My wife and I bought five games about a week ago: piece of cake, forbidden island, carcassonne, the adventures, and flashpoint. We've played three of them so far and all I can say is: I'm hooked.
It's not the first time I've played a 'non-traditional' board game (in which traditional is along the likes of monopoly or life) but it is the first time I have dived head first into the world of modern board games. It also helps that my wife seems to be just as smitten with the games as I am.
I've forgotten how a good board game can similtaniuosly tell a story, create conversation, and entertain at the same time. It may look like cardboard and plastic but, if it's well made, you can see the world it momentarily creates come alive in you mind. It's not a static thing ... It reacts to you and pushes back.
It's a great thing to do after a hard day of work and it can be a nice alternative to simply watching television.
So ... In my usual tendency to dive headfirst into something I find incredibly stimulating and creative: I latch on to the idea that maybe I can make a game.
There are a couple reasons this may not be as far fetched as it may seem.
I've been working on a much more ambitious multimedia game for a loooooooong time. While I love the story I have created I just can't seem to finish it. It's too big, to full of what-if's, it would require a large infusion of cash just to get started, and requires an army of people to produce what I have in mind.
I kind of think it may have been doomed from the start.
Producing a repayable 45 minute game (under 1000 copies) seems a little bit more manageable. Heck I'd be happy just to make 200 and only sell it through my favorite game store (Cat and Mouse in Chicago).
My background gives me a leg up on creating the actual physical game. I earn my living doing 3D and 2D work: I can create three dimensional pieces and, if I want, all of the art work for a prototype. I'm damn good at both and will exploit my abilities to create something that I would want to play repeatedly.
So ... I have a story and I have the skill set to create something.
And I'm excited.
I'm laying out a rough board, stacking index cards, and writing up the rules. I'm almost ready to do a solo play on v.0.001 just to see if the basic nuts and bolts can even work.
Let the adventure begin.
- Mike
Comments
Welcome aboard, Mike. I have
Welcome aboard, Mike.
I have a lot of print and graphic design experience, so let me tell you something that you may have heard before and it is definitely counterintuitive... don't make it pretty.
What do I mean? When you put together you first few prototypes try to resist the urge to do the art up right or to sculpt playing pieces or whatever is itching at you to do. You might spend hours on something to find out in ten minute of playtesting that it just won't work, and the rougher things are the faster you can iterate through the core parts of the game and make them better.
Also, if you do make everything pretty, you run the chance (especially with new or casual playtesters) that you won't get proper feedback. Everything will look so finished that people will hesistate to offer suggestions, from fear of rejecting the art and look that you have in the prototype.
Just some advice, look forward to hearing more about the game!
Welcome aboard, Mike.I have
[double post]
Keeping it simple
I didn't know that novice play testers would be influenced by a perfect looking presentation but have been keeping everything extremely rough to flesh out the game mechanics.
I'm going to take some pictures in my next post and talk about what I'm doing as far as how I'm developing the game.
Thanks for the advice!