Becoming Pablo News

[p]Hey everyone, I’m Priyank Singh - the Game Director at Tentworks Interactive. I am heading the design division which takes care of implementing gameplay, narrative, assets, and campaign missions alongside balancing the game’s myriad systems. I’m excited to shed some light on our design process for Becoming Pablo, a game that blends the hands-on fun of base building with the deep challenge of grand strategy. [/p][p]After honing my skills at Zynga, I now lead a talented team crafting ambitious strategy titles. In this devlog, I’ll take you behind the scenes of Becoming Pablo; breaking down our design experiments, player feedback loops, and the creative chaos that brought it to life.[/p][h2]Discovering the Opportunity[/h2][p]Like many other game developers, our journey kicked off with love for the genre paired with some market research. We noticed two things: first, there’s an appetite for new ideas in the grand strategy genre; and second, many strategy game players are scared off by the notorious complexity of grand strategy games. GMTK have discussed this in one of their excellent videos - Can we Improve Tutorials for Complex Games?.[/p][p]That’s when we formed our initial hypothesis. We realized that base building is natural to most players - they love the immediate rewards and straightforward mechanics. So we thought, what if we could use that as an entry point? In Becoming, we decided to start players off with simple base building, then gradually introduce the advanced systems of territory control, diplomacy, and espionage.[/p][p][/p][h2]Base Building Meets Grand Strategy[/h2][p]At its heart, Becoming Pablo is about progression. Here's how it works:[/p]

• [p]Starting Small: You begin with a small camp where your main tasks are expanding and managing your base, producing drugs, and arranging means for export to make money. The simplicity provides quick wins and a natural introduction.[/p]
• [p]Growth and Expansion: As you earn cash, you invest in recruiting gang members and upgrade your operations. The focus is to expand your market without overwhelming you with too many choices early on.[/p]
• [p]The Transition to Strategy: Once you’ve gotten comfortable, more complex mechanics are introduced. Initially you’ll tackle territory capture, then gradually diplomacy and espionage are introduced to deepen the gameplay challenge.[/p]

[p]This “easy to learn, hard to master” approach is at the heart of our design philosophy. We want you to feel that rush of satisfaction early on, then be challenged as the game progresses.[/p][h2]Learning from Playtesting[/h2][p]Feedback from our playtest sessions was invaluable in shaping the game. We experimented, listened, and pivoted based on what we observed. Here’s a key anecdote that shows how player feedback has shaped our journey so far.[/p][h3]Mission Design: What Didn’t Work[/h3][p]In our initial playtests, we decided to put players straight into the deep end by assigning them missions that require interacting with grand strategy elements. Without any tutorial! Unsurprisingly, many players found themselves out of their depths. Here’s what we heard:[/p]

• [p]Players had difficulty completing the objectives even though they understood what the mission asked them to do.[/p]
• [p]Some players felt overwhelmed by the number of choices, which made it hard for them to progress or know how to play optimally.[/p]
• [p]Specific mechanics, like diplomacy and espionage, didn’t register with those who are not regular grand strategy players.[/p]

[p]Seeing these struggles confirmed our suspicion: if we want to bring more people into this genre, we have to give them a softer introduction.[/p][h3]Pivoting with Base Building[/h3][p]Based on the feedback, we revised our approach. We reconfigured the first three missions to focus solely on base building tasks. For a period of time, players didn’t have to deal with the complexities of grand strategy - they simply built their base camp, produced drugs, and managed resources in a straightforward manner.[/p][p]The results were staggering:[/p]

• [p]Hardly any players reported having difficulties with completing their assigned objectives. In fact, only 13% (total n=38) of players mentioned any difficulties.[/p]
• [p]A significantly higher number of players, ~76% increase, mentioned that they were able to progress optimally.[/p]
• [p]A significantly higher number of players, ~64% increase, tried to interact with advanced strategy mechanics.[/p]

