The full UI before the de-gamification commit. Three sprints of effort, deleted in one afternoon.
The essay tells the story. This page shows the receipts.
Below is the actual UI from my project management simulator before the de-gamification commit, annotated to show what was removed. Avg Morale gauge, Flight Risks card, per-member morale bars, the Launch Support button with its dropdown of Meal Support, Recognition, Team Event, and Wellness Support at $300 to $10,000 a click. Sixty-two days of build, deleted in commit b1323a4 on April 23, 2026.
The simulation still computes morale, flight risk, stress, and performance in the background. The PM just doesn't see the dials anymore.
▼ The Team Dashboard, before the ax (Feb 26 — Apr 23, 2026)
UI from commit da8b7f2 (Feb 26) → b1323a4 (Apr 23, 2026)
Features removed: Avg Morale gauge, Flight Risks card, per-member morale bars, Launch Morale Support buttons (meal/recognition/team_event/wellness at $300–$10K)
⚠ This entire section was deleted in the de-gamification commit
da8b7f2
Add overtime and morale-support team workflows
✓ Morale bars, support buttons, and gauges added
b1323a4
Team tab de-gamify; Resource Plan ↔ team member link indicator
✗ All visible morale metrics and support buttons removed
806aff7
refactor(ui): remove mood gauges; behavioral surfacing only
✗ Removed remaining numeric mood/stress displays from all panels
Why removed: "Engine-internal NPC state stops being a PM-facing gauge. The simulation still computes morale, flight risk, stress, and performance in the background — NPCs reference these in chat, Observer reasons about them, and consequences surface through behavior — but the PM doesn't see the numeric dials anymore."
The morale support buttons represented a core gamification pattern: direct numerical optimization. By removing the visible metrics, the simulation forces players to make PM decisions based on qualitative feedback (NPC behavior, chat tone, expressed concerns) rather than chasing score optimizations.