Wiki Fodder: Top ten first questions

I've said it before -- if brevity is the soul of wit, I am of all men most witless!

In all seriousness, it's important to keep in mind that there are two types of "newbies" -- designers who are new to the site, and folks who are new to game design in general.

Among the latter especially, the #1 question is "How do I copyright my game?" New designers, in my experience, have (a) designed the best game ever, (b) have been encouraged by their family and friends to try to make money off of it, and (c) are paranoid in the extreme that someone will steal that idea. I myself fit all of these criteria when I started out. So I think that what a faq ought to do is to encourage foilks with this mindset to slow down, be a little patient, be a little more self-critical, and be a little less paranoid. We should encourage them to develop their craft and learn how to design great games, but to realize that this takes time -- no one is great out of the gate.

However, I think that some of this will be handled in a "new designers" section of the wiki, so if you're just looking for "faq" questions, I would probably add one like "How much is this going to cost? How much do I stand to gain?" People who are just looking to make a quick buck will realize it's too difficult to make money off of games, and will go away, while people who really care about learning to design great games will hopefully stick around and become part of the community.

Among experienced designers, the most common questions seem to deal with navigation problems. Many of them realize their questions may have been asked before, but don't know where to find them. For them, a clear description of how to find things on the site might be a useful FAQ entry. Perhaps also some information about where to post certain kinds of questions; ie, a guide to how to use the forums.

Also, some people come in looking for bits, or other kinds of "consumables". Pointing them in the direction of the "links" section might be a good faq item.

Finally, some people want others to playtest their games. Directing them as to how to go about soliciting help for things like this might also be a good idea.

Just some thoughts, delivered in my long and rambling style!

-Jeff

How about these as a few possible items:

What are game mechanics?

How do I go about getting published?

Where can I find a _____________? (fill in the blank... publisher, printer, pawns, paper, parts, pegs oh and other words not starting with a "p" are also allowed!!... etc)

How do I start a board game business?

I plan to sell my games online, does selling games online work?

To 10 posts!

1) I have this great idea, can anybody help me to build a game around it?
a) Where do I start?
b) Is there a procedure/step by step list I can use?

2) How do I protect my game?
a) Can I get a patent?
b) What is the deferens between patent and copyright?
c) How do I copyright my game?
d) If I have copyrighted my game, is the game protected?

3) I have a design problem with…
a) The game takes to long
b) The game does never end
c) Run away leader/bash the leader/component inflation (and so on) (game traps)!

4) How do I get components to my game?
a) Where do I find components to my game?
b) How do I create cards, game boards, markers and so on?
c) Does anybody have a template for cards, markers…
d) Where can I find miniatures for my game?

5) I need to create a prototype
a) Can anybody help me to do that?
b) How many prototypes do I need?
c) Can I use a professional to do a prototype for me?
d) I have used a professional company (that belives in my game) that has created a prototype for $. How do I get my money back?

6) How do I test?
a) Where do I find testers for my game?
b) My friends don’t want to test my game. How do I make them to do that?
c) How do I protect my game from the testers (that they don’t steal the game/idea)?
d) How should I set up a test session?

7) Usage of graphics
a) Can anybody do the graphics for my game?
b) Here is my portfolio? Does anybody have work for me?
c) What graphic programs should I use?

8) Can I self published
a) Can anybody direct me to a ... in the ... area?
a) How many copies should I print?
c) How do I sell my game over internet?
d) What will it cost?
e) Do I need a company to sell the games?

9) Publish a game via a game company
a) Where do I find a game company that wants to publish my game?
b) How do I send in the game?
c) Is it worth the money to go via an agent?
d) I send in the game x month ago, but have not heard from them yet. Should I contact them?
e) What should they pay me for the game?

10) Can I re-use others Ideas?
a) I have made new graphics for game x. Can I publish/sell it?
b) I want to do a new module to game x. Is that possible?
c) I have remade game x with a new mechanism, a new theme and new graphics. Can I publish the game by my self of do I need there approval?

// Johan

Good list! One question I'd add is "Where can I take a course in game design?" or "Where can I read more about game design?"

Besides the archives here, you can then point them to a list of published books, like Game Inventor's Handbook, Rules of Play, etc, that have been discussed here before, and also to the Games Journal archives (lots of reading material there), and the Strategic Insight articles by Shannon Appelcline ( He outlines the basics of trading, majority control, auction, bluffing, etc. at http://www.skotos.net/articles/TTnT.shtml )

WolfSaint

First off, welcome. Secondly try this previously thread about making game boards, a member here SiskNY wrote up a quick how-to in this thread (which has already been added to the wiki :):

http://bgdf.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2086&highlight=simple+folding+game+board

It is not up for public use at this time, not sure how members keep finding it, but no one should use it yet. Until the admins have a chance to polish and complete the inprogress work on the wiki. And of course, Darkehorse decidedsto make it available to all :)

Sorry if this is a bummer, but good things come to those who wait! ;)

there is 2 things I that could be cool to be add:

1- Material creation, with picture it is even better. Remember somebody( don't know its name) teach us how to build a cardboard box and other people posted new box model. We have to find this information on the wiki. Info to build prototypes too with various material or technique that could be used.

2- Game theory : OK, we are not all mathematicians, but sometime we go in the thorics (or even phtlosophy) of the game. For example some body post "Can multiplayer game be non-competitive" and we dug into the essence of a game to declare that a game with no competition is not a game. Or, the recent post about different type of "interaction" between players. etc. This can allow people to solve common bugs in their game design.