All posts by Derik Duley

Game Development, Lessons Learned

#21: Duh!

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Good day!
I am just so very excited to be back for another Thursday edition of “Things I Recently Learned, But Should Have Known All Along!”

This week, I’ll be discussing spreadsheets and how I should’ve known better. First, let’s start with some background information. As I mentioned before, until just a couple of years ago, the only real game I ever played was Magic: The Gathering. I thoroughly enjoy the deck building process. Every time I build a deck, though, (even the 100 card Commander decks) I sort cards into piles and spread out all over a table. It helps me think to be able to hold, see, and sort. The fact that I cannot do this on Magic Online makes it pretty uncomfortable for me to play.

What does this have to do with the topic? I am currently working on a small card game for The Game Crafter’s “Time Challenge”. It involves drafting and some variable power cards. Being a small game (24 cards for 2 players, 48 for 3+, and 72 for 5+) I figured that I could just do what I was comfortable with and build my piles. You see, I was on my 3rd iteration. I had a chance to see how it operated, experience some balance issues, and was simply cleaning up the game. So, I had plenty of cards to work with – I just needed to fine tune the balance.

Unfortunately, I was very tired and kept losing track of where I thought a certain ability should be, what my cost spread was on that particular number of players, and which card I wanted to move where. It was a frustrating few hours. I was also constantly second-guessing myself. Some major changes were being made to the 2 player version and I feared that I was destroying the game balance. All the while, I was arguing against the logic of using a spreadsheet. “This has always worked before,” regularly rang through my head. The difference I refused to accept this time was that I was dealing with many more adjustable variables, and I just couldn’t keep track of it all.

I went to lunch, came back, and couldn’t remember a big chunk of my work on the 5+ portion. Screw it. I have to use a spreadsheet. So, I set the columns for card abilities grouped across game sizes and the rows for card costs versus victory point values. Then, I filled in information from the last iteration of the game (because I liked the general balance but needed to move some things and remove some redundancy). Next, I added in the changes I knew that I wanted to make. Finally, I was left with a very clear picture of the holes I needed to fill, an easy display of power distribution across the game sizes (friendlier cards for 2 players, more powerful, game-breaking cards for 5+), and a helpful print order (because I build my pages of cards to print as JPEGs).

In half the time, I was able to address a potential balance issue, finish No-Name-Game Version 1.3, and print it up. Driving home the fact that I should have done this long ago, I misprinted a card for the 2 player set. The mistake was discovered as I was prepping for a game at my FLGS. All I had to do was pull up the spreadsheet on my phone, confirm which cards were in the wrong place, and proxy replacements. Amazing!

I am quite sure this is a no-brainer for most, but, as I said, I was cocky. Please, learn from my hubris and work smarter not harder.

What are some tricks you use for organizing your thoughts?

A Little Backstory, Lessons Learned, Top-Deck

#20: Where the Bonus Began (Part 3)

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I immediately grabbed for any paper I could find and furiously scribbled notes from the dream. I then told my wife and a few friends about it – I would NOT be forgetting this dream. Bringing the game from that dream into reality became a passion.

I had never made a game before – hadn’t even tried. I know many designers had at least made custom rules or custom characters for games they enjoyed. Not me. I’m a rule follower. That was all crazy stuff for crazy people! Admittedly, if it weren’t for Poker-Friend’s suggestions a month or two before, I would not even had considered making Top-Deck. Although, the original plan had just been to do the design myself, have some friends do a little art, and print a copy or two for fun.

My job, at the time, involved a lot of time in front of a computer, so I started searching for ways to print. I had a remarkably difficult time. Real printers require large orders. Some playing card companies would do small runs, but on quality card stock. My friends didn’t know much, either. It is surprising how difficult it is to get into printing when you know nothing about the industry. I had actually found The Game Crafter in my initial searches and dismissed them because I didn’t fully understand what good they would be.

Helpful blogs about game design, like Hyperbole and Stonemaier, were much easier to find. Reading advice and playing prototypes of Top-Deck became a regular part of my nights at work.  Eventually, someone recommended The Game Crafter.com for printing demo copies, and forever changed my testing. Those early days of typing up new cards in MS Paint and trying them out with a coworker kept me excited in my new endeavor. Being able to print professional looking games through The Game Crafter gave me confidence in showing off prototypes. Following Mr. Stegmaier’s journey through his Kickstarter Lessons blog helped me to see that even a little guy like me, with enough drive, a good game, and smart business practices could make a career out of this tabletop game thing I was loving so much.

I also have to give credit to Colby Dauch. I learned about his company, Plaid Hat Games, through an ad for Mice and Mystics (which is fantastic). I jumped on the pre-order band-wagon and emailed the company asking what size card sleeves I would need. I was blown away when Mr. Dauch personally responded with an email. You see, due to the professional looking website and several high quality, well received games, I had this impression of Plaid Hat as being a big, long time successful company. Therefore, his response simply improved my opinion of the company.

