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I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

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Z-Man
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Joined: 01/01/2009

As you may or may not know I publish games. You can check them out on www.zmangames.com.

I want to offer a chance for someone here to get published (or add another one to their credits if published already).

I am looking for someone to create and develop a boardgame (as opposed to a card game, though their could be cards in the boardgame) about the classic monsters: but not the titled ones, just their types: vampires, wolfmen, gillmen, mummies, etc.

The game could be serious or humorous. It could involve monster hunters chasing these guys or it could be you are representing a type of monster seeking supremacy.

Now, the best way I see this taking place here, is to ask you to submit a proposal on the game. Describe the theme you envision, how you think the game will proceed, the victory condition, what elements you feel will stick out as cool and/or different, what components you expect to have, etc.

I'll pick the 2-3 best proposals then ask for a second stage whereby you develop a working prototype. From there the person whose design shines the best will be asked to completely develop the game for which you will receive a royalty based on sales. Yes you are doing this on spec for a possible publishing agreement. You will always own whatever design you send me and is not used.

I look for originality as much as possible. I also want it to be fun and relatively fast. 1 hour optimum, no more than 1-1/2 hours. Don't go nuts on the components - I don't want to sell the game for more than $40 retail.

Most likely plastic figures will be out of the question, but it might depend on # of different figures and total quantity of figures.

Deadline for proposals will be July 18. If you are chosen you'll have a few months to develop the actual game.

Be open to change and criticism: the goal is to make a good game and it takes work and revisions.

Hopefully I don't open a can of worms by posting such a thing here, but I wanted to hit a large group of people who are interested in designing games. I am not posting this anywhere else so this offer is exclusive to the BDGF.

Email me with any questions. and I apologize if this approach upsets anyone.

Good luck!

Shrike
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Joined: 08/26/2010
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

And here I was without a "new" project to obsess over for awhile! Thanks alot Z-Man!!! =) Hope they don't want me to be productive at work for abit. Not sure how anyone else feels, but I think you posting all of this here was cool, thank you. Now on to the designing........

hpox
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Joined: 12/31/1969
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

Will you be doing the playtesting? Who will do the art?

FastLearner
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Joined: 12/31/1969
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

That's incredibly cool, Zev! Thanks for the opportunity, both for myself and on behalf o the BGDF!

-- Matthew

zaiga
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Joined: 12/31/1969
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

Verrrry cool idea, Zev! I hope you know what you are doing though, you'll probably get a ton of responses. I hope that won't endanger any current projects you are working on! ;)

Anonymous
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

This is a very cool opportunity for everyone, thank you Z-man.
I just hope you don't get too overwhelmed.

Question:
Where would you like the proposals sent to?

Dralius
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Joined: 07/26/2008
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

What is the deadline for submitting the proposal?

zaiga
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Joined: 12/31/1969
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

Dralius wrote:
What is the deadline for submitting the proposal?

Z-Man wrote:
Deadline for proposals will be July 18. If you are chosen you'll have a few months to develop the actual game.

Zzzzz
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Joined: 06/20/2008
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

All I can say is WOW

(I lied) This will be a great motivator for many members of the forum. Thanks for doing this Zev! Just wish I had the time to do something for this great opportunity, but life is to crazy for me. Well I guess everyone else will be happier now, their chances just improved!! :P

onew0rd
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Joined: 12/31/1969
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

Let the questions begin...

Is using SEVERAL monster types a design constraint? Can we say make it just about Gillmen or just about werewolves or whatever? Or are we required to use several different types?

Sebastian
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Joined: 07/27/2008
Re: I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

Z-Man wrote:
I'll pick the 2-3 best proposals then ask for a second stage whereby you develop a working prototype. From there the person whose design shines the best will be asked to completely develop the game for which you will receive a royalty based on sales. Yes you are doing this on spec for a possible publishing agreement. You will always own whatever design you send me and is not used.

...

Deadline for proposals will be July 18. If you are chosen you'll have a few months to develop the actual game.

Does this mean that you'll have a few months to develop the working prototype, or a few months to finalise the game itself? If it's just the working prototype, what sort of time frame do you expect the game itself to be developed over?