[p]We always believed that a gradual ramp-up was the key. So it was incredibly encouraging to see that our approach, mixing accessible base building with advanced strategy, was actually working.[/p][p][/p][h2]Gameplay Modes[/h2][p]Becoming offers two distinct gameplay modes:[/p]

• [p]Campaign Mode: Immerse yourself in the role of a cartel’s leader. Follow a curated storyline through a series of missions that not only guide you through the game's mechanics but also immerse you in a dramatic narrative filled with highs and lows.[/p]
• [p]Sandbox Mode: If you prefer to dive right into the action, this mode lets you pick a starting faction and jump into the game’s systems directly. Your only goal here is clear: become the ultimate drug lord by outsmarting and outmanoeuvring rival factions. It’s open-ended and perfect for those who like to experiment with strategies at their own pace.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We have three campaigns planned out so far. Apart from Colombia with Pablo’s story, we also have campaigns with characters like Umar, who leads in Nigeria, and Han Won-ho from Korea. Each character will bring their own unique flavour to the experience, making the Becoming series a global saga of power and strategy.[/p][h2]Wrapping Up[/h2][p]Becoming isn’t just another game for us - it’s a journey! We’re inviting players to enter the world of grand strategy through a familiar base-building experience, gradually unlocking deeper, more complex systems that challenge your wits. Every step, from design to playtesting, has been about refining this delicate balance.[/p][p]Hopefully, this has been an insightful look at our approach to designing this game. Our next few design devlogs will tackle specific gameplay systems:[/p]

• [p]A look at our base building mechanics and how we adopt them in the game.[/p]
• [p]Insights into the diplomacy and espionage systems that enrich our grand strategy gameplay.[/p]
• [p]Behind-the-scenes stories on blending dynamic narratives in our campaigns.[/p]

[p]I really appreciate you joining me on this first dive into the design of Becoming Pablo. Your feedback is vital to our process, so please join our Discord community, share your thoughts and if you haven’t already, wishlist us on Steam. [/p][p]Thanks for reading, and I look forward to sharing more soon.[/p][p]
[/p]

[h2]So… guess it’s my time for confessing, huh?[/h2]
Name’s Rado. I am the art director of Becoming Pablo and a living relic of game dev in the team (by all means, feel free to throw sweets and booze onto this one). I am a foreign addition from Poland, domesticated by the Tentworks team.

[h2]How It All Started[/h2]
The very first game I worked on was more like a “hey, it’s vacation time, we have $200 and pocket money from our parents, let’s make a game and get rich” amateur project by some me and some US students, back in 1996. At the time I was too dumb to know better than to not engage in adventures like that. On the other hand - if it’s true that we learn from our mistakes - recounting the number of ones I did during the last 30 years I’d like to think I’m quite ‘learned’.

I began my game dev road in quite an unusual place - as a historian of art, working with 3D techniques of computer reconstructions of objects of art. Sadly or luckily, I tend to look at it with mixed feelings, as salaries for university lecturers in Poland in the late 90’s were ridiculously low. So I looked long and hard at what was on the table and decided to utilize my rather exotic (back in the day), set of skills, in another field.


[h2]Leading a Team[/h2]
Since then, I went through being a 3D Architectural Viz Artist, Vehicle Modeler, Tech Artist, Art Lead and finally, around 8 years ago, an Art Director. With those experiences in my backpocket, I now firmly believe that there are two types of ‘generals’ or two major approaches to leading a team.

There are ones that just give pointers and directions. They do not really ‘DO’ anything with their bare hands or dig trenches, instead, they tell others about their vision and use their team as a tool for fulfilling their own vision. That’s one type. Sometimes it is super successful, other times super toxic, with an omnipotent figure looming somewhere high over the heads of sweaty laborers. From what I’ve encountered, approaches like these are more common in big studios - those who can afford a guy whose sole job is pointing fingers.

