So, I mentioned in my previous posts that 2019 had been a slow year. I guess someone heard me, because it hasn't stayed that way.
Since our local Prototype Con fell through, I was convinced to make the trek up to Atlanta to attend ProtoATL. To that end, I needed to get Sky Pirates into good enough shape to demonstrate to a bunch of other game designers. Lots of work to do!
After my previous post on the subject, I received my first professionally printed prototype copy of Sky Pirates. Overall, it turned out very good. The card stock is good quality, everything is easily visible, and the card content is centered reasonably well. I like how the bits, when packed together, fit into a relatively small box. After seeing it all together, I can imagine how the biggest component to this game is going to be the rulebook; it will be an interesting graphic design challenge to shrink that down to match the rest of the components and yet still keep it understandable. My one major gripe about this copy is that the artwork is significantly darker than it appeared on my computer; I assume this is a side effect of the color space, as The Game Crafter takes files in RGB format instead of CMYK.
With the first prototype copy successfully obtained, I placed an order for six more copies, with some minor changes to the content to reflect some local playtesting. Received those, printed out six copies of my first draft rulebook, packaged those all together, and I was ready for the convention!
Overall, ProtoATL was fantastic! Three days of non-stop playtesting. I got several playtests in of Sky Pirates and received a good amount of feedback. (I'm still processing it all.) I also got to playtest many other designers' games; I hope the feedback I gave was at least a little helpful. I also attended a few seminars on various topics such as how to navigate legal contracts with publishers and how to design with player experience in mind. Great stuff! (Not a fan of the nine hour drive, though. I'll be better prepared for that aspect of the trip next time.)
Sky Pirates seemed to be well received at the convention. While many people that played it had some suggestions for parts that could be improved, overall the structure of the game seems solid and just about everyone liked it. I even got one publisher to take a look at the game, and he liked it enough to want one of my prototype copies. While I'm open to the idea of publishing this game myself, I'd prefer to have the burden of dealing with advertising, funding, and distribution handed off to someone else so I can focus on designing.
Next stop: Dice Tower! I don't yet know what playtesting facilities they're going to have there, but I'm definitely going to try to get more eyes on the game at that convention. (That, and trying to sell more copies of Manaforge of course. :)
Thinking of Manaforge, I've been slowly chugging through my next design idea for the expansion. Here's what I've been doing on that front:
(http://mystictigergames.com/blog/developer-diary-redesign-ad-nauseam)
Result 4.5: Still a solid 'meh'. With the power boost, the relics are definitely playable, they definitely affect the power balance of the game, and they definitely add more for you to do. However, they still don't really pop... I don't get the feeling of excitement from them. The idea may have something to it, but this version doesn't quite hit it right. However, it is interesting to note that the 'customer' cards do seem to work. While they're pretty small as far as what they add to the game, they do add something to the game. It will take a couple of iterations of the costs and rewards to make them really shine, but there is definitely a spark there.
Iteration 5: Okay, stepping back for a second. What should the experience be for this component? The game is about building up an engine. So, what about this new something lets you build up your engine? Drawing from another idea I had for an expansion (codenamed "Artifacts"), what about item cards that you build up over the course of the game? Rather than just building them once and they're done, you have to build on them multiple times, and they get stronger each time? Sort of like the wonder stages in 7 Wonders, each level has different requirements and provides a different benefit. Would be nice if you could customize your engine as you build it? Okay, pulling in the idea of a 'skill tree'. For example, a game like Diablo, what if you can select which abilities you get as you improve this item. Boom... I have my idea. I'm trying to construct 'artifact' cards that have multiple abilities but a highly varied set of costs and actions you have to deal with in order to build it up. Let's see where this goes...
And that's it for now. Definitely a lot busier than last update. Hopefully that means there will be more progress too. :)
Since our local Prototype Con fell through, I was convinced to make the trek up to Atlanta to attend ProtoATL. To that end, I needed to get Sky Pirates into good enough shape to demonstrate to a bunch of other game designers. Lots of work to do!
After my previous post on the subject, I received my first professionally printed prototype copy of Sky Pirates. Overall, it turned out very good. The card stock is good quality, everything is easily visible, and the card content is centered reasonably well. I like how the bits, when packed together, fit into a relatively small box. After seeing it all together, I can imagine how the biggest component to this game is going to be the rulebook; it will be an interesting graphic design challenge to shrink that down to match the rest of the components and yet still keep it understandable. My one major gripe about this copy is that the artwork is significantly darker than it appeared on my computer; I assume this is a side effect of the color space, as The Game Crafter takes files in RGB format instead of CMYK.
With the first prototype copy successfully obtained, I placed an order for six more copies, with some minor changes to the content to reflect some local playtesting. Received those, printed out six copies of my first draft rulebook, packaged those all together, and I was ready for the convention!
Overall, ProtoATL was fantastic! Three days of non-stop playtesting. I got several playtests in of Sky Pirates and received a good amount of feedback. (I'm still processing it all.) I also got to playtest many other designers' games; I hope the feedback I gave was at least a little helpful. I also attended a few seminars on various topics such as how to navigate legal contracts with publishers and how to design with player experience in mind. Great stuff! (Not a fan of the nine hour drive, though. I'll be better prepared for that aspect of the trip next time.)
Sky Pirates seemed to be well received at the convention. While many people that played it had some suggestions for parts that could be improved, overall the structure of the game seems solid and just about everyone liked it. I even got one publisher to take a look at the game, and he liked it enough to want one of my prototype copies. While I'm open to the idea of publishing this game myself, I'd prefer to have the burden of dealing with advertising, funding, and distribution handed off to someone else so I can focus on designing.
Next stop: Dice Tower! I don't yet know what playtesting facilities they're going to have there, but I'm definitely going to try to get more eyes on the game at that convention. (That, and trying to sell more copies of Manaforge of course. :)
Thinking of Manaforge, I've been slowly chugging through my next design idea for the expansion. Here's what I've been doing on that front:
(http://mystictigergames.com/blog/developer-diary-redesign-ad-nauseam)
Result 4.5: Still a solid 'meh'. With the power boost, the relics are definitely playable, they definitely affect the power balance of the game, and they definitely add more for you to do. However, they still don't really pop... I don't get the feeling of excitement from them. The idea may have something to it, but this version doesn't quite hit it right. However, it is interesting to note that the 'customer' cards do seem to work. While they're pretty small as far as what they add to the game, they do add something to the game. It will take a couple of iterations of the costs and rewards to make them really shine, but there is definitely a spark there.
Iteration 5: Okay, stepping back for a second. What should the experience be for this component? The game is about building up an engine. So, what about this new something lets you build up your engine? Drawing from another idea I had for an expansion (codenamed "Artifacts"), what about item cards that you build up over the course of the game? Rather than just building them once and they're done, you have to build on them multiple times, and they get stronger each time? Sort of like the wonder stages in 7 Wonders, each level has different requirements and provides a different benefit. Would be nice if you could customize your engine as you build it? Okay, pulling in the idea of a 'skill tree'. For example, a game like Diablo, what if you can select which abilities you get as you improve this item. Boom... I have my idea. I'm trying to construct 'artifact' cards that have multiple abilities but a highly varied set of costs and actions you have to deal with in order to build it up. Let's see where this goes...
And that's it for now. Definitely a lot busier than last update. Hopefully that means there will be more progress too. :)
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