Recently, I hit a slow spot. I’ve been developing games for a year-and-a-half, now, but still haven’t released anything yet. I have several exciting ideas in development, and although Top-Deck is mechanically ready, it still needs a LOT of art (and art ain’t cheap). It felt like I was losing the battle. Then, I finally began listening to the Plaid Hat Podcast. Now, I don’t generally care too much about origin stories, but these guys really opened my eyes. While Mr. Stegmaier helped me see that I could actually make a business and become a publisher of crowdfunded independent games, it was Mr. Dauch’s story which gave me hope of succeeding in the way that I dreamed.

THAT is where Lagniappe Games comes from. A guy who likes challenges and wants to be self-employed had a dream and pursued it. He found some great advice, help, and examples along the way. Now, he runs a company which is not just focused on fun, quality games, but a company concerned about the customer. I chose the name Lagniappe because I want this to be a generous, even charitable, company. Yes, we have to make money to be self-sustaining, but this experience is about more than that – it’s about building relationships with customers, indie designers, and other small publishers.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this little origin story of mine. God willing, I’ll keep sharing the trials and lessons of this journey with you every week and, hopefully soon, even share some games with you 🙂

*To read the rest of this story, click part one or part two.

Lessons Learned, Special Guest

#19: Special Guest 4Hogs

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Howdy everybody! Today we have a guest post from the team at 4Hogs. This post is very special, though, because this is the first time I’ve been able to chat with a designer whose project, Vaults, failed to fund. While some people may be inclined to look down on a “failed” project, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to learn from a developer in the middle of analyzing what they could have done better. The guys were excited for the chance to share and generous with their candid insight. Here’s their story:

TABLE TOP DESIGN – A WANNABE DESIGNER’S TALE BY 4HOGS

We have never met a passionate table top gamer who didn’t have an idea for a new, groundbreaking game. House rules for various games are common thing these days and that’s usually how it all starts (at least that was our case). Game design is fun, creative, challenging but also exhausting and frustrating. Don’t get us wrong, WE LOVE it and we feel that there should be more game developers out there. Unfortunately a lot of “soon-to-be-great-designers” quit their projects somewhere along the way.

When we were approached by Lagniappe Games to write about our experiences we felt a bit inadequate since our Kickstarter campaign didn’t reach its goal, nevertheless we decided to share our experience and maybe throw couple of “wannabe” tips along the way.

FIRST STEP IS NOT ALWAYS THE HARDEST

This is one of the best steps in game design as far as we are concern. Fresh idea emerged, hopes are high and the image of the perfect game is so clear you can almost play the damn thing. The same was with our game, Vaults. The towers, mutants, mercenaries, attack and defense of the troops…no, no, wait, there is none of all that in Vaults? Well, here is our little secret: Vaults, steampunk themed card game was originally supposed to be a cyberpunk tower defense game. Somewhere along the way it all changed.

BRAINSTORM ALL THE WAY

We won’t burden you with entire development process because it would take far too long. We simply wanted to show you how drastically our game changed. Why? Well, it’s quite simple actually. We always had production costs in mind and also we wanted something simple. Tower defense game was simply too expensive to produce (and the whole mechanic was broken but that’s beside the point  ) We were lucky to have the four of us working together since we could brainstorm in order to fix sine nasty bugs in the game.

CHANGE IS ALWAYS GOOD

Since Vaults isn’t first game we developed, we can safely say that original idea and final product almost never meet. And that’s OK. While we struggled with Mercs (that was supposed to be the tower defense game title) one of us decided to strip the game and rearrange a couple of components. When that rogue designer within our midst returned with his idea we felt it had potential. Once we made the mechanic stable enough we simply gave it a new skin, shiny steampunk skin. Of course that wasn’t even close to our final product.

IMG_9691One of the first versions of Vaults

PLAYTEST – REWORK – PLATEST – REWORK…

Yup. First 2we played until we couldn’t bare our own game anymore and then we decided that we are ready for public test. Boy, were we wrong…Naturally, game testers found all kinds of loopholes in the game and tanks to them we had more things to take care of. But the good part of the story was that they loved it and that was the necessary boost we needed.

3The whole design process lasted over one year and when everything was finished we needed funds to finally publish Vaults. Of course there was only one place where we wanted to present our game.

KICKSTARTER

There are tons of really good Kickstarter guides out there. Of course we read most and we thought we had it all covered. We had a good game, reviews were very good and design and artwork were gorgeous. Anybody who ever made a game knows how we felt. We were very proud with our work and we were ready to take the world with our game. And like many others before us we stumbled.

If you plan to do a Kickstarter project for your game don’t hasten it. Forget about deadlines and focus on your soon to be backers. Remember to visit table top forums as often as possible and show them you share their passion for games. Be honest and if possible include them in your development process. To be honest we feel that this game would be even better if we did that.

We made few mistakes along the way and maybe those mistakes are the reason why we are not producing Vaults as you read this. Of course we are working on relaunch right now and we hope that things will go better next time.

All in all it was a great journey! Yes, it was long, grueling and resulted in a failure but we don’t regret a minute of it. Like we said in the beginning, game design is fun but frustrating. With every fixed thing, ten broken things emerge from the shadows. The only question is how much you love it and how bad you want to succeed. When the Kickstarter campaign ended some of us felt like it was the end of the road, but our backers showed us that we are just at the beginning and we thank them for that.

