I made it to the finals for the Boardgame Designer Workshop Contest, and was interviewed for the podcast. I'm not going to lie, I sound like a nervous chipmunk. That's what I get for using my recorder as a mic for the first time without pre-testing it.
Anyway, all of the finalists were interviewed, and we're mailing our games in to the judges to be played for last round.
The contest also has an audience judging portion where the audience can weigh in on the final games, which we'll be able to see at the end of the contest. So please support the contest and take a look at all the awesome prototypes!
Podcast Interview:
https://theboardgameworkshop.com/2018/12/12/episode-53-finalists/
Finalists:
https://theboardgameworkshop.com/design-contest-2018/finalists/
Comments
Good luck!
Good luck!
Jay103 wrote:Good
Thanks Jay!
Hey I saw that on Facebook
Hey I saw that on Facebook and recognised your username
Hope you do well!
browwnrob wrote:Hey I saw
Hope you do well!
Thank you! :)
So what are you plans with the game???
Are you going to shop it around to Publishers or are you planning to KS on your own...? I know you had been re-working your Sell Sheet a while back and that gave me the idea that you wanted to approach potential Publisher to try to bring your game to market.
But I could be wrong... In any case if you choose to work with a "smaller" publisher with a smaller catalog of games, they might include you in much of the process from finalizing the design, to working with an artist (which may or may not be of your choosing...)
Was wondering where you were at(!?)
I realize you are probably waiting for the RESULTS of the contest, a win or second or third runner up would be good. Obviously finishing in 1st Place would be a serious boost in terms of your design... But nothing wrong in finishing 2nd or 3rd either. It still a good showing considering that you are a FINALIST! That too carries some weight even if it's not an overarching "victory".
questccg wrote:Are you going
But I could be wrong... In any case if you choose to work with a "smaller" publisher with a smaller catalog of games, they might include you in much of the process from finalizing the design, to working with an artist (which may or may not be of your choosing...)
Was wondering where you were at(!?)
I realize you are probably waiting for the RESULTS of the contest, a win or second or third runner up would be good. Obviously finishing in 1st Place would be a serious boost in terms of your design... But nothing wrong in finishing 2nd or 3rd either. It still a good showing considering that you are a FINALIST! That too carries some weight even if it's not an overarching "victory".
Up until the past two months I was wobbling between self-publishing and shopping it to publishers, mainly because I wanted control over the artistic direction, and I didn't want it re-themed.
After the feedback from this contest and more recent playtests, I'm feeling more comfortable with the idea of shopping my game to publishers. It may not be the artist I want, but if I can keep the theme and the flavor, and the fun of my game, then I'm willing to be flexible. At the end of the day, I think, if I can get it published, it may reach more people and give me more flexibility in the future.
So I'm participating in this contest,t he AEG contest, and the Cardboard Edison contest to try and get more eyes on my game. Then when Spring and Summer hit, I will take my hopefully refined game and shop it to publishers in person.
As for this contest, there's only a first place and the 4 runner ups. So just making it as a finalist was great exposure, as I got interviewed for a podcast, and the judges are playing my prototype. I'd love to get first, but if I don't, I'm really happy to have made it this far.
Lastly, my game is now at a point where I'm just testing the balance and trimming gameplay time. So I'm adding and removing cards and abilities so that players don't lean toward the same villains or victory strategies every game. :)
It sounds like you are FLEXIBLE enough
I think your way of thinking is "smart". It's probably something you can say to potential Publishers:
It's clear that with giving yourself more "flexibility" dramatically increases your ODDS of "success". It's like saying I choose "Quality" and "Cost" and will compromise on "Time to market". (That's sort of the choice I made...) You only get to control 2 variables and then other is out of your hands.
But definitely a healthy attitude, in allowing the Publisher to do some of the "driving" too. Personally if you HAD an artist in mind, I would bring it up and maybe present some "art samples" and see what the feedback is.
