Here at Goonhammer we’re always keen to find out more about how games are designed, developed and rules balanced. With that in mind, we’re delighted to have the chance to speak to Jason Enos, current Lead Developer & Designer for the excellent Bushido Risen sun by GCT Studios, and former Lead Developer for Fallout & Elder Scrolls by Modiphius and more.
We got to know Jason as a friendly face at GCT tournaments – but also a very active member of the Bushido discord, advising new players, taking on feedback, clarifying rules and even directly coming up with new models and feats in collaboration with the community. This makes Jason’s approach something a bit special in the occasionally closed off world of game rules and profile design.
If, like many of our readers, you’ve an ambition to make a career in games design one day, then Jason’s story is well worth reading.
Tom: Thanks so much for agreeing to speak to us, Jason. It would be great to start out by finding a bit about you, your background, what got you into wargaming and games design?
Jason: Like many of us, I started with Games Workshop. Specifically, I got Space Hulk for Christmas in 1988, and the Deathwing expansion soon after. I still have Tyranid and Dark Angel 40k armies.
Very early on I went to GW’s own in-house tournaments and had long discussions with Jervis and Andy about their design choices. I got into the industry after university as a volunteer. I did volunteer for a few systems and ran local and national level events. Privateer Press were the first to pay me for something and I was hired to oversee organised play in Europe.
After also doing some playtesting and becoming a Judge (there was an exam for this at the time), I also became Privateer Press’s in-house judge for Europe. I met the GCT guys at their first UK Games Expo and I attended (and won) the first Bushido Grand Masters. This put me on their radar when the previous developer left.
What are your own favourite systems as a player (past or present)?
I have to mention 40k. While it has been variously fun or terrible over its long life, the setting and theme carry it through, even when I am less of a fan of the game. I have been to many tournaments, including the early official GW events, as well as being a more casual player for many years. Either way, it is an evergreen game that’s always easy to go back to.
Warmachine MkII was probably my prime gaming period. I was playing a lot, attending many events and played for the England team. It can be argued that there has never been a game with such a large following that was as competitive, balanced and with such a clear rules set as that second edition of the WM/H game.
Finally I liked the ideas and concepts of God Tear. It’s a very efficient and elegant game that does a lot, under a great many restrictions. It’s one of my go-to examples to show why complexity and depth in a game are not the same. It’s a very deep game with synergies and strategies, but very simple to learn.
How do they influence your own approach to designing games? Any games you’ve had a hand in outside of Bushido we should know about?
Most of my work for Privateer was in the organised play tournament packs for various formats. Privateer has essentially affected all competitive games that followed (and some that came before) as far as how tournaments work. I was lead play tester for God Tear from Steamforged Games and this was a real learning experience in doing a lot with very little. We were limited to very few abilities for each model or set of followers, but the depth of play and strategic possibilities was immense. While it may not always seem like it, I like to try to make more in Bushido from simple feats and abilities that synergise well rather than overly complex rules.
I was Lead Developer for the Fallout and Elder Scrolls miniatures games. These were a big eye opener for me; they really helped me as a developer as they almost entirely eschew competitive play for narrative scenarios. Learning how to cater to those needs has helped with all future products I have been involved in. Bushido has some narrative expansions coming after the Campaign book that I may never have considered before working on these games.
How did you come to take the role with GCT and Bushido?
I was a Retainer for GCT. I basically tested and responded to all the playtest profiles for a long time, and I also won the first Grand Masters, working with GCT to make the Master Enos model. When the previous Developer decided to stop, I was asked to take over.
What do you think sets Bushido apart from other games?
Again, while not wanting to toot my own ocarina, I think one of the things people like about Bushido is the interactivity we have with the players. Ben (GCT Sculpting Manager & owner of Mastercrafted miniatures) and I have been members of the Bushido community. We post our lists and tactics as much as anyone else but also can be there to answer questions and tease future spoilers. Alex does this too of course. As GCT marketing person he posts all the official previews and stuff. But the community have enjoyed – for example – a discussion on Discord about a certain gap in the range… and I posted “I’ve added the model to the schedule”. You don’t get that in any other game!
From your work with Bushido, which rules or mechanics are you most proud of?
On a very basic level the new edition uses a single dice mechanic, which unified the many different ways to roll previously.
Takashi Oka. She is described as the Dragon Clan’s ambassador and envoy to the Imperial court but last edition her Ki Feat was Seduction and all her abilities seemed to be about avoiding melee and jumping about. I think she’s a really interesting profile now with Ki Feats representing her role as an elder stateswoman and a senior member of the clan.
Finally, I think the Kinshi Temple have worked surprisingly well. Adding a whole new resource mechanic that works in the game alongside the existing one in a short time isn’t easy. I recently found the very first designs for the Kinshi, and its interesting to see how much they have changed and what remains from those early ideas.
What are the top five (or more!) profiles that you’ve had a hand in and why have you picked them?
I have to mention Master Enos. While the concept was mine, I have to credit Toby (The “T” in GCT) for his Divert Energy Ki Feat, which became his defining feature. I got to help with this before being hired by GCT. At the same time I also submitted ideas for the metal and void Kami, both of which eventually were released and are surprisingly similar to the original concepts.
