I've been pretty much a lurker for a long while although I have been a member since the "old" site and used to post more frequently there. Having actually achieved something tonight I felt like posting something for a change.
Tonight I did my first solo play test of a simple trick taking card game I'm designing as a surprise gift for a friend, based on some intellectual property she owns (currently codenamed Project: 8-Ball in case she Googles herself and finds me!) The play test was a success in that the game works, and I identified some problems with the scoring which I can now improve upon. So I feel like the work that's gone into it so far is validated and that maybe I do have some small talent for design after all.
The game is built around the idea of a set of scoring cards being displayed equal to the number of players, with the ranks of the cards the players play from their hands determining who gets first choice. Some of the player cards have special effects to mix things up a little and add some depth but overall I'm sure similar systems to this have been used many times before. As I'm not trying to be particularly original, just to create a simple, playable game, that doesn't bother me.
The main reason I don't post much any more is because I used to talk about designs in process and then when I hit a brick wall I felt sort of embarrassed to have talked the project up, only to "fail". So I've got into a place where I feel like I need to have something substantial that seems like it's going to become a workable game before I'll say anything publicly for fear of making myself look someone who's all talk ("all mouth and no trousers"!)
In this case, though, due to the simplicity of the design I have no doubt that a workable game will be the result. My problem with bigger designs, I think, is that I focus too much on detail for the sake of integrating the theme, and they get too complicated to the point that I can no longer see the wood for the trees. The lesson I am trying to learn from this simpler design is to try and let go of some of that focus on detail but whether I'll be able to do that remains to be seen...
