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Origin Story

Today I joined BGDF. That's it.

Okay, let's try again, because that's the theme of my game design story.

This is my first blog entry at BGDF and I suppose I just want to recap where I'm currently at.

I started my journey about 3 years ago trying to come up with a game based on Franz Kafka's The Castle (Das Schloß). Shoot for the stars right? That was my first failed attempt at designing a game.

Lesson 1. Don't Shoot for the Stars

The second was a spy game which ended up being the most ill conceived game of RPS that I've ever seen. That one is locked away in a vault and the key is buried somewhere in my back yard.

Lesson 2. Game Design is Hard

Then,a couple years ago, I came up with an idea that I thought would be a hit. I spent hundreds of dollars prototyping and getting art. I brought the prototypes to my FLGS. We had close to 40 people show up. It was a madhouse. Most people seemed to enjoy themselves but I could tell that they left expecting more and I didn't really have the experience to know what it was

Lesson 3. Prototype Fast and Cheap

Last year I spent thousands of dollars on a project I was absolutely sure was near completion. It just needed a few finishing touches. I took my prototype to GenCon, met with my first publisher, and felt the disappointment of being completely unprepared. The game could be something some day, I believe that. I'm just not quite sure i have the heart to go back to it yet.

Lesson 4. Designers Don't Spend Money on Art, Publishers Do

That same trip I brought another game with me called Side Effects May Include... It's a light party game where players take on the role of Pharmaceutical companies trying to pass bad drugs.We were in the First Exposure playtest hall and people played and laughed and I thought that it could be a hit. The basic mechanics are solid, but I lost my way. That game cost me nothing and it's been the most successful game I've made (which isn't saying a whole lot at this point).

Lesson 5. Games Are Supposed to be Fun

This year, I entered into the 2015 Two-Player PnP Game Design Contest at BGG. My entry is a small abstract called Sixteen Stone which plays on a 5x5 grid. Players attempt to either push their opponents stones off the board or capture them. It's a game I'm proud of and I hope it does well in the contest.

Lesson 6. Design to Get Better at Design

There are a lot of lessons I've learned the hard way. Unfortunately, that's always the way I've learned best. I still wouldn't trade the experiences I've had over the past couple of years for anything (except maybe a Spiel Des Jahres). Of course, there are many other half-baked game ideas in my closet but they aren't as relevant to my story and I still might make something out of them someday.

And you know what? There are some things that I've done right, admittedly not as many as I'd have liked. I ran some exceptional playtest sessions. I could run a group of 30 playtesters tomorrow and not shake a bit (and I have Young-Onset Parkinson's Disease). I met with a publisher, and have been working to establish myself in the gaming community as someone who cares about people, games, and design as a craft.

So what's next?

I entered my first Game Design Showdown today. I figured I might as well start this show off with a bang. I'm eager to see the results because I want to be able discuss the design with the rest of you. Until then, I'll continue working.

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blog | by Dr. Radut