Game Design has been non-existent in my life for the past 5 months as I have been dealing with a personal crisis and my mind just hasn't been in it at all. I am finally posting again as I appear to be coming out of it. Coming from a new perspective, I realize it is time to put the idea of Castle Raiders to rest and move on. Over a 3 year period I probably changed the mechanics in the game at least 30 times, always dramatic changes too which never gave the game any type of focus. It never really wore the theme well (as Zman pointed out) no matter how much I tried to make it fit. Still, it was a great learning experience and if I ever get back into game design again, I learned a lot. I am seriously thinking of picking back up with my Shipwreck idea, but I am not sure yet. I am just glad that I am finally feeling better and starting to get back into gaming again.
CR Deep-sixed
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Welcome back
Welcome back my friend. Glad to see you've gotten through your crisis in one piece. Regarding Castle Raiders, you'll probably always have tinge of regret because you weren't able to 'finish' it, but like you said it was a learning experience, so it's all good. Was it your first serious game design idea? One thing I've gleaned from talking to fellow designers is that the first idea rarely works out. So don't fret it, just keep plugging away and it will work out for you. At any rate, again welcome back!
-Darke
Thanks
Thanks for the kind comments Darke. Yeah it was my first serious design idea and I just really enjoyed toying with different mechanics to see how I could make it work. I finally realized that what I was doing was probably just "re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titantic" with minimal improvements as I was always changing too much at once. Every time I played the game it was like playing a new game for the first time. After I realized that the fun of changing it was gone and I was probably never going to be completely happy with it, I just had to let it go. You can only bang your head against the same wall for so long! Now I will find another wall to bang my head on or just decide not to bang it anymore. Or maybe game design will come easier for me now. Who knows?
Interesting Idea
By the way, that shipwreck idea sounds intriguing. The first image that came to my mind when I read that was the start of King's Quest VI (for those who have not played it, the whole story starts after a prince is shipwrecked in the Land of the Green Isles).
What kind of game is it, and adventure game?
Actually, it was a game about...
Shipwreck salvage companies uncovering treasure from shipwrecks and each player vying for controlling interest in each company as they search. Unfortunately looking at my rule-set again, the whole thing sounds great in theory, but is too complex in both game flow and number of components. I think the hardest thing in game design for me is to convey a theme without making the game too much like a simulation.