Star Wars: Galactic Racer’s Upgrade Loop Was Tested With Post-Its and Dice
Fuse Games used a paper-and-dice prototype to test how race rewards, shop visits, and permanent upgrades would feel together.
Fuse Games gave Star Wars: Galactic Racer‘s roguelite upgrade loop a low-tech test, building a rough tabletop version from Post-its, handwritten notes, and dice. Creative director Kieran Crimmins said in a Eurogamer interview that the team wanted to play the system quickly enough to judge how its progression felt.
Crimmins described rewards that change with each event. Players could earn tuning points to spend on one of three randomly selected stats, while some rewards might include a part that changes a speeder’s abilities or adds a bonus tied to a status effect. After several races, racers could spend credits they had earned at shops on upgrades, parts, or a new ability.
The system also tracks progress beyond a single run. New unlocks join the pool for future attempts, and tuning points can buy permanent upgrades that carry over. That short-term and long-term progression sits alongside the campaign’s crash limits and tour resets, which can end a run without erasing every lasting upgrade.
Crimmins said he could put together the board-game version in a day. Its rough materials let the team test the feel of upgrades and meta progression without building out a polished version first. CEO Matt Webster added that, even when a game engine can model a system, putting ideas on paper can get a team talking about moment-to-moment choices faster. The tabletop format also kept those discussions separate from any one software prototype, as Webster explained in the Eurogamer interview.
Would this kind of between-race progression make you more interested in a racing campaign? For more coverage of how Galactic Racer connects race choices to lasting upgrades, stay connected on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
