Conquest at Kismet Post-Mordem

Some of you know that I released my game, Conquest at Kismet last September. I've made it no secret what I did to get there, but I feel it's necessary to talk about my hits and misses so that people here can learn from my experiences.

First of all, I'd like to thank Victory Point Games in publishing my title. For a lot of people it's an accomplishment to just publish a game they have designed from the ground up and I'm grateful that I've been able to use their resources to do so. Many people take years to realize their dream; it took 10 months for me.

This will also help me because I've got some pretty cool plans for my game that I do not wish to mention at this time. It's mainly because it's been some time since I've been heavily involved with my game and now that I've got a newborn child, it's even more difficult to find time to this thing I haven't mentioned. Hopefully when it gets some momentum, I can let you all know

Now on to the show!

About the game:
-2 player analog card game, featuring...
-50 card static decks (no customization)
-Published by Victory Point Games in September 2015
-Includes tokens for damage, energy, and Retribution.
-Included 2 ship cards for each faction, one large and one small (for portability).
-Primary Game Mechanic #1: Combat Pull: A lottery-like system for combat. Allowed for a randomness in battle while making the player feel like they have some control.
-Primary Game Mechanic #2: Cooldown: Some cards that activate are turned to a certain position, then turned clockwise every tick until the card is facing the player. Very easy way to indicate when an ability is ready.

Review reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Mc2GeUXdco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhAcC8kk6cg

What went right:

-I found a viable mechanic that I called my own.
I just found out there's going to be a Final Fantasy CCG coming out at the end of October. Upon viewing the rules and a tutorial video, I was highly disappointed that the game is merely a mix of Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic: The Gathering, and Cardfight! Vanguard and didn't seem particularly original. It really disappointed me. Part of what I believe is going to get people to view your game is to present something different than what's already out there. Sometimes it comes in the form of securing the rights to an IP, but many times it takes more than that. What impresses me is a tweaked or new mechanic that has been presented in a unique way. My game runs on two main mechanics: The Combat Pull and the Cooldown system. I'd like to think they are unique or at least new spins on already established mechanics. Believe me, it's really hard trying to think up something original. Everything else in the game is just playing around with those systems.

-I kept the game simple.
Too many times I look at some games and I think that it drowns in overcomplication. It's like there was a great mechanic there, but subsequent play testing made the designer implement fixes that ultimately led to "feature creep" (too many mechanics). I wanted my game to have that simplistic feel like I had when I played Magic: The Gathering for the first time back in 1994. I wanted people to "get" my game within 1-3 turns and give me a run for my money on their first game. Many games I've played take well over 10 full games to totally realize and I think that's just a slow waste of time. Instead of adding new mechanics, I streamlined them. What could I do to fix this issue while keeping the theme and not detract from the core gameplay? The result was a compact, simple game that I could teach anyone...I even played the game on a plane without hassle!

-I showed my game to the right people.
The worst thing I could to my game is to keep my play testers restricted to people I knew. Because I hosted a weekly game club on campus, I always had players testing my game. In addition, I challenged my ego by going to relatively unknown places to get the feedback I needed. I attended board game conventions, went to game meetups with my game in tow, even asked random strangers at times. The best criticism I got came from a game designer at Fantasy Flight...believe me, he didn't hold back. When my game released, I chased down noted game reviewers, Ignacy Trzewiczek, Eric Lang, and other designers to play my game. I needed to see how my game operated under their scrutiny. The work was worth it. I constantly went out of my comfort zone (even going to GenCon and BGG Con for the firs time). My game was reviewed by The Dice Tower by Zee Garcia and Mark Street of Board Game Corner as well as Tragic The Blathering and several others. I got a fair amount of exposure for my work.

-I waited until I felt like it was ready before I released it.
Another thing that bugs me is an undercooked game. I take that back, not really "undercooked", rather, something that just failed to reach its original vision. Glaring bugs are usually the telltale sign of this and it's usually as a result of a game that's rushed or held against a timeline like a Kickstarter. I originally wanted the game to release 4 months after I started working on it, but in my mind I knew it wasn't ready. When I finally looked at my game and said, "Yes. this is it", THEN I released my game.

-I did TONS of research.
I'm a big fan of card games. Everything from Poker to Magic: The Gathering, to Love Letter, if it was a card game, I really tried to play it or at least watch a review of it. I've bought tons of games. I played "great" games, I played "bad" games. I looked at what worked, and what didn't. Not only did I play games, I studied game design in college. I worked at game companies...both video and analog for over a decade. I studied what people saw was "fun" and I listened to different designers about their theories. I amassed a library in my head of theories, mechanics, play styles, and practical information. I teach game design to help cement the theories I listen to into my head. It ALL helped. I didn't just design a game because one day I realized I've played a lot of games and therefore I automatically know how to design a game. That's like I've lived in houses all my life and for some reason I know how to build a house without doing any research. And you know what? I feel like I'm STILL learning and I STILL have a lot to learn. But I got myself to a point where I could effectively construct a game smartly instead of one day deciding I could magically do it.

-I play tested the crap out of this game.
Like I said before, I showed this game to tons of people in tons of places. One girl I showed my game to at a convention ended up becoming my personal demo girl for newbies the rest of the convention. On the flip side, one guy stood up in the middle of my game and walked out on me. I got good feedback, and not-so-good feedback. I tested this with kids, adults, women, men, old people, everyone. It really helped me 1) sell the game effectively and 2) understand my audience.