Another type are ones that try to lead by example. Getting their hands dirty (and boy, believe me, once you have to dig in, it ain’t smelling like roses) and actually sitting in the mud with their team. Now, for good or bad, I like working with game art too much to just restrict myself to walking around and giving directions. I prefer jumping into the fray with my team.

[h2]The Challenges of Game Development[/h2]
[h3]Challenges? Oh sure…[/h3]
I mean: just imagine that you have to create a diorama. A huge one. Containing 10,000 parts. You do not know what it will consist of or how it will look, you just have a very vague idea of how it will function. You have a team of various artists you do not know. You do not really know who is good at what, who needs a kiss or a kick in the butt in order to be effective. Nobody will tell you what kind of resources are needed and what timelines are - nothing.

Now, add the fact that this diorama has movable parts, the vision changes along the way, there are delays caused by sicknesses, national holidays, sick dogs and all sorts of random shit can happen. The workers may even hate doing the same thing 10 times in a row (yet some things have to be done 20 times until they get it actually right)… and that’s just the beginning.

So yeah, it is not just “I will walk outside, look at the moon and muse and somehow that will send me the vision”. NOPE - nothing like that, actually.


[h2]So… why do I even bother?[/h2]

Because after going through all the elbow grease, sweat and blood, when you start to finally see the project taking shape and your team, the people you work with on a daily basis being proud of their time spent on the project, it feels pretty much like: this.

To me, the whole process resembles cooking. Some things spill here and there, you have to taste, then add some more of this and that, then taste. So the first challenge: find common ground when it comes to software. As you might know, there are plenty of ways of skinning the cat and even more tools to do so (and I mean 3D packages, not knives of course). Each and every artist has his/her favorite tools and it is a bit like with languages: yeah, you can learn new ones, but if you have a choice, you’d rather use the one you're used to. 

After that step we gotta learn communication and that’s actually the single most important thing in any team. What do I mean when I say “make it more stylized”? What does “warmer palette” mean? What do I mean when I am saying that something needs to be closer to OUR style? It might sound absurd and at the very first glance- obvious, but it is absolutely fundamental. Only then can one actually start working. But then again, it is an entire minefield ahead; how many models do we need? How many polygons may artists use for it to make it look good and at the same time not kill the user’s gaming device? What should be the size of the texture? How many textures can we load at the same time? How to manage loading and unloading of assets in real time… and so on and so forth (as you can see we still have not even started with the ‘artistic’ side of things).


To me, the whole process resembles cooking. Some things spill here and there, you have to taste, then add some more of this and that, then taste again, sometimes throw stuff away or change your plan. This may mean to not do it ‘by the book’, by adding precisely and religiously counted three grains of pepper and one pinch of salt. It does not work that way. So, we are cooking all the time and I really hope you will like the final results.

Our Becoming Pablo Closed Alpha has officially ended. You built your empire, made your moves, and got a glimpse of the power that awaits. Some of you ruled with an iron fist, others played the long game—but every decision shaped your legacy.

This was just the beginning. Your feedback, strategies, and unexpected plays have given us invaluable insight as we continue shaping the game. The road to launch is long, but with you by our side, it’s only getting stronger.

Want to stay in the loop and be part of what comes next? Join our Discord and our other socials to connect with fellow kingpins, discuss your strategies, and get exclusive updates.

El camino sigue… The road continues. 🔥

Hola, Becoming Pablo community!And future dons of cartels, I wanted to share how we’re capturing attention for a project we’re incredibly excited about. How do you get players to check out your game—often an expensive endeavour—without, you know, actually selling drugs in real life? This devlog is a special one: we’re diving into the incredible experience we had at Gamescom 2024 (the world’s largest gaming trade show) and sharing what lies ahead for our game. Whether you’re a fan, a fellow developer, or part of the industry, there’s something for everyone in this update. Vamos!



