Board game
by Aaron Weingartner · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 06/05/2008 (10:46 pm) · 3 replies
So one of the things I have been doing for a while has been jotting down all my different ideas and trying to organize them into a system.
One thing I'm considering though is that I want it to be a commercial game, or at least on par with one, and as such it kinda takes a helluva lot of effort just to make the concept good enough to pitch.
As such, I decided on mapping out everything I wanted for the game as a tabletop type game first. I'm aware that only solves some of my problems while presenting others, but this option would give me the chance to compile and refine the concept without having to worrying about coding or even art for the most part. I would be able to focus on the base system that dictates pretty much the entire rest of the system.
So I'm not actually looking to make it as a commercial board game, though if it's complete enough by the end, it may be a good idea to pitch it as one as well.
What are your opinions in general on building a tabletop model of the game first be? Aside from any issues that I know might arise from trying to translate certain things. I'm well aware of that kinda stuff and intend the system to be as compatible as possible off the bat.
One thing I'm considering though is that I want it to be a commercial game, or at least on par with one, and as such it kinda takes a helluva lot of effort just to make the concept good enough to pitch.
As such, I decided on mapping out everything I wanted for the game as a tabletop type game first. I'm aware that only solves some of my problems while presenting others, but this option would give me the chance to compile and refine the concept without having to worrying about coding or even art for the most part. I would be able to focus on the base system that dictates pretty much the entire rest of the system.
So I'm not actually looking to make it as a commercial board game, though if it's complete enough by the end, it may be a good idea to pitch it as one as well.
What are your opinions in general on building a tabletop model of the game first be? Aside from any issues that I know might arise from trying to translate certain things. I'm well aware of that kinda stuff and intend the system to be as compatible as possible off the bat.
#2
Building a mockup will help you in alot of ways. One of which is you can take snapshots of your board to use as concept art for when you're ready to employ an artist to develop the final look of the game.
06/06/2008 (3:40 am)
You should definately build a mockup then have your friends/family playtest it for you. That's the best thing for uncovering glitches in your rule set you might not have seen while designing on paper. I would keep your mockup as simple as possible, don't sweat the artwork now, just get a basic line drawing down for the layout of the board then use RPG figurines as standins for any player pieces you might need.Building a mockup will help you in alot of ways. One of which is you can take snapshots of your board to use as concept art for when you're ready to employ an artist to develop the final look of the game.
#3
I've developed dozens of awful games that I tested using playing cards written on with black marker. They're all in the closet so that I can sell on them on eBay when I become famous. Each one was probably only a few weeks of effort.
06/08/2008 (11:15 am)
I would very much recommend a tabletop version to playtest. I've playtested game concepts using a checkerboard and assorted bits from other games. It played well as a tabletop game. I also coded a mock-up in Javascript so I could work on AI for the computer player. The quicker you can try out the idea, the earlier you'll know wheter to pursue it, make changes or drop it.I've developed dozens of awful games that I tested using playing cards written on with black marker. They're all in the closet so that I can sell on them on eBay when I become famous. Each one was probably only a few weeks of effort.
Associate James Ford
Sickhead Games