Yanki has a great unique effect that slowly kills him while making him a real super profile. The closer he gets to death the more powerful he is, but the easier he is to kill. He’s really made a splash in Ito lists and I will now be using the same idea on more models with X representing new traits and abilities.
The Blood Brothers and Sworn Sisters (The Imperial Princesses) were the second wave I ever did for GCT and are a really difficult thing to make work because we wanted two linked “Units” of models. I decided I wanted to encourage players to use them together in two entirely different ways. I was also supposed to make sure they cost similar amounts of Rice. It was really difficult but I have seen that a lot of players have them in their collection, and very few events go on without one or the other appearing, though usually only in one list.
Ryujin was a Grand Masters winner model. I had to make the biggest model GCT makes be powerful and impactful on the battlefield but still balanced. Although he just received a small buff in the recent Errata, I think this was managed without him becoming something that has dominated the faction or changed the game to a larger scale.
Kira’a is one of my newest but I really like it when the basic fighter types come out well. Its easy to overload a card with special rules and new Ki Feats and traits. The hardest models to make are those who make up the rank and file, not too complex, not too powerful, but good and fun models nonetheless.
What are the top ‘sleeper’ profiles, factions or themes you feel players should be looking at more?
Takashi Hiro is the best melee profile in the game for his Rice. He can basically play without needing to spend Ki and perform fine for his cost, but the combo of Feint, Unblockable and Powerful Attack can do huge, reliable damage.
Jin is really good for her rice, she can hold a point almost like a Minimoto model.
Oki Shisa. I have a list for 2 of them, and I think it’s good for a lot of scenarios. I just need to paint the second one!
Nightwing Swarm. Regenerate with Durable is pretty good, with Agile and Cloudwalk you can always keep them safe, so they can fall back and regenerate.
How do you approach keeping the game balanced for competitive play?
Without trying to say, “Woe is me,” or anything (I do have my dream job and play games for a living after all) it’s actually quite hard to “develop” and change profiles and factions I “designed”. Usually game designers and developers are kept mostly separate but GCT is a small company so I do both. Luckily the retainers and playtesters are all really helpful and especially Andy and Craig, who stepped up to do even more, are lightening the load.
A common misconception is that there is some “Perfect Balance” that is attainable if you just errata enough profiles. This does not exist sadly, even with infinite effort; players would identify the top models and play them. Players who are asking for buffs for underplayed models often don’t realise that this would just replace a model currently played and so not actually improve the playability of the faction overall.
One thing I try to do is buff some chosen underperforming profiles and only nerf the truly game breaking stuff. If its making the game less fun, I’ll take action but powerful effects or models are fine. This means the overall power level of the game increases but that’s happening anyway with every new release. (Even if the new release is balanced or, counter-intuitively, if the new release is very underpowered, the fact that you have more options means the faction’s overall power level increases.) Luckily the rate of power increase is small. Even the oldest models such as Ekusa, Hiro and Kato are all still very viable in the current meta.
As a Mathematician I have a facility with many statistical analysis methods. I’m often asked why not just take action based on the Longshanks win records. That’s one data source, but other things are important. I have said that, for me, the lists people bring to an event to try to win can be more important than the one who happens to win on the day. They have spent months tuning and practicing lists they expect to win. The fact that a competitive player considers a list is representative of many more games than the actual tournament.
Are there any factions or mechanics you think need particular help, or review and why?
One of the big changes I made with the current edition was to double the points scale. So standard games went from 50 Rice to 100 Rice.
Most Profiles doubled in Rice to make this work but I chose to leave the Special cards at their previous Rice as they were not popular in the previous edition and we wanted 1-2 Rice options for when lists get to 98-99 Rice and having no profiles to buy at that cost.
Some of the Special cards however were probably costed fine and should have been doubled, so need an adjustment now.
Some of the effects that are very popular and appear in many lists probably could do with being Cycle cards. Having to choose between Vial of Raijin’s Breath, Balance, Pacifism, Finesse, Arashi’s Fan would be more interesting for list building.
I have been playing Oni Savage Wave for a while and we’ve done public tests on two changes to try to help them out. Both of these eventually did not make it into the game but I am still playing them and working on them. They are getting more models and also some special cards. In general my preferred way to fix issues is with new releases.
Tengu were the last faction that got a bit of a boost and I hope they are doing ok now.
I am watching and playing others, including Ninjas (Sixth Sense issues and the North Star theme).
What are your hopes for Bushido in 2025 and beyond?
We have a very ambitious schedule for releases and I hope you get to see them all! Personally, I want to attend more events and play more with the players out there. The long-delayed campaign book is really finished now and I hope to see it soon.
On top of the usual theme boxes, new factions, regular waves and everything else you’re used to we’re looking at more ways to involve players in making models. Masters attendees have made a wave for this year and we have a plan for next year too. At the “Passing the Night” Grand Masters we also had a go at letting the attendees help with some rules and lore.
If it goes to plan we’ll also have an entirely new kind of product for Bushido and some other projects to look forward to.
Any previews or releases you’d like to share?
Editor’s note: Cryptically, all Jason did here was give us some images we’ve not seen before…over to the community!
What about for you as a designer – are there any other games you’re working on you’d like to share?
I can’t really say much but look out for more from GCT! They have a number of projects on the go.
Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us, Jason.
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