ok i dont know if im in the right part of the forums but how do i get my game, to get created?
how does all this process start?
also is there a website where i could test out some prototypes i might have? like a similar game to chess, but i put in all the bonuses of the pieces?
thx for the help?
Making your first prototype is daunting.
This is a way of doing it, and not the only way by any means.
Make a quick outline of your rules, you don't need to get into little details here. Look at your rules, and then make a list of everything you need to make, to make those rules work.
This is often a board, some pieces, some dice, maybe a deck of cards, some pawns.
The first draft of the board I usually just draw on a piece of paper in pencil, the bare minimum you need, as you will probably change it.
If you need to make cards just take a sharpie and write on a normal deck for now. Again very minimal.
I think the first draft game the key is to do everything as quickly and as simply as possible. You don't want to waste a lot of time making a prototype only to find out that the game isn't any fun. (I have done this more than a few times)
Then play a few turns of the game by yourself with yourself. See how it feels, what you like and what you don't like.
Good luck!
Find some more people to play the game, once you have played a few turns of the game and got rid of the things you dont like.
There are a couple of web tools, like VASSAL or others, but the ones I know of require more than a little bit of programming aptitude. I think someone posted on a couple of the tools aways back. Some folks swear by NanDeck, others just swear at it. A lot of it will depend on your game and your skill set.
As for prototypes, there is some outstanding advice around on this board. There are places you can get professional prototypes done, but usually you want to have your art (and game design) completely finished before you shell out the money for those.
Zun Tzu provides an online boardgaming platform
http://www.zuntzu.com/
It works well for both presentation and playtesting. It's a low investment (time not money) to learn how to make game components & game boxes.
simpson
(a) ...get a publisher to purchase or license your game from you so that they can spend the money to publish it, or...
(b) ...contact a printing company that you pay with your money to print a run of 1,000 or more board games, or...
(c) ...contact a POD company that you pay with your money to print a small number of games?
If you're asking about (a), I'm not going to go into detail here. That's been discussed many times on other threads on the BGDF, and it's a complex answer.
If you're asking about (b), you could start by PMing gameprinter here on the BGDF.
If you're asking about (c), you could PM guildofblades.
You could also PM bluepanther. I think Blue Panther falls into the (b) and (c) ranges, but they'll know better than I would.
ok thx
I just checked out Zun Tzu (http://www.zuntzu.com/), and I must say I am pretty impressed. It's important to understand up front that Zun Tzu does not manage the game for you, enforce rules or handle turn order or anything like that. "Virtual Game Table" is exactly what it is.
For playtesting purposes - this is ideal. There is no programming needed! You basically put together a library of graphics for your game (scanned, digitally drawn or otherwise) and some small XML documents to define where each card and counter sits in each "counter sheet." There is embedded voice and video conferencing, which is critical for explaining the game, which moves are legal and what not.
I have fairly good PhotoShop, Illustrator and XML skills, and I don't expect it to take more than 4 hours or so to get my game up and running in this environment - assuming all my art is created or scannable. Then it's just a matter of inviting users on BGDF and BGG to a virtual playtest session - which I expect will not be a problem at all. It's at least 100 times easier (and safer) than inviting them to my house.
Zuntzu looks really cool. Thanks for the link! I wonder if this means I can recreate my favorit board games and play them online? It's a cool thaught to think that I could easily find someone online who loves the board games I do.
You can definitely do that. There is no central server, so you only have to share your copyright infringing files with the select few who you will be playing with!
For playtesting purposes - this is ideal. There is no programming needed! You basically put together a library of graphics for your game (scanned, digitally drawn or otherwise) and some small XML documents to define where each card and counter sits in each "counter sheet." There is embedded voice and video conferencing, which is critical for explaining the game, which moves are legal and what not.
I have fairly good PhotoShop, Illustrator and XML skills, and I don't expect it to take more than 4 hours or so to get my game up and running in this environment - assuming all my art is created or scannable. Then it's just a matter of inviting users on BGDF and BGG to a virtual playtest session - which I expect will not be a problem at all. It's at least 100 times easier (and safer) than inviting them to my house.
The game box list is just a list of game boxes hosted on the web site. You can make your own game boxes, or receive them from others, and keep them in your own library on your local file system.
thanks for the link to Zun Tzu..
I think I will actually do this for my game, will be so much faster to play test with a more diverse crowed.. since I got everything digitally already, should not be that bad..
and beside If i could learn to use Magic Set Editor, how difficult can this be? :D
thanks!
Another good program for playing boardgames online (or offline) is Battlegrounds. It's pretty easy to put a game together with it (no scripting, XML editing, or programming required!). Battlegrounds doesn't have built-in voice chat like ZunTzu, but you can run Skype, Ventrilo, or some other VOIP app in the background easily enough. Battlegrounds is cross-platform, and the latest release (v1.6) even has a chat lobby to make it easier to find opponents and/or playtesters.
Here is a list of some of the games I've ported to Battlegrounds. There will eventually be more, but the point is that you can port your own games, however obscure.
We print and produce any kind of game and offer free graphic support. We will even do all the "heavy lifting" of creating the graphics for your game at no cost. Visit us at Custom Games
any kind of game or just card games?
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also how do i get into contact with companies to make my game?