Z-Man
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Joined: 01/01/2009
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

onew0rd wrote:
Let the questions begin...

Is using SEVERAL monster types a design constraint? Can we say make it just about Gillmen or just about werewolves or whatever? Or are we required to use several different types?

***I will answer several questions here. And excuse my slowness - I don't visit the forum all the time and I'm going on vacation soon then going to Origins.

1) Yes, I need to see several types of monsters - no focusing on one type.

2) Don't give me zombies. My friends at Twilight Creations got that covered.

3) I will get art for it. You give me a good game.

4) What I would want from the winning prototype is to have the winner further develop and test the game. I'll step in when I can to test as well but it will be your baby.

5) I'm in no rush for the game actually. I just don't want to leave the submissions open-ended. If I can't get something I like here, then I'll use my industry contacts. So if a game is chosen then you will have months to develop it. It will be an '06 release, perhaps in the summer or at worst, Halloween 2006.

6) This will not impede other games I'm doing cause I'm taking my time with this one.

7) I realized I'd be opening myself to a plethora of submissions but I've always been about giving people a chance to achieve their goals - not that I'm any miracle worker, but if I can make the opportunity happen.....

8) Email me at zmangames@shadowfist.com. I may not always realize to check the private emails (though it's been good about alerting me when I get them).

If you have more questions I'll try to get to them in a timely manner. Email directly for best results.

FastLearner
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Joined: 12/31/1969
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

Here's a request to anyone that does email Zev and gets an answer: if there's a reasonable chance everyone else will want to know the answer, too (not from a competitive standpoint), and the email isn't particularly private, please post the question and answer here, so that Zev doesn't have to answer the same question 16 times.

-- Matthew

sedjtroll
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Joined: 07/21/2008
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

Z-Man wrote:
2) Don't give me zombies. My friends at Twilight Creations got that covered.

I'll say...
In fact, their new (?) game Hidden Conflict actually has each player playing a different type of creature - Demon, Vampire, Ghoul, Werewolf, stuff like that. Just out of curiosity, what drove your decision on the theme for this game? The first things that come to my mind when I read your criteria are Monsters Menace America, and Betrayal at House on the Hill (and of course Twilight Creations stuff). Is this game intended to compete with/sell alongside those? Or is it more an under-explored theme that you think would be publishable (as opposed to Pirates or Trains)?

- Seth

Z-Man
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Joined: 01/01/2009
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

sedjtroll wrote:
Z-Man wrote:
2) Don't give me zombies. My friends at Twilight Creations got that covered.

I'll say...
In fact, their new (?) game Hidden Conflict actually has each player playing a different type of creature - Demon, Vampire, Ghoul, Werewolf, stuff like that. Just out of curiosity, what drove your decision on the theme for this game? The first things that come to my mind when I read your criteria are Monsters Menace America, and Betrayal at House on the Hill (and of course Twilight Creations stuff). Is this game intended to compete with/sell alongside those? Or is it more an under-explored theme that you think would be publishable (as opposed to Pirates or Trains)?

- Seth

******To be honest, it is a matter of an obligation to my brother who wants to see such a game produced.

Pt314
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Joined: 12/31/1969
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

Whoa, Hmm. Now I won't have any free time whatsoever. (Once I start on this project that is.)

I have been working on a fantasy combat stratagy game lately. So I have a question, are you looking for a game with only classical monsters, or can I have some of my own?

Z-Man
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Joined: 01/01/2009
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

Pt314 wrote:
Whoa, Hmm. Now I won't have any free time whatsoever. (Once I start on this project that is.)

I have been working on a fantasy combat stratagy game lately. So I have a question, are you looking for a game with only classical monsters, or can I have some of my own?

****Sorry, only the classics.

Anonymous
I'm in need of a boardgame designer for a project

This sounds like a cool oppourtunity. I would love to submit something, but don't know if I'll have the time.

One of the very last Williams pinball machines was called "Monster Bash" and featured the classic Universal monsters as a rock band, Frankenstein, The Werewolf, The Mummy, Dracula and of course the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
It was great fun, and had some cool mechanics.

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