of expansion and contraction permeate the process and draw the attention to the particular and then release it into the general. It's hard when down there focussing on specific elements to understand the whole, but when the imagined pieces become real and align as intended suddenly the picture emerges and I am afforded a moment to sit back and enjoy the creation.
Yesterday I wondered if my goals were impossible to attain, today I am satisfied in my continued attempts.