[h3]Gamescom 2024: Why We Went Back[/h3]

This August, we had the privilege of attending Gamescom 2024 in Cologne, Germany, at the iconic Koelnmesse. It had been five long years since our last visit, and the scale of the event left us in awe. From new genres and expanded halls to the sheer number of attendees, Gamescom has truly grown into a behemoth of creativity and excitement.

This year, it was just me (Rishi Shah, CMO) and Jay Basani, our CEO and founder, representing Tentworks Interactive. While the two of us held the fort admirably, our feet were sore, and our throats were burning by the end of the long 9 AM to 8 PM days. But every moment was worth it, as we had the pleasure of meeting countless wonderful people who shared our excitement for Becoming Pablo.

Check out our FIRST DevLog by our Lead Developer, Gary!

[h3]Lessons Learned & Challenges Faced[/h3]

While the event was a resounding success, it was also a steep learning curve. Here are some key takeaways:

1. Partner with your country’s booth: Ape together strong!
We weren’t as prepared as we could have been. For example, the Indie Arena Booth application process had changed since our last visit. We submitted a rushed application just in time and were ultimately placed in the Indies of the Americas Pavilion. However, while our spot wasn’t centre stage, it turned out to be a blessing. Tentworks being a company from India and the US helped us here as the group setup made it easier for fans and potential publishers to discover us, and being part of a shared space with ‘Americas’ brought more foot traffic than we’d anticipated.

2. Your game will break—prepare for it
A major bug in our build led to a frantic all-nighter, uploading fixes via painfully slow hotel internet. Lesson learned: finalize a polished build well before arriving. And if your game has huge files like ours, make sure you have access to a fast and reliable internet connection.

3. Bring enough manpower
With only two of us attending, we thought more people at the show meant fewer people working on the game. However, standing and talking for hours is as exhausting as it is exhilarating. Additional team members would have allowed us to better connect with attendees, take breaks (yes, devs need food too, we don’t just eat and drink Cheetos and Red Bull!), and make the experience smoother overall.

4. Leverage networking tools
Gamescom’s Biz app offers fantastic networking opportunities, but we could have used it more strategically. Next time, we’ll research attendees and schedule meetings in advance to maximize our time.

5. Build personal connections with publishers
Meeting publishers face-to-face creates a stronger, more memorable connection than cold emails. Personal interactions go a long way in making your game stand out among the countless submissions publishers receive.



[h3]A Quick Tip for Future Gamescom-Goers: Cologne Hotel Prices Will Steal Your Soul[/h3]

If you’re planning to hit Gamescom next year, here’s a pro tip: Cologne hotel prices during the event are absurd. We’re talking $500/night absurd. To save our budget (and sanity), we stayed in nearby Düsseldorf, where rates were a much more reasonable $140/night. Thanks to Europe’s efficient public transport system, the 40-minute trip to Koelnmesse was a breeze. Take notes, USA and India—public transport can actually work!

[h3]The Magic of Gamescom[/h3]

Despite the challenges, Gamescom delivered an unforgettable experience. The sheer diversity of games—from AAA titles to niche indie projects—was not just inspiring but also educational. The event wasn’t limited to digital games; there were board games, a family area, and even a dedicated business hall filled with publishers.

Speaking of publishers, we were thrilled by their interest in Becoming Pablo. Their enthusiasm has left us motivated to push harder, and the connections we made are already proving invaluable.

One great feature of Gamescom is its booth setup. Booth construction is included in the participation fee, saving us from hiring a third party. While basic, the setup was perfect for an indie studio like ours—a welcome contrast to the logistical challenges of US-based trade shows.



[h3]From ‘SOON’ to Success: Tales from the Becoming Pablo Closed Alpha[/h3]

From November 29th to December 3rd, our Closed Alpha felt less like a test and more like a massive weekend campaign. What started as a planned few days turned into an extended, action-packed stretch, with our team fully immersed in everything—from fixing bugs to keeping the community buzzing. Our Lead Designer didn’t take a break, dropping not one but two crucial patches over the weekend, and multiple team members from across the company jumped in to play the game alongside our testers. For a bunch of game devs to spend their weekend like this? It shows how much we’re all in on this project.

