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meehee dee
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Joined: 05/28/2017

Hi everybody,

I am new to game designing but I really enjoy it. I also love playing board games, obviously. I prefer strategical Eurogames. I like it if games have much interaction and interesting mechanics, e.g. I really like Hansa Teutonica or The Great Zimbabwe. When I design games I would like do make games with easy rules but still very meaningful decisions. At the moment I am working on two games of that kind and one kids game. I would be interested to know how you start designing games. Are you starting with mechanics, theme, name...?
Are you designing several games simultaneously and how long does it take you to design a game? How do you get people to playtest your game?

Thanks and looking forward to interesting discussions,
Michael

ssm
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Welcome Home

Personally, I am working on a few games- a war game, a dungeon crawler board game (like a real old-school board game), and a card game (or maybe a few).
The war game took a month of thinking and a couple weeks of tweaking.
The dungeon crawler is still mostly in my head and a notebook as I try to find the components I need...for free.
The card game(s) keeps morphing into other card games.

I think working on a few games at one time is good. I find that I think of something that doesn't fit in one but fits in another.

Playtesting- I am fortunate to live near a popular game shop that is really big, with lots of tables and every day has multiple events going on. So it is relatively easy to find players, as long as you play something with them as well. I am also fortunate enough to live in a city that is EXTREMELY tech-centric, which allows access to some very bright minds that love to help.

Unfortunately (or not), I do elder care 24 hrs a day, so it gets hard to get to the shop regularly, and I also can't be gone too long. But the employees have taken a liking to me and will talk me through ideas I have if I only have a few minutes to spare.

meehee dee
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Hi ssm, Thanks for your

Hi ssm,

Thanks for your reply. I also heard another author stating that working on several games is good since if you got stuck on one, you can work on another and also there are steps between designing and publishing that take quiet some passive time. So it is good if you can work on other games in the meantime.
As for playtesting I hopefully should also be able to find people interested. I live in Heidelberg and gaming is popular in Germany in general and among students, which we have quiet a lot here, especially...

Regards,
Michael

let-off studios
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Follow Through

I used to flit from one game design to the next, having maybe a dozen different games at various stages of development simultaneously on my mind. But now I've selected a "big three" to focus my attention on at once. I'm doing this because I've noticed a tendency to simply bounce from one half-baked game idea to the next, not finishing one game design completely. The result is that nothing I came up with could be considered "finished."

As a hobbyist, this isn't so bad, since I'm enjoying myself immensely whenever I do it. I can even come up with a short dice-based game or Dworak deck in the space of an hour or two. But if I want to be published, then I ought to follow-through with my designs until they're ready to be seen by publishers. This means a complete rulebook, presentable graphic design, and maybe even a sell-sheet for game events/conventions.

"You choose your own level of involvement," it seems. And if you want to see one of your games in the marketplace one day, you owe it to yourself to guide at least one of your projects through to the end.

meehee dee
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Joined: 05/28/2017
Big-three sounds great. I am

Big-three sounds great. I am also working on three games right now and it seems a good number for the initial design phase. My guess it that numbers might increase once you start having games at the publisher where they might ripe a little more and where marketing and production takes time (I hope I will get to this point). Also I need to find a good balance between family, work, other interests and game designing - which I guess is true for many hobby designers.

ssm
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For playtesters, you could

For playtesters, you could try Meetup or a similar social type service. There are a bunch of Meetup board game groups in my area.
To get students you may want to make it sound good and offer something, if you can.
"rip my game apart to make your game better...plus you'll get a beer during the playtest."

Also, I start with mechanics, theme, or name, whatever comes first.
For the dungeon crawler, theme came first- fantasy, but would work the same in future deep space, or as a good conquering evil, or the other way around. The war game was mechanics; I set out to make a quick, easy to learn, easy to remember, minimal piece, war game.

Another thing I like to do is go to Youtube and find a game someone came up with, then figure out how to streamline it, or change components, or something. The latest one on my mind is a Slenderman game I saw a video of.

questccg
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Of all the irony...

I've put "on-hold" the design and development of "Quest Adventure Cards(tm)" - Version 2.0... I've had this "Grandiose" type of card game in mind ... and ironically, "Tom Vasel" quotes that "Tradewars - Homeworld" LOOKS GRANDIOSE!

Wasn't expecting "Tradewars - Homeworld" to BE THAT GAME! Sure I'm happy with the design and we are polishing the last 10% of detail to make certain the end result is -- just right!

But "Quest v2.0" was supposed to be the "Mother" of all games (to me); in terms of the design. How this is evolving; IDK. ALL I do know is that I have a picture in my head about what the game SHOULD "look like" when played...

Now I'm working BACKWARDS - to TRY to accomplish that "vision".

Much like the other designers, I probably have in total about 12 or so designs and maybe 2 to 3 in active "design" (or at least thinking about them...)

Cheers and best of luck(?!) with your designs!

meehee dee
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Joined: 05/28/2017
Hi ssm,thanks for your

Hi ssm,

thanks for your recommendations. I guess it is an international thing that one can always pay students with pizza and beer. I guess it is critical to get people with love for the hobby for play testing in order to get a good game. After some more internal playtesting I will worry about that.
I have to admit I am not so much into war games or dungeon crawlers but those seem to be very popular genres in the US in general and not so much in Europe. So how far are you with the war game and how did it turn out? Are you planning to get it published?

