Aside from the usual cycle of managing artists and hosting playtests, the past week or so has also been a whirlwind of catching up on new-year business stuff.

For the past couple of weeks, my graphic designer and I have been bouncing ideas back and forth about a game logo. Now by logo, I don't mean a special icon or something like that, but just a stylized version of the game's name. Something that will be plastered across the front and sides of the game's box, put on the front page of the rulebook, business cards, posters, websites, etc.

Going into this having a logo for my game was not something I thought I needed. I figured just do up the game's name in some fancy font, maybe drop a shadow behind it, and done. But if you take a good look at a lot of the games out there, the way their names are depicted is so much more than that. Adding a thematic texture to the characters. Having a special backplate behind the name. Stylizing one or two characters in the name to look like objects...  a cup, a sword, whatever fits the game. Adding fancy glitters or swirly effects behind the characters. Anything to make the game's name stick in your head. Also make the game stand out in a crowd, something that catches your eye amidst an ocean of brightly-colored game boxes.

This has been a surprisingly difficult process, only because I don't really know what I'm looking for. I want some way to make the name stand out, and make it fit the theme. But I don't know what that effect will look like. I have to worry about the sorts of backgrounds the logo will be used on; will it always be light, or always dark, or do the letters need to hold up even on multicolored illustrations? Not to mention that the design for the game's box hasn't been completed yet; it must be able to look good there. (Answer: the logo needs to look good *everywhere*.)

What sort of pizzazz can I add to the lettering to make it look magical, while trying to represent the theme of forging items?

I'm wishing I had realized sooner that I needed something like this.

Tabletopia is awesome.

Hrm, no. That's not quite right. Let's try that again...

TABLETOPIA is AWESOME!

Much better.

In case you're just tuning in, Tabletopia is a website where players can meet up and play board games on a virtual tabletop.

Pros:
- Play board games without actually owning the game
- Tabletopia has a library of over 150 games, and that number keeps growing
- Play board games from the comfort of your computer, no need to travel
- Meet new people from other countries over board games
- Play board games at any time, even with people from other time zones
- Look at the game board from any angle, as close or far away as needed, without getting out of your chair
- Load a game and have the components already set up, no arranging or shuffling needed
- No cleanup afterwards

Of course the service is not perfect. Cons:
- No face-to-face interaction
- Miss the tactile feel; no rolling dice or cards in hand
- Sometimes it's hard to see the entire play area at once
- Interacting with game pieces is a little slower than the real-life version
- Service is still in beta; sometimes it's glitchy

However, there's one major advantage to Tabletopia. Manaforge is on there. :)

Tabletopia is a fantastic tool for developing a new game. The components are free; adding cards, dice, tokens, boards, etc., is a simple matter of uploading graphics and clicking a few buttons. No having to order parts or cut apart paper bits. Making modifications is quick and relatively easy.

However, the largest plus is the ability to attract playtesters to play Manaforge, at any time, from a huge variety of locations. I don't yet have any prototype versions of Manaforge to give out, and I'm not yet close enough to done to feel comfortable giving out print-and-play information. But players can still play, and I can observe and get feedback, which is probably the most valuable thing a developer can have.

In addition, it's now a lot easier to find players to play against. A group of players in the Tabletopia community have formed a group called the Tabletopians. They originally started out as a Steam group, but have moved into their own website, and have their own server on the Discord chat service. Anybody can log onto the Tabletopians Discord server and look for other people to play games with. And that includes playing Manaforge.

The future of board games is coming. Are you ready? :)

If you haven't already, check out the Games page. Instructions for playtesting, including getting onto the Tabletopians chat server, are there.

Happy 2016 everyone!

As a way to kick off the new year, I'm offering a treat to everyone who reads this.

I've just placed a large amount of the item card artwork online for players to look over and give feedback on. I'm happy with the job that my illustrators are doing on Manaforge, and I'd like to spread some of that joy around.

However, there is a catch.

The artwork isn't on this site. Instead, you'll have to load up and play the online version of Manaforge on Tabletopia. Instructions for doing this are on the Games page.

Also, if you're looking for players to test the game with, it is recommended that you join the Discord chat server. It's great for connecting with other players on the Tabletopia service. Instructions for that are also on the Games page.

Enjoy!

Apparently I was a good little game developer this year, because my graphic designer left some awesome Manaforge card backs underneath my cardboard Christmas tree. :)

The one on the left is the back for the Dawn item cards (renamed from the Morning cards), the first set of item cards in the game. The other two decks have similar backs, just with different colors for the circles and text. The Noon deck (previously Afternoon) is white and silver, and the Dusk deck (previously Evening) is red and purple.

The one on the right is the for the Talent cards (renamed from the Character cards), the cards that represent each player's unique abilities.

I think these came out great, but I might be a little biased. :D

I know I've posted about the game rules a couple of times, but since Manaforge is in another lull phase, I figure now is a good time to do more rules updates. (The artwork is ongoing, the graphics design is ongoing, and I'm playtesting whenever I can. Time for something else.)

I've started giving some thought as to how exactly I'm going to get Manaforge manufactured.

One down, and about a million to go. :P

With the game board design more or less locked down (it still might change, but I doubt it), my designer and I have moved on to the next task. In this case, the next thing to tackle is the card backs.

Manaforge has four decks of cards, currently named 'morning', 'afternoon', 'evening', and 'character'. The first three decks are item cards, while the fourth contains the player powers.

So we need to come up with designs for the card backs that go along with the other visual elements. The problem is, I really don't have any good starting point for these. The way I see it, there are four possible goals for the item card backs:

1) Thematic coherency: The cards represent items, but when you're looking at the card backs, that means the cards are in the draw pile, and represent items that haven't been built yet. So having the backs look like instructions for building an item, or incomplete magic items, would work.
2) Conveying story: The backs of the cards must indicate which of the three decks they belong to. On top of that, the games scenario dictates that the events of the game happen over the course of one day. So, the first deck is what can be built early in the day, the second deck in the middle, and the third at the end. (Hence the deck names.) So the backs of the cards could represent the phases of the day. Sunrise, noon, sunset. Maybe images of the sun with various colors and locations relative to the horizon.
3) Visual consistency: The backs of the cards should have the same general color scheme as the game board. Light, parchment beige colors in the middle, with red leather and/or brown wood around the edges. Lots of ideas could work here; small leather-bound books or rolled up parchment scrolls on a table come to mind.
4) Tension: The backs of the cards must push the idea that the game is not unlimited. As the cards are dealt out, the card back on top of the draw pile changes. The backs must help to convey a sense of urgency; the day is getting shorter, the magic requirements are becoming more demanding, the items are becoming more powerful.

The first three goals, in particular, seem to be somewhat exclusive. Take any two and you could find an idea that might work. But all three? I haven't figured that out yet. At least the fourth goal should be relatively easy to hit.

And that's not even counting the character cards, which might need a separate design entirely. (The character cards, viewed from the front, are oriented wide instead of tall. The backs will probably reflect that.)

This might take a few tries. :P

I'm currently trying to get Manaforge ready to be blind playtested online. As part of that effort, I'm working on improving my rulebook. It wouldn't do any good to find someone that wants to play but can't because they don't understand the game rules. So, I'm incorporating feedback, adding more pictures, and doing various minor tweaks to improve the readability.

As part of adding pictures, I'm using an image from a card that I haven't shown off yet. Since I'm making it public anyway, might as well post it here. Enjoy!

Okay, I need more playtesters. Badly.