We thank Lagniappe Games for this opportunity and, even though we told only small part of the story, it felt good to take a trip down memory lane.

And to finish, we promised a couple of advices so here they are:

  • Be creative
  • Become involved in the gaming community
  • Don’t be scared to change your game
  • Always listen to your players (game testers)
  • Don’t be too proud when you receive bad critic – remember those are the best for development process
  • Think ahead
  • Prepare your crowdfund project and when you think you are done double check everything
  • Never ever neglect your fellow gamers

Thank you so much for sharing, Four Hogs! Please, keep your eyes peeled for the relaunch of Vaults. It’s a beautiful little game with a neat little mechanic. You can download the FREE Print and Play version here and here. Thanks for stopping by!

A Little Backstory, Lessons Learned, Top-Deck

#18: Where the Bonus Began (Part 2)

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I walked into a game store which seemed vaguely familiar. The place was packed with people buying, showing off goody bags, talking, and playing with a palpable excitement. As I pressed through the crowd, I had to duck around vertical banners for a new game that I didn’t quite recognize. On the tables were little stands advertising the same game. They featured images of post-apocalyptic characters and proclaimed “Now available”. Looks like I walked in on a launch party! Gamers were laughing all around me, shuffling cards, nudging friends, and having a great time.

A large crowd at the back of the store caught my attention, so I moved that way. As I drew near, I could see an opening centered around 2 people facing off across a table. Listening to the copious side-talk, cheering, and jeering, it was clear this was an important game. “This is for the championship!” Oh.
Wasteland
On my left side was a wiry man confident that he, with superior skills, strategy, and sharp tongue, had the game in hand already. His serious demeanor was echoed by the cards in his deck – they looked like pages out of a “Mad Max” comic book. To my right was a heftier young gamer who seemed happy enough just to be there. A whimsical, lighthearted nature was made overt by his big smile and the colorful images of little anime-style monsters on his deck. This truly was a showdown – between a killer out to show that he’s the best and a goodly kid just having a fun day.
Pocket Monsters
I had seen this game played out across several Slots, progressively earning more points and jockeying for the top position. After a bit of back-and-forth, these two used all of their actions to discard their hands and remove all but the last Slot in a show of ultimate cockiness. Without a hand, these would-be-champions could only top-deck a card for the last slot. Wiry Guy was mocking and trash talking while Happy-gamer was quite and sure. They both played the top card from their decks. . .
And the store errupted! People were cheering for Happy-Gamer and clapping him on the back while others oooooh’ed at Wiry Guy’s epic loss. I couldn’t help but feel excited for Happy-Gamer. At the same time I was dumbfounded by the joy that filled this little building.
That was a great game. I should definitely make. . .
And I woke up.
*To read the rest of this story, click part one or part three.
Lessons Learned, Special Guest

#17: Special Guest Chris Handy! (Perplext)

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Hey there! I know this is 2 days early but I just couldn’t wait to share this with you. What a treat I have this week! This guest is another one of the designers I met on Twitter and was enticed by his preview posts. For months, I saw posts and pictures of cute, pocket-size games that all combine into a nifty Pack O Game. By the time his Kickstarter project launched I knew what was coming, but I was still blown away by how great of an idea he had! 

I started emailing with Chris Handy because I am fascinated with micro games. They are great for any company’s catalog because a good one is more likely to be played and shared (by friends, with family, etc.) than a big box game. I really struggle with designing at that scale, though. So, I asked Mr. Handy for some pointers. What he sent back was just fantastic. Not only did he take time away from his project to email with me, but he gave long, candid answers. The information he shared was GREAT. Then, he graciously gave me permission to share our chat with you! Here we go:

  • Aside from Long Shot and Cinque Terre, do you have a background in the physical or virtual game industries?

I’ve been professionally designing board games since 2000, so I’d say yes to the “Physical” part of that question. Also, my publishing company, Perplext, released 4 fast-playing games on iOS within a few months of the iOS App craze: Enterstate, Kount, Clockwize, and See-Quence. Digital Game design is a skill I’m desperate to have and I have been teaching myself Objective C, Unity and others in the last few years to become proficient.  I have some big game ideas that I’m hoping to get out at some point.  Right now, Long Shot for mobile is in development, and we’re making some great progress at the moment. I’m hoping that in the next release of AppleTV, they’ll open it up to apps and we can release a version of Long Shot that you can play with 8 players on your television.

Long_Shot_Mobile_App

  • How did Pack O Games start? Where did the idea come from? It looks like it was a design exercise that you stuck with and elaborated upon.

