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My newest endeavor...

Thu, 12/10/2015 - 22:09 — radioactivemouse

I'm always trying new ways of looking at typical game mechanics and twisting them into something new and thematic.

I'm putting this out there for two reasons 1) To get me to work on this project. and 2) To show people there are more ways to represent a resource system than just a typical Magic-esque escalating resource system.

Scrap the first project...

Wed, 12/09/2015 - 05:35 — radioactivemouse

I've had hundreds of students go through my game theory classes. The Game Design and Gameplay class I teach has the students create their own board/card game as their final project. I help them go through the process of taking an idea and implementing it into something tangible without having to know any programming or 3d software. It teaches the students the pipeline in a very primitive atmosphere.

But I've noted a lot of things in my time not only as a design instructor, but as someone that's worked in the video and board game industry. Here are my observations:

Ideas are worthless...

Mon, 11/23/2015 - 16:12 — radioactivemouse

As I continue to work in the video/analog industry, I've noted that there are a lot of ideas that are brilliant and there are a lot of ideas that are dumb (relatively speaking).

I say such a bold statement about ideas because ideas don't make a game. It's the implementation of that idea that makes the game. Let me give a few examples:

-Codenames is a party game that's got a lot of strategy and excels in its simplicity. The marketing behind this game was great and the demand is high. This is an example of a brilliant idea implemented brilliantly.

Crash and Burned

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 11:30 — radioactivemouse

I was at a small convention this last weekend called Celesticon in Northern California. I was there to push my game and try out some prototypes I've been cooking, My buddy had told me about this and wanted to go, but he ended up finding a new place to stay (so he was moving that weekend) and I ended up going up with my wife.

Within Celsticon was an event called Celestispiel, which was specifically about prototyping. Personally, I was excited to go. I had been cooking up a couple of game designs, but had shelved some of them, this would be a great reason to bring them out to test.

Too much too soon?

Thu, 08/27/2015 - 01:49 — radioactivemouse

"Keep It Simple, Stupid"

That's what my mentor drilled into my head as I took his game design classes. At the time, I think I intellectually understood it, but I never really practically understood it.

It's when I started trying to make games that this rang true. In my first official (video) game designer role, I was given some very strict guidelines...I had a very limited timeline (which, in itself was a hard challenge), I had a limited staff, and I had a small window of time to which I could communicate my vision to the team.

Resource escalation

Fri, 08/21/2015 - 03:08 — radioactivemouse

I responded recently to a post asking about cards being used as resources and, while this is a viable form of resource management, I believe this mechanic only provides a band-aid to the real issue: resource escalation.

Game Design = Engineering

Mon, 08/17/2015 - 02:50 — radioactivemouse

I work as a Game Design Instructor on the college level. Knowing this, I've heard plenty of game pitches; I incorporate it in my curriculum to help students flex their game design muscles.

But on the other hand, I also hear game pitches from people that aren't my students. I go to plenty of game conventions and I talk with a lot of people. I see people pitch here on the BGDF forums. Some are legitimately solid, some are entertaining, some are downright hilarious.

Against the grain...

Thu, 08/06/2015 - 13:34 — radioactivemouse

No one can deny that board and card games have been blowing up in the last decade. Consequently, an slew of people have come out of the woodwork to try and prove to the world that they can be game designers. As such, some have been fairly successful, many have not. With the advent of Kickstarter, crowdfunding has become the trend. The #1 question I get when showing off my game is, "Are you going to have this on Kickstarter?" In addition, budding game designers are everywhere at conventions. Companies like The Game Crafter have sprouted to solely cater to the game designer's needs.

Considerations when making a board/card game

Sat, 07/25/2015 - 14:45 — radioactivemouse

I'm a big fan of starting completely from scratch and this has been most apparent when I finally started making a game that is now going to be released.

I know most of us here understand what "scratch" means...but do you?

Usually when making a game, it's either "Wouldn't it be cool if...?" or some inspiration brought on by a cool mechanic you've seen displayed in another game. Most will just run with that, but to me, starting from scratch means I gotta so a little planning.

Here are some considerations when making a board game:

Official Release date for Conquest at Kismet

Mon, 07/06/2015 - 03:01 — radioactivemouse

Well boys and girls, the time has come (well I've kinda known about it for a while) to announce my release date for my card game, Conquest at Kismet.

The game will be released on August 20, 2015 through Victory Point Games. I'm not sure where they will be distributing to, but I hope it's a lot of places :)

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by Dr. Radut