Ben Esposito was tired of 'wholesome' video games. Enter 'Neon White.'

What saved the project was competition. Esposito dropped the randomized deck approach in favor of looting enemies for cards, which opened up new possibilities for level design. In "Neon White," each card represents a weapon that, when discarded, activates a movement ability: double jump, dash, grapple and so on. Stringing these together in succession while picking up new cards from fallen foes is the second-to-second objective of any given level. Building levels around specific cards and combos allowed for more interesting challenges for both developer and player, but what really kept Esposito engaged was a message from a friend who demoed the project: "Here's how long it took me to beat this level."