Daniel (@dungeondive) sits down with Jamey Stegmaier to discuss Vantage, Stonemaier’s new open-world adventure game. This is a fascinating conversation about design philosophy—Jamey explains how following the Dungeon Dive and similar channels helped shape Vantage into the one-and-done, exploration-focused, small-footprint adventure game it became. No campaign structure, no commitment beyond a single session, yet packed with discovery.
They discuss the challenge of conveying an open world through interconnected location cards, the decision to eschew an app in favour of physical storybooks, and how the fail-forward challenge system evolved. Jamey shares insights into the playtesting process and the difficulty of balancing a sandbox experience where players might stumble into wildly different content. For design nerds and adventure game enthusiasts, this is essential listening—a peek behind the curtain at how modern adventure games get made.
What design philosophy from your favourite games do you wish more designers would adopt?