Because there are all kinds of artists for all kinds of games out there. I realize that "REALISM" attracts a LOT of attention from buyers. But at the same time, not every game REQUIRES it. In some of my projects, I have prioritized "Cartoon-ish, Comic-Book-esque" artwork which I thought was real nice. I got DUMPED on by BGG Haters saying that the art was "at best ... average"...
I really think it was a good illustration, especially for something as simple as a "Garlic Clove"... But BGG (Board Game Geek) Haters said elsewise...
My point that I am trying to make with all of this is that everyone sees art subjectively. And while REALISM is more "impressive" there is nothing wrong with art in other "categories" like Cartoons or Comic Books, etc. Not everything is meant to look like a "Magic: the Gathering" (Magic) card.
If you look at Epic the card game by White Wizard Games... It's another DUEL game. The artwork is very nice too... But it looks too competitive to a product like Magic. But in my opinion, having art that looks different helps the product stand out from a crowd of "too Magic looking artwork".
All that to say "Congrats" giving up some control for the product you hope pleases all the gamers is a BIG PLUS! (Or at least planning to be a bit more flexible...)
Cheers.
questccg wrote:I think your
> Saying that you'd like to keep the overall theme and game play intact, however that you are open to having the artistic direction and illustration be at the Publisher's discretion... is definitely a good way to forge a partnership with most Publishers.
It's clear that with giving yourself more "flexibility" dramatically increases your ODDS of "success". It's like saying I choose "Quality" and "Cost" and will compromise on "Time to market". (That's sort of the choice I made...) You only get to control 2 variables and then other is out of your hands.
But definitely a healthy attitude, in allowing the Publisher to do some of the "driving" too. Personally if you HAD an artist in mind, I would bring it up and maybe present some "art samples" and see what the feedback is.
Because there are all kinds of artists for all kinds of games out there. I realize that "REALISM" attracts a LOT of attention from buyers. But at the same time, not every game REQUIRES it. In some of my projects, I have prioritized "Cartoon-ish, Comic-Book-esque" artwork which I thought was real nice. I got DUMPED on by BGG Haters saying that the art was "at best ... average"...
I really think it was a good illustration, especially for something as simple as a "Garlic Clove"... But BGG (Board Game Geek) Haters said elsewise...
My point that I am trying to make with all of this is that everyone sees art subjectively. And while REALISM is more "impressive" there is nothing wrong with art in other "categories" like Cartoons or Comic Books, etc. Not everything is meant to look like a "Magic: the Gathering" (Magic) card.
If you look at Epic the card game by White Wizard Games... It's another DUEL game. The artwork is very nice too... But it looks too competitive to a product like Magic. But in my opinion, having art that looks different helps the product stand out from a crowd of "too Magic looking artwork".
All that to say "Congrats" giving up some control for the product you hope pleases all the gamers is a BIG PLUS! (Or at least planning to be a bit more flexible...)
Cheers.
Thank you! And I agree with you. I think the garlic clove looks good. At most I would lower the opacity on the red texture so it's easier to read the gold text, and darken the pink for the same reason (readability). But the illustration itself is an art style I like. And for my game I would be going for a more cartoonish look. I still plan to recommend the artist who I had in mind, but if they choose not to go with him, I won't fight it. But it'd be nice if they did. :)
You're right that art is very subjective. I suppose as long as your game's demographic is into it,t hen it doesn't matter. I'm not a strong fan of realism myself. Most of the time it's kind of bland to me.
Congrats
Way to go, Fertessa! Best of success to you and your prototype. Looks like you're anticipating an exciting summer of board game design progress. :)
let-off studios wrote:Way to
Thank you! And yes I'm planning to finally go to cons outside my state and do my best to be bold and talk to people. :D
That's fantastic! I'll check
That's fantastic! I'll check out the podcast and games. Keep us posted on how it's going
LoveInPaintCreations
Thank you for checking it out, and I will indeed! :D