Ryan Deyo

Games I design, build and ship myself.

I'm a front-end engineer who designs the interfaces I build. Each project here is mine end to end: the rules, the screens, the code.

  1. TactoriusChess variant ecosystemEarly Access
  2. Territory XHex territory strategyIn development
  3. StacktadiumHex chess, connect to winIn testing
Steam Early Access

Tactorius

A chess variant ecosystem built on the rules you know, then broken in escalating ways.

Tactorius skill tree, Way of the Boar, with the Trample node hovered and its effect previewed on a small board
Skill tree: hovering a node previews it on a live board
Tactorius spell draft screen, picking spells against the engine, with Guise Paradox previewed
Spell draft against the engine

Spells and new pieces bend standard chess one rule at a time, so players always know what changed. I designed the game and built its interface, then moved to AI-assisted development as coding agents arrived.

Design notes
  • Hover a spell or piece to preview what it will do before you commit.
  • Skill tree nodes unlock with a click and hold.
  • Skill trees are organized by animal archetypes.
Next

Full game: a one-currency economy for units, artifacts and skill-tree upgrades.

Role
Design, interface, engine
Built with
TypeScript, React
Engine
Custom chess engine in Web Workers
Desktop
Electron (Steam build)
Online play
In development: Node, Express, MongoDB, Redis
Status
On Steam in Early Access
Steam page ↗ Play the demo ↗
In development

Territory X

Turn-based territory control on a hex board. Working name.

Territory X hex board at the starting position, with a unit's move path shown
Starting position
Territory X unit draft, with color matchups outlined for the hovered unit
Unit draft: hover shows who takes whom

An early prototype for exploring how turns and resources shape a fight over territory.

Working notes
  • Experimenting with how turns work.
  • Experimenting with resource management.
  • Drafting unit types.
  • Drafting the overarching theme.
Role
Design, interface, code
Built with
TypeScript, Svelte 5
Engine
Custom search engine in Web Workers
Desktop
Electron, steamworks.js (Steam build)
Status
Early design
In testing

Stacktadium

Chess on a hex board, played like Connect Four.

Stacktadium hex board with white and black rooks, playing against the AI on medium
Hex board against the AI

Pieces move on a hex board, but you win by connecting a line of them rather than by checkmate. The digital version is in testing, with a physical board game planned.

Working notes
  • Playtests went well and surfaced an easy win, so I’m reworking the starting position.
  • Choosing the UI/UX direction and visual theme.
Role
Design, interface, code
Status
In testing, physical board game planned
stacktadium.com ↗