I’m interested in how developers approach small game projects where the basic mechanic is simple, but the underlying logic can become surprisingly complicated. A small word-based game, for example, can involve input validation, game-state management, scoring, and finding valid moves without necessarily needing a large engine or complicated architecture.
I’ve been looking at a project involving letterboxedpuzzle.com and it made me wonder how experienced developers decide where to keep the implementation simple and where to introduce separate systems or algorithms.
For those who have worked on small games, what usually tells you that a mechanic has become complex enough to justify refactoring or introducing a more structured architecture?