-I refused to do Kickstarter.
At one point in my development, I was asked if I wanted to launch a Kickstarter. I refused. If I were to do a Kickstarter, I'd want people that understand Kickstarter and I'd also want somewhat of a reputation...of which I had none. I understood that. Nothing is harder to sell than coming in brand new...no one knows who you are, what you've done, or what you did to qualify yourself to make a game. Saying, "I'm a first time game designer, but I've played games all my life" isn't a very solid foundation to stand on. I figured if I could at least get a solid game out with solid reviews, I could use that as a springboard to a Kickstarter, but not at the moment. I believe people think Kickstarter is a huge "Easy" button when it will do more harm than good if you make too many mistakes.

-I made other games before doing this one.
This was not my first rodeo. I learned the importance of game testing when I was selling homemade D&D maps for a buck when I was in Middle School. I pitched game ideas on a regular basis in my game design class. I created a game based around Hermit Crabs fighting each other on a checkerboard for a final. I tried designing a deck-building game that involved sleight-of-hand magic (it failed, lol). I have TONS of works-in-progress. I've failed...tons of times. When I found the ideas that would end up being my game, I worked on it with the same passion I did with the other projects.

What I did wrong:

-Box art vs. card art
The biggest thing when it came to my art (which I commissioned out to one of my students) was that the box art was prettier than the card art. I purposely went for a graphic design-ish style (see Glory to Rome: Black Box), but the cover was very bold and detailed. It got the audience hyped up only to see a simplistic art style. It suffered from the same thing that plagued early NES video games like Castlevania...the box didn't match the game art. I should have kept the art consistent. I think that while I stuck to my guns for a graphic designer-y look, I don't think it worked with the audience. Sam Healy personally told me he wasn't a fan of the style, but Zee Garcia liked it. Maybe this is more of a 50/50, though I think, in retrospect, that a more detailed card would have been better.

-I should have organized tournaments.
I think I just overthought this. Because I was only releasing two factions, it was really hard to organize a tournament...especially if someone was really good at one particular race. Holding tournaments would have given a real boost to the game.

-I did a big chunk of promotion myself.
The best time I had with my game was when I had people that actively helped me demo my game. The worst time was when I had to search for people to play my game alone at certain conventions. While I was aggressive in going to conventions to show off my game, I needed help pushing it. I felt alone in my promotion and in the sea of games that release in any given year, I just didn't have people by my side as I was promoting. I think it was because I was being so aggressive going to these conventions I just couldn't bring anyone along with me. I will say I had help publishing the game, and for that I'm eternally grateful, but if only 1 person is promoting the game, it's only 1 voice in a crowd. While I felt like I was very strategic in where I showed my game and who I showed it to, if I had more people actively promoting my game...game stores, promotional material, tournaments, etc. I would have had a lot better position. But like I said...one person can only do so much.

-I should have developed more content.
I was looking for a game that I could use as an example in class originally. When the train started moving, I created a lot of extra content and I had a plan for expansions (well, I still do). The problem with my plan is that i should have included some more variety in my original set. Extra cards for deck building, another faction, something. I think I was too involved with the cost (it was really expensive for the game already) that I restricted the game too much. In the end, it hurt me. It was one of the bigger criticisms I had about the game...not enough content. I suppose that's a good thing that people want more, but I left it so restricted to a 2 player game that I didn't think of the endurance of the original game. It should have had some variety off the bat. When I released the game, I just dropped working on the expansions, even though they are in prototype form. Maybe I was just burned out. I know I'll get to them...I've just been lazy.

-I should have been more aggressive with my promotion.
When I was at BGG Con 2015, there was a game that was #1 and it was taken by some people that were really aggressive. People were turned off by them, but they got enough votes to take the top spot in the Hot List. For me, I was able to go as high as #3, but settled at #7. But it was really just me promoting my game. I should have had more people working with me to promote my game. Maybe I though that since this was my first game, I didn't need the promotion, I did. And my game suffered from it.

-I gave bad impressions because of my personality.
This one...is a hard one to talk about because I'm admitting that I was the one that contributed to the lack of success. While typically I've been professional in my endeavors, there were times I just took conversations too far and I let go of my professionalism. It's not that I tried to pick up on anyone, nor was I violent in any way. I think personally, I rubbed some people the wrong way. Maybe this is more of a personal evaluation of my performance, but I dunno.

-Maybe I should have Kickstarted my game...
This is a could've/would've/should've statement. Had I Kickstarted my game, the mechanics would have definitely sold the game. However, I think that if I had gone this direction, I would have released something a little pre-mature. Still, it would have gotten the public attention it needed...

-I released my game while my publishers had huge Kickstarters going on.
My publisher is known for releasing a lot of games. While I was developing my game, I realized I'd be competing with VPG games that were already on Kickstarter and were given a lot of attention. Since my game was neither Kickstarted and I was a new designer, I think I was drowned out. It's not that I was purposely drowned out, I just released at a time when resources were too spread out to give the attention my game needed. At BGG Con, while I did have a space in the booth, it was rather tiny compared to the rest of the booth (but still grateful). My game had no showing at GenCon...probably because I was there for other reasons and VPG didn't secure a booth. To be perfectly honest, I'm glad for the attention it DID get, but I think I could have timed the release better so that my publisher and I could devote more time to it. Timing is everything.

While it does appear that I have more positives than negatives, the negatives had far more impact on the success of the game. I believe the positives had more impact on the viability, but in the end it needs both viability and impact. My mistake was that I was hoping for traction based on the gameplay and while it did go a certain distance, it could have gone farther.

But overall I'm happy with my game. It sits on my resume/LinkedIn/Facebook as something I'm very proud of and people actually notice it when they review my work summary. It's something I can link reviews to and say, "People actually liked what I created".

I hope this can help somehow with people on this forum. I've been wanting to do this for a long time and this post has been in progress for some time. Thanks for reading all the way through!