I need some ideas about the settings of a mechanism.
My publisher refused a game of mine, only because of the setting, and I now need to find a new.
My setting was trains in the US. I do agree with him, this setting sucks.
The mekanism is about moving things betweent places, both ways.
(Not from-to, but back and forth, like... trains?... no, that was boring..).
Any ideas of a fresh setting for the game.
I would prefer a setting with connections to reality.
Pls help
Jepson
I need some ideas about the settings of a mechanism.
My publisher refused a game of mine, only because of the setting, and I now need to find a new.
My setting was trains in the US. I do agree with him, this setting sucks.
The mekanism is about moving things betweent places, both ways.
(Not from-to, but back and forth, like... trains?... no, that was boring..).
Any ideas of a fresh setting for the game.
I would prefer a setting with connections to reality.
Pls help
Jepson
Hmmm. I don't have a really good answer to this at the moment (the first thing that comes to mind is conveyor belts in a factory). However, your comment about the publisher refusing the work based upon theme struck me as odd. I have heard of several occasions where publishers have completely redone the theme on a game they thought was good but the theme was questionable (Immediately Stephen Glenn's Balloon Cup comes to mind). Also, there are new train games coming out EVERY Year (Moon and Weisblooms Ticket to Ride is a good example). Perhaps you should just try a different publisher or perhaps you should reevaluate the honesty behind their rejection.
Just a thought.
-Michael
Did the company you are dealing with specifically say they turned it down because it was set in the US? Does this company have other train games set in the US? If this is the case it might be that they don’t want that much product overlap, either set it in an entirely different location like Africa or do it under a region of the US, like the coal trains in the southeast. As long as it’s not copying what they already produce they might reconsider it.
Like Michael said it seems strange to me that it would be rejected based on the theme alone, unless perhaps it is a very small company that doesn't have the resources to re-theme the game, or they are so big that they didn't even look at the actual game and just rejected it outright based on the theme.
back and forth... hmm
This reminds me of the chore of moving firewood. ... that might not fix the boring problem.
peace,
Tom
Pony Express is a great idea. Another (similar) would be something like messengers in ancient greece- call it Marathon, and have runners carry messages to neigboring towns (+/- 26 miles away) on foot.
I like Pony Express better.
It would help if we knew the mechanics or a little more about the game.
- Seth
From a marketing standpoint, probably "marathon" would work better -- games about ancient Greece are more popular than games about the wild west (or so I think).
But I agree with Seth; I understand that you don't want to give away any of your ideas (since your game is in review), but it's very difficult to suggest a theme without having some idea of what the particulars are with the shipping process; for example, are resources being converted into other resources once they arrive at the destination? Or are players trying to find the most efficient routes?
I'll also echo Michael and say that while I'm no expert, I'm also very surprised your game was rejected simply because of the theme; it sounds like perhaps the publisher was a bit shortsighted, and perhaps not someone you would have really wanted to work with anyway (but...probably not....)
Good luck!
-Jeff
Another possibility would be a network of canals, such as dot the English countryside, and probably numerous other countrysides. I doubt that anyone can argue canals have been overdone. As with trains, it represents a fixed track used for hauling goods, usually farm commodities. The canals in a place like Amsterdam exist for another reason, but I assume there is a lot of back and forth on them. You could transport tulip bulbs.
I, too, am surprised that a publisher would turn it down based on trains. However, it should be remembered they are footing the bill, and they can base a decision on whatever suits them. Good luck, whether it is with this publisher or another.
Steve
what the...?!?! 8O
trains rule!
this is exactly what is wrong with the world today!
He is a "flavour" guy. (or whatever the english word is) Thats the way he approaches a game. He was quite specific in his rejection:
(Something like this:)
"US map and trains, it is not commercially interesting. I am sure you have a fine mechanism."
Regarding mechanism i was mabe a bit unspecific.
The idea is to set up "routs" between places where you have a "transport contract".
I'd ask him what settings he finds commercially interesting. Even if he lacks the time and resources to retheme it, you could once you're armed with this knowledge.
Personally, I find almost any map to be evocative (or flavourful). Since what is being transported doesn't matter, you have a lot of freedom to set your game anywhere. What about the river systems of Europe (or any other continent)? You have to haul goods down the Rhine, Seine, Tagus, etc. to the North Sea, Mediterranean, Atlantic, etc. It could be about supplying goods to outfit New World colonies.
Anyway, the area could be as large or small as you want, from the entire world to one continent to one country to one city. The map scales accordingly.
Good luck. It sounds like the hard work is out of the way already.
Steve
He is a "flavour" guy. (or whatever the english word is) Thats the way he approaches a game. He was quite specific in his rejection:
(Something like this:)
"US map and trains, it is not commercially interesting. I am sure you have a fine mechanism."
Weird. In the last couple of years, Transamerica has been a commerical success, and Ticket to Ride seems to be doing pretty well. Age of Steam hasn't exactly been slow off the shelves either. (And Union Pacific wasn't exactly a failure now, was it?) And none of them have anything much in common, mechanics-wise, whilst being award-winners (well, OK, so TtR hasn't won anything yet, but it will ;))
"US map and trains" seems like a fine combination to me! Then again, maybe there have been too many of them recently...?
I'd have a look at English canals certainly: the vague description of your mechanic suggests that it would be a decent fit.
The idea is to set up unidirectional routes and earn transport contracts
So players somehow set up or own uni-directional routes between 2 points, and then earn some kind of income (money/points) when that route is used?
I think postal service probably can't be considered unidirectional no matter where or what time period. Unless you call the game "Kill The Messenger" and say that once something gets delivered, the messenger can't return! Haha...
- Seth
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Well, this isn't really all that different, but maybe you could do a Space Trader type thing where there are Jump-Gates instead of rail and space-ports instead of stations etc...