I don’t do design exercises. But, what I do is change up card sizes and components now and then, to keep things feeling fresh and to add extra interest. I had an idea for a color-square, tile-laying game that used long cards in a 1 x 3 fashion. I printed the game, and initially used some wooden pieces to score in an “area control” fashion. I was calling it, “Colorisma.”  In testing with my wife, I said, “This is great, but it would be fantastic to make it a “cards only” game, but still retain some kind of long term strategy in the game. We reworked it and came up with “the last card you hold is what you score” mechanism, and renamed the game RGB. I soon made a tuck box for the game and took it on vacation. I was shocked at how much we played it, and how tiny it was. After we got home from vacation, I started challenging myself to think of other games I could put in this box using only 30 cards. It started with a single new game idea, then other, then 2 more…then it was a rush of ideas.  I have close to 100 one-sentence theme/mechanism pairings, 40 SOLID ideas that I could start to print immediately and about 20 that I actually printed within about 2 months period.  Once I determined that I was going to publish these under Perplext and launch a KickStarter campaign, I backed off on design and really hammered out, tested and revised the ones I had printed.  This was a 12-15 hour a day process, for about 6 months straight. I was completely hyper-focused, obsessed really. I wasn’t much fun to be around either.  I was very protective of the idea as well, when usually I’m willing to put my games in front of anyone.  I felt like this was a much stronger concept than so many other games I had done. To me, it truly paired my artistic/craftsman side, with 15 years of game design experience, with KickStarter campaign strategy influence on design and “series” concepts, with Publisher Manufacturing/Distribution perspective.  It was a melding of ideas that frankly was overwhelming at the time, and felt completely original, fresh and inspiring.

  • Why gum pack size games? Was it a specific effort at this unique size and shape or a flippant “THIS small!” type specification?

It was the tuck box for RGB (which became HUE) that really set the tone. In carrying it around is that size box with cards in that are 1 x 3, it was so obviously comparable to a Pack O GUM. My wife came up with the name by the way.

photo RGB’s first night out on the town.

  • How early on did you hit upon the variable difficulty and rating system? It’s the kind of professional “extra” you don’t typically see on self-published projects.

In blind-testing with non-gamers, I saw some reactions that clued me in on the fact that there was an expectation from a game this size.  Certainly gamers expect these to be really light, simple, maybe even kids games. The opposite is true for non-gamers. TKO and FLY are what they would expect. But, letting non-gamers figure out GEM, with it’s different phases, auction, turn-the-card-to-indicate-status, and unforgiving nature, you’ll quickly see that it’s a game they’re NOT expecting to find in this pack. As gamers we’re completely used to phases, auctions, and so many little common game mechanisms that we’ve seen hundreds of times. So, as a gamer, you might not agree with a “3 – Challenging” rating of a game like GEM, but we’re meeting two target demographics here.  I didn’t intend my “3 – Challenging” rating to match Twilight Struggle’s rating, or the BGG rating system.  It’s about expectations from a game this size, for both demographics.

  • Were there certain games that you pack-i-fied purely for the challenge? How about because you thought they’d just be great / fun in a smaller format?

No, but I had a couple unpublished games that I’ve reworked for this size. I have thought about specific mechanisms (I’m trying to switch to saying “mechanism” instead of “mechanic”), and how I can use the materials effectively, but I’m not obsessed with doing that.  Again, I have a ton of game ideas, and there’ll be no shortage for me any time soon in this form factor.

  • Which is your favorite game in the pack and why?

HUE (RGB) was the first, so it’s special in that regard. There’s an elegance about it that I always find attractive in other games. Players only take 4-5 turns too, but it completely works on a satisfaction level.  I’m really proud of it.  But, it doesn’t stand out too much from other games like BUS or SHH.  SHH pulls off some serious tasks for what it sets out to do. Having a word game with 1 card representing each letter exactly 1 time (26 letter cards) is a challenge for any word design. And BUS is “Pick Up and Deliver” in 30 cards!

IMG_9691HUE (RGB) testing with Steve Sartain

  • Of course, which was the hardest game to develop? Why?

SHH was most difficult for a couple of reasons.  It started out with some “virtual card/place holder” mechanisms that through people off.  It was VERY difficult to win/play. I found non-gamers trying to edit the game instead of trying to win.  Man, is that an indicator that it’s time for a big revision. But, there were challenges in revising it. In a normal box game, you can put a million ideas or revisions or extra cards in there.  In the case of a Pack O Game, you are STRICTLY limited it. This is where I feel like 15 years of game design has finally paid off. There’s no way I could have made these games 5 years ago.  No way.

Another challenge was perception of the game from an on-lookers point of view.  The cards in this game are vivid, close-up pictures of real objects.  It draws people in like nothing I’ve ever seen.  But, in doing so, people may think, “Oh, it’s gonna be a laughing, party, apples to apples thing…..I want to try it!”  Then, they continue to watch and realize, there’s complete silence and concentration happening.  There is an occasion giggle if a word is misspelled or if it has to be referenced.  It’s all part of the game and is possibly the most impressive of the bunch.  I was really afraid of putting it in the “core four” game offering in the KickStarter campaign because of gamer sentiment towards word games. So, I held it back. But, I think it has the most potential to cross-over into more channels than any of the other games.  It’s certainly a favorite in my playtest groups.

IMG_9888
SHH – When it was called “GAB” and was more difficult and clunky with the “virtual letter” mechanism
  • I understand there’s a significant variance in the development processes, but what would you say is the biggest difference in your APPROACH to a micro game versus your previous full size games?

