Reception devlog · Feature

Seven decisions we changed our minds on

October 19, 2026 · BellHop Studios

Some decisions only look obvious afterwards. These seven went back and forth while we built Reception.

1. Menus: scroll or scale?

Menus scrolled at first. On 31 August they changed to scale down to fit the screen. On 7 October they went back to scrolling on phones, because scaled text was simply too small to read.

2. Choosing a dungeon

A carousel on 2 August, a ladder list on 21 September, and a carousel again on 2 October. The ladder was what our menu research recommended. The carousel won anyway.

3. Watching a run

First the whole map. Then, on 21 September, a close-up of the party walking in formation. On 2 October the Expedition desk and the map took over, with each encounter shown on the desk.

4. Selling power

On 20 September the rule was that the cash shelf never sells power. By 2 October Sena was selling Writs of Hire as a second way to get them, alongside the daily Writ and Arena first clears.

5. Training Hall rewards

The Training Hall was never meant to pay out: it was a place to test a party for free. On 2 October Arena Fights arrived, three a day, with a Writ for each first clear.

6. What to call player-led dungeons

They were called Raids on 4 October and renamed Dungeons the next morning. "Raid" is being kept for later.

7. What you lose on defeat

On 28 July a defeat stripped all of a party's gear. On 4 August we decided defeat should cost only the gear found during the run, and that was built on 31 August. PvP follows the same rule in the next update.

Why it's fine to flip

Every one of these changed because something new came in: a phone screen, a tester's report, a new system that made the old answer wrong. The trick is writing each decision down with its reason, so the next time it comes up, you're arguing with the reason and not just the outcome.