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How many game designs do most of you work on at the same time?

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Thu, 10/17/2013 - 04:38
limalima
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Joined: 06/01/2013

I was just wondering how many game designs do most of you work at a time. I have about 5-6 ideas written down in a notebook and about 3 very basic prototypes running at once. I kind of word each design as an inspiration hits on some mechanic of the game and tend to see which it fits better. My family thinks I am crazy because I keep switching games I discuss with them.

Is it good to be this spread out?Is it better just to put all your efforts into one design and see it to the end? What say all of you?

Luis

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Thu, 10/17/2013 - 08:33
#1
Aerjen
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Joined: 08/28/2008
Personal preference

I personally have 6 different designs that are nearing completion (meaning I'm pitching to publishers) and that I'm actively working on. It works for me, but I can imagine that this isn't for everyone. I'm someone who's good at switching tasks and juggling lots of stuff at the same time, so that's probably why it feels natural to me. At the same time, I also spend quite a lot of time on game design per week. If I had less time to invest, I'd probably take on less projects.

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Thu, 10/17/2013 - 08:43
#2
larienna
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Joined: 07/28/2008
3 to 5 active design is a

3 to 5 active design is a good amount of games. It is important because many times you need to make a game rest for the ideas to come in or to solve a bug you cannot find an issue.

More than 5 games can be problematic as you have the feeling that none of the game progress because you are splitting your time too much.

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Thu, 10/17/2013 - 08:54
#3
Dralius
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Joined: 07/26/2008
3 is a magic number

It varies. Right now I’m working on 3 but have many more started.

1. CO-OP dice placement game with nautical theme.
2. Wizard Dueling card game
3. Silly card game as a Christmas gift for a friend.

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Thu, 10/17/2013 - 09:22
#4
Kroz1776
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Joined: 10/09/2013
Only two :(

I'm only working on two at the moment, one is a card game, and the other is a tactical non-traditional wargame. The Wargame is in the first prototype form whereas the card game idea was just born yesterday but is ready for prototyping and playtesting.

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Thu, 10/17/2013 - 10:14
#5
crenshal
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Joined: 09/30/2013
4-5 Serious Projects

I currently have 4-5 serious games moving forward right now. This is perfect for my millennial induced ADD since I can work on one game for an hour on Saturday mornings and jump to another project. I consider a serious project to be a game I will work on as my sole focus .(I will have a movie or game on in the background but I won't pay attention)

I have 8-10 other games that are in my fleshing out on paper stage. I will work on these games when there is something on TV (normally a sports event) I want to watch.

At night I will watch game reviews on the Kindle and brainstorm ideas or think about plugging mechanics, theme and story together. I think that list of rough ideas is 20-30 long at this point in time.

I liked your line about your family thinking you are crazy for switching up games a lot. I stopped telling my wife about any game that is not in a play testing phase.

I think it is good to work on several projects because it allows you to make productive use of your time if you hit a design block. If I can't get the maths or mechanics to work properly, I will switch to another game and make good progress there instead while I churn the previous problems in the back of my head. I focus on one project when I get to the prototype and play test phase. Mostly because I need to write a rule book, and writing rule books is evil. I even have a game idea only for game designers where the final boss is a rule book. I will also focus on a project if I think it will be an instant hit for my play testers.

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Thu, 10/17/2013 - 10:30
#6
Kroz1776
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Joined: 10/09/2013
Do want!

I want to play a game where the rules book is the final boss! That'd be a (Pause for cheesey effect) "boss" game.

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Thu, 10/17/2013 - 15:28
#7
Aerjen
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Joined: 08/28/2008
Ai!

You're hurting me here

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Thu, 10/17/2013 - 19:41
#8
Ecarots
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Joined: 08/23/2013
Cheesy Games

As for cheesy I once pitched a game conversion for Wack a mole but was told it could cause workplace violence. Same concept but it was called Wack A Boss. I thought it would be a great stress reliever.

As far as how many games at the present I have 6 self published on the Market
1 approaching playtesting that i'm working on a kickstarter for.
2 expansions for existing games
10 in my notebook of concepts.

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Thu, 10/17/2013 - 21:45
#9
limalima
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Joined: 06/01/2013
Hopeful

I am hoping to one day be able to get a game to the point of being published. I actually have a game that I am working with my 7 yr old daughter to design. She picked the the theme and some of the art for the quick prototype I made. (Heck she may end up with a better game design that her old man! )

I have noticed that I am not just sitting on the couch anymore watching TV and am actually reading, writing, and interacting with the family as I bombard them with game ideas. Let me tell you, A wife and 3 daughters are HARSH CRITICS!! They have no problems tell dad that the game is BORING or in their words DUMB!

This is definitely a learning experience. I really admire the knowledge a lot of you on the forum have on games and hope to gain from it. I really need to get more interactive in the forums and maybe create a game journal for at least one of my games (as basic as it is at this point)

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Thu, 10/17/2013 - 22:15
#10
truekid games
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Joined: 10/29/2008
I have 7 in my "actively

I have 7 in my "actively developing" area, about half of which are still very very far from finished. 30-something others varying from "shelved" to "need to work on this more when I have time" to "finished" (which is to say, 30-something more that I've gotten at least to the prototype stage on, not counting things which are perma-shelved). Some uncertain amount more in pure concept form in my notes.

I definitely feel I spread my attention slightly too thin, but being able to bring different things to the table at playtest sessions is useful for me, and also hopefully not as onerous for my regular playtesters.

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Fri, 10/18/2013 - 08:33
#11
larienna
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if I included ideas in my

if I included ideas in my list, that would easily add another 30 games. Even if I list ideas on my website, many ideas are still not listed. Not worth the time to make a page about it.

This is why I am trying to restrict the nb of active project, I want some of them to be completed. After the release of my first game, not only I had to do a lot of rework on this game, taking a lot of my time, but also I don't really haev any other idea that could be at the stage of a "Working Game" and that furstrates me some how that 3 years after the release of my first game, I have no other game playable so far.

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Sat, 10/19/2013 - 19:42
#12
questccg
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Joined: 04/16/2011
Newbie to design

I am relatively new to Game Design (Since 2009). Quest Adventure Cards(tm) was self-published in 2010. Then what seems like a hiatus, I am back designing since May 2013. During that time I wrote up a 15 page video game analysis document for the Star Wars franchise and developed a custom software solution (for software relating to my work).

As of today I have four (4) designs that I am *working on* (In Progress)... And have a couple of design that are on the back-burner.

I must say, I have learned a lot since 2009 when I designed my first game. Although published, the game is a far cry from my current work-in-progress. Just in terms of publication approach, I have learned plenty... Other challenges that I faced with my first game (such as Distribution and Retail) are not even part of the scope today.

I must say, I prefer designing over gaming. Often it frustrates me - because the ideas we think up seem so much more interesting - until you try them out and figure "Wait... That doesn't work!" Stupid but true. I will give one example:

So I have been posting about a gymnastics game... And so I said you would have 5 dice on the card to which you need to *Match*. Sounds simple enough - BUT 5 normal sized dice DON'T FIT on a regular card = THEY ARE TOO BIG. So now I've got to work around this LITTLE problem... Humorous!

Note: I was picturing the dice nicely in a line at the bottom of the cards. DOESN'T FIT! I may have to go along the left side of the card... Not happy with this solution - AT ALL! :P

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