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Protospiel 2005

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Brykovian
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Joined: 07/21/2008

Just wanted to point out that ensor posted a news item about this year's Protospiel dates having been announced (link to news item).

So, let's get the discussion going ... who's going? Who's gone in the past and can give an overview of their experience?

-Bryk

Dralius
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Protospiel 2005

I plan on attending at least one of the days; I hope I can do all three. Being that it is so close to Origins it may be difficult to do both.

s2alexan
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Joined: 10/25/2008
Protospiel 2005

I'm planning on going this year. It's nice and close to home (only 400k), so it seems possible, although now I have to decide which games to actually finish :)

ensor
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Joined: 08/23/2008
Protospiel 2005

I plan on making it again this year, if all goes well with my work schedule. I made a geeklist for some of the games from past Protospiel attendees, with a few links to Games Journal articles about how the conference is setup.

There were about 15-20 people last year, and it was playtest, playtest, playtest all day long. Stop for lunch and eat, have a seminar discussion with everyone after lunch, then back to playing more games. There was a list based on when you signed up to help with rotation of designers and games throughout the days. It was great to talk in person with others who knew the "language" of game design, like fiddly, king-maker, hidden information.

The feedback I got on my games was great, and every other game I playtested had something going for it. All the prototypes were fairly well-tested before hand, nothing broken or in very early concept stages. I also made some good contacts for trading designs after Protospiel.

Overall, it was intense and brain-draining and well worth it, as you're not only playing games for three days but thinking about possible design problems and suggestions.

PS s2alexan, I liked your article in the Games Journal this month on Hard Decisions, especially "3. Hard decisions are not solvable, and not impossible. "

ensor
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Joined: 08/23/2008
Protospiel 2005

For those interested, here's more Protospiel info (and game design advice in general) from Mike Petty in his interview with Tom Vasel:

http://boardgamegeek.com/geekforum.php3?action=viewthread&threadid=62361

markmist
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Protospiel 2005

I will be attending Protospiel this year for the first time (I just heard about it this year), and I am anxiously looking forward to it. I live in Tampa, FL which is a good 20 hours away from Michigan, so I normally would not think of attending. However, my wife and I just happened to plan a road trip to Michigan this year to visit her parents during the same time frame!

I plan on attending just one day (Friday), as we have many other vacation type activities planned. I will be bringing my game "Castle Raiders" with me to playtest.

I look forward to meeting any BGDF members. Please post here if you are attending.

Mark

CDRodeffer
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Joined: 08/04/2008
Re: Protospiel 2005

Brykovian wrote:
So, let's get the discussion going ... who's going? Who's gone in the past and can give an overview of their experience?

I went last year, showed Spoke Too Soon, and loved the experience! The atmosphere was fairly relaxed, with everyone mostly just playing each other's games, commenting on them, offering feedback, and trying new things. There were also a few talk sessions where designers shared what worked (or didn't work) with the group. I really wish I could go again this year, but that's the one weekend out of the summer that my boss has forbidden me to ever take off again, due to a big semi-annual meeting. :cry: But I'll be there in spirit.

Clark

Anonymous
Protospiel 2005

Less than a week away and I cannot wait!!!

I got involved with Protospiel last year because I think it is an important event to help the independent designer who may not have the opportunities to regularly playtest their titles. This year has been really tough for me personally and I have not put as much work into this as I would have liked, but I am thankful for hard work that Mike, James, and the others who have worked hard to make this a great event.

As much as this is about playtesting, it is also a bit of a social event. I cannot wait to see the folks I met last year and see what they have been working on.

I am planning on being there Friday evening (hoping for some after hours gaming) and all day Saturday. I am planning on bringing a couple of games that we (SDR Games) have been working on over the winter months and looking forward to getting some more play time on them.

Don

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