Skip to Content
 

Hello I am new here!

9 replies [Last post]
xelaranger
Offline
Joined: 01/14/2019

Hello there BGDF! I have been on a journey since getting into board games 3 or so years ago to make a game of my own. BGDF seemed like the perfect place to get helpful advice and criticism.

I want to share my ideas as well as keep those interested informed with my progress as it happens. Also I think I care more to learn than I want to become the next big designer but as a lifelong gamer (in one form or another) creating a fun game for people to enjoy has always been a dream.

Please pardon any typos as I am on my phone though I will make a habit of visiting the forum at home mainly during weeknights west coast time. If you want to contact me feel free to message me here.

Happy holidays everyone I have nothing but wishes for the best for all :)

Xelaranger

Kamil A
Offline
Joined: 10/30/2019
Welcome to BGDF Xelaranger!

Welcome to BGDF Xelaranger! Happy holidays to you too!

Warklaxon
Offline
Joined: 11/27/2019
Welcome

Welcome and happy holidays. I look forward to seeing what you have to share.

-Kurt

let-off studios
let-off studios's picture
Offline
Joined: 02/07/2011
Hello Xelaranger...

...and welcome to BGDF! :)

X3M
X3M's picture
Offline
Joined: 10/28/2013
Good luck!!

Good luck!!

questccg
questccg's picture
Offline
Joined: 04/16/2011
A cautionary welcome ... about the hobby

xelaranger wrote:
...Also I think I care more to learn than I want to become the next big designer but as a lifelong gamer (in one form or another) creating a fun game for people to enjoy has always been a dream...

Well BGDF is here to HELP make that a "reality"! But I must admit, 10 years into the "craft" and I still think about projects that can afford some form of sustainability. And what I have learned is the "Game Design" in general is a good "serious hobby".

Don't take my note of negativity the wrong way...

It's just that with all the designers (past or present) that I have seen, everyone of them had one (1) main game they wanted to "bring to life" and then the journey to that happening was the focus of all their efforts.

Sadly to say, one (1) design is not going to make a difference (really). The key is what Reiner Knizia said before his journey on designing games. To paraphrase, he said that it would take several games before becoming a household success. And that is very true.

Other well known giants like Jamey Stegmaier manage to pump out one game a year... Enough time to get the game from concept to finished product... Again proving that one game is just not good enough.

However if you want it to be a testament to your ingenuity or cleverness, one game can prove that you are capable of understanding the nuances of Game Design and that you have a knack for design. It's merely a question of reputability.

So I would go to saying: your first few games will help define you as a Game Designer. But in order to continue in this hobby, you will have to balance real-life (job & family and such) with the "wonders of designing" (part time efforts) if you plan to be successful.

Welcome to BGDF and understand, I'm just sharing with you the experience of 10 years of Game Designing has led me to understand (from not only my own experience but also that of others too...)

Cheers!

Note #1: And again welcome... don't take my undertones too seriously... BGDF is a great place to share ideas and get feedback to more broader topics.

xelaranger
Offline
Joined: 01/14/2019
questccg wrote:xelaranger

questccg wrote:
xelaranger wrote:
...Also I think I care more to learn than I want to become the next big designer but as a lifelong gamer (in one form or another) creating a fun game for people to enjoy has always been a dream...

Well BGDF is here to HELP make that a "reality"! But I must admit, 10 years into the "craft" and I still think about projects that can afford some form of sustainability. And what I have learned is the "Game Design" in general is a good "serious hobby".

Don't take my note of negativity the wrong way...

It's just that with all the designers (past or present) that I have seen, everyone of them had one (1) main game they wanted to "bring to life" and then the journey to that happening was the focus of all their efforts.

Sadly to say, one (1) design is not going to make a difference (really). The key is what Reiner Knizia said before his journey on designing games. To paraphrase, he said that it would take several games before becoming a household success. And that is very true.

Other well known giants like Jamey Stegmaier manage to pump out one game a year... Enough time to get the game from concept to finished product... Again proving that one game is just not good enough.

However if you want it to be a testament to your ingenuity or cleverness, one game can prove that you are capable of understanding the nuances of Game Design and that you have a knack for design. It's merely a question of reputability.