Our Discord community played a massive role too. Ever since Gamescom, they’ve been the heart of the game’s buzz. But what really brought everyone together was the "SOON" meme. When the original release of the Closed Alpha got delayed, our Community Manager, Vishire, leaned into the waiting game, constantly replying with a teasing "SOON." It turned into an inside joke, with fans riffing on it and Vishire taking it a step further, turning it into a lighthearted meme that represented our dedication. By the time the Alpha launched, the meme had become a symbol of the connection between our team and the community—a perfect mix of humour and passion. We even got requests to make a 'Soon' emoji, haha.

With around 140 testers jumping in through Steam Playtest and Discord, the feedback and ideas poured in. It wasn’t just about fixing things—it was about seeing strategy fans genuinely excited for what we’re building. The whole experience was a grind, sure, but also a reminder of why we’re here: creating a game that strategy enthusiasts will love, one step (and one meme) at a time.



[h3]What’s Next?[/h3]

Our time at Gamescom was filled with learning, connections, and inspiration. Now, we’re channelling that energy into exciting new milestones:

Closed Alpha (January 21, 2025)We’re hosting another closed alpha session, inviting fans to try out the game and share their honest reactions. Your feedback is essential as we refine the game to deliver the best experience possible. Follow us on social media (you aren’t following us yet?)  for details on how to sign up—don’t miss out!

Steam Next Fest (February 2025)This February, we’ll showcase a demo of Becoming Pablo at Steam Next Fest. With significant progress across our three campaigns—Colombia, Nigeria, and Korea—we’re ready to gather key feedback. We’re inviting all of you to playtest the game and help shape its future.



[h3]Final Thoughts[/h3]

Gamescom 2024 was more than just an event; it was a catalyst for growth and innovation. We’re deeply grateful to everyone who stopped by our booth, shared their thoughts, and encouraged us to keep going. The road ahead is wild and exciting, and we can’t wait to share more updates with you.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Stay tuned for more as we approach these thrilling milestones, and don’t forget to follow us on social media (still not following us?!?!) for the latest news and behind-the-scenes content. Let’s make Becoming Pablo unforgettable, together.

Gracias!
Rishi Shah That one weird guy who does marketing stuff and doesn’t even know how to code at Tentworks Interactive

Twitter | Discord | Instagram | Wishlist us on Steam!

[h3]Introduction and Project Background[/h3]

Hi everyone, my name is Gary and I’m the lead programmer for Becoming Pablo at Tentworks Interactive! I am excited to get into talking a bit about the behind-the-scenes work we do here to make the game tick. To start off I’d like to give a bit of background on the project.

[h3]Past Challenges with City Block Builder[/h3]

I started at Tentworks several years ago working on our last project, City Block Builder. The project itself was immensely fun to work on. Unfortunately, we ran into too many challenges while building the game and achieving its vision. One key point was that we simply did not have enough manpower to get what we wanted done. For some time, I was actually the only programmer on the team!


[h3]The Birth of Becoming Pablo[/h3]

At the end of 2022, we made the very tough decision to let go of the project. It was very sad as there was a lot of potential and we had accrued many followers from conventions who were very excited to see the final product. However, there is a certain serendipity in starting over. With renewed vigor and passion, Becoming Pablo was born.

[h3]Gamescom Success and Building a Strong Team[/h3]

We started fervently recruiting people to help us build the game, and I’m happy to say the team today is strong, cohesive, creative, and well-rounded. Recently, we presented the game at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany at a little booth of our own and the reception was heartening and promising, especially given that realistically we had only been developing it for over a year.


