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different mechanics and rules, same experience

4 replies [Last post]
Wed, 04/15/2009 - 17:29
Jimmy
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Joined: 01/23/2009

Hi all...
I started designing a game a few months ago, as the develop process advanced I found my self stuck with a game that feels similar to an already exist game out there in the market but it has different rules.

To go into details, the game I'm talking about is Diamant (or Incan Gold). my game feels the same but has different mechanics...
In my game the players play a group of halflings trying to sneak into a dragons cave, each turn the players turning a card that has two numbers: how much the players will advance in the cave and how much the dragons are closed to awake. each three spaces of the cave there is a treasure the players gets. after each card turn the players get's a decision to continue play or leave, if the player leaves then he score for his treasure. if the dragons awaken then the players in the cave loses all the treasure they stocked.

so what do you say, too similar?
and what happens if you finds yourself designing a game and then getting closer to an existing game??

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Wed, 04/15/2009 - 17:38
#1
larienna
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Joined: 07/28/2008
why octogons and not squares?

why octogons and not squares? Do you actually use the square between octogons

In one of my design, I used the square between the octogons as train station in a city and player could move in these squares to warp from a square to another.

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Thu, 04/16/2009 - 03:45
#2
ReneWiersma
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Joined: 08/08/2008
I'm usually one of the last

I'm usually one of the last to say this, but yes, I do think your game sounds a lot like Diamant. It even has a similar theme.

I used to have this a lot (ie. getting closer to an exisiting game when refining a game), and it still happens sometimes. When I encounter a problem in my game I usually end up using a "fix" that is present in an existing game. This is usually not a big problem if the game is different in other respects, but if you use a lot of "fixes" from the same game, it may end up too similar to the game you are borrowing from.

If I find that a game becomes too similar to an existing game I usually just abandon the idea. I have become better at spotting this problem. Now I usually have a good idea of whether a game will be original enough before I start prototyping and I can discard the game in the idea stage.

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Sun, 04/19/2009 - 15:31
#3
Jimmy
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Joined: 01/23/2009
Well that's ok... just wanted

Well that's ok... just wanted to hear other peoples opinions and experiences. I changed the gameplay, and I think it's now better but it may still have some diamant shadow since the main principle of the game is "push your luck".
BTW does any of you have some suggestions what to change in the game so it wont feel like diamant? I mean there are many "push your luck" games out there but I guess they feel different... when does a game become too similar to another one?

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Mon, 04/20/2009 - 16:59
#4
SiddGames
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Joined: 08/02/2008
I don't know if I have a good

I don't know if I have a good answer to that, but you might look at it from the point of view of a game player/buyer. If a person already owns and enjoys Diamant, if they saw your game, would they want to own and/or play it as well? If the answer is no, then it is probably too similar. Money talks.

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