So I would go to saying: your first few games will help define you as a Game Designer. But in order to continue in this hobby, you will have to balance real-life (job & family and such) with the "wonders of designing" (part time efforts) if you plan to be successful.

Welcome to BGDF and understand, I'm just sharing with you the experience of 10 years of Game Designing has led me to understand (from not only my own experience but also that of others too...)

Cheers!

Note #1: And again welcome... don't take my undertones too seriously... BGDF is a great place to share ideas and get feedback to more broader topics.

Thanks quest for your input and insight. I like that you mention "serious hobbies" as this is something I can relate to from my days of playing the French horn haha.

While its probably a sin to admit, though I know of him I have limited knowledge of Reiner Knizia and have not played any of his games yet (yet keyword) though watching Jamey's Blog is much of the reason I am here right now :D.

So a question for you @Questccg - What was your first game concept like? and does that first concept have any impact on how you design/conceptualize games today?

questccg
questccg's picture
Offline
Joined: 04/16/2011
Thanks for asking those questions...

xelaranger wrote:
Thanks quest for your input and insight. I like that you mention "serious hobbies" as this is something I can relate to from my days of playing the French horn haha.

Hey I used to play the Accordian! Why not the guitar or piano... Wish I had learned either-or...

xelaranger wrote:
While its probably a sin to admit, though I know of him I have limited knowledge of Reiner Knizia and have not played any of his games yet (yet keyword) though watching Jamey's Blog is much of the reason I am here right now :D.

You'll find a lot of "semi-popular" games designed by Reiner. They're not the best in their category... But are still interesting games considering I'm sure he's like pumped out about 500 or so games...

xelaranger wrote:
So a question for you @Questccg - What was your first game concept like? and does that first concept have any impact on how you design/conceptualize games today?

My FIRST game concept was "Quest Adventure Cards(tm)". And the basic idea for the game was that instead of "Battling", you would compete to COMPLETE Quests. Ergo "Quest Adventure Cards(tm)". I thought that I had a GREAT concept. And I had printed 100,000 cards. The game was OKAY but it was only my first game. It never sold and I could NOT get distribution.

On to question #2 (Impact). Well I would LOVE to create a "Quest v2" but this time with "Engine Building" and actual Booster Packs. It's a DREAM PROJECT. Alone on art it would be upwards of $20,000.

For the impact... I would say that having designed Quest and lost money, having designed TradeWorlds and lost money again ... I am heavily focused on finding SOME GAME that can actually MAKE MONEY.

That's the real challenge. Not designing the game, not writing the rulebooks, not blind playtesting, not creating a video, etc. THE HARD PART is making money TBH. First time creators usually get about 250 to 350 backers. Enough for a 500 unit print run at a higher price. If you are lucky and work with a publisher, you could expect 1,000 units.

But Kickstarters are notorious for NOT MAKING ANY MONEY. Unless you are John Avon from Magic: the Gathering Art Fame (His art is so cool BTW!) and are selling play mats for about $40 USD each and probably costing half or $20 USD each... Making it FINANCIALLY in this business/industry is rather HARD. Many people BREAK EVEN... And that's like a moral victory.

So I would say that I'm minded on TRYING to make some money from my games.

Secondly I am trying to create games with different mechanics and play styles. So Quest was a CCG (sort of), TradeWorlds was a Deck-Builder, and Monster Keep is a tile laying game with area control... As I said earlier, I would love to design "Quest v2" an Engine Building CCG, SpellMasters is a word game (in concept only)...

This means that my designs are all DIFFERENT from each other. Some may be card-intensive, others less like tiles (for example). So I like experimenting with difference "mechanics" and make very different games from one and another. I can't say this is Reiner's philosophy... But I feel like diversification allows me to LEARN more about Game Design than strictly sticking to one TYPE of design...

It's a VERY COOL "serious" hobby (so far).

AdamRobinGames-ARG
Offline
Joined: 02/11/2015
Welcome xelaranger

I'm an aspiring game designer as well. There are a lot of good resources on here. Explore, ask and enjoy!

Adam

evansmind244
evansmind244's picture
Offline
Joined: 04/09/2015
Welcome Xelaranger

Xelaranger, what kind of games do you play? What kind do you create?

Syndicate content


forum | by Dr. Radut