You can put a million different concepts in a 12 x 12 x 4 box. You can always add more cards for balance, add extra rule pages for clarity. Add another set of bits to add to the number of players, etc. In Pack O Game, you have to work at lot harder to achieve a solid game that accommodates 4 people, and uses only 30 cards. Every millimeter on every card and on the rule sheet counts! It’s a very different design experience. But, it’s one that I have enjoyed immensely. But, I certainly don’t think I could have pulled this off much sooner in my career.

  • When did you KNOW that you had something special, here?

When I made the second Pack O Game (which I won’t name, and which will NOT be a part of this first campaign in any way.)  I often like to surprise my wife with the games I’m working on.  I’ll only talk “around” what I’m working on, and then “BAM!!!”, I’ll bust it out on the table. We were sitting at a restaurant, and right after we ordered, I said, “And…there’s THIS!” She was shocked that I was able to put a completely different game into the form factor.  But, it wasn’t until I explained it that she was complete taken by the different use of the cards, completely different theme, and even more complexity in the level of gameplay. As I dropped her off at the airport that night, I told her I had ideas for many other games, and I needed a name for the series.  She came up with Pack O Game while we were driving, and I bought 4 domain names WHILE I WAS DRIVING.  When I picked her up the following night from her business trip, I had printed SHH earlier in the day (then called GAB.)  We played it that night, again waiting for our food at a restaurant, and we both new that this was it.  This was the right idea to launch with. The next 9 months was a whirlwind. I journal on an app every night, and haven’t missed a day in 3 years. So, luckily I can go back and review early photos or prototypes and playing with people to see the progress.  One more indicator.  I took it to TKO to my niece’s birthday party and taught my niece and newphew how to play the game afterwards.  After a few plays, I told them that I had to take the prototype with me, and couldn’t leave it as they were asking me to.  My niece quickly made a crude version with pen and paper so she could continue to play.  I’m pretty certain they haven’t played the Cinque Terre game I gave them.  It’s been an exhilarating year.

IMG_9849My niece’s crude version of TKO

  • Any other thoughts? Advice?

On the design front: Keep it FUN!  Games only “work” if they create an experience of interesting choices and fun interaction.

Outstanding stuff! Thank you so much for the time and insights, Mr. Handy. I know this isn’t my normal format or topic, but it was such a great response that I had to share. Please, head on over and check out Pack O Game. He may be fully funded with 4 days left, but I know we’d all love to unlock some of his “extra” games with those stretch goals 😀 And be sure to let him know how much you appreciate him sharing his story!

A Little Backstory, Lessons Learned

#16: Where the Bonus Began (Part 1)

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This week I think I’ll start running you through a bit of personal background and designer diary. That way I can head on to the “behind the scenes” look at changes I’ve made, why, and how it can help you that I’ve been promising for a couple months, now. So, first a look at my background. Then, we’ll move on to the 2 year journey that has been Top Deck. On a personal note: thanks to Grant Rodiek at Hyperbole Games for this blog post which encouraged me to move forward and bear it all 😉

Where I come from:
I didn’t grow up loving and playing lots of board games. Sure, we had Sorry and Monopoly, but UNO was really the only game which got played. That is, until middle school when I found Magic: The Gathering. I LOVED the strategy, competitiveness, and options. It was the only game I enjoyed through college. But, it’s pretty tough convincing other adults to play such a complex game. So, I went from a Magic snob to being desperate for any kind of similar mental challenge and social gathering.

Speaking of college: I have a background in graphic design, web site design (old, old stuff), and a little computer engineering. By “background” I mean that I’ve taken some classes and done some work on the side. BUT, I never finished the art degree OR the science degree. So, I can’t say that I’ve done either professionally – nor do I have the credentials required TO do it professionally. Ugh. I sure enjoy a challenge, though, and my Dad has been setting an example of entrepreneurship my entire life.

Where did Lagniappe Games come from:

It all started with a dream.  Sort of. . .

A long time ago, there were 3 guys, Game-Friend, Poker-Friend, and me. My wife and I met Game-Friend and his wife through In-line Hockey. They were kind enough to teach us about Euro-games. We all had a great time with the likes of Catan, Dominion, 7 Wonders, Bohnanza, and Agricola. My wife and I enjoyed ourselves enough that we shared the games with Poker-Friend and his wife. Thus, fun was had by all.

Eventually, Poker-Friend (always thinking) gets the idea that money could be had in this game industry thing. So, he began asking me about, and telling me we’d be great at, making a game. He and I could do all the brain work while his wife and I do all the artwork. I didn’t think I had the time or skill – I definitely didn’t have any ideas :-/

“Game-Friend! I bet he has ideas!” Therefore, I presented the thought to him. He seemed about as enthusiastic about the idea as I was (not very). Since Game-Friend was less than enthusiastic and none of us had ideas, it was easy enough to write it off and move on.

After a few more weeks of playing games and enjoying time with friends, I experienced a very interesting dream. . .

*To read the rest of this story, click part two or part three.

