Hi, my name is Josh. This is my first post on this forum. I'll cut to the chase.
I have an idea for a tabletop board game. It's in the entertainment / pop culture category.
Specifically it is music related.
Due to time constraints and a lack of knowledge, I am looking to hire someone who can help me develop the game. I am based in New York City. If I am posting this in the wrong place, my apologies.
I can be reached either here or via email at: thereajlswade@gmail.com
Thanks very much.
You need help with the game and not the music part right? I only ask because some of my good friends are professional musicians who love games.
I have tried and went through 4-5 designs. They are kind of hard lol. I went through some ideas of creating a band to bands going on tour and getting fans.
I think you have come to the right place for help with game design... but it might not be the right place to hire a designer.
Here on the forum we give out free design advice. So if you just ask the right questions as you design the game yourself, you might be better off in the end. You can learn as you go. My advice is to just start designing the game as see where it leads you. While some might disagree...
Game Design is for everyone, young and old. The rich, powerful, and educated don't have a monopoly on good ideas about fun. There is always room for more games designed by normal people. Their are very few "true experts" who became experts because they got an educational degree in board game design. Expert designers are called that because they have published games that sell well on the market. They were normal people even on the same day they became and expert designer.
The first thing is that a creative task like design is hard to value. One designer's time might be worth more to them than another and either way setting firm goals, benchmarks, deliverables, and timelines will be very difficult.
Example: $10 dollars per design hour, with a minimum of one update email or phone call or chat session every 10 hours of time billed. Functional "no art" print-n-play prototype version dew within 6 months. Maximum total payment of $2,000 or 200 billable hours. No payment made until print-n-play prototype is delivered.
Even if a designer took this job that is only 5 weeks worth of work (based on a 40 hour work week spread out over 6 months). That might or might not be enough time to create a functional board game. Many games are in development for several years. But that is based on the fact that the designers most of the time also have full time jobs to contend with.
Because you do want to do "part" of the design and design work. You might be better off just getting all of our help for free, by just asking detailed questions and posting design ideas and mechanical systems here on the forum for critique.
Just my 2+ cents for free...
@BHFuturist
I'd figure I would preface my message with my own personal background... and how I got into "Board Game Design".
I can't remember the exact date I decided that I would "design" a game. But much like you I had an "idea" and I tried to make it a reality. While I succeeded in making the game (with over 100,000 cards printed), the venture was a complete loss. I knew little about the "board game industry" and hadn't been learning from other people from such a forum (because I didn't know it existed - YET). My goal was simple:
I did 3/5 (60%) of what I had to do. Because I knew nothing about Kickstarter and how LOCAL "distribution" worked. In my town, the distributors buy from the USA. They import and sell what's HOT. So we get things like Magic, Pokemon and all the Board Game Staples (Catan, Pandemic, SmallWorld, etc.)
My FIRST game was too simple. And it was my first try at designing a game.
Aside from getting experience and connecting with a Marvel/DC Comics artist and the nice artwork he made for the game... I should have NEVER produced the game. The game was NOT good enough: it was an okay 1st design - but not something mainstream would adopt (because it was a hybrid collectible game).
I met up with a LOCAL "design" group in my town. They said that the "game" was the most "completed" game they had ever played (I had 100,000 cards, I could afford to try to demo the game whenever I had the chance).
And then I found BGDF... And learned more about "Game Design".
So here's the GOOD news: You're on BGDF and you haven't spent a dime yet!
Don't worry about your idea being the BEST EVER IDEA the world has yet to try. Start discussing the idea on the forum. The "FREE" advice here is pretty darn good (as @BH has suggested). Get deeper into your idea, have more pieces to the puzzle (so to speak) ... and maybe allow yourself to formulate more about your game.
Because in the END ... it's YOUR game.
We all enjoy talking about our own games, but we also like to hear what's going on with other game ideas. This is a great place to LEARN more about Game Design... As far as time is concerned, well taking 30 minutes per day to post and update amounts to very little time spent... And people who ENJOY designing can respond and help you.
Before looking for someone to co-design (and I say this whole heartily), start by getting your IDEA into something more "tangible". Trust me, if it's your FIRST idea - the odds are it's probably not the BEST idea...
Welcome to the forum!
There may be value in you doing some of the initial game design concepts even if you don't consider yourself a designer or well versed in the gaming industry. You might have a fresh new take on how something could be done. That said, you can also count on there being somethings you just wouldn't know to steer clear of. Certain antiquated or overused game mechanics for instance. I've seen people essentially make Monopoly clones and put them on Kickstarter touting them as innovative new game systems, and I can tell they are super green to the board gaming world. It's all a good learning experience.
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Yes, the game part is what I need assistance with. Thanks!