Hello all!
I have been poking about for a few weeks, and have decided to stop lurking and join the fun.
I have to say, the first time I found this site I couldn’t bring myself to read much. I have been too comfortable being the only person I knew who was ...odd enough to see past the game and into mechanics, I figured that being a Meta thinker made me unique.
Suddenly, here's this huge community, with pages and pages of ideas, and concepts that I was silly enough to think I was the only one to have. You offhandedly label game mechanics that I thought I was wise to notice as common themes. And worse, you reference mechanics and concepts that I have never thought of.
So every day, a few posts at a time, Ego lost out as inspiration grew... I think I’m gonna like it here. :)
Welcome!
One of the biggest mistakes that a lot of game designers make is to keep their designs within the close confines of themselves and a limited playtest group (usually only family and friends). This (especially when the designer is always there to coach the players on how to play his game correctly) leads to many designers thinking they have the next "big thing."
This site is an invaluable resource for realizing where your designs and your design style fits within the lager gaming community and the community of other hobby and professional designers.