Game Development, Lessons Learned, Special Guest

#15: Special Guest Eduardo Baraf

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Hey there! We are launching a day early because we get to hear from a great guy, Eduardo Baraf! He has an impressive background in digital games, and now has a Kickstarter campaign going right now for his wonderful little board game, Lift Off! After seeing the obvious signs of extensive preparation, I invited Mr. Baraf to share some insights. He was kind enough to send along this little breakdown of his process from development up through launch. I hope you are excited as I am about what he has to say. Here he goes:

On The Prototype
Like everyone else, I started with pencil prototypes. I’ve actually uploaded a number of the designs to Twitter and the game’s Facebook page. Early on though, I knew I wanted to have a prototype which would last for a long time and be a showcase for what I actually intended the final game to look like. While doing the design work we explored the visual style and once they were both in great shape moved to making the prototypes (there are 3 in existence).

All of the prototypes are hand made. We used cardboard, masonite, wood and a jigsaw. Lots of trial and error and crafts work to get it right. I’ve included some of those steps along the way in my Uber Fan package on the KS.

On Playtesting
Playtesting is critical.  To start, I played tested early versions by myself. Playing as multiple players, etc. Then I played with my wife, Nichole, and Adam. This was the core group who played multiple games. From there, I had game nights to play the game. This was the meat of the early playtesting.

I set up group to do playing where a) I didn’t play and then b) where they used the instructions on their own to play. Then for a long time it was a game I pulled out with different groups – just took notes each time. Getting ready for the Kickstarter there have been a TON of plays. Also in sending it off to reviewers and friends.

On Printers
I evaluated a ton of printers by looking them up, checking online resources, asking people for references, etc. Then I sent out my spec for bids from four I believe. Three came back with bids, two of which are actually competitive. I had those two bids as I rolled into the Kickstarter.

Leading up to the Kickstarter
I began my planning and prepping for the Kickstarter roughly 1 month to launch. This was after the lion share of the material was complete for the Kickstarter. This period I really focused on lining up reviews, talking to blogs, reaching out to people, building my following on twitter etc. I would have liked to have started 3 months before!

Advice / Lessons Learned
I found it very hard to cut through all the mountains and mountains of information and advice on how to be successful for Kickstarter. Amazing stuff out there, but it is information overload. I’m not going to do that here!

Attitude
Be humble, listen, always try to do better, and pay it forward by helping others.

Your key destinations will be Facebook, Twitter, and BGG
You will need a YouTube channel too, but just to get a H2P [how to play] video up. 

  • Facebook: This acts as your home base for users and your website (you don’t need a website). This is easy and quick to setup.
  • Twitter: Start early. Twitter accounts grow slow and steady. Your reach is a reflection of the time on Twitter. To start, the only thing you should be doing on Twitter is helping other people, building trust, and being interesting. Pay attention to good use of hashtags, pics, links, etc.
  • BoardGameGeek: Basically a requirement and a snarl to set up. You need to wait for admins to approve and they are picky. Get this set up a month in advance.

 

Setting up your Kickstarter
Let me save you a lot of time. Go find your favorite Kickstarter, which you thought was most effective. Copy it (layout, content length, information amount, etc). Then take a look at 3 other successful campaigns, figure out the delta, and take one improvement from each. Then pass your preview links around readily and listen to feedback.

Build a small group of 15 super individuals to be your core
One of the best things I did. Early on I recruited friends and strangers to be on my Lift Off! SWAT Team. Only requirement was that they let me tell them what I was doing and what I was thinking. Helped a ton.

Make a Calendar
Use Powerpoint, Keynote, or an actual Staples calendar to chart out every day of your campaign and what is happening. THIS IS HUGE. Fill gaps.

Marketing

  • Consider what you are willing to spend on reviews
  • Consider what you are willing to spend on ads
  • Get to know blogs and bloggers
  • Look at what everyone else is doing.
  • Use Backercamp (solid $10 value)
  • Be weary of everyone else.

 

Get to know every single backer that will let you
I’ve written a direct note to all 400+ backers of Lift Off! some respond, some don’t. If they respond I start a dialog.

Front-Load, but still have more
You absolutely want to have a big first 2 days. Your entire campaign rides on it. At the same time, do make sure you have interesting things going on for the duration of the project. If you have nothing happening during slump you’ll get super depressed.

Wow! How great was that?! I gotta tell you, I first saw Mr. Baraf on Twitter, @ebaraf, where he was constantly chatting with designers, sharing other projects, and enticing us all with teasers for his game. When he finally launched the campaign, I was blown away by the professionalism, open communication, and extensive preparation that I saw on every inch of that page. I really appreciate Mr. Baraf taking the time to share some of his knowledge with the rest of us. Please, check out his campaign for Lift Off!, and, more importantly, stop by his website, Facebook, or Twitter and let him know how much YOU appreciate his advice.