Regards,
Michael

meehee dee
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Joined: 05/28/2017
Hi Kristopher, thanks for

Hi Kristopher,

thanks for sharing those insides as someone who has published already. Maybe Quest will turn into the mother some day. I heard some games take quiet some time before they get the attention they deserve (e.g Hanabi).

Best regards,
Michael

ssm
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The war game was originally

The war game was originally designed to create an open-source ruleset that could be played anywhere using almost anything as pieces. With it being that way, my vision for it is kind of opposite of how most companies go about things. I want it to be a complete game at a low price point, with no add-ons. My vision is to include 6 themed factions to choose from & a puzzle piece type of board so you can choose the size when you play.
I am slowly working on my third rev prototype, and I may approach a publisher sometime.

The dungeon crawler is more what I see a publisher wanting. I see it as a 'grand' game, maybe $100 retail. I am torn between fantasy & space, and am developing it to use a double sided board with board pieces that can be used on both sides, and put out by a company that is already established in fantasy & space (like GW), with creatures that bridge the two genres. It is unlike anything I have seen. I have searched & looked at over 100 games 'like' it, but none are it, nor do they play the same way.
Essentially it is players vs DM, with DM having hard, fast rules to play by (like an AI), and the players able to co-op or solo, or both, and also make hard choices that can really change how the game plays out & who 'wins'.

I am a big fan of simple, and really want it to be simple enough that the rules can be printed inside the cover like older classic games.

My goal for it is to have a game that can be setup in a minute & can be played in 30 mins or 2 hours, depending on how players want to play that time.

Adam Leamey
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Joined: 02/23/2017
Welcome to the group

Welcome to the group

meehee dee
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Joined: 05/28/2017
Hi ssm, I really like your

Hi ssm,

I really like your war game concept of being able to use almost everything as pieces. Apples fighting against bananas over a napkin :)
As for the dungeon crawler I am really not able to say much since I never played one. But a 100$ price tag would be pretty expensive compared to what I usually buy. I think I don't own a game that expensive. Is it normal to pay more for a dungeon crawler?
I am also a fan of short (as possible) rules and quick setup time. DM is dungeon master?

ssm
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When I was figuring out the

When I was figuring out the war game, I played- dice vs dice, leaves vs grass, lego vs lego, sticks vs stone.
DM is dungeon master. I am guessing at $100 based on what I see at retail, and what would be included in mine. I look at a game like Doom which retails at $60-$80 (depending where it is), and see mine as being 'more' than a game like that, especially if it includes double sided board & figures for both themes as well as the crossover figures, a multitude of cards, certain board pieces that can be placed each play (where leveled rooms are), and an exploration part too (sewers or engine area for space ship) with tile laying.
My dream is that it would be 2 games in one box with some components crossing over.
I played DnD when it first launched and really want to bring a similar 'feeling' to a board game. Right now I am working with a board area about 30" by 22". I want it to have a traditional plastic spinner (that clicks when spun) and maybe even 2, one for each side, or a 'topper or overlay' for the spinner depending which is being played (demon head for dungeon side). I envision it as being a centerpiece of sorts in a game collection. One thing I notice when I watch game videos is that there are the same certain titles that are displayed behind the people in the center, like those are the go-to games for them, and I want mine to be that.
I am also developing things that I have not seen before, such as the playable character cards that eliminate paper sheets & chips to signify damage or mana used, etc. In another thread I mentioned using common components to help drive down costs (which can equal better percentage deal), so I am very much thinking of things common to the big 5 game/toy makers. They all make generic gold coins, spinners, cards with numbers on them, etc.
I love to make things by hand and get caught up in that part of things.
I guess I am making the self-contained board game I wish I had growing up.

meehee dee
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Joined: 05/28/2017
Hi ssm, du you think that

Hi ssm,

du you think that there is a big 'customer' overlap for fantasy and space theme, so that one being interested in the one also interested in the other? Because I think I would only buy a (n expensive) game, if the whole theme would be appealing to me and not only half of the game...

ssm
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I do believe there is

I do believe there is crossover appeal for a percentage. I also believe that a fun game is a fun game. So, if you bought it for the fantasy setting, but have friends or family that are more into the space marine setting, then you can kind of double the fun without doubling (or more) the cost.
I mentioned GW (Games Workshop) since they put out both & a lot of players play both.
As far as cost to produce goes, if it were a single setting I can see it retailing at $60. Adding in some extra that gives a different setting at that point is relatively inexpensive, and at $100 gives the company a bit more profit without making 2 titles and saves the customer a bit by including 2 in 1.
This is simply how I see it. If it gets finished, a publisher is interested & wants it, then it mostly becomes their decision as to how it is packaged and released.
For me, a fantasy dungeon crawl & a space derelict ship crawl are essentially the same thing with different paint. I believe that there are many like me out there and it depends on the day as to which one they want to experience. Just as it depends on the day as to which type of character they want to play. Had a bad day and don't want to think much? Smash things as a warrior. Want to think more? Play a wizard. Want to pretend you are stealthy? Be a thief.
Also add in the 'I have been fighting goblins/aliens for 20 years, today I want to fight the other one'.

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