[h3]Evaluating Development Progress and Foundational Systems[/h3]

In classic dev behavior, I will always have certain biases, criticisms, or even blindness to its state and progress. My case is no different and it’s been difficult for me to evaluate it honestly. Mere months ago it felt like we were still missing many gameplay foundational systems. What I mean by a “foundational system” is one that exists at least prototyped out in code that serves as the foundation for a gameplay feature, experience, or polish that has yet to be designed or simply coded out. I always want things to be better, but I can honestly say that the game is progressing very well.

[h3]Narrative Systems – A Work in Progress[/h3]

Some systems are more fleshed out than others or even have a lot more content. The main story for not one but two campaigns have been implemented over the last few months, causing our narrative systems (conversation systems, objective systems, etc.) to be under heavy development. Of course, the story isn’t completely done, as I’m sure there will be many iterations and additions to it over time. In many parts of the narrative, there are placeholders for things like custom scripted events or the cartel family system (your “family” – not literally blood-related – of trusted lieutenants and commanders who serve under you) that are still fairly barebones. We still have much design to go over for that but will flesh it out when we can find the time.


[h3]AI Development and Challenges[/h3]

We also have other systems that are leap-frog dependent, so to say. What makes any good game great is a smart, responsive AI that will challenge the player and react to the player’s actions. I initially implemented a very basic AI handling the most basic of actions such as building units, buildings, moving units around to defend, and randomly attacking neighbors in the World Map part of the game. This system has served well for quite some time but as the game has increased in complexity we have needed to implement other systems, such as farming system, territory/region system, spy actions, and diplomacy. At the time the first basic AI was written, none of these things existed. Now most of these do exist, or at least some early version of them.

It can be very difficult to spend effort on a system like AI without having a full ecosystem of actions and consequences that could occur and implement their effects. For many months, the basic AI system was in place without much change to it. Now, I think we have reached a critical mass where we can finally start thinking about those very specific logic chains of interactions and decision-making that the AI will have to go through to reach particular heuristics and goals. We have AI that we want to be Ghandi-level aggressive and some others that will focus more on industriousness. We are currently designing and iterating on a system that can incorporate overarching macro goals as well as reacting to individual events and make plans that can play out over multiple turns. We are still early in this process and I would definitely like to share more details in the future as they continue to develop.


[h3]UI and Gameplay Iterations[/h3]

Besides AI, we have our hands in other pots too. We’re always working on making our UI more intuitive, responsive, and informative. Building roads in the Base Camp was one pain point that was made clear at Gamescom, so we have tweaked it to make it simpler for those who want straight point A-to-B pathing to connect their roads and bases as well as a toggle option to use Bezier curves to connect roads together for a more natural, organic feel. 

[h3]RTS Mode Enhancements[/h3]

We have also been iterating on our RTS attack/defense game mode in which you must attack or defend a home territory. For those who are unfamiliar, we have an RTS mode which is triggered when the home base of a cartel is under attack (including your own). This is the only way for a faction to lose the game. Initially, in order to showcase this feature we had to hack together a very rigid experience in order to showcase its presence at all. However, now one of our developers has been hard at work at refactoring and making the system flexible so that we can easily define all sorts of attack and defense environments.


[h3]Balancing Old and New Features[/h3]

Finally, on top of everything we have been working on, we are also constantly going back and improving gameplay that has already been worked on. Previously acceptable design or implementation no longer becomes acceptable as the game grows and becomes more complex. Oftentimes we will have to leave a feature and come back to it as its requirements become clear. This can make it difficult to balance between making new features and dusting off and improving old ones. The good news is that we’re getting it done, and at the end of every month we feel pride in what we’ve done so far, looking back on the month and realizing how much better it is.

[h3]Looking Ahead[/h3]

I hope this overview has been helpful and provided some insight into what we’re up to now. In future logs, myself and my colleagues plan to focus on a couple of key issues of the month. Be it with the arts team, gameplay team, or marketing team, we will dive more into features and challenges that we’re tackling. For now, thank you very much for reading and I hope you all have a great day! As always, reach out to us on our Discord if you have more questions.

Gary Chao, Tentworks Interactive


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