Encouragement, Lessons Learned

#14: Inspiration

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I would like to apologize for the recent trend in blog posts. This week I realized that I have not been giving many “Lessons Learned”, so much as trying to set your mind straight. Therefore, this week I promise to talk about something which I have experienced and learned to handle better: Inspiration! Again, I am no expert – I do not guarantee that any of these methods will work for you. Also, I am trying to avoid the obvious (ask your friends). Instead, I would like to propose a few methods I have found for inspiring exciting game ideas.

Make a list of particularly unique books or movies you love. Then, consider how they would function as a game. How would you recreate that world or tell that story. How would you implement the primary conflict or even secondary conflicts? A great example of this is Christian Strain’s article, 10 Movies That Should Be Board Games. My absolute favorite idea came from a similar blog post (which I can’t find right now) and involved creating a game based on Blade Runner, with hidden identities. That prospect blew my mind!

Go to Board Game Geek or your favorite vendor – where ever you prefer to pull up big lists of games. Read JUST the synopsis. After each one, give yourself time to speculate on how that game would look and function. I know I hate trying to explain my games in a short description – never seems to paint the right idea. When I read the synopsis for most games, without looking at any game pictures, the concept that pops into my head is hardly ever how the game actually works. Thus, solid confirmation of how hard that sucker is to write and great inspiration. *I DO read more on the actual game before moving forward to make sure I am not ripping it off, though.

You know that “Idea Guy” at work? The one person who always has a suggestion about how things could be done differently or better? Yeah, tell them you make board games. If that alone doesn’t get them going, then actually play a game with them. It has been my experience that you won’t JUST get advice on the one game – they will chase you down to throw new game ideas at you. *A word of caution: this only works with the “I wanna help” kind. Does NOT work (well) with the “I just wanna complain” kind. Stay FAR away from that person.

I discovered this little gem in the last month or so. A new take on a previous project. Mr. Ignacy Trzewiczek of Portal Games has a well received little project called 51st State. In his own words, he has been thoroughly frustrated by players fighting against the rules. In other words, a fair number of actions which new players intuitively want to perform are restricted or prohibited by the game’s rules. So, in a bit of a rage, he broke down all of those barriers, remaking the game into a more streamlined interaction. This remake was then cleaned up, slightly rethemed, and given the name Imperial Settlers. It looks to be a great deal of fun. I went through a slightly different version of this with Top Deck. It’s fairly abstract – very light on overall theme. In an attempt to make it more marketable to “serious gamers” I tried to invent a cohesive theme which allowed the game to tell an overarching story. I actually came up with a world which laid perfectly on top of Top-Deck and was really fun for me to talk about. Ultimately, I decided to keep Top-Deck light on theme, but didn’t want to give up the world I had created. So, I developed Surviving Ouranos to extend that story. Now, it is nothing like the game which spawned it.

Next up for the offering is that same thing which works for writers, painters. . . artists in general. Take a shower, lay down for a nap, or go for a drive / ride / run / hike. Do that relaxing thing which often allows and leads your mind to wander. We often experience this by accident, but it can be used deliberately, too. A cynical take on this would be to take on a task which you are capable of (like illustrating a friend’s game), don’t really want to do (because you feel like being lazy), and which takes up the time you would have spent making your own games. Works for me every time 😉

Finally, my secret weapon: ask the wife. Now, stop laughing so I can explain. When it’s late at night, we’re getting ready for bed, and talking about the day, my wife is a fountain of ideas. I just say, “Hey babe, what game do you think I should make next?” And she just spouts out a steady stream of one-liners! Not all interest me, but I do usually have to keep a notepad on hand to record the cool ideas I want to return to later. It’s been a lot of fun, she gave me a couple of ideas which will become heavier games down the line, and it’s a chance for her to feel involved. I highly recommend it 😀

Well, that’s all I have for now, but what about you? Tried any of these before? Do you have your own tricks?

Game Development, Lessons Learned, Special Guest

#13: Special Guest Mark Basker (Around the Clock Games)

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You are in for a special treat, today. At the time of this writing, his first Kickstarter project, Virus the Card Game, is 583% funded with 274 backers. He obviously is doing something right! So, I asked Mr. Basker if he would be so kind as to write up some of the things he is/has learned from this current adventure. Mr. Basker graciously sent the following message along:

I am writing this post on the request of my friend Derik Duley (@Festerduley) from  Lagniappe Games.  He asked me to write about what I learned from my first Kickstarter Project, which was for Virus the Card Game.

1.  Your Dreams – I am by no means an expert in Kickstarter.  In fact I barely knew what Kickstarter was a year ago.  I knew of course that you could take an idea and present it to people, but I always thought it was for “someone else”  not me…  I’m not an artist, or a big shot designer, but I realized Kickstart IS for everyone.  It is for “Your Dreams” too!

2.  Everyone’s a Critic – I received a lot of critical advice before and during the project.  A lot of people said they don’t like X or Y or Z.  The first thing I realized is not everyone is going to like everything about your project.  Just like everyone doesn’t like chocolate ice cream.  You have to realize even though you can’t please EVERYONE, you can still please hundreds of people with your project, and that’s great!

