ZOOTZO
Modern Day Knight
I write about the design that respects players and the dark patterns that don’t — and I build small games to prove the point. No studio, no credentials, just years of receipts.
Chapters
All →The Game Maker Ethics Bible — the dark patterns games use against players, and the good design that respects them.
Let Me Put It Down
2026 · JulThe best respect a game can pay you is a clean exit — save anywhere, lose nothing, come back when you want. Design that fears the pause is designing against …
- session design
- player respect
- player time
The Loot-Box Tell
2026 · JunWhen a reward screen animates longer than it needs to, someone measured that the delay increases spend. The polish is the manipulation.
- dark patterns
- monetization
- loot boxes
The Rotating Shop
2026 · JunThe item shop that changes every day isn't a convenience — it's manufactured scarcity, engineered to convert 'I'll think about it' into 'buy it now before it's …
- monetization
- player respect
- storefront
- FOMO
Projects
All →Actual game ideas, each with a playable sketch you can try and the argument behind it.
Elemental Sweeper
2026 · JulMinesweeper with a compass. Attune to Air, Water, Earth, or Fire, click a tile, and the board tells you which way its hidden node lies — N, SE, W. Press all …
- minesweeper
- deduction
- puzzle
- prototype
Knight's Run
2026 · JulA procedural side-scroller: run a knight through a shifting night, hop pits, stomp foes, and lance-dash through them. Move with WASD, dash with Shift — and you …
- platformer
- procedural generation
- endless runner
- prototype
The Honest Timer
2026 · MayA management game where the only clock is the one you can see. No energy meters, no offline timers, no notifications engineered to pull you back — just a …
- management sim
- anti-retention
- design theory
Articles
All →Predictions, terminology, and the receipts — dated, falsifiable, and defined.
The FOMO Timer Retreats
2026 · JulRegulatory pressure and player fatigue are turning manufactured scarcity from an asset into a liability. Someone big blinks first — and brands the retreat as …
- monetization
- prediction
- manufactured scarcity
Retention Ransom
2026 · JunWhen a game makes you return to avoid a loss rather than to seek a pleasure, it isn't earning your engagement — it's ransoming it.
- terminology
- retention
- dark patterns