3.  Listen to your Backers – I changed many aspects of the game during the campaign, but it was an enjoyable and collaborative process with my backers.  I went in with the mind set to listen to them in the first place; welcoming ideas.  I actually enjoyed taking their advice, and trying to improve it how they saw fit.  I couldn’t change everything for every person, but most ideas were great, inventive, and friendly.  My backers were like my friends rooting for my project.

4.  Don’t be Afraid – I was really afraid to push the start project button on Kickstarter.  I wasn’t sure if Virus the Card Game would even fund, but I realized I would never know if it would or not if I didn’t try.  Fortunately, it was more successful than I dreamed it would be!

5.  Enjoy the Process – I heard a lot of people talk about how the process was so stressful or so burdensome.  I have found the Kickstarter process to be fun and enjoyable.  The one aspect that seemed taxing a bit was the fact that the 30 days seemed to drag on forever.

Those are the lessons learned, or tips, or whatever you want to call them.  I’m already planning my next project, Airline the Card Game, and am really excited about that as well.

Thanks for reading!

by Mark Basker (@Bloodmoondice) – Mastermind of game development at Around The Clock Games.

*Thanks a lot Mr. Basker! If you haven’t checked out Virus the Card Game, yet, there are still 3 days to go on his campaign! Head on over to the project, or even to Around the Clock Games, say “Hi”, and thank him for sharing his experience with us.

Lessons Learned

#12: You Must Persevere

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Today, I would like to discuss with you the long run. Over the next few minutes I want to explain why making a game and building a small publishing company is comparable to weight loss. *Now, I say that as someone who has personally gone through a weight loss journey. I promise it will all make sense. Just for a touch of perspective on perseverance (and in case you have not read ANYTHING else on either topic) this journey truly is a marathon – it takes a lot of time, a razor sharp focus on the end goal, and a lot of effort.

How much time? Most independent table-top game designers spend at least a year developing a game. I’ve seen partially developed video games on Kickstarter HOPING to deliver a finished game another year from now. Not to mention, most successful KS campaigns have months of research, planning, gathering quotes, etc. put into them long before we see them.

Focus on the end goal? Oh yeah, buddy! Like weight loss, visible results can take a lot of time and faith. You won’t immediately see big proceeds from your labors. This can make it far too easy to lose your way, doubt your ability to succeed, and fall back on the old lifestyle. Guess what, our business won’t truly make money until retail sales start coming in. You know, after we built the game, successfully funded, paid the bills, fulfilled promises, and then got the game out to distributors. Sound like fun? But the journey is always worth it when you really want that end result! See why you have to remain focused? There’s a lot of stuff between you and that dream – even necessary stuff.

I’m sure you are starting to get an idea of how much effort is necessary. Don’t dismay. Plenty of people have already succeeded and shared advice on how they focused their efforts on achieving success. Now, there are a lot of programs out there to help you wade through all of the junk while keeping your eye on the prize. Fortunately for us, most of these successful programs follow the same formula: diet, exercise, and education.
DIET: read rulebooks, play games (especially games with mechanics, themes, and experiences like you want to create), and stay the heck away from negative doubters.
EXERCISE: make games(!), write rule books (whether the game needs it or not), and stay the heck away from negative doubters.
EDUCATION: read related blogs and listen to related podcasts, watch and read reviews, back other people’s crowd-funded games, find out what it takes to print, ship, and distribute games, become involved in the community, and stay the heck away from negative doubters. ~The key here is to do the things which a designer / publisher would do.

I know that’s a lot of stuff. Some of you are thinking, “My social life is already woefully inadequate and wallet depressingly depleted due to an insufficient amount of time with which to perform my existing tasks and duties.” I hear ya! Personally, I’ve given up almost all of my free time to do those things which a publisher would do. Although, I maintain time for my family and exercise so I don’t go completely nuts. With my current schedule, the only time I have with which to do whatever I please is those few hours right before bed. My wife puts on a movie or t.v. show she wants to watch and I sit next to her with my laptop and Wacom. I no longer have one of those jobs where you sit, bored, at a desk in front of a computer all day. I DO work in a state where I get two 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch, though. That equals another hour a day I get to sit on my computer or write in my notepad (see this post). Are you a commuter? Listen to some podcasts and (as long as you aren’t driving) watch some reviews. A HUGE time saver and stress reliever I’ve found recently is the “Subscribe” button (hint, hint). Now, instead of trying to remember who’s website I still need to catch up with and making sure I have a good enough internet connection, I get great content delivered straight to the inbox on my phone! I know this one sounds silly, but it is unreal how much better I feel now that I don’t continuously think about where to look to feed my brain. Therefore, I don’t typically bother with blogs that I cannot subscribe to (no matter how popular and acclaimed they are). A great alternative, which you CAN subscribe to, is Today in Board Games. Just like it sounds, they send you an awesome summary and list of links relating to all things table-top gaming.

There are so many different places to look, so many different ways of maximizing your efforts in minimum amounts of time. . . However you find and consume the information, just do it. It will keep you excited and help you grow. As my dad always says, “If it’s important enough, you’ll find a way to do it.”

What about you? What are some tricks you’ve found for sneaking a little extra work into your day?

P.S.
“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”
-John Quincy Adams